The Viral Spread of Explosive Technologies in the Land of Jihad
By Douglas Farah
One of the most alarming things about the new transnationalism among terrorist groups is the rapid ability to transfer knowledge and technology, both through the the Internet and through individual training.
The crossover of technologies is not new, and we know from public records in the trials from the 1998 bombing of the U.S. Embassies in East Africa that al Qaeda and Hezbollah met in Sudan to exchange information and training.
But what is making the current situation different is that, instead of having to travel and hold clandestine meetings to trade information and methods, much of the information can now be transferred in the blink of an eye or the touch of a computer key.
Military sources say that the switching from low tech Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) to high tech back to low tech is mirrored almost in real time between insurgents in Iraq and those fighting in Afghanistan. My full blog is here.