<DC=255,255,255>
<P><B>Terrorism -- Threat Profiling</B>
<P>
<P>Symbolic attacks -- the Statue of Liberty bombing, the desecration of the Soviet War Memorial in Berlin, the department-store shooting-sprees on Orchard Road in Singapore -- are the recourse of the weak.  They serve only to call attention to a group or cause that is of no more than marginal interest to the public.
<P>
<P>But what distinguishes true terrorist activity is its gradual escalation towards genuine acts of war.  Fringe groups now have access to technology that allows direct assaults on governments, including the classic trio of nuclear, biological, or chemical weaponry (NBC).  But aside from direct assaults on a nation and its people, indirect attacks can cause considerable collateral damage -- rogue software can disrupt financial markets, communications, and military operations, while encryption programs allow terrorists to coordinate smuggling operations in secret right over the Net!  Drugs, guns, illegal immigrants, and even heavy equipment such as armored vehicles and cruise missiles are routinely traded across borders, aided and abetted by such software.
<P>
<P>UNATCO -- the first organization with the technology, manpower, and authority to cope with such threats -- is an idea that is long overdue.
<P>
<P>-- Joseph Manderley, Director, UNATCO