Mad Gassers and Ethereal Terrorists

In this chapter we focus on imaginary terrorists who allegedly sprayed their victims with noxious gas. We examine pseudo gas attacks in Iran, Afghanistan, and the  Middle East, each involving Islamic schoolgirls living under repressive conditions and amid plausible rumors that they were being targeted. In Iran the rumor held that they were being punished for participating in headscarf protests. In Afghanistan it was claimed that the Taliban was poisoning them to stop their attending school, while in the Middle East, suspicion fell on Israeli Mossad agents who were thought to have been dispensing chemicals that affected their fertility. We also investigate reports of gas attacks in Canada and the U.S. which were initially attributed to terrorists.