2008 Woodie Awards
Terrorists use Internet to train recruits
Jacob Rokeach
Issue date: 10/16/07 Section: Editorials
- Page 1 of 2 next >
Terrorists throughout the Middle East have become unquestionably knowledgeable about westernized military tactics, to the point that the insurgent armies are killing American soldiers and civilians by the dozen. Not only are these insurgents spreading their knowledge to other terrorists groups in numerous countries in the region, they are doing so via the Web.
Incontrovertibly, the Web has been the most influential and technologically advanced innovation in our generation and there are a myriad of benefits. But as every pendulum swings one way, it must swing an equal and opposing force the other way.
Terrorists like Abu Omar, who currently lives in Lebanon, was recruited by the then Taliban leader at large in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, to train insurgent soldiers in Iraq to kill American troops. This was done using homemade military weapons that were videotaped to spread across the Islamic fundamentalist network fueling terrorism and empowering rebels.
Abu Omar used hi-definition video equipment to film the preparation and creation of weapons that were used against military outposts, vehicles, soldiers, and various other targets. The attacks themselves are filmed and the whole "package" is edited and uploaded to websites available across the world.
New York Times reporter Michael Moss included in a recent investigative report, "Analysts and researchers say that insurgents in Iraq are averaging one new video production a day."
A scary idea.
These terrorists are using a tool that we have come to rely on for daily functions and claim to have "created" (thanks to Al Gore) in a campaign, if you will, to execute American soldiers and Iraqi civilians alike. The Internet has been credited with the flattening of the world and creating a global community. Capitalism and foreign nations have thrived, while terrorists capitalize on the rewards of the Web and take full advantage of it.
Is there anything we can do to stop these Web sites and the digital terrorist-training institute that have been developing over the past few years?
Incontrovertibly, the Web has been the most influential and technologically advanced innovation in our generation and there are a myriad of benefits. But as every pendulum swings one way, it must swing an equal and opposing force the other way.
Terrorists like Abu Omar, who currently lives in Lebanon, was recruited by the then Taliban leader at large in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, to train insurgent soldiers in Iraq to kill American troops. This was done using homemade military weapons that were videotaped to spread across the Islamic fundamentalist network fueling terrorism and empowering rebels.
Abu Omar used hi-definition video equipment to film the preparation and creation of weapons that were used against military outposts, vehicles, soldiers, and various other targets. The attacks themselves are filmed and the whole "package" is edited and uploaded to websites available across the world.
New York Times reporter Michael Moss included in a recent investigative report, "Analysts and researchers say that insurgents in Iraq are averaging one new video production a day."
A scary idea.
These terrorists are using a tool that we have come to rely on for daily functions and claim to have "created" (thanks to Al Gore) in a campaign, if you will, to execute American soldiers and Iraqi civilians alike. The Internet has been credited with the flattening of the world and creating a global community. Capitalism and foreign nations have thrived, while terrorists capitalize on the rewards of the Web and take full advantage of it.
Is there anything we can do to stop these Web sites and the digital terrorist-training institute that have been developing over the past few years?
Be the first to comment on this story