What is terrorism? How is it planned and conducted and how can it be countered?
First and foremost, terrorism is a war, just as declared by President Bush. But it's not the kind of war that you can fight with large armies; it's more like the war on crime.
Large armies are designed to fight other large armies, or to occupy territory. Terrorists are designed to slip through the cracks in armies, societies and security systems, just like criminals slip through cracks in the legal systems of every country in the world.
So, what is terrorism? It's the attack against 'soft' targets, designed to prove how much control the attackers have. The attacks seldom aim at anything that is well defended because there is too much risk of losing control. Terrorists cannot afford to be seen to be losing control, because they then also start losing their supporters. Image is everything.
The requirement to maintain control can also explain the use of suicidal bombers. If you plan a suicide mission, then the only way it fails is if security forces kill or stop the bomber BEFORE they detonate the bomb. If you can make your own death look like victory, it makes the information war much more difficult for the victims.
Though Middle Eastern terrorists are most often in the news lately, they aren't the only active cells. The terrorist movement is worldwide. Far from being limited to Palestine or Moslems; it includes Catholics and Protestants, (Northern Ireland), Hindus, (Kashmir), sorta Communists (Philippines, Japan, Germany, Italy Red Brigades), Environmentalists (PETA, etc) middle aged white guys (Aryan Nations), and just about anyone else who has a grievance and not enough patience to work it out. Many of these people live for the violence rather than the cause that they claim to advocate. Achievement of their espoused goals would leave them with nothing to live for; but if achievement of their goals also leaves them in power, then they set further goals of more power. They are insatiable. Planning and conducting terrorist acts is much easier than countering them. Imagine someone that you really don't like. Take five minutes and imagine what you would like to do to them, then another five minutes to consider how you would go about it. Don't try to carry it out, because most people don't have the experience to plan for all the possible problems that might arise. They'll get caught, often before they actually attack but usually as they try to get away. But now imagine that you are not too concerned with escaping afterwards. How much chance do you think you would have of completing the attack now? (This move really simplifies things, as the escape is usually the most difficult portion of any tactical operation.
