One of the many things to come out of the attack on the USA in September 2001 was the fact that we as Americans in general did not realize, or recognize, the depth of grave danger to our nation and its citizens that existed. Terrorism experts had been predicting such an event for more than a decade. These individuals were ignored and as a nation, our heads were buried in the sands of false security, denial, complacency and ignorance.

This presentation attempts to define terrorism from our western perspective and takes a serious look at terrorist organizations that threaten the western world. This section addresses the background of al-Quida and other terrorist groups, support and funding of terrorist groups, state sponsors of terrorism and emerging terrorist threats.

In the next section a psychology of terrorism is discussed. The objectives of terrorism today are to:

1) Create a climate of fear as a psychological weapon;

2) Deliver an unmistakable message and receive widespread publicity as a communication weapon;

3) Undermine a society causing chaos, the collapse of law and order, and a loss of confidence in the nation's leadership and the government's ability to protect its citizens;

4) Severely damage the economy of a nation as an economic weapon; and,

5) Affect change in modern military strategies as a new form of warfare.

The attack on America in 2001 was specifically and carefully designed to accomplish these objectives. For the most part, the terrorists succeeded. In addition to the massive destructions of buildings and human life, the event resulted in a tremendous rippling effect throughout both the U.S. and world economies causing billions upon billion of dollars to be lost as stocks plummeted, businesses failed, and jobs were lost. People stopped traveling, shopping, and attending large gatherings or events.

As the U. S. and other countries identify and attempt to locate and arrest suspected al-Qaida terrorists and members of other associated terrorist organizations, an alarming picture of who these people are continues to be assembled. The dedication of these individuals to jihad is chilling, and the depth of their training, planning, and support is amazing. Over 3,000 suspected or known terrorists have been arrested throughout the world since September 2001. That's the good news. The bad news is that over 10,000 terrorists were trained in Afghanistan alone and we do not know the whereabouts of most of these terrorists, nor the whereabouts of thousands of other terrorists trained in other countries. Worse than that, it is estimated that for every suspect arrested, there are nine still at large.

The presentation closes out with terrorist recruitment and selection, induction into the world of terrorism, terrorist training, training manual, homicidal terrorism and homicidal fighters.