Terrorist Operations

Now imagine that you've heard that one of your acquaintances is going to 'get' you. You don't know which acquaintance it is, but you're sure that one of them will attack you. You don't know how they will attack, or when. How do you identify the potential attacker, his methods or his timetable?

You have just seen why terrorists can be successful. They attack where they are not expected or where it's difficult to counter the attack. They are guerilla fighters, swimming in the sea of whatever population they choose to hide in. They usually don't make big waves before an attack because there are relatively few of them in most operational areas, with Palestine being a notable exception.

Most of the Palestinian fighters involved in the violence near their homes are not really terrorists, though they might want to be. They don't have the resources or the direction for much more than low level rioting. They also don't have to really know what their leaders are fighting for. So long as the leaders can keep followers emotionally involved, these wannabees can focus on their own 'heroic' deeds rather than any work that might improve the lot of their people.

Now, how can terrorists be countered?

In the example I gave above, the individual may not know who is out to 'get' him, but he does know his acquaintances. He can probably narrow down the likely suspects, remove some from the list entirely. He can try to get information from other acquaintances or friends to narrow his list of suspects further. He can hire someone to follow those who are most suspect and see what they can find out that will allow him to counter an attack.

Using any and all information he has gathered, he can try to intercept the attacker before he has a chance to launch his attack. There will never be enough information received in enough time to shortstop all attacks.

Therefore, the final option is point defense. American embassies use Marines for point defense; the President uses the Secret Service. Citizens must rely on themselves because there aren't enough police to go around; not everyone can be guarded. Point defense consists of being aware of everything that goes on around you and vacating the premises (if possible). If you can't get out of the way of whatever is going down, you must be prepared to fight to preserve your life and

Go To Page: 1 2 3