When Lenin said (approvingly) that “the purpose of terrorism is to terrorize,” he was telling only part of the truth. In his day, terrorism as theater was in its infancy. Today, with color TV and satellite transmission, the show has reached maturity.
The new wave of terrorism, which has grown dramatically in scale and intensity over the past two years or so, highlights the inadequacy of public and official understanding of the problem and of the means to combat it. There are new features: the widespread use of drugs, both to finance terrorism and to yield the extra bonus of undermining societies; and the emergence of independent (or apparently independent) centers of terrorist action.
Comments