Will the United States Eventually Be Held Hostage by Its Own High TechnologyConventional Weapons. The Effect of Technology Transfer on International Terrorism

摘要

This thesis reveals a disturbing transformation. International terrorists'present unsophisticated arsenals are slowly evolving into high-technology conventional weaponry. Alarmingly, an increasing portion results from U.S. and Western technology because of technology transfer. With the abating trend of terrorist attacks predicted to continue, the thesis discerns this does not suggest a decline in terrorism. On the contrary, through product and process technology transfers, the number of organizations that possess the technological capabilities to produce advanced Western weapons has skyrocketed in the last decade. Therefore, though attacks continue to decrease, terrorists' carnage will likely increase due to the technologies they acquire. With the global diffusion of technologies, countries are relying less on U.S. markets. This thesis acknowledges it is virtually impossible to restrict U.S. exports to industrial countries without severely restricting American competition. However, 'strong fences' must be built around 'small areas' to thwart the terrorist acquisition of U.S. and Western private arms suppliers. Keywords: Theses, Terrorism, Technology transfer, Exports. (rwj)