This document discusses asymmetrical conflict and terrorism, specifically focusing on al Qaeda's use of suicide terrorism. It provides details on how al Qaeda utilized suicide bombers to conduct devastating attacks against a militarily superior enemy. Suicide tactics gave al Qaeda many advantages as the attacks were lethal, more likely to succeed, and relatively inexpensive to carry out. The document also examines how terrorism relies on surprise and shock to amplify its effects and demoralize populations. It notes that the US remains ill-prepared to counter new terrorist techniques due to a focus on replicating past events rather than anticipating innovation from groups like al Qaeda.

2.  Crisis diplomacy
 International cooperation
 Asymmetrical conflict
 Utility of violence

3.  Negotiations between actors in the global
political arena in response to a crises, most
commonly concerning conflicts and natural
disasters, but also economic and health
crises.

4.  When global actors work together to achieve
common goals. e.g. the EU, ECB and IMF
lending funds to Greece in 2010 and 2012 to
prevent it defaulting on its loans and
triggering a financial crisis.

5.  Violence used as a means of achieving one’s
political objectives, commonly witness in
global politics through inter state war.
Traditionally perceived as an instrument of
state power, violence and threatened acts of
violence are increasingly used by terrorists
groups as a means of achieving their
objectives.

6.  Most commonly used in regards to
development policies, sustainability seeks to
organise states and their economies so that
currents needs are meet while not
jeopardising meeting the needs of future
generations.

7.  The causes
 Responses and proposed solutions by key
global actors
 Challenges to effective solutions
 Effectiveness of asymmetrical conflict in
achieving a group’s objectives

8.  Asymmetrical warfare is a violent struggle in
which the two belligerents are mismatched in
terms of their military capabilities e.g. the
Taliban and the USA.
 In asymmetrical conflict the weaker power
serves to exploit the weaknesses of the
stronger power – often its civilians.

9.  Weak forces utilize surprise, technology,
innovative tactics, or what some might
consider violations of military etiquette to
challenge the strong (usually by targeting
civilian populations).
 Terrorism is a global crises – turn of the 20th
century there were 8 deaths of military
personal for every civilian death. Now that
figure has been reversed.

10.  The war on terror has cost the United States
some $1 trillion and al-Qeada remains a
global threat.

11.  A critical component to the execution of the
attacks on September 11 (and other Al Qaeda
bombings) was the ability of Al Qaeda to find
individuals willing to die for their cause.
 Bin Laden very clearly understood the military
disadvantage of al Qaeda and his followers;
for that reason, he turned to a very common
tactic in terrorist ventures: suicide bombing.

12.  The 9/11 attacks cost al Qaeda between
$400,000 and $500,000, “while America lost
 – according to the lowest estimate – more
than $500 billion” ( a return rate of 400,000 to
1.)

13.  In fact, there are various reasons why suicide
missions are an appealing form of attack:
 Terrorists have become increasingly attracted to
suicide attacks because of their unique tactical
advantages compared to those of more
conventional terrorist operations. Suicide tactics
are devastatingly effective, lethally efficient, have a
greater likelihood of success, and are relatively
inexpensive and generally easier to execute than
other attack modes. The terrorist decision to
employ this tactic…is an entirely rational and
calculated choice, consciously embraced as a
deliberate instrument of warfare (Hoffman, 132).

14.  For al Qaeda, suicide terrorism became a tactic
that allowed them to successfully create
devastation against an enemy with far superior
weaponry, military organization, and resources.
 By including western civilians in their victims, al
Qaeda’s strategies also attacked the psychology of
the western people. This unconventional version of
warfare and unfamiliar ideal of suicide posed a
direct threat to the everyday person, generating
thoughts and feelings of fear and vulnerability
among the democratic populations.

15.  The availability of suicide agents have
expanded the strategies available to al Qaeda
in terms of the types of attacks they can
conduct as well as the targets they can hit.
Although they are crucial to the cause, the
suicide bombers do not need to be well
trained to carry out their missions, and the
fact that “suicide bombers don’t need to be
sophisticated is precisely what makes them so
dangerous”

16.  Qaeda’s suicide bombers allow them to use
“aircraft as human missiles (as in the 9/11 attacks)
or boats as human torpedoes (as in the 2000
attack on the USS Cole), and other bombs
 or using pedestrians, connected to a manual or
remote control).
 These capabilities allow al Qaeda to select their
targets on a symbolic basis; as there is no need
for an escape plan, they simply need to
determine a means of successfully reaching a
target in order to succeed in their attacks.

17.  Terrorism combines surprise and shock to
amplify effect and demoralize the broader
public. It is asymmetric as it it "attacks
vulnerabilities not appreciated by the target.”
 The U.S. government remains ill-prepared to
counter such surprise. Most U.S. strategic
planning with regard to terrorism focuses on
replication of past activities.

18.  This means when Al
Qaeda develops a new
technique, target or
weapon – as in the new
bombs which can pass
through air security
detectors designed to
pick up metal, Al
Qaeda has a significant
advantage.

19.  While a few exercises
had considered the
possibility of hijacked
aircraft used as
weapons, these were
exceptions.
 Indeed, the US
Defense Department
cancelled one drill
simulating a hijacked
plane crash into the
Pentagon because
the scenario seemed
too far-fetched.

20.  The United States, despite increased security,
remains vulnerable.
 In Russia, we have seen terrorist attacks at
apartment buildings, schools, hospitals,
subways, passenger trains, busy streets,
shopping malls, a rock concert, a theater. In
Israel, terrorists have carried out suicide
bombings on buses, at restaurants, shopping
malls, and hotels; in Madrid, on commuter
trains. The reality is that these are vulnerable
targets in the United States as well.