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Posted on 10/04/2003 7:08:04 AM PDT by joesnuffy
Al-Qaida's operational approaches
Posted: October 4, 2003 1:00 a.m. Eastern
By Tom Marzullo © 2003 WorldNetDaily.com
Have you ever wondered how the dispersed terrorist groups manage to operate so discretely and persistently in the West?
In considering the unconventional nature of al-Qaida and the other groups aligned against us, it can be immediately noted that the larger, more spectacular attacks are few and far between. What follows is an analysis and discussion of only one of the methodologies used to create major attacks that will be mounted against the United States.
If you read one of the recent revelations that came out regarding the Sept. 11 attacks in New York and Washington, you would have seen it suggested that it took five to six years to set up that operation. This proposition dovetails well into the firmly ingrained Middle-Eastern custom of taking quite a long time to develop and test relationships. This is an item of cultural baggage that al-Qaida planners carry almost unconsciously.
As legal and illegal immigrants fall under increasing scrutiny, one of the issues brought to light has been the increased use of non-Arabs as soldiers for operations in the West. A few better known examples of these are: the three Americans who were apparently involved in getting information to and from terrorist prisoners held in Guantanamo; Richard Reid, the failed shoe-bomber; Jose Padilla (AKA Abdullah al Muhajir), the suspect in the abortive "dirty-bomb" scheme; and John Walker Lindh, the "American Taliban," captured in Afghanistan ... to name just a few.
But there is a lower-key method of obtaining domestic recruits for terrorist operations than co-opting adults and that is for the Islamists to grow their own. It can also provide a nearly undetectable cadre to work with if the candidate pools you draw from have no record – and, as an additional bonus, it provides a nice disconnect between operative cells, as each one is grown independent of the others.
What I refer to is the recruitment of younger American adolescents via religious conversion and proselytizing, as opposed to the more conventional conversion of adults with the appropriate skills. Teen-agers are not only more susceptible to such blandishments with a strong need to "belong," but are, in point of fact, encouraged in this variety of conversion by a culture that places a premium on rebellion, unconventionality and anti-establishment behavior. If you think this statement to be over the top, ponder for a moment or two on the basis for the ever-growing popularity of violent urban and suburban gangs.
Remember, this war is not seen as a short-term process by our opponents, but rather as one that will stretch across many generations. We are the side that has grown used to things being accomplished ever more quickly – that is our baggage and handicap. Think of the combative environment and slow-to-change culture from whence they sprang and this begins to be seen as another logical extension. Once this strategic assumption is applied to defining operational approaches, this method makes perfect sense in more ways than one.
One of the things any guerrilla-terrorist looks for are places to hide themselves and what they do, whether that be a physical location or a societal convention that can screen their activities and identity.
"Political-correctness" and "diversity" make for very good cover, especially on college campuses. The aforementioned affectations have created a new wealth of Muslim student organizations, many – if not most – with a strongly militant bent and guest speakers to match. Any actions taken to peer into the actions of such groups will, of course, be met with howls of resentment, accusations of racism and intolerance aided and abetted by the now tenured radicals of yore.
But this is not the kicker. Even if you do place informants into those meetings, what they will uniformly report is just the usual violently racist, anti-Semitic and anti-Western hyperbole that is so pointedly ignored on campus and in the media as benign, harmless rhetoric. If an identical rant was offered under the auspices of, say, the Young Men's Christian Association, you could bank on a truly abrasive level of media coverage. A pretty good cover, isn't it?
During all this sleight of hand, the real action is discretely conducted by the ones who come quietly along with the "guest speakers." What al-Qaida and their fellow travelers appear to use is a hardened core of roving recruiters and planners to get up stand-alone cells to later be assigned specific tasks.
This really is a well-thought-out cover that uses our weaknesses and tolerance for differing points of view against us. The areas that are essentially hostile to America, and Western thought in general, are nearly perfect spots to operate.
You first attract a goodly crowd of people who want to truly believe in something – anything other than the culture that gives them no anchor. Next, you sift the group to find those who show promise as true believers, and polish these up a bit more. Then it is on the high-school and college campuses where the truly hard-core are polished for later use.
This is just "Recruitment 101," people – long practiced by guerrilla and terrorist movements across the globe. For a ready example, look to the "Greens" – both here and in Europe – because the Earth Liberation Front and the others did not one day miraculously and spontaneously spring forth whole from the mouth of Mother Nature. They were selected and nurtured in exactly the way I just described.
Tom Marzullo is a former Special Forces soldier and a veteran of submarine special operations. He resides in Colorado.
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