Terrorist Attacks in Western Europe: A Counter-Terrorism Medicine Analysis

2022 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Derrick Tin ◽  
Dennis G. Barten ◽  
Harald De Cauwer ◽  
Luc JM Mortelmans ◽  
Gregory R. Ciottone
Keyword(s):  
French Revolution ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Disaster Medicine ◽  
Database Search ◽  
Terrorist Attacks ◽  
Modern Concept ◽  
Mass Casualties ◽  
Global Trends ◽  
Counter Terrorism ◽  
Reign Of Terror

Abstract Background: The modern concept of terrorism has its roots in the “old continent” of Western Europe, more specifically in France, during the “Reign of Terror” period of the French Revolution. At the time, this form of state terror had a positive connotation: it was a legitimate means of defending the young state. While no single accepted definition of terrorism exists today, it is universally considered an attack on both state and society. The health care impacts of terrorist attacks often extend disproportionally beyond the casualty toll, but the potential for such events to induce mass casualties remains a concern to Disaster Medicine and Counter-Terrorism Medicine (CTM) specialists. Method: Data collection was performed using a retrospective database search through the Global Terrorism Database (GTD). The GTD was searched using the internal database search functions for all events which occurred in Western Europe from January 1, 1970 - December 31, 2019. Years 2020 and 2021 were not yet available at the time of the study. Primary weapon type, country where the incident occurred, and number of deaths and injured were collated. Results were exported into an Excel spreadsheet (Microsoft Corp.; Redmond, Washington USA) for analysis. Results: A total of 15,306 events were recorded in Western Europe out of a total of 201,183 events world-wide between the years 1970 and 2019 inclusive. This resulted in a total of 5,548 deaths and 17,187 injuries. Explosives were used as a primary weapon/attack modality in 8,103 attacks, followed by incendiary attacks in 3,050 events and firearm use in 2,955 events. The use of chemical, biological, radiation, and nuclear (CBRN) weapons was rare and only accounted for 47 events. Conclusion: From 1970 through 2019, 9.11% of all terrorist attacks occurred in Western Europe. Compared to global trends of attack methodologies in the same study period, the use of explosives as a primary attack modality in Western Europe was similar (52.94% in Western Europe versus 48.78% Global). Firearm use was comparatively low (19.31% versus 26.77%) and the use of CBRN as an attack modality was rare (0.30% versus 0.20%). The United Kingdom, Spain, and France accounted for over 65% of all terrorist attacks and over 75% of terrorism-related deaths in Western Europe.

Terrorism-Related Chemical, Biological, Radiation, and Nuclear Attacks: A Historical Global Comparison Influencing the Emergence of Counter-Terrorism Medicine

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-4
Author(s):  
Derrick Tin ◽  
Fredrik Granholm ◽  
Alexander Hart ◽  
Gregory R. Ciottone
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Grey Literature ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Disaster Medicine ◽  
Terrorist Attacks ◽  
Fecal Matter ◽  
Counter Terrorism ◽  
Global Comparison ◽  
State Terrorism ◽  
Fatal Injuries

Abstract Background: Terrorist attacks are growing in complexity, increasing concerns around the use of chemical, biological, radiation, and nuclear (CBRN) agents. This has led to increasing interest in Counter-Terrorism Medicine (CTM) as a Disaster Medicine (DM) sub-specialty. This study aims to provide the epidemiology of CBRN use in terrorism, to detail specific agents used, and to develop training programs for responders. Methods: The open-source Global Terrorism Database (GTD) was searched for all CBRN attacks from January 1, 1970 through December 31, 2018. Attacks were included if they fulfilled the terrorism-related criteria as set by the GTD’s Codebook. Ambiguous events or those meeting only partial criteria were excluded. The database does not include acts of state terrorism. Results: There were 390 total CBRN incidents, causing 930 total fatal injuries (FI) and 14,167 total non-fatal injuries (NFI). A total of 347 chemical attacks (88.9% of total) caused 921 FI (99.0%) and 13,361 NFI (94.3%). Thirty-one biological attacks (8.0%) caused nine FI (1.0%) and 806 NFI (5.7%). Twelve radiation attacks (3.1%) caused zero FI and zero NFI. There were no nuclear attacks. The use of CBRN accounted for less than 0.3% of all terrorist attacks and is a high-risk, low-frequency attack methodology. The Taliban was implicated in 40 of the 347 chemical events, utilizing a mixture of agents including unconfirmed chemical gases (grey literature suggests white phosphorous and chlorine), contaminating water sources with pesticides, and the use of corrosive acid. The Sarin gas attack in Tokyo contributed to 5,500 NFI. Biological attacks accounted for 8.0% of CBRN attacks. Anthrax was used or suspected in 20 of the 31 events, followed by salmonella (5), ricin (3), fecal matter (1), botulinum toxin (1), and HIV (1). Radiation attacks accounted for 3.1% of CBRN attacks. Monazite was used in 10 of the 12 events, followed by iodine 131 (1) and undetermined irradiated plates (1). Conclusion: Currently, CBRN are low-frequency, high-impact attack modalities and remain a concern given the rising rate of terrorist events. Counter-Terrorism Medicine is a developing DM sub-specialty focusing on the mitigation of health care risks from such events. First responders and health care workers should be aware of historic use of CBRN weapons regionally and globally, and should train and prepare to respond appropriately.

scholarly journals Opioid Attack and the Implications for Counter-Terrorism Medicine

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-3
Author(s):  
Derrick Tin ◽  
Zachary Kallenborn ◽  
Alexander Hart ◽  
Attila J. Hertelendy ◽  
Gregory R. Ciottone
Keyword(s):  
The United States ◽  
Disaster Medicine ◽  
Terrorist Attacks ◽  
Chemical Weapons ◽  
Terrorist Organizations ◽  
Counter Terrorism ◽  
Chemical Weapons Convention ◽  
Response Measures ◽  
Potential Use

Abstract While the opioid epidemic engulfing the United States and the globe is well-documented, the potential use of powerful fentanyl derivatives as a weapon of terror is increasingly a concern. Carfentanyl, a powerful and deadly fentanyl derivative, is seeing a surge in popularity as an illegal street drug, and there is increasing congressional interest surrounding the classification of opioid derivatives under the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) given their potential to cause harm. The combination of the potency of opioid derivatives along with the ease of accessibility poses a potential risk of the use of these deadly agents as chemical weapons, particularly by terrorist organizations. Disaster Medicine specialists in recent years have established a sub-specialty in Counter-Terrorism Medicine (CTM) to address and research the unique terrorism-related issues relating to mitigation, preparedness, and response measures to asymmetric, multi-modality terrorist attacks.

scholarly journals Understanding Adaptive Bioterrorism Methods: Counter Terrorism Medicine implications of Bongkrekic Acid Poisoning

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Derrick Tin ◽  
Attila J. Hertelendy ◽  
Fadi Issa ◽  
Gregory R. Ciottone
Keyword(s):  
Disaster Medicine ◽  
Terrorist Attacks ◽  
Counter Terrorism ◽  
Reduce Risk ◽  
Bongkrekic Acid ◽  
Terrorist Events

Terrorist attacks fall under a unique category within the disaster medicine (DM) spectrum. Unlike accidental man-made disasters where there is an inherent pre-disaster objective to reduce risk and mitigate potential hazards, terrorist events have the aim of intentionally inflicting maximum casualties and disrupting the day to day functioning of society.

Deterrence and Democracy

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard A. Falkenrath
Keyword(s):  
War On Terror ◽  
Terrorist Attacks ◽  
Global War On Terror ◽  
Counter Terrorism ◽  
Liberal Democratic ◽  
The Us ◽  
Democratic Societies ◽  
Global War ◽  
Taking Action ◽  
The Given

This chapter examines strategy and deterrence and traces the shift from deterrence by ‘punishment’ to deterrence by ‘denial’ in Washington’s conduct of the Global War on Terror. The former rested on an assumption that the consequences of an action would serve as deterrents. The latter may carry messages of possible consequences, but these are delivered by taking action that removes the capabilities available to opponents – in the given context, the Islamist terrorists challenging the US. Both approaches rest on credibility, but are more complex in the realm of counter-terrorism, where the US authorities have no obvious ‘return to sender’ address and threats to punish have questionable credibility. In this context, denial offers a more realistic way of preventing terrorist attacks. Yet, the advanced means available to the US are deeply ethically problematic in liberal democratic societies. However, there would likely be even bigger questions if governments failed to act.

scholarly journals Terrorism, Trust and Tourism

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 25
Author(s):  
Susanne Jensen ◽  
Gert Tinggaard Svendsen
Keyword(s):  
Competitive Advantage ◽  
Comparative Studies ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Social Trust ◽  
Interesting Case ◽  
Terrorist Attacks ◽  
Future Research ◽  
The World ◽  
Quantitative And Qualitative Methods ◽  
Country People

How does terrorism affect social trust and tourism? The rising number of terrorist attacks in Western Europe has caused safety problems not only for local citizens but also for tourists. In fact, terrorists challenge the formal violence monopoly of the state thus creating a sense of anarchy and distrust. Social trust is about trusting strangers, so when less predictable behaviour occurs in, a given country, people become more careful as they tend to trust most other people less. An interesting case for future research is Scandinavia as the level of terrorism is still low and, at the same time, Scandinavia can record most social trust in the world meaning a competitive advantage when attracting tourists. Arguably, a double dividend is created from fighting terrorism, namely more social trust accumulated and more tourists attracted. Future research should therefore try to further test our model by both quantitative and qualitative methods, for example by undertaking extensive comparative studies between Scandinavia and other countries with more terrorism and less trust.

Provocation and the Strategy of Terrorist and Guerrilla Attacks

2015 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
pp. 133-173 ◽  
Author(s):  
David B. Carter
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Model ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Model Specification ◽  
Terrorist Attacks ◽  
Specification Tests ◽  
State Response ◽  
Target Theory ◽  
Response Groups ◽  
Using Data ◽  
State Responses

AbstractViolent nonstate groups are usually weaker than the states they target. Theory suggests that groups carefully condition their choice of tactics on anticipated state response. Yet scholars know very little about whether and how groups strategically plan attacks in anticipation of state response. Scholars do not know if and under what conditions groups employ violent tactics to provoke or avoid a forceful state response, although extant theory is consistent with both possibilities. Relatedly, there is little systematic evidence about why groups choose terrorist or guerrilla tactics and how this choice relates to anticipated state response. I develop a theoretical and empirical model of the interaction between groups and states that generates unique evidence on all three fronts. Using data on attacks in Western Europe from 1950 to 2004, I show that guerrilla attacks are sometimes associated with provoking forceful state response, whereas terrorist attacks are generally associated with avoiding forceful response. Groups effectively choose their tactics to avoid forceful state responses that are too damaging for themselves but provoke forceful responses that disproportionately harm civilians. These findings survive several robustness and model specification tests.

The Abominables

2019 ◽  
pp. 27-52
Author(s):  
Marco Pinfari
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
French Revolution ◽  
Late Nineteenth Century ◽  
Irish Nationalism ◽  
Late Eighteenth ◽  
Rule Breaking ◽  
Late Nineteenth ◽  
Eighteenth And Nineteenth Centuries ◽  
The Many ◽  
Reign Of Terror

This chapter explores the use of monster metaphors in framing “terrorist” actors since the French Revolution. While acknowledging that these metaphors effectively present the “terrorist” as an abject “other,” it argues that the main purpose of the use of monster imagery in framing “terrorists” is to highlight their unmanageability, which may be instrumental in securing popular backing for specific types of rule-breaking behavior in counterterrorism. It presents these arguments while reviewing examples drawn from the origins of modern terrorism in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. These include the gorgon Medusa, which appears for instance in relation to Robespierre’s “Reign of Terror,” and the many-headed hydra—one of the oldest metaphors for representing unruly behavior that proves unmanageable. It then introduces another type of unmanageable monster that would become particularly popular to frame terrorists—Frankenstein’s monster—and its use in the late nineteenth century to frame Irish nationalism.

scholarly journals Responding to terrorism with peace, love and solidarity: ‘Je suis Charlie’, ‘Peace’ and ‘I Heart MCR’

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 167-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clara Eroukhmanoff
Keyword(s):  
Western Europe ◽  
Positive Emotions ◽  
Gilles Deleuze ◽  
Affective Responses ◽  
Terrorist Attacks ◽  
Francis Bacon ◽  
Iconic Representations ◽  
The Invisible

This article explores the affective responses to terrorist attacks in Western Europe, visually manifested through the memes ‘Je suis Charlie’, ‘Peace’, and ‘I heart MCR’ . By invoking the universal peace and solidarity signs, these responses mobilised an iconic repertoire that framed the responses as peaceful retaliations to terrorist attacks in solidarity with the victims and in that respect, helped to visualise and foster positive emotions in times of crisis. Indeed, the memes were articulated as the antidote (love) that can defy the brutality and hatred of terrorists. This article challenges this view in two ways. First, the article argues that the visual interventions constitute technologies of emotional governance that police subjects about whom to love, to whom solidarity should be extended and when and where those feelings should be displayed. Second, drawing on the work of Gilles Deleuze on Francis Bacon, this article demonstrates that by propagating iconic representations of solidarity, peace and love, ‘meming’ attends to the logic of the sensational and the cliché and thereby falls short of contesting terrorism through sensing peace, love and solidarity. Finally, the article addresses how the violence of sensation can release the invisible forces that can be made productive in celebrating life.

scholarly journals The psychological typhoon eye effect in responses to terrorism

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shu Li ◽  
Jiang-Long Li ◽  
Shu-Wen Yang ◽  
Xiao-Ju Wu ◽  
Jun-Fang Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nationwide Survey ◽  
Terrorist Attacks ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Counter Terrorism

Abstract Terrorist attacks can occur anywhere. As the threat of terrorism develops, the China-Eurasia Expo held in Ürümqi, China is attracting fewer potential visitors. A nationwide survey of 2034 residents from 31 provinces and municipalities in China was conducted to examine the relation between the distance to respondents’ city of residence from Ürümqi and their levels of concern for safety and security concerning the Expo. The two were found to be positively related: the closer the respondents lived to Ürümqi, the less concerned they were with the safety and security of the Expo. This is consistent with the “psychological typhoon eye” effect, which states that people living closer to the center of an unfortunate event (whether natural or man-made hazards) are less concerned with the event’s negative consequences. This effect appears to hold for terrorism. There are implications of this finding for international counter-terrorism practice, tourism, and research.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document