The Atomization of Terrorist Efforts
By Douglas Farah
An interesting report by ABC News talks about the myriad ways terrorists are now trying to build explosives so they will be undetectable.
It reminds me of two thing. The first is that, like the drug cartels, these folks are infinitely resourceful and have an infinite amount of time and energy to focus on building these devises and perfecting them.
The cartel went from huge loads on private planes to multiple small shipments hidden in ingenious fashion as enforcement got better. It was a far less efficient way to move drugs, but one that was still profitable enough to make it worthwhile. Which brings me to my second point:
This is a sign of progress. Using a watch with an explosive devise inside is dangerous, but far less damaging than larger explosive attacks. But it is, technologically, far superior to Richard Reid's attempted shoe bombing. This is a far less efficient method than killing hundreds or thousands of people at one time.
Finally, while it is certainly true that there is a focus on smaller explosive items to inflict harm, those are largely the work of smaller al Qaeda-affiliated groups or wannabes, not the old guard.
The old guard or al Qaeda Central, has made it amply clear they want to surpass, in scope and sophistication, what they did on 9/11. Just as the cartels never abandoned their efforts, over time, to return to the large shipments that were much more efficient and lucrative. My full blog is here.
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