In recent years, terrorists have used in increasing numbers
weapons of mass
destruction against civilian populations and non-combatant military
personnel.
Examples of such terrorist activities include: the 1993 bombing of
the World
Trade Center in New York City; the 1995 bombing of the Federal
building in
Oklahoma City; the 1995 attacks against the Tokyo subway system
with poison gas;
and the 1996 bombing of United States military housing in Saudi
Arabia. Over the
past decade, Congress has enacted a number of statutes that provide
criminal
jurisdiction over the use of biological (§ 175), chemical
(§ 2332c),
nuclear (§ 831), and other weapons of mass destruction (§
2332a). All
of these statutes cover the use and threatened use of such weapons
of mass
destruction committed within the United States. In addition, there
is
extraterritorial jurisdiction whenever the perpetrator of the
offense is a
national of the United States, or a United States national,
including property
of the United States Government in most instances, is a victim of
the
offense.