Sharing the dragon's teeth : terrorist groups and the exchange of new technologies / R. Kim Cragin ... [and others].

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Cragin, Kim.

Rand Corporation.

Series:

Rand Corporation monograph series ; MG-485-DHS.

Rand Corporation monograph series ; MG-485-DHS

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Terrorism.

Terrorism--Technological innovations.

Physical Description:

xxii, 114 pages ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

Santa Monica, CA : Rand Corporation, 2007.

Summary:

Terrorist groups-both inside and outside the al Qaeda network-sometimes form mutually beneficial partnerships to exchange "best practices." These exchanges provide terrorist groups with the opportunity to innovate (i.e., increase their skills and expand their reach). Understanding how terrorist groups exchange technology and knowledge, therefore, is essential to ongoing and future counterterrorism strategies. This study examines how 11 terrorist groups in three areas (Mindanao, the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and southwest Colombia) have attempted to exchange technologies and knowledge in an effort to reveal some of their vulnerabilities. The analysis provides the Department of Homeland Security and other national security policy-makers with insight into the innovation process and suggests ways that government policies can create barriers to terrorists' adoption of new technologies.

Contents:

Understanding Terrorist Threats 2

Methodology and Parameters 5

Monograph Structure 9

Chapter 2 Organizational Theory and Terrorism 11

Pursuing New Technologies 11

Technology Diffusion 11

Technology Adoption 13

Absorbing New Technologies Successfully 14

Characteristics of the Technology 14

Characteristics of the Receiving Organization 16

Characteristics of the Source Organization 18

Characteristics of the Transmission Mode 19

Chapter 3 Mindanao: A Mecca for Transnational Terrorism in Southeast Asia 23

Background: Islamic Militant Groups in Mindanao 24

Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) 24

Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) 28

Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) 30

Misuari Breakaway Group (MBG-MNLF) and the Rajah Soliaman Revolutionary Movement (RSRM) 32

Rationalizing the Exchange of Technology and Knowledge 34

JI Rationale 34

Filipino Islamist Rationale 36

Identifying Exchanges in Mindanao 37

Contextualizing the Exchanges 42

Key Judgments 44

Chapter 4 West Bank and Gaza: Israel as the Common Enemy 47

Background: Militant Groups in the West Bank and Gaza Strip 48

Hizballah 49

Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades 53

Harakat Al-Muqawama Al-Islamiya (Hamas) 55

Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) 57

Rationalizing the Exchange of Technology and Knowledge 58

Identifying Exchanges in the West Bank and Gaza 59

Direct Person-to-Person Instruction 60

Physical Technology Exchanges 62

Beyond Technology Exchanges? 65

Contextualizing the Exchanges 66

Key Judgments 67

Chapter 5 Southwest Colombia: A Safe Haven for Mutually Beneficial Exchanges 71

The Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) 73

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) 75

Similarities of Interest Between PIRA and FARC 78

Rationalizing the Exchange of Technology and Knowledge 79

PIRA Rationale 79

FARC Rationale 81

Identifying Exchanges in Colombia's Despeje 83

What PIRA Shared with FARC 83

What FARC Shared with PIRA 87

Key Judgments 89

Chapter 6 Policy Implications 93

Improving Threat Assessments 94

Disrupting Innovation Processes 95

Affecting Terrorists' Cost-Benefit Analyses 97

Appendix Applying the Framework to Terrorist Groups 101.

Notes:

"MG 485."

Includes bibliographical references (pages 103-114).

ISBN:

0833039156

9780833039156

OCLC:

68220793