Five Strategies of Terrorism

Too often called 'mindless', terror groups are more often calculating. They set short term and longer aims related to power and political objectives, and then use terrorism - the calibration of fear - to advance those aims. Evident terrorist strategies are numerous, and often several are combined in particular campaigns or acts. Five of the leading strategies are discussed here: (1) creation of societal dislocation or chaos; (2) discrediting or destroying a particular government; (3) rendering economic and property damage; (4) 'bleeding' state security forces and doing other military damage; and (5) spreading fear for international effects. The author shows how the destructiveness of these strategies usually has a complementary 'positive' side for the group, such as filing its operating coffers or attracting overseas potential support.