America and the new terrorism

The 1990s saw the emergence of a new, religiously motivated terrorism that neither relies on the support of sovereign states nor is constrained by limits on violence. Its harbingers include the 1993 World Trade Center bombing in New York; the 1995 sarin-g as attack in the Tokyo subway; the 1996 bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building; and the 1998 East Africa bombings. In their effort to inflict damage on a grand scale, some practitioners of the new terrorism seek to acquire weapons of mass destruction. Although no single individual bears responsibility, the face of the new terrorism belongs to Osama bin Laden, the exiled Saudi who has marshalled a network of operatives in more than 50 countries. Officials in Washington believe that religiously motivated terrorism will persist for many years, forcing the US and other countries to develop better means of defence.