MB Civic

Why Militants Are Beating Technology Five Years After Sept. 11

By Ahmed Rashid | Saptember 11, 2006 | The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/10/AR2006091001145.html

Pakistani journalist Ahmed Rashid, author of “Taliban” and “Jihad: The Rise of Militant Islam in Central Asia. ” Writes about the many lessons learned by Islamic extremists over the last five years about how to successfully fight Western armies with Vietnam era tactics. Here is a sample:

“Imagine an Arab guerrilla army that is never seen by Israeli forces, never publicly celebrates victories or mourns defeats, and merges so successfully into the local population that Western TV networks can’t interview its commanders or fighters. Such was the achievement of Hezbollah’s 33-day war against Israeli troops, who admitted that they rarely saw the enemy until they were shot at. Israel’s high-tech surveillance and weaponry were no match for Hezbollah’s low-tech network of underground tunnels. Hezbollah’s success in stealth and total battlefield secrecy is an example of what extremists are trying to do worldwide.”

Similar developments in Iraq, Afghanistan and North Waziristan on the Pakistani border are reviewed and included. The chilling point is, they have done a MUCH better job of learning and exploiting our weaknesses tha we have done with theirs. Thoughtful, original and well worth reading…BS