"Ultimate Terrorists"

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the book, "The Ultimate Terrorists", by Jessica Stern, former National Security Council staffer, which explains with chilling lucidity why it is becoming more likely that terrorist threats will materialize into a major terrorist incident featuring a weapon of mass destruction (WMD). It looks at how, after September 11, 2001, the book has taken on a deeper meaning since it was written in 1999, when America held onto the idea that terrorist activity was something that took place on foreign shores. It discusses how Stern's book details in advance many of the factors in play which created the 9/11 tragedy and how terrorists have shifted their perspective from activity that gains power for their political or religious party to choosing targets just for the purpose of making a statement.

From the Paper:

"The book's strongest chapter concerns the threat of loose Russian materials (the area that was Stern's specialty at the NSC). Stern's knowledge of security in Russia gives these sections a punch that many who report on this issue have lacked up until now. Stern was portrayed by Nicole Kidman in the movie Peacemakers which was built on this theme. The turning point of the movie is a discussion between a military Russian specialist, who knew the military character who would steal a dozen nuclear warheads and Kidman's character who is a specialist on fringe terrorist groups. Kidman's character, after getting a lecture on how predictable a military terrorist would be, says "I'm not afraid of a man who wants 10 nuclear weapons; I am terrified of the man who wants only one."

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