What do terrorists look for when choosing a target?

What do terrorists look for when choosing a target?

Erroll Southers (Former Deputy Director of the California Department of Homeland Security) gives expert video advice on: What are the most common misconceptions people have about terrorism?; What do people try to gain through terrorism?; Who is most likely to commit an act of terrorism? and more...

If I were a terrorist, I am going to commit an act of terrorism, possibly and preferably, against a site that is going to be able to gain me some kind of attention. Because we are so globally connected today, that could be anywhere, any place, any time because you got networks that are going to carry it. I want what is called the greatest utility that I can get. In other words, I want a high fatality rate; I want something that if I am really good is going to disrupt their infrastructure whether it be transportation or water or something else. And most importantly, if I can affect their economy for an extended period, that would be high utility. So, for example, the reason that airports gain so much attention it is because if you shut down aviation, you shut down airspace to - like we did on September 12th, 2001. USC's done a study where if that ever happens again and the FAA closes the airspace, you are looking at an economic loss of 1.3 to 1.7 billion dollars per day.