Chapter Overview

        The tragic events of September 11, 2001, were clearly the most horrendous and devastating terrorist acts ever to occur on U.S. soil. Few people would argue that 9/11 forever changed the lives of all Americans not only in terms of coping with the loss experienced on that day but also in terms of living with the possibility of future terrorist threats.

        This chapter discusses various aspects of terrorism and their relation to the work of a criminal investigator the chapter opens with an overview of international terrorism and the international groups that have committed terrorist acts against and/or pose threats to the United States and its allies. Such acts of terrorism are not a recent phenomenon. While these significant terrorist events listed in this chapter occurred within the last few decades, they are only part of a long-standing pattern of worldwide violence. The chapter then turns to an examination of domestic terrorism and its perpetrators, including right-wing and left-wing terrorists and special-interest groups. The most publicized events of the past decade, such as the Branch Davidian incident in Waco, Texas, and the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, are associated with right-wing terrorism. The next section addresses threat assessment, with a focus on the Al-Qaeda group and its potential for future terrorist acts against the United States. This is followed by a discussion of several U.S. national structures charged with the task of gathering information on terrorism, terrorism prevention and investigation and counterterrorism.

        While federal agencies are clearly important to assessing the threat of future terrorist acts, the role of criminal investigators at both the state and the local law enforcement levels should not be underestimated. The remainder of the chapter outlines the ways that criminal investigators can assist in the fight against terrorism. Confronting terrorism is not an occasional or seasonal venture; it is an ongoing responsibility. Now, more than ever, criminal investigators must be prepared to encounter and handle terrorist-incident crime scenes.