The Committee on Science and Technology for
Countering Terrorism of the National Research Council report has been
published under the title of Making the Nation Safer: The
Role of Science and Technology in
Countering Terrorism by
the National Academies Press in 2002 (440
pages)
Since the attack on the World Trade Center in
New York City, the United States federal government has
begun detailed examination of transportation routes,
information
systems, power production, and food and water
supplies. This text looks at other areas in which the United
States may be exposed to attack by groups of terrorists.
Airliners as a weapon had been suggested by agencies before
the September 11 attack, but this type of attack was not
considered a probability. This work covers other types of
modern risks including, explosion of dirty bombs that
involve nuclear and radiation, transportation system
sabotage including railroads, highways and air attack,
destruction of energy systems and networks, use of toxic
chemicals, and attack on infrastructure including tunnels
and major buildings. The report also examines in depth
attack on information and communication systems including
the Internet, identification theft, credit fraud and cyber
attack on authentication and data management
systems.
The book is divided into types of threats
and lists a comprehensive guide to carry out recommendations
listed under each threat. Solutions and precautions include
using colleges and universities, industry, and state and
local governments to carry out each step in countering
terrorism. While much of the material in the text has been
reported in the popular press, the details and the suggested
options for protection have not been examined in this detail
before.
The report is designed for specialists, but
the level of writing is easily accessible for the lay
reader. The committee participants include professors at
Harvard University, Princeton University, Stanford
University, Sackler Foundation at the Rockefeller
University, University of California, Berkeley, Corporate
officers and consultants include: Lucent Technologies,
Parsons, Brinckerhooff, Quade and Douglas, Inc., McGeary and
Smith, Shea and Gardner, PB-Consult, Marsh Crisis
Consulting, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Government representatives from the Council on Foreign
Relations were also involved in the study.