High-Impact Terrorism Proceedings of a Russian-American Workshop (2002) / Chapter Skim
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Terrorism Future: Tactics, Strategy, and Stealth
Terrorism Future: Tactics, Strategy, and Stealth
Pages 260-266
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From page 260... ...
We tracked, captured, tried, and convicted Ramzi Yousef, the architect of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. We tracked, captured, tried, and convicted Mir Amal Kanzi, the assassin of two Central Intelligence Agency employees murdered as they sat trapped in their cars waiting to enter the Agency compound.
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From page 261... ...
Disguising a terrorist operation as an act of God or an unfortunate accident may well become the terrorist's preferred method of operation because it maximizes plausible denial and the work of the security services if they are even brought into investigate the incident. The only area in which I see state-sponsored terrorism increasing is operations directed against dissidents and regime critics living abroad.
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From page 262... ...
will likely be drawn to such operations and use them to extort concessions and significant political advantage from governments and other target groups. ETHNICITY AS A MOTIVATOR Just as religiously motivated terrorism is increasingly ascendant, I believe ethnically driven terrorism may soon represent a challenge of near-similar magnitude, particularly if it has a religious or mystic overlay and is grounded in real or perceived historic oppression and injustice.
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From page 263... ...
Internet-based telephone transmissions will soon cost little more than a local telephone call and be ubiquitous. Emotional ties to the homeland are also reinforced by satellite television, which keeps the emigrant informed of homeland developments often via vivid and lurid video clips and incendiary commentary, as well as through more benign cultural programming that features traditional music and drama of the emigrant group in its native language.
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From page 264... ...
For the technically challenged, more conventional assaults employing truck bombs, dynamite, or cable cutting may be used to unleash a chain of events whereby a service grid, pipeline, or air traffic control system collapses in a cascading effect. Major power failures that black out large parts of a country, systemic problems with the air traffic control systems, and breaks in highly vulnerable gas and oil pipeline systems are covered in exquisite detail by the press and industry publications and are dissected and analyzed on the Internet.
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From page 265... ...
To effectively combat terrorism, I believe we must embrace the stiletto over the broadsword. This means increased reliance on covert action with heavy emphasis on deception, black operations, gray and black propaganda, in-depth psychological and motivational studies of key personnel, and a thorough understanding of the rational and nonrational factors that influence the decision making calculus of the terrorist leadership and the motivational commitment of the rank-and-file.
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From page 266... ...
Our objective is to cause the group to turn on itself and, ultimately, self-destruct in a paroxysm of paranoia. Such tactics work, unlike brute military power, which history has shown to be counterproductive particularly when used alone in ethnic or religious conflicts.
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