Communications: Operational-Technical perspective 1 Communications by and about Terrorists: An Operational Perspective

Imagine you are a terrorist in the 21st century, determined to change the world. You yearn for a society based on your beliefs, which value the simplicity of earlier days. To you, the story of David's defeat of the giant Goliath, backed by powerful armies, is more than a metaphor. It is a guide to action. Modern western military theorists call it "idiosyncratic, asymmetric warfare"1; you see it as using simple tools and finding the enemy's vulnerability to bring about his downfall and your triumph. Like David, you have a crucial element in your arsenal: surprise. So you may use devices as simple as box-cutters to turn your foes ' technology against them. But you plan your attack so that your success is trumpeted around the world via high-speed communications channels to people who will identify with the terror felt by your victims and those who will celebrate the toll of dead and wounded. And you will use other communications technologies as means to your end, disregarding the fact that they may have been developed by societal systems you despise. You will, in essence, view communications tools as part and parcel of your strategy. And because you will be on the offensive, you can decide when and where yo