Over the last few decades, western civilisations have busily sown the seeds of their own destruction. Our modern way of life, with its reliance on technology, has unwittingly exposed us to an extraordinary danger: plasma balls spewed from the surface of the sun could wipe out our power grids, with catastrophic consequences.

Intelligence officials are warning that the deepening global financial crisis could weaken fragile governments in the world's most dangerous areas and undermine the ability of the United States and its allies to respond to a new wave of security threats. U.S. government officials and private analysts say the economic turmoil has heightened the short-term risk of a terrorist attack, as radical groups probe for weakening border protections and new gaps in defenses.

Hugh Gusterson worries that the collapse of the global economy could
percipitate a collapse of the tenuous global security situation,
causing even more conflict and chaos worldwide and possibly even World War III.

Handheld radiation detectors used to detect a nuclear bomb smuggled through a U.S. seaport might not be enough, and an attack with weapons of mass destruction at any U.S. port would wreak havoc on global commerce by halting shipping for four months, senior transportation officials told a Senate subcommittee yesterday.