Maritime Security: Potential Terrorist Attacks and Protection Priorities Page: 5 of 30
30 pView a full description of this report.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
CRS-2
Characterizing Potential Maritime Terrorist Attacks
Maritime terrorism encompasses a wide range of potential attack scenarios.
While individual scenarios have distinct features, for purposes of this report they may
be characterized along five common dimensions: perpetrators, objectives, locations,
targets, and tactics. These dimensions are useful for discussing both historical
instances of maritime terrorism and potential scenarios for future maritime attacks.
Perpetrators
Identifying potential perpetrators is important in evaluating maritime attacks
because perpetrator capabilities vary widely and, therefore, bear on the types of
attacks they might attempt. Disgruntled shipping workers, for example, may exploit
privileged port access to circumvent security safeguards and mount an "insider"
attack on maritime infrastructure. An Al Qaeda cell, on the other hand, may mount
an entirely different type of attack on the same type of infrastructure, exploiting
sophisticated training in terrorist tactics and privileged access to weapons and
explosives, especially overseas. Although many terrorist groups may pose a credible
threat to the United States, not all may pose a maritime threat.
Al Qaeda and its affiliates have been a primary focus of U.S. maritime security
policy given the terror network's hostility to U.S. interests and its record of past
attacks. Al Qaeda or its operatives, for example, appear to have been responsible for
both the Cole and Limburg bombings.5 Likewise the Abu Sayyaf Group, Islamist
separatists based in the Philippines and tied to Al Qaeda, appears to have been behind
the bombing of the Philippine vessel Superferry 14 in 2004.6 Groups or individuals
not necessarily affiliated with Al Qaeda may also attack the United States, however.
It is noteworthy that the only sustained international terrorist campaign in U.S. waters
over the last 40 years was carried out by anti-Castro Cuban groups between 1968 and
1976.7 Independent Islamist terrorist cells may also emerge as Al Qaeda is disrupted
or disaggregated by the U.S. war on terror. According to a State Department review
of Al Qaeda activity in 2005, "what was once a relatively structured network
appeared to be a more diffuse worldwide movement of like-minded individuals and
small groups, sharing grievances and objectives, but not necessarily organized
formally."g Given this evolution among terrorist groups, maritime terrorism
scenarios increasingly require consideration of a broad spectrum of potential
perpetrators.
4 (...continued)
the United States.
s National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism (MIPT). Terrorism Incident
Database. Incident profiles. July 20, 2006. [http://www.tkb.org/Home.jsp].
6 Council on Foreign Relations. "Backgrounder: Abu Sayyaf Group." November 2005.
[http://www.cfr.org/publication/9235/].
7 MIPT. July 20, 2006.
8 U.S. Dept. of State. Country Reports on Terrorism. p. 13. April 28, 2006.
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This report can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Matching Search Results
View eight places within this report that match your search.Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Report.
Parfomak, Paul W. & Frittelli, John. Maritime Security: Potential Terrorist Attacks and Protection Priorities, report, May 14, 2007; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc821733/m1/5/?q=%22transportation%22: accessed May 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.