The White House on Monday released what it says is the first comprehensive strategy for countering weapons of mass destruction (WMD) by terrorists, putting the focus on deterrence, detection and disruption.
In a preface to the National Strategy for Countering WMD Terrorism, President Trump says the strategy has three main elements.
“First, the United States will lead global efforts to close off terrorists’ access to WMD and related materials,” Trump writes. “Second, the United States will apply consistent pressure against terrorist groups that seek to obtain and use these weapons, including by targeting terrorist WMD specialists and facilitators. Third, as an insurance policy, the United States will strengthen its defenses against WMD at home and abroad.”
The 22-page strategy outlines eight lines of effort to guide policy and operations. One line, “Detect and Defeat Terrorist WMD Plots,” requires “intelligence collection, data sharing and analytics, technical detection, law enforcement, and other interdiction capabilities,” the strategy says. It adds that data analytics will be applied to “travel, passenger and biometric databases to track the movement of individuals associated with WMD networks.”
Strengthening U.S. defenses against WMD threats another line of effort, and acknowledges various efforts and programs to create a defense-in-depth approach to detecting and countering the smuggling of radiological materials into, and within, the country. The strategy says the U.S. will strengthen its resiliency efforts so that it can better respond to WMD attacks to limit casualties.
Given that WMD threats will evolve, the strategy calls out the need to “Avoid Technical Surprise” as a line of effort.
“Above all, we will be mindful of the great paradox of the modern age—that the technological advances that make our lives ever more safe and comfortable can often be twisted for malevolent purposes,” it says.
Another line of effort targets the “limited cadre technical specialists and administrators” within terrorist organizations that are able to develop WMDs.
The strategy also calls for going beyond working with a small number of traditional foreign partners given that a nuclear terrorism event would shock global politics and the economy.
“In addition to supporting the security of sensitive facilities, we will make available equipment, training, and related assistance as appropriate to create a sustainable global defense against this threat,” the document says.