Modern-day political terrorists aim for maximum effect. To accomplish that, they try to kill as many innocents as possible in a crowded place or take hostages. This receives broad media coverage. Violence is getting more and more intense. Today, it allows even small groups with meager resources at their disposal to challenge world powers and change the life of the world. What we are witnessing today is a mixture of confrontations between codes of ethics and faiths, between conservatism and liberalism, and between traditionalism and modernism.
A noticeable "progress" has been achieved in both scale and methods of terrorism which is manifested in the destruction of high-rise residential buildings with people inside and the use of sophisticated gear and means of transportation driven by shahids – automobiles and aircraft stuffed with high explosives. It cannot be ruled out that major engineering structures, such as bridges, tunnels, dams, power plants, water supply systems, etc., are next on their list of targets. Also, terrorists might seek to disrupt operation of major life-support systems or even to use weapons of mass destruction. It is known for certain that such preparations are under way, the question is how effectively will we manage to hold them back. Suicide bombers are brought up with a mentality permitting suicide and mass murder; therefore, extrapolating from this, we can presume that groups of people may appear one day who will be ready to eliminate not only big cities, but the whole world.
At the same time, the problem of science-intensive terrorism is becoming quite pressing. This concerns the use of the latest achievements and discoveries for destruction. On the present level of civilization's development the increasing numbers of people concentrate in megapolises which means they are getting extremely vulnerable to weapons of mass destruction. Modern weapons may weigh as little as several dozen kilos and be capable of killing millions of people – a ghastly paradox of our time. After all, mankind was unaware of such only 50 years ago. Large passenger ocean liners, tankers and other vessels are quite vulnerable too. The modern trend of making larger and larger transportation vehicles, dwellings and commercial accommodations (such as the New York WTC) works to increase vulnerability to terrorist attacks. In case of emergency, evacuation of people from megapolises will become a problem. It may take dozens, even hundreds of hours (taking into account that people would panic and stampede) to have all people moved away to a safer place. Perhaps, it will be quicker for them to go on foot.
Attacker is usually at the advantage as he can choose weapons, location and the most convenient (for him) time. On the contrary, those on the defense must be ready always, everywhere and for any type of weapon. It is easy to see that their task requires much more means and efforts and is not always workable.
