在過去的二十年中，恐怖主義組織持續(xù)增長。隨著大規(guī)模殺傷性武器（現(xiàn)在成為WMDs）的不斷增加，如何確保這些庫存的安全性和怎么不讓恐怖分子接近他們是當(dāng)務(wù)之急。但是同樣重要的是了解恐怖分子是如何運作的，他們?yōu)槭裁匆约盀槭裁床豢赡苡蝎@取大規(guī)模殺傷性武器的動機。

自從911事件以后，，恐怖分子的大規(guī)模殺傷性武器的威脅更為嚴(yán)峻。恐怖分子從未有過的不同，恐怖主義的目的到目前為止也改變了方向。911不能被定義為典型的恐怖主義，為了理解其中的原因，我們需要了解一下恐怖襲擊背后的真實目的。

傳統(tǒng)的暴力，不是恐怖主義，僅適用于暴力的原則，沒有更高的目標(biāo)（忽略壓迫）。該法案涉及兩個角色，一個是暴力犯罪者，另一個是受害者。對于恐怖主義，三個主角都參與其中，首先是恐怖主義，第二個是受害人，最后是被認(rèn)為通過恐怖分子的行動，間接地影響了群眾，主要是通過恐懼和焦慮（阿克曼，2004年）。

Terrorist groups have grown persistently in the last two decades. With an ever-increasing arsenal of Weapons of Mass Destruction hereby referred to as WMDs, it becomes imperative to question how safe are these stockpiles and what efforts might terrorists undertake to access them. But it is also equally important to understand how terrorists operate and why or why not may they be motivated to acquire WMDs.

The WMD threat from terrorists gained credence after 9/11. Never before had the ammo of terrorists been so different and the ideology veered so far from what terrorism seeks; 9/11 could not be defined as typical terrorism, and to understand why, we need to look at the objectives behind a terrorist attack.

Conventional violence, as opposed to terrorism, only works on the principle of violence without a higher purpose (ignoring oppression). The act involves two actors, one is the perpetrator of violence, and the other is the victim. For terrorism, three protagonists are involved, first is the terrorist, second being the victim(s), and the last is the audience which is supposed to be affected indirectly through the actions of the terrorists, mainly through fear and anxiety (Ackerman, 2004).

9/11 on one hand was a terrorist attack. Terrorism, under its definition, is the "calculated use of unlawful violence or threat of unlawful violence to inculcate fear. It is intended to coerce or intimidate governments or societies ... [to attain] political, religious, or ideological goals." (DoD, 2001). The world watched as the two towers, symbols of US economic prowess and prosperity, crumbled to the ground. But more important than the symbolic fall of these buildings was the fear instilled into the hearts of US citizens. The terrorists had sent a message; no place is safe.

On the other hand, the attacks caused nearly 3000 deaths as a direct result. Terrorists seek to spread fear, not death. That Tuesday morning, terrorists meant to kill as many people as they could. The scale of the attack led many to believe that this could be act of war (an excuse the Bush administration later used to attack Afghanistan). However, the first aim of terrorism also stood fulfilled. Fear gripped the country and air travel was like never before.

Discussing the factors contributing to terror organizations' motives and their ideology is also paramount. In the 1995 Sarin gas attacks on the Tokyo subway, the perpetrators were religiously rooted, but motivated politically. In the dynamic system of these ideas, it is hard to say which would eventually be the deciding factor. On that day in Tokyo, Aum Shinrikyo, the cult responsible, decided to carry out the attack to divert attention after getting tipped that the police would be raiding their facilities (Richard Danzig, 2011). This attack was one of the first terrorist chemical attacks against a civilian population.

Why the group resorted to using chemical weapons is an important question. Sarin gas is a nerve agent, and is also considered a WMD once weaponized. What Aum wanted to do was to wipe out a large portion of Tokyo's urban population. The group did manage to injure thousands of people travelling on the subway, while killing a few as well. Using conventional weapons, this attack would not have been successful, mainly due to the intricate system of tunnels in subterranean Tokyo, blowing up which would have been nearly impossible. And since the group had pursued Biological weapons before, it was only a matter of transferring knowledge into the chemical warfare program to develop Sarin from ground-up.

The well-known terrorist organisation, Al-Qaeda is known to be in pursuit of WMDs. In a 1998 interview, long before it became a household name, Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden hinted at the group's pursue of WMDs.

We must use such punishment to keep your evil away from Muslims, Muslim children, and women. American history does not distinguish between civilians and military, and not even women and children. They are the ones who used the bombs against Nagasaki. Can these bombs distinguish between infants and military?a

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