Historical Dictionary of Terrorism Third Edition

714 • BIBLIOGRAPHYVictims of Terrorism 792Terrorist Profiles 794Selected Internet Resources 794Government Websites 794Nongovernment Websites 795INTRODUCTIONThe current bibliography differs from that of the second edition in threemajor respects. First, the topic of weapons of mass destruction, whichhas been acquiring even more urgency since the discovery followingthe World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks of September 11, 2001,that al Qa’eda and other terrorist groups have been seeking to acquirebiological and radiological materials for carrying out even more devastatingmass casualty attacks, now has an entire section within thebibliography separate from that of “Conventional and NonconventionalOperations.” Second, the use of the Internet, both by terrorists as a toolof recruitment, propaganda, fund-raising, and even carrying out attacks,and by counterterrorism scholars, policy makers, and police and nationalsecurity agencies as a means of research and countermeasures, also hasmerited the creation of another separate section within the bibliography,“Cyberterrorism and Networks.” Third, the increased involvement ofthe U.S. government, particularly its legislative and executive branches,in seeking to understand how to counter the terrorist threat has led to anexpansion of the section “Selected U.S. Government Documents.”With regard to the subject of weapons of mass destruction, it shouldalways be noted that although the liberal democracies seem particularlyvulnerable to such weapons, which indeed have a catastrophic potential,the actual probability of their use remains very low. Most terroristgroups will continue to use the more tried and proven—and lesscostly—means of bombs and bullets. The increased use of the Internetby the general public has created a proliferation of public and privateinformation resources dealing with terrorism, but it has also, as notedin the introduction, created both new venues and means for terrorist andinsurgent groups to engage in propaganda, fund-raising, mobilization,and netwar actions. The new section on cyberterrorism contains referencesto the fundamental and cutting-edge research on the subject ofnetworks, including their proliferation and various means to counteract