Deck 10: Tools of the Trade: Tactics and Targets of Terrorists

Question 1

Biological agents include all of the following, except

A) Ebola.
B) anthrax.
C) smallpox.
D) phosgene.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

In the United States, real-time consequences of a mass-casualty chemical or biological attack

A) have been experienced on many occasions.
B) are occasionally experienced.
C) have never been experienced.
D) are expected to occur at any moment.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

The concept of a "martyr nation" as a doctrine for engagement is an example of which of the following?

A) total war
B) asymmetrical warfare
C) the just war
D) none of these

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Weapons of mass destruction include which of the following?

A) rocket-propelled grenades
B) sarin
C) precision-guided munitions
D) Semtex

Question 5

Typical terrorist objectives include all of the following, except:

A) publicizing the cause.
B) changing the existing order.
C) building alliances with leaders.
D) creating a revolutionary environment.

Question 6

Which of the following observations is most accurate concerning asymmetrical warfare?

A) It utilizes principles of conventional conflict.
B) There is no True definition of this type of warfare.
C) It utilizes unexpected, unpredictable, and unconventional methods of political violence.
D) Terrorists try to utilize other methods of political violence.

Question 7

The Engineer

A) was a proficient bomb-maker for Hamas.
B) was killed when his cell phone exploded.
C) successfully thwarted airport security measures.
D) both "was a proficient bomb-maker for Hamas" and "was killed when his cell phone exploded."

Question 8

Terrorists have been known to "declare victory" using which of the following criteria?

A) acquiring global media and political attention
B) provoking the state to overreact
C) disrupting normal routines of a society
D) all of these

Question 9

Which of the following statements most accurately describes the use of the Internet and social networking media by extremists?

A) Terrorists rarely access the Internet because of possible surveillance by intelligence agencies.
B) Tweeting, texting, and other media platforms are used to record and tout claimed successes.
C) There exists a rudimentary and unsophisticated use of these technologies by extremists.
D) These technologies are irrelevant to terrorist operations.

Question 10

Threats to cybersecurity include which of the following?

A) cyber disruption
B) cyber sabotage
C) hacktivism
D) both "cyber disruption" and "cyber sabotage"

Question 11

Which of the following objectives have been suggested to explain modern terrorists' use of high-yield weapons to maximize casualties?

A) such tactics please God
B) such tactics attract attention
C) such tactics influence enemies
D) all of these

Question 12

Symbolic targets include

A) passenger carriers.
B) embassies.
C) famous people.
D) all of these.

Question 13

Threats to cybersecurity include which of the following?

A) cyberterrorism
B) cyberattack
C) cyber sabotage
D) both "cyberterrorism" and "cyberattack"

Question 14

The netwar theory is an important concept in the new terrorist environment because it refers to which of the following?

A) new and evolving modes of cyber warfare
B) addressing the threat of unprecedented levels of cyberterrorism
C) a new mode of conflict using network forms of organization and related strategies and technologies attuned to the information age
D) both "new and evolving modes of cyber warfare" and "addressing the threat of unprecedented levels of cyberterrorism"

Question 15

Which of the following statements is most accurate regarding the use of new technologies by extremists in the era of the New Terrorism?

A) The Internet, e-mail, and social networking media are rarely used by extremists interested in the terrorist trade.
B) The Internet, e-mail, and social networking media are used to send instructions about overall goals, specific tactics, new bomb-making techniques, and other facets of the terrorist trade.
C) The Internet, e-mail, and social networking media are easily "hacked" by counterterrorist agencies.
D) There is little evidence that the Internet, e-mail, and social networking media are used by extremists.

Question 16

Common explosives include all of the following, except

A) Composite-4.
B) ANFO.
C) Anthrax.
D) Semtex.

Question 17

Verified cyberattacks

A) are very uncommon and relatively ineffective.
B) began to occur very recently and have been adequately managed.
C) are rarely reported for security reasons.
D) began to occur in the late 1990s and have become more destructive over time.

Question 18

The King David Hotel bombing arguably led to events that

A) ended British occupation of Palestine.
B) ended Spain's involvement in the Iraq war.
C) ended the U.S. peacekeeping mission in Lebanon.
D) none of these.

Question 19

Conventional weapons include which of the following?

A) submachine guns
B) mustard gas
C) radiological weapons
D) biological agents

Question 20

Terrorist threat scenarios posit that terrorists

A) can easily obtain chemical and biological agents.
B) can easily manufacture chemical and biological agents.
C) can feasibly obtain chemical and biological agents.
D) have already constructed many chemical and biological weapons.

Question 21

What is the purpose of "signature methods?"

Question 22

In your opinion, what is the most likely threat scenario for the use of biological weapons?

Question 23

The purpose of a dirty bomb is to poison water supplies.

Question 24

Discuss the threat from asymmetrical warfare.

Question 25

Discuss how lone-wolf extremists could plausibly obtain explosive compounds.

Question 26

Asymmetrical warfare involves predictable methods of engagement.

Question 27

A Molotov cocktail is a toxic poison.

Question 28

Mustard gas is a blistering agent which has been historically produced in large quantities.

Question 29

In what way is "armed propaganda" a weapon?

Question 30

In your opinion, what is the most likely threat scenario for the use of nuclear weapons?

Question 31

The threat from weapons of mass destruction is that they are easily obtained.

Question 32

In your opinion, what is the most likely threat scenario for the use of radiological weapons?

Question 33

How can the effectiveness of a terrorist incident be measured?

Question 34

Semtex is a type of plastic explosive.

Question 35

In your opinion, what is the most likely threat scenario for the use of chemical weapons?

Question 36

The Internet has yet to become an effective mode of communication between terrorists.

Question 37

The King David Hotel bombing was an ineffective attack by Islamist extremists against tourists.

Question 38

Briefly describe netwar. What is the threat from netwar?

Question 39

Composite-4 was a terrorist organization in the United Kingdom.

Question 40

Accurate knowledge about the construction of bombs is difficult to obtain.

Question 41

The gun and the bomb are traditional terrorist weapons that still predominate in the arsenals of violent extremists. How have these weapons been wielded in the era of the New Terrorism? Explain how the threat from these traditional weapons has evolved in the modern era.

Question 42

What is "armed propaganda?" How is it used by terrorists? Why is it used by terrorists? What is the role of symbolism? Explain your answers.

Question 43

Discuss the effectiveness of terrorism within the contexts of the King David Hotel bombing and the bombing of the Marine and French paratrooper barracks in Beirut. Compare and contrast these incidents. What lessons can be learned from the perspective of terrorists? What lessons can be learned from the perspective of their targeted interests?

Question 44

Why do terrorists seek to provoke their adversaries into overreacting, especially when such adversaries are often vastly more powerful than themselves? Discuss the logic of this objective from the perspective of violent extremists.

Question 45

Discuss the threat from suicide attacks. In your opinion, why did suicide attacks become a common tactic in some conflicts? What impact has the concept of martyrdom had on such attacks?

Question 46

Discuss the feasibility of obtaining weapons of mass destruction by terrorists. Which weapons are more easily obtained? Which weapons are less easily obtained? How would they be obtained in the first place? Explain your answer.

Question 47

What is the threat from cyberterrorism? How can nations defend themselves?

Question 48

In your opinion, what lessons were drawn by insurgents from successful bomb attacks and other incidents against the United States in places like Beirut and Mogadishu?

Question 49

Explain the symbolic selection of targets by terrorists. Describe symbols which are most favored by terrorists.

Question 50

In your opinion, what are the likely implications of the availability of information on the Internet from the perspective of extremists?