April 25,
2002
Dr. Charles P. Neimeyer,
Dean of Academics, Naval War College
Dr. Charles P. Neimeyer, Dean of
Academics, Naval War College offered to our Executive
Lecture Forum members, and guests an outstanding
updated analysis on the United States role in Homeland
Defense and the Terror War. In his opening remarks he
explained that the use of extreme violence against
large numbers of civilians will be the major problem
the United States will have to contend against.
He predicted that given the propensity of terror
organizations to seek to cause mass casualties, that
such groups will undoubtedly devolve toward acquiring
weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
Dr. Neimeyer focused on three likely sorts of weapons
that terrorists might seek to
obtain: nuclear, chemical, and biological. While
nuclear weapons were the most
frightening possibility and would cause the greatest
number of casualties in the shortest
period of time, he believed that of the three types of
WMD weapons, this scenario
would be the least likely to be used against the U.S.
In his opinion terrorists could achieve this effect
with chemical or biological weapons, which were much
easier to hide and obtain than nuclear material. That
is not to say that a weapon of some nuclear sort, like
a conventional bomb with radioactive material, will
not be used to contaminate some target in the future.
Nonetheless, he believed that terrorists will use what
is easiest to obtain, and they envision these terror.
So what is to be done about the strategic problem of
terrorism, our speaker asked underlined that we must
eliminate the underlying causes of terrorism by using:
a\ military counterattacks on terrorism; b\imposing a
globally effective rule of law; c\strengthening
and expending international cooperation. The
combination of all three would be the most effective
strategy fighting terrorism on a global scale,
concluded Dr. Neimayer he well received briefing.
