[Infowarrior] - STRATFOR: Separating Terror from Terrorism

[Richard Forno]

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Jonathan Abolins 
> 
> Good analysis & insight by Stratfor's Scott Stewart on terrorism and
> the the psychological dynamics of terror:
> 
> http://www.stratfor.com/weekly/20101229-separating-terror-terrorism
> ---
> On Dec. 15, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) sent
> a joint bulletin to state and local law enforcement agencies
> expressing their concern that terrorists may attack a large public
> gathering in a major U.S. metropolitan area during the 2010 holiday
> season. That concern was echoed by contacts at the FBI and elsewhere
> who told STRATFOR they were almost certain there was going to be a
> terrorist attack launched against the United States over Christmas.
> 
> Certainly, attacks during the December holiday season are not unusual.
> There is a history of such attacks, from the bombing of Pan Am Flight
> 103 on Dec. 21, 1988, and the thwarted millennium attacks in December
> 1999 and January 2000 to the post-9/11 airliner attacks by shoe bomber
> Richard Reid on Dec. 22, 2001, and by underwear bomber Umar Farouk
> Abdulmutallab on Dec. 25, 2009. Some of these plots have even stemmed
> from the grassroots. In December 2006, Derrick Shareef was arrested
> while planning an attack he hoped to launch against an Illinois
> shopping mall on Dec. 22.
> 
> Mass gatherings in large metropolitan areas have also been repeatedly
> targeted by jihadist groups and lone wolves. In addition to past
> attacks and plots directed against the subway systems in major cities
> such as Madrid, London, New York and Washington, 2010 saw failed
> attacks against the crowds in New York’s Times Square on May 1 and in
> Pioneer Courthouse Square in downtown Portland, Ore., on Nov. 26.
> 
> With this history, it is understandable that the FBI and the DHS would
> be concerned about such an attack this year and issue a warning to
> local and state law enforcement agencies in the United States. This
> American warning also comes on the heels of similar alerts in Europe,
> warnings punctuated by the Dec. 11 suicide attack in Stockholm.
> 
> So far, the 2010 holiday season has been free from terrorist attacks,
> but as evidenced by all the warnings and concern, this season has not
> been free from the fear of such attacks, the psychological impact
> known as “terror.” In light of these recent developments, it seems
> appropriate to discuss the closely related phenomena of terrorism and
> terror.
> <rest snipped>
> ---
> 
> Stewart goes on to examine how various things, including the media,
> government, and the Internet, can magnify the terror from the actual
> terrorist attacks and generate fear.
> 
> He concludes:
> ---
> In the final analysis, the world is a dangerous place. Everyone is
> going to die, and some people are certain to die in a manner that is
> brutal or painful. In 2001, more than 42,000 people died from car
> crashes in the United States and hundreds of thousands of Americans
> died from heart disease and cancer. The 9/11 attacks were the
> bloodiest terrorist attacks in world history, and yet even those
> historic attacks resulted in the deaths of fewer than 3,000 people, a
> number that pales in comparison to deaths by other causes. This is in
> no way meant to trivialize those who died on 9/11, or the loss their
> families suffered, but merely to point out that lots of people die
> every day and that their families are affected, too.
> 
> If the public will take a cue from groups like AQAP, it too can
> separate terrorism from terror. Recognizing that terrorist attacks,
> like car crashes and cancer and natural disasters, are a part of the
> human condition permits individuals and families to practice
> situational awareness and take prudent measures to prepare for such
> contingencies without becoming vicarious victims. This separation will
> help deny the practitioners of terrorism and terror the ability to
> magnify their reach and power.
> ----