[Mb-civic] Terrorism as Virus - Paul Stares and Mona Yacoubian - Washington Post

[William Swiggard]

Terrorism as Virus

By Paul Stares and Mona Yacoubian
Tuesday, August 23, 2005; Page A15

The recent flap over whether to reframe the "global war on terror" as a 
"global struggle against violent extremism" reflects a much deeper 
problem than a passing dispute over wording. Without clarity or 
consensus on whom or what we are up against, we are unlikely to develop 
a coherent long-term strategy to overcome it.

Our preference is "Islamist militancy" -- a politico-religious movement 
that incorporates not only those who commit acts of terrorism but also 
those who espouse violence and intolerance in the name of Islam.

The recent bombings in London remind us that this is not a conventional 
terrorist threat with a clear identity, organizational structure and 
limited geographical reach. Islamist militancy is a transnational 
phenomenon propelled by a diverse collection of groups and individuals 
with different grievances and agendas.

Standard counterterrorism responses, such as improving intelligence 
sharing and law enforcement cooperation, are indispensable but 
insufficient. Likewise, military force is sometimes required, but it 
cannot be the primary response. So what to do?

One promising new approach builds on the parallels often drawn between 
terrorism and a mutating virus or metastasizing cancer. Although 
Islamist militancy is clearly not a disease in the clinical sense, it 
does exhibit qualities of a social contagion; there is something 
undeniably appealing or "infectious" to many about the ideas and beliefs 
that motivate terrorists and their many supporters. Analyzing the 
terrorist threat with an epidemiological framework would give focus and 
direction to our effort in three areas:

First, it would encourage us to ask the right questions. What is the 
nature of the infectious agent, in this case the ideology? Which 
transmission vectors -- for example, mosques, madrassas, prisons, the 
Internet, satellite TV -- spread the ideology most effectively? Who 
seems to be most vulnerable to its appeal? Why are most Muslims immune? 
Nearly four years after Sept. 11, we still have only rudimentary answers.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/22/AR2005082201109.html
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