Money, Terror, and Freedom
The ETA attacks are classic and crude. They are not a big budget organization; terror attacks are main way they draw attention to their cause. It is rather a chilling thought to wonder what havoc they might plan and what assignments they might complete if they had even a small amount of Al-Qaeda's assets.
Taming the Tamil
Another obscure but very dangerous group are the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka. Contrary to their name, this is not a rare breed of something meant for the Endangered Species List. The Tamil Tigers have waged horrific waves of terror and guerilla warfare in Sri Lanka since 1983. The Tamil are an ethnic minority who would like more participation in the Sri Lankan political process. That may seem fine and democratic until their actual goals are understood. The Tamil concept of more participation is that they seize control of the entire process. The Tamil Tigers have assassinated at least one President and one prime minister of Sri Lanka, and they regularly disrupt the disheveled attempts to hold elections. Like the ETA and Al-Qaeda, the Tamil Tigers firmly believe in the rightness of their cause, but unlike Al-Qaeda, the Tamil have a very limited financial base.
The FARC Frenzy
In a rather peculiar sense the US has waged war on terrorism since it declared war on the illegal drugs trade. Among its projects to aid embattled Colombian governments are efforts to defeat the FARC. The FARC are an alter ego of the Cali drugs cartel. Their whole purpose is to ensure their success in the drugs trade. Their opponents are anyone who wants to end that trade. Hence the FARC regularly attack Colombian government ministers and courts. The FARC are masters at guerilla warfare, and their resources are as vast as the cocaine trade will allow. Imagine what would happen to the illegal drugs trade if the FARC with their cocaine wealth and Al-Qaeda with their wealth from Afghan-grown heroin combine their forces.
There are many other organizations such as the ETA, the Tamil Tigers, and the FARC. What will be their fate in this new global war on terror? If it is true that there is "no honor among thieves", it is quite conceivable that these rogue groups will form alliances to oppose the US-led coalition against terror. If this happens, one more quite valid observation of the harsh realities of the world must be invoked: "An army loses if
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