Assignment

1. An international terrorist organization is plotting to attack the U.S. Federal Building in Dallas, Texas. The terrorist organization has infiltrated the federal building maintenance and planning department, which has given those personnel access to evacuation plans and to storage areas as well as transportation inaccessible by the public. The plan is to plant numerous improvised disbursement devices containing mustard gas in the existing central air system throughout the building to not only kill and maim existing personnel and citizenry within the structure, but also to encourage a full evacuation of the building. Secondary and tertiary mustard gas devices have been located not only along the escape routes outside the building, but also in the typical first responder staging areas.

You are a member of the strategic/contingency planning committee for the city of Dallas. How can you design a plan that will prevent such attacks or at least provide the best response to these attacks?

2. Terrorist organizations in Afghanistan want to systematically eliminate United Nations forces from each location in Afghanistan, and they know that small arms fire and high explosives, although effective, will fall short of forcing enemy troops to leave. However, they have tons of sarin gas that could, if properly placed and activated based on the prevailing winds, effectively destroy the troop concentrations in each location, especially if simultaneous attacks were unleashed across the country.

How can we mitigate such attacks and develop strategies to prevent such attacks or at least properly respond to diminish the effects of the gas?

3. According to your assigned readings, over the past decade various forms of toxic industrial chemicals (TICs) have been deployed as WMD, indiscriminately killing and injuring numerous people. What actions have been taken to diminish terrorist access to TICs throughout Iraq?

4. According to your readings, biological weapons can easily be dispersed through numerous methods to impact livestock, crops, and processed foods, which may effectively randomly infect all humans coming in contact with the contaminated food sources. Regardless of the reason for the use of such weapons, how can a terrorist organization or country at war with another country justify the use of such weapons? Should those organizations or countries be held liable for such actions? If so, what sanctions could be levied against other countries or international organizations?

5. Some concern exists relating to the development and use of "smoky bombs." These devices do not rely on high explosives to disburse the radioactive materials; they are actually subtler. What is the typical material used in these types of weapons? How are these weapons developed against unsuspecting targets as WMD by terrorists?