Al-Qaida's Quest for Weapons of Mass Destruction

Ever since the late 1990s, it has been claimed that
the threat of chemical, biological, radiological and
nuclear (CBRN) terrorism from al-Qaida is real and
growing. Yet, few academic studies have been focused
towards analyzing al-Qaida s actual interest in
developing a CBRN capability. This book
seeks to investigate al-Qaida s interest in CBRN
weapons, as reflected by statements and activities
on various levels within the network between 1996-

2007. The study considers a variety of primary
      sources, ranging from the writings of well-known
      strategists to chemical formulations
      posed on al-Qaida-affiliated web pages. The study
      concludes that al-Qaida s interest in using non-
      conventional means to achieve their goals appears
      lower than commonly anticipated. The book then
      goes on to discuss why there is an apparent lack of
      CBRN-related innovation within the network, drawing
      from previous studies on CBRN terrorism and
      innovation in militant organizations. This book is
      aimed at anyone with an interest in the topics of
      CBRN terrorism or militant islamism, and might be of
      particular interest to professionals within the
      counter-terrorism community.

Autorentext
Anne Stenersen, M.Phil: Studied Arabic at the University of Oslo and has conducted research on terrorism and militant Islamism since 2006. Research fellow at the Terrorism and Political Violence Project at the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI).

Klappentext
Ever since the late 1990s, it has been claimed that the threat of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) terrorism from al-Qaida is real and growing. Yet, few academic studies have been focused towards analyzing al-Qaida's actual interest in developing a CBRN capability. This book seeks to investigate al-Qaida's interest in CBRN weapons, as reflected by statements and activities on various levels within the network between 1996- 2007. The study considers a variety of primary sources, ranging from the writings of well-known strategists to chemical formulations posed on al-Qaida-affiliated web pages. The study concludes that al-Qaida's interest in using non- conventional means to achieve their goals appears lower than commonly anticipated. The book then goes on to discuss why there is an apparent lack of CBRN-related innovation within the network, drawing from previous studies on CBRN terrorism and innovation in militant organizations. This book is aimed at anyone with an interest in the topics of CBRN terrorism or militant islamism, and might be of particular interest to professionals within the counter-terrorism community.