Why Terrorism is Effective

Total Cost of Wars Relating to 9/11

Monetary cost $3.7 Trillion
224,000 people have died directly from warfare
7.8 million people have been displaced

TSA Yearly Budget

$8.1 Billion dollars / year

Total DHS Yearly Budget

DHS 2011 budget increased 3 percent, to $43.6 billion

Total cost to carry out 9/11? Less than a few million dollars, ten years ago. So if you add up just these numbers, and multiply them by ten, you see some scary data. What did we get for that money? An information grid designed to surveil the US population, and nothing more than the guise of protection.


Passenger: You're all going to die!

To be clear, I want to let the reader know that all of this protection is a futile effort. The real direction America needs to move, is to prepare itself to survive and overcome a terrorist attack, not infiltrate a cell and stop the act before it happens.

We have the FBI, CIA, NSA, and other LEO's to protect us, what we need is a safety net. We could spend all that money preparing, educating and assisting eachother in a time of crisis, whether terror related or possibly a natural disaster.

Why borrow the money after the fact, and not save it before hand? That's what families do with their money, right? I have had to save for things I want/need, and thus, have managed to survive this long in a consumer driven economy without a credit card, or laughably desired loans for petty things.

Why are we a reaction-based nation? Why can't we come together and stand in real solidarity, against terrorism in general no matter who the culprit? We don't need to stand against the banks or anyone. It doesn't cost anything, it's just a decision. Love or Fear.

reply to post by sbctinfantry


Sorry I have not checked out your links yet but could you please explain the title a bit more to me if I ask a direct question.

Why is terrorism effective?

Originally posted by OtherSideOfTheCoin
reply to post by sbctinfantry

 

Sorry I have not checked out your links yet but could you please explain the title a bit more to me if I ask a direct question.

Why is terrorism effective?

Bin Laden: Goal to Bankrupt the US

The Arabic-language network Al-Jazeera released a full transcript Monday of the most recent videotape from Osama bin Laden in which the head of al Qaeda said his group's goal is to force America into bankruptcy.

Al-Jazeera aired portions of the videotape Friday but released the full transcript of the entire tape on its Web site Monday.

"We are continuing this policy in bleeding America to the point of bankruptcy. Allah willing, and nothing is too great for Allah," bin Laden said in the transcript.

..


"All that we have to do is to send two mujahedeen to the furthest point east to raise a piece of cloth on which is written al Qaeda, in order to make generals race there to cause America to suffer human, economic and political losses without their achieving anything of note other than some benefits for their private corporations," bin Laden said.

Al-Jazeera executives said they decided to post the entire speech because rumors were circulating that the network omitted parts that "had direct threats toward specific states, which was totally untrue."

"We chose the most newsworthy parts of the address and aired them. The rest was used in lower thirds in graphics format," said one official.

U.S. intelligence officials Monday confirmed that the transcript made public Monday by Al-Jazeera was a complete one.

As part of the "bleed-until-bankruptcy plan," bin Laden cited a British estimate that it cost al Qaeda about $500,000 to carry out the attacks of September 11, 2001, an amount that he said paled in comparison with the costs incurred by the United States.

It's been the plan since the beginning, and anyone researching it would already know that. I believe it cost more than $500,000 after the totals are added up for travel, cost of educating the terrorists in school and mannerisms required to carry out the attacks, and of course C2 from the top down requires funding. Directly, the men might have only spent half a million, but real totals are probably close to at least a million, if not a little more. Still, it pales in comparison to what we have spent on safety and protection.

Sure, you can reinfoce and deadbolt the door, but when you live in a house of glass...

reply to post by sbctinfantry


Just to clarify are you saying that terrorism is effective because of the negative economic impact it has on the targeted state. So for example it would be fair to say terrorism against America has been effective because it has had a negative impact on America’s economic standing.

Originally posted by OtherSideOfTheCoin
reply to post by sbctinfantry

 

Just to clarify are you saying that terrorism is effective because of the negative economic impact it has on the targeted state. So for example it would be fair to say terrorism against America has been effective because it has had a negative impact on America’s economic standing.

I'm saying that while we invade countries to bring 'democracy' and fail, terrorists are doing exactly what they set out to do. That's the bottom line, and where we need to start changing our methods, a shift in our TTP.

It's time for a real change, because lately the more things "change"....

reply to post by sbctinfantry


Again sorry I know this might be frustrating for you and it might be that its just me not picking up on what you are trying to say but again,

Why do you think terrorism is effective.

Its the title of the thread and I cant really discuss your views with you unless I actually know why you think terrorism is effective.

What i see here is two website's that are making a lot of claims and throwing out a lot of numbers I must be blind didn't see any sources for them.

Terrorism is effective and blowing money and killing people who would argue that.

reply to post by OtherSideOfTheCoin


I think he means that it gets the job done with alot less money. It's more efficient. While the current US approach of spreading democracy cost a whole lot more.

Of course some would say that the US is not relly spreading democracy for democracy's sake but just spreading its empire and that is why cost is not a problem.

It forces the government into an unwinnable position, cripples our economy and forces some very hard decisions on those that would promise to keep us safe all for the low price pushing < .01% of what has been spent since.

If that is not an effective way to wage war against a country when you are not capable of meeting the opfor militarily, I don't know what is.

If you want to be deliberately difficult, I don't see the point in continuing this discussion. I generally look up information for myself, and if someone posts something I didn't know about, I try to learn a little bit about it before I start asking questions.

I also try to see things from the person's perspective and make informed decisions, but hey, that's just a staple in being able to communicate effectively with other members of the human race.

I'm just giving you the info, I've already had the debate and discussions that I feel are necessary. Did you have something to add, say or imply or are you just here attempting to derail a thread you don't even care to read in the first place?

reply to post by sbctinfantry


Was that response intended for me, If so I was not trying to derail your thread merely trying to get a simple answer.

Originally posted by OtherSideOfTheCoin
reply to post by sbctinfantry

 

Was that response intended for me, If so I was not trying to derail your thread merely trying to get a simple answer.

Now that you've recieved this answer?...

I don't see any real contribution to the thread, rather a deliberate lack of receptiveness to my attempt to inform you. That's fine, but I believe they call that 'trollin'.

reply to post by sbctinfantry


Excuse me, I am not trolling, your OP was not clear enough with the title “Why terrorism is effective” I would have expected statement along the lines of “terrorism is effective because.....” if your thread is vague then that is not my fault. Likewise if it takes a couple of times for you to give me a statement declaring why you think terrorism is effective that is not my fault, I am not trolling I am trying to contribute to your thread but to do so I first need your views on why terrorism is effective.

Which I now have, so moving on......

I think to say that terrorism is effective because of the negative economic impact it has on the target state is an over simplification. While it is true that terrorism does have a negative economic impact on the state for the most part this is a by-product of the terrorist’s desired impact and winder strategic goal. Let’s take the Taliban for example, their overall goal is the removal of all western forces from Afghanistan, their attacks on NATO forces have led to a situation where by NATO have deployed more troops and this has cost more and one could argue has had a negative impact on the states involved because of the cost incurred with increased operational active in Afghanistan. That may be a very simplistic analysis but the point is that the winder goal here is to have a total withdrawal of NATO forces from Afghanistan and the negative economic effect is a by-product rather than a strategic objective of the Taliban.

Let’s take what Bin Laden had to say on bankrupting America, hear he was saying he would bleed America to the point of bankruptcy. This is probably a reference to taking advantage of the state of perpetual war the war on terrorism has created, he was saying that he would literally bleed America to the point of bankruptcy. He was saying he would kill so many Americans they would need to spend so much money on countering his attacks that it would bankrupt the country. This however was not the overall strategic objective, which was the removal of all western forces from Islamic countries and changes in foreign policy (again simplified). He was talking about using terrorism to force America into spending its way into bankruptcy in an effort to stop him and his ilk. The effectiveness of this would be extensive firstly it would involve the death of hundreds of thousands, followed by economic bankruptcy which would eventually force America into bowing down to his demands.

Economics can be used as a weapon, and terrorism can have a negative impact on economics for instance the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks saw the biggest drops in history on American markets and billions if not trillions was lost. Then there is the indirect economic effect in the cost of combating terrorism that forces huge increases in defence and intelligence spending possibly at the expense of other vital national infrastructure programs such as welfare. But it is not the only reason, that terrorism is effective, not all terrorist attacks have massive long lasting economic impacts. There are other ways in which terrorism is effective at brining about the desired goals of the organisation concerned and this effectiveness is dependent on the attack and the group responsible.