Understanding Terrorism
The New TerrorismMass attack – The New Terrorism is characterized by the threat of mass casualty attacks from terrorist organizations, new and creative organizational configurations, transnational religious solidarity, and redefined moral justifications for political violence.
It is distinguishable from previous environments because the New Terrorism:
Promotes abstract goals and objectives,
Engages in mass casualty attacks,
Seeks to impose extensive social and psychological disorder, and
Threatens to obtain and wield weapons of mass destruction.
“Developing Next-Generation Countermeasures for Homeland Security Threat Prevention, 2017”
The New TerrorismNew creative organizational systems: -including independent, non-hierarchical, cell-based networks.
Regularly engage in asymmetrical attacks,
Embed cell-based networks in countries far afield from the region of conflict,
Purposely select and attack “soft” civilian and government targets, and
Utilize modern communication and networking technologies.
“Developing Next-Generation Countermeasures for Homeland Security Threat Prevention, 2017”
The New Terrorism
Tactics deployed by modern terrorists and their organizations:
Factors influencing tactics
– Nature of the intended target,
– Abilities of its operatives and
– Level of hostility of the environment in which they operate.
Terrorists are spoilt by an abundance of methods at their disposal to bring about a successful conclusion.
“Blackstone’s Counter-Terrorism Handbook (2012)”
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