[New York Times] John Arquilla - A new "Mumbai model" of swarming, smaller-scale terrorist violence is emerging. The basic concept is hitting several targets at once, even with just a few fighters at each site. Al-Qaeda and its affiliates have been using swarm tactics for several years. Jemaah Islamiyah - the group responsible for the Bali nightclub attack that killed 202 people in 2002 - mounted simultaneous attacks on 16 Christian churches in Indonesia on Christmas Eve in 2000. Even 9/11 itself had swarm-like characteristics. In the years since, al-Qaeda has coordinated swarm attacks in Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Turkey, Yemen and Iraq. This pattern suggests that Americans should brace for a coming swarm. The writer teaches in the special operations program at the Naval Postgraduate School.
2009-02-17 06:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive