Combating terrorism successfully

Global terrorism: While terrorism has become a global phenomenon - not solely restricted to the traditional conflict-regions such as the Middle East, Africa, South America and South East Asia, or limited to small scale acts of violence - a major part of the western world still sways between painful awakenings, denial attempts or just plain disbelief.  

Nevertheless, terrorism, as it has manifested itself recently in major western cities, is a grim reality (To some more real than to others) whether we realize it or not, and it is going to stay with us for the years to come.

The principal question is: Can we defeat or even annihilate terrorism?

The answer: The war against terror can be won, but winning this war does not mean that we can completely wipe out the phenomenon.

A strategy that works: Since we cannot protect all our assets against all terror scenarios, we need to learn the ways of the terrorists and their preferred MOs (Endemic to a region or a relevant specific organization) in order to take the best preventive measures against the most feasible scenarios. Having done our homework in that sense and toughened our defenses (Within reason and budget limitations), we should concentrate on proactive measures, such as:

-      Move the war into the terrorist's backyard

-      Keep the terrorist on the run

-      Concentrate on the entire chain of the terror endeavor - the perpetrator is only the "tip on the iceberg" .We should deal with his entire support structure (leaders, communications, propaganda, finance, ordnance suppliers / manufacturers, transporters, hosts etc.) 

-      Be as selective as possible - Surgical operations are complex, costly and risky, but provide us and our forces with the moral edge and legitimacy (When facing our own public, the international community and, eventually, even the terrorist's supporting population).

Essential conditions: To succeed, we have to realize that this war cannot be fought solely by remote control methods and tactics, despite the advancement in technology (Intelligence, countermeasures & ordnance). In other words:" you'll get your hands dirty". Critical key elements:

-       Physical presence in the area that houses / supports the terrorists

-       Isolation and access control with regards to supply and reinforcement

-       Reliable, real time intelligence in order to foil / intercept terror activities

The Israeli experience: A hundred years of terror have taught us quite a few lessons when dealing with terror:

-    Knowing the grounds, population, language, habits, customs and mentality are essential components in the battle against terror

-    Human Int. is indispensable in order to obtain the critical information in real time (No mater how good and sophisticated is the electronic int. you deploy)

-     Keeping the civilian population informed - it is our experience that ignorance and unawareness generates panic reactions when an attack occurs, hence enlarging its affectivity and subsequently the damage caused

-      Public awareness is an important, if not the most important, preventive countermeasure

-     Terror fighting entities (Military, police, and other intelligence agencies) synchronized interface and good collaboration are the keys to a successful counter-terror campaign

-       The West Bank & the Gaza Strip (The 2 separate districts of the Palestinian Authority) are an excellent example of 2 different approaches in dealing with terror strongholds. The West Bank is controlled by Israeli forces that are constantly present in the area, while the Gaza Strip is controlled by the Palestinians themselves (Which means; who ever has the upper hand among the rivaling organizations, at the moment the Hamas - a terror organization by definition) while the Israeli forces are at the other side of the fence and most operations within the area are conducted by the air force. The result: The terror activity in the West Bank and within Israel has gone down dramatically while the mortar & missile attacks from the Gaza Strip continue to harass neighboring Israeli towns & settlements.       

International terrorism: Only a well organized & coordinated multinational coalition can produce results in the war against global (franchise) terrorism.

-      Enemy definition - It should be agreed among all coalition members who the enemy is and how to deal with him. The saying that "A terrorist to some is a freedom fighter to others" cannot apply. 

-     One strategy - a global strategy, compelling to all coalition partners, has to be developed and pursued   

-      Sharing recourses (i.e. intelligence) - source sharing and networking is essential for a successful campaign

-      Above all and most important is the realization and conviction that terrorism is a global problem and a serious threat to the entire free world (not just to the obvious / traditional targets of terror organizations). Let us hope that this realization and the subsequent necessary actions will come before we'll have to deal with a WMD terror attack of catastrophic dimensions, and affects far and beyond the intended targets.

-      Unfortunately, when taking a good look at the current international geopolitical picture, it would be nothing less than naïve, to think that a group of more than two countries might agree on such an agenda aimed at terror generating / supporting countries and organizations, let alone a global enforcement strategy....