The author discusses the use of cyber-terrorism and the potential effects on A
The author discusses the use of cyber-terrorism and the potential effects on American society. What are some potential counterterrorist policy strategies that could assist in the prevention of cyber-terrorism?
Do you believe that any intervention could potentially increase or decrease the number of suicide attacks? What makes women as suicide bombers so unnerving to society?
Tactics and Force Multipliers While the term terrorism is difficult to define, the process of terrorism is not. Terrorism is simply a way of fighting, In fact, Max Boot (2013) advances the argument that guerilla warfare and terrorism dominate the history of warfare. Conventional war, he concludes, is not the normative method of fighting. Terrorists fight in the shadows, and security forces must be prepared to operate in that environment. Brian Jenkins (1984, 2004a, 2004b) says that there are six tactics of terrorism: bomb-ing, hijacking, arson, assault, kidnapping, and hostage-taking. Recently, the arsenal of terrorism has grown to include threats from weapons of mass destruction (WMD), but the public does not clearly understand these threats. Technology has also modified bombing to include virtual attacks through computer systems (B. Jenkins, 1987; Brackett, 1996, p. 45; J. White, 1986, 2000; Parachini, 2003). Jenkins says that the six tactics can be enhanced by force multipliers. In military terms, a force multiplier increases striking power without increasing the strength of a unit. Terrorists routinely use force multipliers because they add to their aura. All political terrorists want to give the illusion that they can fight on a higher, more powerful level. Four force multipliers give terrorists more striking power (see the following feature titled “Another Perspective: Force Multipliers”). Researchers have known for many years that technology can enhance a terrorist group’s ability to strike (see Ketcham and McGeorge, 1986, pp. 25-33; Bunker, 1998; Linstone, 2003; Brookbank, 2006; Wright, 2008). Cyberterrorism and potential WMD attacks are examples of technological force multipli-ers. Daniel Benjamin and Steven Simon (2002, pp. 365-382) demonstrate that media coverage and interpretation of terrorist events often serve as force multipliers. One incident can be converted into a “campaign” as electronic media scramble to break the latest news. The growth of religious fanaticism introduced the force multiplier of suicide attacks into Hippel, 2002; Stern, 2003b). the arsenals of terrorism (B. Hoffman 1995; Laqueur, 1999; Juergensmeyer, 1988, 2003; von Although terrorist tactics change over time, the most common weapon of terrorism has been and is still the bomb. In 1848, anarchists talked about the philosophy of the bomb, meaning that the only way to communicate with the social order was to destroy it. Terrorists tend to increase their effectiveness in bombing by applying improved explosive technology to their weapons just as conventional military forces constantly