The Perfect Soldier: Special Operations, Commandos, and the Future of Us Warfare by James F. Dunnigan
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Dirty Little Secrets
Where Have All the Terrorists Gone?
by James Dunnigan
October 16, 2004
Discussion Board on this DLS topic
Despite the continued popularity of al Qaeda, and Islamic terrorism, among millions of young Moslems, the number of terror attacks remains very small. For example, Britain has two million Moslems, including several Moslems clerics who openly preach in support of terrorism. Yet there have been no attacks. Explosives can be bought via criminal suppliers, as can guns. The means are obviously at hand. The radical clerics collect plenty of cash for the cause. Praise is showered on suicide attackers. Where are the suicide attacks in Britain? A few dozen Moslem men have been arrested in Britain for plotting bomb attacks. The suspects were turned in by other Moslems. This is why there are not more attacks in the West. America, Italy, Germany and France also have millions of Moslem residents. Arrests have been made, but there have been no attacks. In Spain, too many Moslems looked the other way, and there was a bombing attack on commuter trains earlier this year. Radical Moslems speak openly and loudly. Those Moslems that oppose them speak hardly at all, threatened by retribution from the Islamic radicals. But the majority of Moslems do speak up, to the police. There are also strident arguments behind closed doors in Moslem communities. But it is dangerous to criticize Islamic terrorists in public. The terrorists have made themselves heroes of the Palestinian resistance, and conspiracy theories of Western oppression in general. The terrorists believe their own propaganda, and are willing to act on it against fellow Moslems. The terrorists look a lot more powerful in public. But in the shadows, the majority of Moslems plot against the plotters. Where there are a lot of Islamic terrorist attacks in some Moslem countries, there are other reasons for this. In Pakistan, there are hostilities between Sunnis and Shias, tribesmen and the central government, or just politics. Conquering Indian Kashmir has been a pet project of Pakistani Islamic radicals for over a decade. The lack of success in this endeavor are beginning to lose the terrorists popular support. A similar situation exists in Saudi Arabia. For over a decade, the Saudi radicals talked big, but the minute they seemed likely to do something, the government forced them into exile (or a jail cell.) But when Saddam Hussein was overthrown next door, and the Saudi radicals began to believe their own propaganda, their attacks inside Saudi Arabia met with massive police and popular reaction. In Iraq, the Islamic terrorists found support among the Sunni Arab minority, which was desperately trying to get power back. But now the Iraqi Sunnis are plotting against the terrorists. Islamic terrorism is far more effective in the media than it is in practice. The terrorists are better publicists than killers. That, however, doesn't make for a good news story. So you don't hear much about it.
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