Terrorism and Why We Are Winning

20041021.002

I have been interested in terrorism for years. I have even written a role-playing game based on counter-terrorism. I have put countless hours of research into study of the topic. I noticed a pattern while reading the yearly reports from the State Department from 1995 to 2000.

I noticed that Al-Qa'ida prepared and planned its attacks in a cycle. They attacked America in an 18-24 month cycle. This pattern was changed with the turn of the century. The new millennium ushered in an increase in operations. However since the war on terror began, the focus and scale of Al Qa’ida’s attacks has changed. They are still targeting American interests but not in America, and against much smaller targets. They are still active and need to be eradicated. They have shifted major operations to our allies, those seen as weaker in resolve than America. Spain is one such example. The recent attacks against Australia were designed to influence their elections, but fortunately failed.

The Bush Doctrine clearly calls for planned preemptive action instead of hasty reaction to terrorism. If the Just Nations of the world band together and keep applying pressure to the terrorist, by interrupting their funds, denying them training bases and actively killing them before they strike the world will be a safer place.

The following is a list of terrorist activities that have been attributed to Al Qa’ida:

1993 (Feb.): Bombing of World Trade Center (WTC); six killed.
1993 (Oct.): Killing of U.S. soldiers in Somalia. (AKA Blackhawk Down)
1996 (June): Truck bombing at Khobar Towers barracks in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, killed 19 Americans.
1998 (Aug.): Bombing of U.S. embassies in East Africa; 224 killed, including 12 Americans.
1999 (Dec.): Plot to bomb millennium celebrations in Seattle foiled when customs agents arrest an Algerian smuggling explosives into the U.S.
2000 (Oct.): Bombing of the USS Cole in port in Yemen; 17 U.S. sailors killed.
2001 (Sept.): Destruction of WTC; attack on Pentagon. Total dead 2,992.
2001 (Dec.): Man tried to denote shoe bomb on flight from Paris to Miami.
2002 (April): Explosion at historic synagogue in Tunisia left 21 dead, including 14 German tourists.
2002 (May): Car exploded outside hotel in Karachi, Pakistan, killing 14, including 11 French citizens.
2002 (June): Bomb exploded outside American consulate in Karachi, Pakistan, killing 12.
2002 (Oct.): Boat crashed into oil tanker off Yemen coast, killing one.
2002 (Oct.): Nightclub bombings in Bali, Indonesia, killed 202, mostly Australian citizens.
2002 (Nov.): Suicide attack on a hotel in Mombasa, Kenya, killed 16.
2003 (May): Suicide bombers killed 34, including 8 Americans, at housing compounds for Westerners in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
2003 (May): Four bombs killed 33 people targeting Jewish, Spanish, and Belgian sites in Casablanca, Morocco.
2003 (Aug.): Suicide car-bomb killed 12, injured 150 at Marriott Hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia.
2003 (Nov.): Explosions rocked a Riyadh, Saudi Arabia housing compound, killing 17.
2003 (Nov.): Suicide car-bombers simultaneously attacked two synagogues in Istanbul, Turkey, killing 25 and injuring hundreds.
2003 (Nov.): Truck bombs detonated at London bank and British consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, killing 26.
2004 (March): Ten terrorists bombs exploded almost simultaneously during the morning rush hour in Madrid, Spain, killing 202 and injuring more than 1,400.
2004 (May): Terrorists attacked Saudi oil company offices in Khobar, Saudi Arabia, killing 22.
2004 (June): Terrorists kidnapped and executed American Paul Johnson, Jr., in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.2004 (Sept.): Car bomb outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, killed nine

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