Terrorism and Transnational Organized Crime: Implications of Convergence by Neal A. Pollard, Director, Terrorism Research Center Since the end of the Cold War, the US national security community has been concerned about, among other things, four particular security issues—proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), terrorism, transnational organized crime, and international narcotics trafficking. The past decade has clearly seen profound geopolitical, economic, social, and technological changes. The concern is based on the possibility that, …showed first 75 words of 943 total…

…showed last 75 words of 943 total…the military is concerned with capabilities, which might be a valid focus in the case of countering WMD terrorism. Unfortunately, there is no current national counter-terrorism strategy that balances focus between group and capability, or that recognizes terrorism as a diffuse, adaptable, networked phenomenon that requires a networked response. If funding does indeed drive policy, a start toward such a strategy might be a specific counter-terrorism budget that coordinates respective departments’ current budgets and capabilities.