1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910219961003321

Autore

Libicki Martin C

Titolo

Exploring terrorist targeting preferences / / Martin C. Libicki, Peter Chalk, Melanie Sisson

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Santa Monica, CA, : RAND, c2007

ISBN

1-281-18091-2

9786611180911

0-8330-4248-3

Edizione

[1st ed.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (131 p.)

Altri autori (Persone)

ChalkPeter

SissonMelanie

Disciplina

363.325

Soggetti

Terrorism - United States - Prevention

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

"MG-483."

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references.

Nota di contenuto

Cover; Preface; Contents; Figures; Tables; Summary; Acknowledgments; Glossary; Chapter One - Introduction; Chapter Two - What Drives al Qaeda's Choice of Targets?; The al Qaeda Targeting Process: Four Hypotheses; Some Observations on Rationality; Alternatives to Rational Action; Organization; Chapter Three - Hypothesis Testing: Quantitative and Qualitative Measures; Measuring Intent; Modeling Intent; Testing Hypotheses Against Past Attacks; Chapter Four - Hypothesis Testing: Al Qaeda Statements and Expert Observations; Al Qaeda's Reading of History Suggests the Leverage ofTerrorism

The Coercion HypothesisThe Damage Hypothesis; The Rally Hypothesis; The Franchise Hypothesis; Conclusions; Chapter Five - Ramifications for al Qaeda Attack Planning in the United States; Coercion; Damage; Rally; Franchise; Is the United States Off the Target List for the TimeBeing?; Conclusions; Bibliography

Sommario/riassunto

Al Qaeda, the jihadist network personified by Osama bin laden, seeks a restored caliphate free of Western influence. It uses terror as its means. But how does terrorism serve the ends of al Qaeda? Understanding its strategic logic might suggest what U.S. targets it may seek to strike and why. This monograph posits four hypotheses to link means and ends. The coercion hypothesis suggests that terrorists are interested in



causing pain, notably casualties, to frighten the United States into pursuing favorable policies (e.g., withdrawing from the Islamic world). The damage hypothesis posits that te