Terrorism

“Know your enemy”.




Why terrorism isn’t working the way people thought it would.



The quote at the top of this page is one of the most quoted sayings about conflict in the known universe.

Those three words speak volumes about how conflicts are won and lost. You absolutely must know your enemy and that means everything that can be known about them. You must know how they think, their values, their government, their culture, and their religions. Every one of these things can affect how they will react to your efforts to defeat them.

The London Blitz of WW2 did not break the will of the British; it gave them a rallying point. Why? Their capitol was laid waste, thousands died, historical buildings were destroyed, yet the people actually gained in resolve.

The fire-bombing of German and Japanese cities killed hundreds of thousands but the nations fought on. Even increasing weapon production and their commitment to win. Why?

In Afghanistan and Vietnam however, small groups using terror tactics undermined and weakened the resolve of much larger countries and drove them from their soil. Why?

Terror as a weapon only works if the target feels the fear. The target must be made to fear even common everyday activities and locations. They must be made to feel helpless to protect themselves. In Vietnam travel was disrupted by planting mines and destroying bridges. Schools and police stations were targeted and their employees were shot. These actions made the people believe that the government was powerless to stop the Viet Cong. In village after village the ties to the government were cut and the people left feeling helpless.

In Afghanistan the same tactics were used against the Russians and the US. The land mine, the IED, and the ambush directed against government representatives and random people took away any sense of security or safety.

Supporting the government in these cases only made you a target and the government could not protect you.

So why isn’t the US afraid of the radical Islamist?

We are not afraid because we refuse to paint them as an enemy, and they haven’t attacked the common people yet.

And the people may not be the actual target. Terrorism can be a subtle weapon.

Think about that. Did 9/11 make you afraid or mad? The Boston Bombing of a week ago?

What happened is we got mad. Mad that we were attacked, and later mad that we were inconvenienced by the government actions that followed.

Around the world terrorists target the common people. In Vietnam, Israel, Afghanistan, and so on the bombs were in the markets, on the buses, and in the shops. Targets were the small towns and villages not major cities.

Striking a major city is symbolic but not very scary to Joe Six-Pack in the country.

While these attacks may not scare many they can be a part of something they used to teach in the military back in the day.

Insurgency or “How to Overthrow a Government from Within”. High profile attacks can start a spiral of oppression where-in a government can be induced to oppress their own people to the point where these once happy people now see their own government as the enemy and will actively work to overthrow it.

With each attack the people scream for protection from the bad guys. To limit the bad guy’s actions and to try to force them out into the open the government puts new laws in place and limits the freedoms of the people. With each following attack the people scream louder and the government does what governments do. They pass laws and limit freedoms.

With each cycle those people most affected by the new laws become more and more distrustful of the government, while those who need to feel protected see no real change in their safety and scream still louder.

Sooner or later a tipping point is reached where those who see the government as oppressive start to take direct action against the government and its representatives. The government, happy to finally have a target, will respond with force and then take action to pass even more laws and limit even more freedoms. Thus, driving more and more people into the ranks of the insurrection.

The downward spiral will continue until civil war is clearly taking over.

The key to stopping the spiral is for the government to speak openly to the people and take a stand on the side of freedom. They have to make the argument that risks come with freedom and that the people must stand together and not give up freedom in search of safety.

That was the message of the bombed cities of WW2. That was the message from the Blitz. That freedom sometimes demands the lives of the civilian as well as the soldier.

Freedom is never free.