Terrorists and Technology

Hezbollah, one of the Middle East’s most notorious terrorist groups, successfully launched an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in November last year. This fact is surprising but not overly alarming; the flight path of the UAV, however, was not surprising but extremely alarming.

Within minutes of its take-off in Lebanon, the UAV flew undetected into Israeli air space; even soaring over the northern Israeli town of Nahariya. After flying undetected for about 30 minutes, the UAV safely landed close to the shore on the Lebanese side of the Mediterranean Sea.

The next day, Hezbollah was quick to trumpet its achievement, and released a 20-minute video containing footage taken from the UAV’s flight. It also claimed that the aircraft could penetrate silently and “deeply” into Israel’s borders.

The Atlantic Monthlyhighlighted further details of Hezbollah’s UAVs: “[T]he aircraft[s] can carry a payload of up to 88 pounds, making it an attractive option for launching a covert attack with chemical or biological weapons” (March 2005). 9/11 and this example clearly prove that many terrorist groups have a variety of options besides strapping explosives to the sweaty chest of a suicide bomber when it comes to attacking their targets.

Today’s well-financed terrorist groups are gaining access to some of the most advanced technology around. It is believed that Hezbollah has not one, but eight of these UAVs. Not surprisingly, Israeli intelligence believes that the UAVs were graciously donated to Hezbollah by none other than Iran—the head of the terrorist snake.

The fact that Hezbollah has a number of unmanned aircraft vehicles that could potentially drop chemical, biological or nuclear weapons is frightening—particularly if you live in Israel. More than that, Hezbollah’s UAVs disprove the perception that terrorist organizations are mostly backwood groups that tramp around the desert, moving from cave to cave, fighting battles with broken bottles and primitive explosives.

The military arsenal at the disposal of many terrorist organizations clearly goes much deeper than this. Thanks to nations like Iran, many terrorists have access to some the most advanced and dangerous technology available to man. Hezbollah has unmanned aircraft vehicles that it can fly undetected deep into Israel’s borders. Reports indicate that al Qaeda might already possess a nuclear weapon.

How frightening that these dangerous technologies are making it into the hands of some of the world’s most dangerous and volatile men. Many commentators and government officials say it is only a matter of time before Israel and the United States are attacked by terrorists using these technologies.

This need not occur. There is one way that terrorism could be eradicated from the world scene. It is spelled out in our booklet titled The King of the South.