Sharing the Dragon's Teeth Terrorist Groups and the Exchange of New Technologies

by Cragin, Kim R.; Chalk, Peter; Daly, Sara A.; Jackson, Brian A.

• ISBN13: 9780833039156
• ISBN10: 0833039156
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-03-15
• Publisher: Rand Corp

Summary

Case studies of 11 terrorist groups in Mindanao, the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and southwest Colombia show how these groups have exchanged technologies and knowledge in an effort to innovate (i.e., improve their operational capabilities). The analysis provides national security policymakers with insight into the innovation process and suggests ways that government policies can create barriers to terrorists1 adoption of new technologies.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. iii
Figures	p. ix
Tables	p. xi
Summary	p. xiii
Acknowledgments	p. xix
Abbreviations	p. xxi
Introduction	p. 1
Understanding Terrorist Threats	p. 2
Methodology and Parameters	p. 5
Monograph Structure	p. 9
Organizational Theory and Terrorism	p. 11
Pursuing New Technologies	p. 11
Technology Diffusion	p. 11
Technology Adoption	p. 13
Absorbing New Technologies Successfully	p. 14
Characteristics of the Technology	p. 14
Characteristics of the Receiving Organization	p. 16
Characteristics of the Source Organization	p. 18
Characteristics of the Transmission Mode	p. 19
Conclusions	p. 21
Mindanao: A Mecca for Transnational Terrorism in Southeast Asia	p. 23
Background: Islamic Militant Groups in Mindanao	p. 24
Jemaah Islamiyah (JI)	p. 24
Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)	p. 28
Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG)	p. 30
Misuari Breakaway Group (MBG-MNLF) and the Rajah Soliaman Revolutionary Movement (RSRM)	p. 32
Rationalizing the Exchange of Technology and Knowledge	p. 34
JI Rationale	p. 34
Filipino Islamist Rationale	p. 36
Identifying Exchanges in Mindanao	p. 37
Contextualizing the Exchanges	p. 42
Key Judgments	p. 44
West Bank and Gaza: Israel as the Common Enemy	p. 47
Background: Militant Groups in the West Bank and Gaza Strip	p. 48
Hizballah	p. 49
Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades	p. 53
Harakat Al-Muqawama Al-Islamiya (Hamas)	p. 55
Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ)	p. 57
Rationalizing the Exchange of Technology and Knowledge	p. 58
Identifying Exchanges in the West Bank and Gaza	p. 59
Direct Person-to-Person Instruction	p. 60
Physical Technology Exchanges	p. 62
Beyond Technology Exchanges?	p. 65
Contextualizing the Exchanges	p. 66
Key Judgments	p. 67
Southwest Colombia: A Safe Haven for Mutually Beneficial Exchanges	p. 71
Background	p. 73
The Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA)	p. 73
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)	p. 75
Similarities of Interest Between PIRA and FARC	p. 78
Rationalizing the Exchange of Technology and Knowledge	p. 79
PIRA Rationale	p. 79
FARC Rationale	p. 81
Identifying Exchanges in Colombia's Despeje	p. 83
What PIRA Shared with FARC	p. 83
What FARC Shared with PIRA	p. 87
Key Judgments	p. 89
Policy Implications	p. 93
Improving Threat Assessments	p. 94
Disrupting Innovation Processes	p. 95
Affecting Terrorists' Cost-Benefit Analyses	p. 97
Conclusion	p. 98
Applying the Framework to Terrorist Groups	p. 101
Selected Bibliography	p. 103
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