Understanding Terrorist Behavior
Two items, one short and one long.
The short one: “A Look at Terrorist Behavior: How They Prepare, Where They Strike,” by Brent Smith, National Institute of Justice Journal, No. 260, 2008.
The long one: How Terrorist Groups End: Lessons for Countering al Qa’ida, by Seth G. Jones and Martin C. Libicki, RAND Corporation, 2008.
Bill • November 3, 2008 8:16 AM
Re: A Look at Terrorist Behaviour
Firstly it’s an interesting read; secondly it’s pseudo-science.
“We studied..” add them up – 59 attacks.
Beware the logcal fallacy called ‘statistics of small-numbers’. Less than 100 incidents are ‘analysed’ yet the results are expressed in percentage terms. That’s a red flag folks.
“..this growing knowledge should help officers prevent and respond to attacks.”
Nope it shouldn’t. Terrorism is an outlier as far as other crimes are concerned, therefore it follows that scant resources are best employed elsewhere.