Terrorists Try New Tactics

Reports in 2010 indicated that al-Qaeda operatives had been given the go-ahead to launch attacks similar to the Mumbai spree -- young men with backpacks, arms, and multiple targets that they hit simultaneously -- in Europe; targets are believed to include airports and tourist attractions in England, France and Germany. But terrorism experts and security officials are sounding the alarm about smaller-scale terrorism using domesticated operatives who would raise less alarm. These "low-threshold" attacks would be less lethal, but more numerous and harder to prevent. Or, as CBS reported at the end of 2010, a method not yet used before, such as poisoning salad bars with ricin and cyanide.