IN THE NEWS
Several times in the last few months, I've heard slightly different versions of the following thesis:
Because of the success of US counterterrorism efforts, Al Qaeda has increasingly depended on the Internet as a tool for recruiting members, discussing possible operations, and sharpening its terrorist doctrine.
Like most statements in the general press about terrorism, this one is partially true, and partially dead wrong. Yes, as this Washington Post article documents, Al Qaeda and its allies are using the Internet--often very cleverly. However, this "trend" isn't new, and it is not a response to US counterterrorism measures. Far from being hushed underground communiques, these channels of communication--web sites, message boards, instant messaging, SMS, and probably somwhere even podcasting--flourish out in the open. As the Post article astutely notes, the Internet is not only inherently useful to Al Qaeda, but it also fits its transnational view of Islamic revolution:
The Web's shapeless disregard for national boundaries and ethnic
markers fits exactly with bin Laden's original vision for al Qaeda,
which he founded to stimulate revolt among the worldwide Muslim ummah
, or community of believers. Bin Laden's appeal among some Muslims has
long flowed in part from his rare willingness among Arab leaders to
surround himself with racially and ethnically diverse followers, to
ignore ancient prejudices and national borders. In this sense of
utopian ambition, the Web has become a gathering place for a rainbow
coalition of jihadists.
Of course, not all the Islamist revolutionaries swapping notes on the Internet seek the same revolution. In fact, they often use the opportunity to denounce each other's Koranic interpretations, critique \how a particular rival is being too nationalistic or internationalist, and sneer at the outcome of a rival group's operations. However, they also do genuinely collaborate in what one observer has called "the open source model" of revolution.
Given how easy it is to disguise your location or identity on the Internet, going on the "cyberwar" offensive by blocking Islamist web sites would be pointless. What would be a worthwhile endeavor, however, would be to hire as many Arabic speakers as possible to monitor these sites. Better to take advantage of terrorist discussions that are out in the open than driving them undergroud.
And let's not kid ourselves that foreign Islamists are the only terrorists with an Internet footprint to follow. Domestic terrorist groups--white supermacists, militant Christian millennarians, and the like--also use the World Wide Web for external and internal communications. Revolutionaries since the Protestant Reformation have been eager "early adopters" of mass communications--including the Internet, long before the first airliner hit the World Trade Center.
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