1 of 36

Write now Article Tools

If you had a neighbor who dressed in the fashion of one of the local gang-banger outfits, who tended to hang out with similar friends, who - when talking - used gestures typical of the gang-banger crowd, you could reasonably assume that he belonged to the local gang.

Transfer your venue to the Palestinian Territory, and add to the mix that your neighbor frequently fired his Kalishnikov into the air outside his place, and had regular visitors in his home who looked and acted just like him. Would you be unreasonable if you assumed that this neighbor probably belonged to one of several active local terrorist organizations? Or that they might even be operating out of his house?

Make your venue even more general - let it be nearly anywhere on earth, with a few obvious exceptions like Antarctica, South Georgia Island, or Nome, Alaska.

No matter where these groups congregate, unless they are composed entirely of underground members - unless you are dealing with a sleeper cell - the location will stand out like a sore thumb.

It is not that difficult, in other words, to identify the exact location of most active terrorist groups. The exceptions, like al Qaeda, have decentralized so that there really is no one spot that can be called headquarters. Even such groups, however, have exposed cells, collections of active members who clearly advertise their nefarious presence.

Now let's examine a terrorist strike like the 2002 bomb attack at the Paradise Hotel in Mombasa, Kenya, and the apparently related attempt to shoot down the Israeli airliner with Russian-made Manpad missiles.

A previously unknown militant group calling itself the "Government of Universal Palestine in Exile, The Army of Palestine" claimed responsibility for the attacks, saying in a statement that it sent two groups of attackers to Kenya to "make the world hear once again the voice of Palestinian refugees."

Kenyan and Israeli officials said al Qaeda probably was involved, and said they had arrested two people for questioning. The U.S. government said it was too early to determine who was responsible.

This kind of reaction to a terrorist event is quite typical. Shortly after the event, some group puts its hand in the air and takes credit. Investigation often reveals that another group actually did the deed, although usually it turns out to be just one group. It is rare, however, that nobody at all assumes responsibility for the act of terror.

The affected government commences an investigation immediately, of course

• 1
• 2
• 3
• next page >>

Add your voice

Know something about Terrorism: An epidemic of fear?
We want to hear your view. Write now!