Research and Development Needs in Field Response to Terrorism

Modern liberal democracies need to develop innovative methods and equipment to deal with the new terrorism-driven urban warfare. The spectrum of response to the demand for better civil protection ranges from an increased military build up, to emphasis on research and development (R&D) in adapting off-the-shelf technology available from the military sector to reduce the vulnerability to terrorist attack. In the past such R&D was driven by market forces, but in the war against terror the safety of the citizens cannot rely on marketing or exaggeration of product capabilities. In the era of cross-border terrorism there must be a prioritized list of needed advances agreed upon by the NATO member states to ensure that scarce R&D funds are spent to achieve the greatest amount of improved protection possible.