Business at Risk

By Kevin Quinley

Bioterrorism. Chemical threats. Cyber crime. Business as usual has taken on new meaning in the post September 11th world, particularly for the insurance industry. Introducing Business At Risk, the essential reference that shows you how to successfully manage the risks of terrorism both on and off American soil. This is a must-have resource for the risk manager, facilities manager, safety and loss control specialist or business owner who wants to successfully manage the new risks and potential consequences for businesses in today's environment. Business At Risk's systematic approach takes you step-by-step through the five key areas of managing terrorist threats: assessment, mitigation, response, recovery and financing the risk. You'll discover how to: -Conduct comprehensive pre-loss risk, threat and vulnerability assessments as well as a business impact analysis. -Devise successful mitigation strategies that cover everything from site selection and building design, to physical, operational, computer and cyber security. -Establish an effective response plan that encompasses both the potential for and an actual terrorist attack. -Activate a recovery plan, including how to communicate with various company and public sectors. You'll also learn how to:-Decrease an organizations vulnerability to terrorism losses and cushion financial blows. -Survive and thrive in a hard insurance market. -Assess and use alternative risk techniques to address terrorist exposures. -Handle claims issues that have or could arise in the aftermath of a terrorist incident. -With supporting charts, checklists and helpful dos and don'ts in every chapter, nationally-recognized authors Don Schmidt and Kevin Quinley chart a practical course that can be easily applied or customized to suit your clients unique needs. You ll also find key insights into how the government and the industry are approaching reinsurance pressures

• Language: English
• Publisher: The National Underwriter Company
• Release date: Nov 5, 2012
• ISBN: 9781938130472

Book preview

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What the experts say about Business at Risk:

National Underwriter has once again provided a timely resource for the risk management community. September 11th has forever changed the way we view exposures to loss. The authors, well-respected members of our community, provide timely insight for reasoned evaluations of current risks, ideas for incorporation into future designs, and potential avenues for recovery if losses do occur.

Dave Parker, Risk Management Director

Pima County, Arizona

2000 Public Risk Manager of the Year

From the history of World War II we learn the value of the partnership of government and industry at the federal level. From the WTC tragedy we also learn the value of government and business cooperation at the state and local level in times of crisis. This book is a must read not only for the managers of our business communities, it is a must read for the managers that have been entrusted with the government of those much broader communities in which we all live.

Lloyd Bokman, Ohio Emergency Management Agency

Chair of the NFPA 1600 Technical Committee on Disaster Management

It’s a sad commentary on our times that there is a need for books like Business at Risk. But in this day and age a basic primer on managing the risks associated with terrorism should be in every risk manager’s tool kit. This book is a straightforward look at the nature of the risk and the principles of risk management that successfully mitigate, control, and/or transfer this risk. I would recommend it to risk managers and others with the key roles in business continuity and/or facility security: business continuity managers, facility mangers, security managers, and anyone else directly tasked with protecting any aspect of a business or facility.

Ted Underwood

Director, Risk Management

The Gillette Company

Boston, Massachusetts

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This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional service. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought. – from a Declarations of Principles jointly adopted by a Committee of the American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and Associations.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any means without permission in writing from the publisher.

Copyright © 2002 by

THE NATIONAL UNDERWRITER COMPANY

P.O. Box 14367

Cincinnati, OH 45250-0367

International Standard Book Number 978-1-938130-47-2

Printed in the United States of America

Dedications

Donald L. Schmidt

To Sherry, Danny, and Cari.

And to my 295 colleagues lost on September 11, 2001.

Kevin M. Quinley

To the fallen, and those who fight for freedom.

Table of Contents

Dedications

Foreword

Acknowledgments

About the Authors

Introduction

Chapter 1: The Terrorism Threat

Introduction

What is Terrorism?

Terrorist Threats

Biological & Chemical Agents

Biological Agents

Chemical Agents

Nuclear/Radiological Devices

Incendiary Devices

Explosive Devices

Cyberterrorism

Consequences of a Terrorist Attack

Direct Costs

Indirect Costs

Chapter 2: Risk Assessment

Risk Assessment Process

Threat Assessment

Vulnerability Assessment

Business Impact Analysis

Threat Assessment

History of Past Incidents

Potential Targets

Vulnerability Assessment

People

Site Location, Layout, & Protection

Buildings

Operational Security

Computer Security

Other Considerations

Business Impact Analysis

Scenarios

Chapter 3: Mitigation Strategies

Site Selection & Building Design

Site Selection

Building Design & Space Planning

Physical Security

Site Security

Building Security

Operational Security

Visitor & Package Screening

Motor Vehicle Access to Garages, Inside Parking, or Loading Docks

Security Policies & Procedures

Security Policy

Threat Response Procedures

Computer & Cyber Security

Computer Security Management

Detection

Known Security Issues

Other Mitigation Strategies

Employee Training

Emergency Response & Business Recovery Programs

Chapter 4: Organizing & Planning to Respond

Plan Components, Objectives, & Standards

National Standards & Regulations

The Planning Process

Management Policy

Planning Committees

Assessment of Available Resources

Organizations

Emergency Response Team

Organization

Crisis Management Team

Organization

Communication with Target Audiences

Business Recovery Team

Critical Functions & Recovery Times

Recovery Strategies

Command, Control, & Communications

Incident Command System

Emergency Operations Center

Communications

Pre-Incident Planning

Community Hazards & Warning Systems

Building Ventilation System

Evacuation Plan

Shelter-in-Place

Mail Center/Package Screening

Writing the Plan

Display of Information

Chapter 5: Emergency Response

Response to Terrorist Threats & Attacks

Threat Levels

Threat Detection

Physical Evidence

Symptoms or Sensory Indications

Indicators of an Attack

Conventional Explosive Devices

Chemical Agents

Biological

Nuclear/Radiological

Combined Hazards

Determination of Protective Actions

Airborne Hazards

Emergency Response Procedures

Notifications

Evacuation

Sheltering-In-Place

Suspicious Package or Letter

Bomb Threats

Property Conservation

First Aid

Firefighting

Rescue

Hazardous Materials

Government Response to a Terrorist Incident

Chapter 6: Recovery

The Recovery Process

Plan Activation

Situation Assessment

Recovery Priorities

Personnel Safety & Health

Evacuation & Accountability

Medical Care

Counseling

Critical Functions & Processes

Roles & Responsibilities

Internal & External Communications

Example Timeline

Post-Incident Debriefing

Insurance Recovery

The Process

Corporate Large Loss Plan

Chapter 7: Implementation & Training

Summary of Important Steps

Policies & Procedures

Organizations & Assignments

Equipment, Systems, & Facilities

Compilation of Information

Training

Levels of Training

Instructors

Frequency of Training

Record Keeping

Drills & Exercises

Practice Drills

Exercises

Business Recovery Plan Testing

Audits

Plan Distribution & Updates

Distribution of the Plan & Updates

Other Considerations

Chapter 8: Impact on the Insurance Market

Market Impact

Is Terrorist Threat Uninsurable?

Impact on Reinsurance Market

Property Insurance Market Overview

Casualty Insurance Market Overview

Market Security Issues

A.M. Best and Better

Avoiding Insurance Scams

Chapter 9: Hard Market Survival Tips

Hard Cycle Tips

Chapter 10: Insurance Coverage Issues

Coverage Issues Abound

Number of Losses/Occurrences

War Exclusion

Legal Analysis

Terrorism Exclusions

Debris Removal Coverage Issues

Business Interruption Coverage Issues

Workers Compensation Coverage Issues

Insurance Issues in Anthrax Contamination

Pollution/Nuclear Exclusions

Chapter 11: Government and Insurance Industry Reinsurance Proposals

Options Introduced

HR 3210, Terrorism Risk Protection Act

Insurance Stabilization and Availability Act

Bush Administration Proposal

Reasons for Federal Proposals

Victim Compensation Fund

Organizations Recommend Action

Chapter 12: Subrogation and Recovery Options Against Terrorists

Civil Action Possible

Potential Obstacles

Legal Precedents

Other Recovery Theories

Basic Reality

Chapter 13: Alternative Risk Techniques

Alternative Market Interest

Alternative Markets

Insurance Realities

Ways to Use Alternative Risk Techniques to Address Terrorism Risks

Appendix A: Internet Resources

Appendix B: Selected References

Appendix C: Responses to Weapons of Mass Destruction Incident and the Participants Involved1

Appendix D: Federal Departments and Agencies: Counterterrorism-Specific Roles1

Foreword

It is by now a truism that the terrorist attacks of September 11 were a wake up call for America and for our government. For the first time in almost 200 years America was attacked by foreign forces on its own soil. It was one of the bloodiest days in our history.

Less obviously, the events of September 11 should be a wake up call for American businesses. Over the past thirty years, 80 percent of all terrorist attacks on American targets have been against American businesses. This was also true in September. Over four hundred businesses were directly impacted by the attacks.

Responsible businesses owe it to their employees and shareholders to consider the implications of the new situation. In particular, managers must ask themselves whether they have adequate plans in place to address the new threats, which must today include dealing with the threat of chemical, biological or radiological attacks.

In this important book, Don Schmidt and Kevin Quinley have done an excellent job of portraying the main elements of the new terrorist threat. They offer the reader an extensive catalog of measures that prudent businesses should follow to mitigate these threats. As they make clear, these steps must cover everything from the immediate reaction of employees at the scene of the incident, to the way senior managers plan for business recovery after the event. Finally, they look carefully at the alternative means by which a company can assure its financial recovery and how the financial services industry has been impacted.

This book is an important contribution to new thinking about the new threat of terrorism. It should be must reading for businesspeople.

Ambassador L. Paul Bremer III

Chairman, Chief Executive Officer

Marsh Crisis Consulting

Chairman, National Commission on Terrorism

Acknowledgments

I would like to acknowledge and thank those who made it possible for me to co-author this book.

Vivian Menna and Glenn Buser, Managing Directors of Marsh, recognized the importance of this project and strongly promoted it. Thank you both.

Walter Wilk, Jr., of Marsh Risk Consulting allowed me the time and flexibility to focus on the book. Thanks Walter. I couldn’t have done it without your support.

I would also like to thank the technical experts who peer reviewed my chapters of the book. Thanks to John A. Edgar, CBCP, CSP, and Al Berman, CBCP, both of Marsh Risk Consulting; Lloyd Bokman of the Ohio Emergency Management Agency and Chair of the NFPA 1600 Technical Committee; and Craig Garlock, PE, of Marsh Crisis Consulting.

I would also like to thank Ambassador Jerry Bremer. Your foreword validates the importance of this work to the business community.

Writing a book is challenging, but a great editor makes it a lot easier. Diana Reitz provided excellent direction and was always a pleasure to work with.

Last, but certainly not least, I would like to acknowledge the incredible support of my family. Writing a book while working a full-time job leaves little time for anything or anyone else. Thanks Sherry, Danny, and Cari for your encouragement, support, and understanding while I was sequestered away for days on end.

Donald L. Schmidt

About the Authors

Kevin M. Quinley, CPCU, ARM, is Senior Vice President, Risk Services, for MEDMARC Insurance Company, Chantilly, VA. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Wake Forest University and a master’s degree from the College of William & Mary. He holds the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) designation plus specialty designations from the American Insurance Institute in Risk Management (ARM), Claims (AIC), Management (AIM), and Reinsurance (ARe). He has written over 500 published articles and eight books on insurance and risk management topics.

Mr. Quinley teaches classes in insurance, claims, and risk management for the Washington, D.C., CPCU Chapter, for whom he served as a past president. In 1998, he was named The Standard Setter by the national CPCU Society for his professional accomplishments and community involvement. A frequent speaker on topics related to insurance, claims handling, and litigation, he can be reached via the Internet at [e-mail] (phone [phone]; fax [phone]). He lives in Fairfax, Virginia, with his wife and two sons.

Donald L. Schmidt, ARM, is Senior Vice President, Managing Consultant, and Operations Manager for the Risk Consulting Practice of Marsh in Boston, Massachusetts, where he provides management consulting services in the areas of risk assessment and business impact analysis, mitigation, and emergency management.

Mr. Schmidt is the author of Emergency Response Planning: A Management Guide published by Marsh and in part by Facility Manager magazine in 1994. He has been interviewed in many periodicals, including Stores Magazine, Retail Challenge, Global Risk, and NFPA Journal. He is a frequent lecturer on the subject of emergency management and has spoken to groups such as the American Society of Safety Engineers, American Society for Industrial Security, National Retail Federation, and Ford Motor Company, and at a conference sponsored by FEMA’s Project Impact.

Mr. Schmidt’s twenty-three-plus year career has included positions within the HPR insurance industry, heavy manufacturing, and a federal fire prevention agency. He also was a fire fighter with two fire departments.

He graduated summa cum laude from the University of Maryland with a Bachelor of Science degree in Urban Studies - Fire Science. Mr. Schmidt is a member of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers and the National Fire Protection Association, and he is a Professional Member of the American Society of Safety Engineers. He serves as a principal member on two National Fire Protection Association technical committees: Disaster/Emergency Management and Business Continuity Programs (NFPA 1600) and Pre-Incident Planning (NFPA 1620).

Don lives with his wife Sherry, son Danny, and daughter Cari in suburban Boston.

Introduction

July 4, 1776. April 12, 1861. December 7, 1941. November 22, 1963. And now September 11, 2001.

Days that will be forever etched in the history of America. Some of us recall where we were that day in December when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. More of us remember what we were doing when we heard the newscast from Dallas about President John F. Kennedy’s assassination.

Each of us knows exactly where we were on September 11, 2001. Some were busily setting up meetings or making conference calls. Many of us were working on our computers. Others were at home, getting ready to go to work or sending the kids off to school.

But we stopped in mid-sentence when we heard that American Airlines Flight 11 had crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Minutes later we were stunned by the news that a second aircraft hit the South Tower. And then the Pentagon and Pennsylvania.

The fallout from September 11, 2001, will continue to be felt for years to come. The word terrorism is now commonplace in the vocabulary of average Americans. Business and risk managers are exhibiting an increased awareness of the need to professionally manage the risks of terrorism both on and off American soil. The insurance industry has been faced with the largest insured loss in its history.

On that day, many financial services professionals who previously had been able to maintain an objective stance in the midst of catastrophe found themselves the victims. They were coping with not only their clients’ losses, but also with personal and professional losses that previously had been incomprehensible.

This book was developed—at least in part—in order to portray the effect of terrorist acts on the business community and financial services industry. It relays information about assessing, mitigating, responding to, recovering from, and financing the risk of terrorism, all now critical to business operations. It includes valuable pre- and post-loss information, offering guidance to those with an expanded awareness of just how unnatural a catastrophe can be.

Our emphasis is on the practical. In many cases the authors have distilled the discussion into handy checklists, suggestions, charts, dos and don’ts. Nevertheless, we realize that there can be no one perfect guidebook to managing the risk of terrorist threats. There is no One-Minute Risk Manager for Terrorism or Ten Steps to Protect Against Terrorism. Each solution or set of suggestions must be adapted, customized, and tailored to each particular organization’s needs.

Charts and checklists are starting points—not ending points—for building a strong risk management plan. The goal is to upgrade an organization’s invulnerability to terrorism losses and to cushion financial blows caused by terrorism losses. Risk professionals and businesses grope for practical solutions more than a theoretical understanding of terrorism and its threats. The book is more practical than theoretical.

One of the first elements addressed is the challenge of defining terrorism. Chapter 1 discusses just what we mean by the terrorism threat. Subsequent chapters offer information on risk identification and vulnerability assessment; prevention and mitigation of terrorism; effective response and recovery from terrorist threats and attacks; and financial considerations in paying for and transferring the risk of terrorism to either an insurance or alternative financing mechanism.

Assessment, Mitigation, Response, Recovery, Financing

This book outlines five key aspects of managing the risk of terrorism: assessment, mitigation, response, recovery, and financing. After defining terrorism it moves from pre-loss risk, threat, and vulnerability assessment to business impact analysis in chapter 2. Chapter 3, Mitigation Strategies, offers powerful insight into site selection and business design, physical and operational security, and computer and cyber security.

The fourth chapter, Organizing and Planning to Respond, offers a systematic approach to establishing a plan that assigns responsibilities to trained team members in an effort to safeguard the health and safety of employees, as well as to protect business assets. Included is information on emergency response; crisis management; business recovery; command, control, and communications; pre-incident planning; and writing the plan.

The chapter on emergency response discusses both the threat of a possible terrorist attack as well as an actual terrorist event. It offers detailed information on attack indicators, how to determine protective actions for various types of hazards, and procedures for specific types of threats. Chapter 6, Recovery, provides specific information about activating the recovery plan, addressing personnel safety and health, and communicating with various company and public sectors.

The fall of 2001 illustrated just how crucial proper training and preparation is to survival after an incident. Chapter 7, Implementation and Training, summarizes these critical implementation steps and offers practical insight into staff and employee training, plan testing, and plan audits.

Donald L. Schmidt, ARM, senior vice president, managing consultant, and operations manager within the Risk Consulting Practice of Marsh in Boston, wrote the first seven chapters.

The second half discusses the financial impact of terrorist losses, especially the impact on the insurance marketplace and individual business policyholders. Chapter 8 begins by outlining the reasons that the incidents of September 11 had such a profound effect on the insurance and reinsurance marketplace and how this impact could create future solvency problems. Tips and guidelines on how insurance buyers and risk managers can best survive a hard insurance market are highlighted in chapter 9.

Chapter 10, Insurance Coverage Issues, offers insight into the coverage issues that arose in the aftermath of the 2001 terrorist incidents. It includes discussions of how the number of occurrences impact insurance recovery; whether the standard war exclusion might apply; the application of the debris removal clause on property policies; the pollution exclusion; and business interruption and workers compensation coverage implications. The chapter continues with a discussion of the response of primary insurers to the loss of reinsurance for terrorist threats.

The government and industry approach to reinsurance pressures caused by the September attacks is discussed in Chapter 11.

Chapter 12, Subrogation and Recovery Options against Terrorists, discusses why and how subrogation and civil recovery may impact the ultimate effect of terrorist incidents. The final chapter, Alternative Risk Techniques, points out the renewed interest in alternative risk transfer mechanisms as a result of insurance marketplace conditions following September 11. The use of surplus lines carriers, captives and risk retention groups, catastrophe bonds, and self-insurance and higher retentions are offered as potential offsets to difficult insurance marketplace conditions.

Kevin M. Quinley, CPCU, ARM, senior vice president, risk services, for MEDMARC Insurance Company in Chantilly, VA, wrote this second section.

It is important to note that these topics are dynamic, especially in regard to the state of the insurance market, legislative developments related to federal reinsurance initiatives, and regulatory treatment of terrorism exclusions. However, an effort has been made to present current information that in all likelihood will continue to affect the subject.

Terrorism in America

Recent terrorist events have clearly changed life in America. One challenge of managing the terrorist threat is maintaining a constant awareness that future terrorist losses may look significantly different from those of September 11. They could arise from nuclear, chemical, or biological agents, or they could involve cyber crime. They may incorporate conventional or unconventional weaponry.

But fortune still favors the prepared. Despite multibillion-dollar losses, the insurance industry is expected to absorb the September 11th blows and survive. Business owners, risk managers, safety and loss control specialists, facilities managers all continue with the business of assessing, mitigating, responding to, recovering from, and ascertaining the financial impact of what terrorist acts can do. This book offers tools to help in that process.

Chapter 1: The Terrorism Threat

Introduction

The September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, along with the downing of a fourth American flagged airliner ushered in a new paradigm in terrorism. The method of attack; the magnitude of death, injury, and destruction; and the perceived threat to the American population were inconceivable to most. Weeks later, a series of anthrax-laden letters were posted to government officials and the news media, causing additional deaths and illnesses and exacerbating the fear that Americans are at risk at home and in the office. Less publicized, a serious computer worm—Nimbda—infected many computer networks and forced the shutdown of essential connectivity while systems were cleansed.

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Years ago, terrorists targeted United States interests abroad. Aircraft were skyjacked; embassies, military installations, or vessels were bombed; and government and military officials were abducted or assassinated. Today, terrorists have shown they will attack American interests on American soil on multiple fronts and in ways inconceivable a short time ago. The impact of terrorist attacks has reached new levels—and could escalate further—if terrorists further employ weapons of mass destruction.

What is Terrorism?

The U.S. Code of Federal Regulations defines terrorism as …the unlawful use of force and violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.¹ The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) further describes terrorism as either domestic or international, depending upon the origin, base, and objectives of the terrorists.

The FBI recorded 327 incidents or suspected incidents of terrorism in the United States between 1980 and 1999². Of these, 239 were attributed to domestic terrorists and 88, to international terrorists. These incidents resulted in the deaths of 205 persons and more than 2,037 injuries. Since 1968, more than 14,000 terrorist attacks have taken place worldwide, resulting in more than 10,000 deaths.³

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Domestic Terrorists

The domestic, or homegrown, terrorism threat includes right-wing, left-wing, and special interest orientations with causes related to American political and social concerns. Right-wing terrorists often embrace principles of racial supremacy or adhere to conspiracy-oriented philosophies; they often are anti-government and anti-religion.⁶ Left-wing terrorists follow a revolutionary socialist doctrine against capitalism and imperialism. Special interest terrorist groups seek to influence people on specific issues rather than widespread political change. These issues include animal rights, pro-life or anti-abortion, the environment, and nuclear. For example, the Earth Liberation Front (ELF) claimed responsibility for the arson attack on a ski resort in Vail, Colorado, that caused $12 million in damage.

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Left-wing causes were predominant in the 1960s to 1980s, anti-government right-wing groups perpetrated many acts in the 1990s and special interest groups and international terrorists are the threat in the early years of the new millennium.

Law enforcement authorities often classify individual acts of terrorist groups as hate crimes, not terrorism, when they are perpetrated against individuals or small groups. Although not classified as terrorism, bombings, vandalism, arson, and other acts can cause significant damage to individual businesses and threaten the health and safety of employees, customers, and visitors.

International Terrorists

The FBI divides the international terrorist threat into three categories: state sponsors of international terrorism, formal terrorist organizations, and loosely affiliated extremists and rogue international terrorists. Many terrorist organizations are autonomous and transnational with their own infrastructure, training facilities, and financial support network. These groups have been known to include the Irish Republican Army, Palestinian HAMAS, The Egyptian Al-Gama al-Islamiyya (IG), Lebanese Hizballah, and the terrorist network of Shaykh Omar Abdel Rahman and Osama Bin Laden’s al Qaida.

The FBI reports that Hizballah has carried out numerous attacks on American interests around the world, but not in the United States. Shaykh Omar Abdel Rahman was convicted of conspiracy in a plot to bomb several buildings in New York City and the Holland and Lincoln tunnels. The terrorist network of Osama Bin Laden has been named in the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.

Trends in Terrorism

In its 1999 report on terrorism, the FBI stated that the trend in terrorism is toward fewer but more destructive attacks. Contrary to the overall trend toward fewer attacks, cases involving the use, or threatened use, of weapons of mass destruction (nuclear weapons and biological or chemical agents) investigated by the FBI have shown a steady increase since 1995. Most were hoaxes perpetrated against office buildings, schools, federal government facilities, courthouses, and women’s reproductive health centers.

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The sarin gas attack in the Tokyo subway system in 1995 that killed twelve and injured hundreds ushered in a new era of chemical weapons of mass destruction (WMD). Members of the Aum Shinrikyo cult poured liquid sarin on the floors of subway cars and allowed it to evaporate. Several years later, anthrax, a bacterial agent that naturally exists in the soil and in some animals, was spread via the U. S. Postal system. This terrorist action claimed multiple lives and impacted mail service in many communities and the U.S. government during Fall 2001. Butyric acid was used to terrorize women’s clinics in multiple Florida cities, New Orleans, and Houston in 1998. The Army of God claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Terrorists can be individuals like Theodore Kaczynski who acted alone for seventeen years or part of an international organization. Some are well funded—the Aum Shinrikyo cult in Japan reportedly had assets of one billion dollars—and some operate with little means.

Extremists such as Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols (convicted in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing) and Eric Robert Rudolph (charged in the 1996 Centennial Olympic Park bombing) have shown that small groups with limited means can perpetrate destructive acts.

More formalized terrorist organizations with cells or ad hoc groups that form to achieve a specific objective are difficult to identify, infiltrate, and neutralize. Osama Bin Laden’s network and those of Ramzi Yousef (the reported mastermind of the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center also connected to a 1995 plot to bomb U. S. flagged air carriers transiting the Far East) have proven they are capable of perpetrating catastrophic attacks.

Animal rights and environmental extremists were active in the late 1990s with acts of vandalism, destruction of property and other criminal acts. Anti-abortion groups have attacked women’s clinics and abortion doctors.

Terrorism has become a means to an end rather than just a means to publicize a cause.

Terrorist Threats

There are many potential terrorist threats—many are well known and have been committed for decades, if not centuries.