"You're scaring the hell out of me!" the company vice-president said. And he wasn't talking to a terrorist; he was conferring with a consultant who thoroughly knows terrorism and who must decide daily just how much of that information to impart to his clients to protect them-yet do it without scaring them too much.
However, the subject of terrorism does not lend itself to gentleness; it's a violent reality created by brutal and determined individuals who have made it their life's mission to further their cause through death and destruction.
That knowledge alone is enough to horrify anyone. But couple with it the intelligence community's estimate that perhaps thousands of highly motivated and well-trained terrorists may be living among us, blending in and awaiting a time to strike-than perhaps we may be forgiven for reacting much the same way as that company vice-president.
Evoking that reaction in us, however, empowers terrorists with a form of control. Understanding a terrorist's mindset is key to stopping him, say security consultants.
Terrorist mindsets
There are three types of terrorists, all of whom pose threats to the oil and gas industry, according to a consultant and former Federal Bureau of Investigation agent:
- "Rational" terrorists, who perform cost-benefit type analyses to determine which kinds of attack will best advance their cause with the least amount of loss to themselves.
- "Psychological" terrorists, who are motivated by dissatisfaction with their lives and personal accomplishments, who do not recognize right from wrong, and who perceive as unfounded any views other than their own. There is no in-between with this mindset; everything is black or white, and a decree or a bullet solves any problem for them. They dehumanize victims and have no remorse or feelings of ambiguity when attacking.
- "Culture-motivated" terrorists, who are extremely dedicated to a religion, race, or nationality and can be extremely aggressive in responding to perceived threats toward their culture. Attacks that include even self-annihilation-ordinarily viewed as acts of desperation-can be welcomed as "duty" by this type, which is often characterized by an unquestioning adherence to religious dogma or propaganda.
Blueprints
Terrorist groups often work together towards common goals. The most notorious group at present is Al Qaeda, about which much has already been written.
The nature of Al Qaeda's particular mindset is spelled out in military training manuals recovered by authorities that mandate the overthrow of "the godless regimes and replacement with an Islamic regime." Other missions (that can be published without violating security strictures) include:
- "Gathering information about the enemy, the land, the installations, and the neighbors.
- "Kidnapping enemy personnel, documents, secrets, and arms.
- "Assassinating enemy personnel, as well as foreign tourists.
- "Freeing the brothers who are captured by the enemy.
- "Spreading rumors and writing statements that instigate people against the enemy.
- "Blasting and destroying: embassies and vital economic centers;ellipse bridges leading into and out of the cities;ellipse[and] places of amusement, immorality, and sin."
In addition, mandates include the "removal" of "all types of military and civilian intellectuals and thinkers for the state" and such short-term goals as operations against individuals and sectors.
Dedication to achievement of goals is evident in Al Qaeda's learning from failures and continuing to pursue the target until they succeed. For example, in February 1993, an Osama bin Laden-affiliated terrorist group bombed the World Trade Center Twin Towers in New York, which resulted in the deaths of 6 people, extensive property damage, and arrests of the perpetrators but did not destroy the towers, a major symbol of Western economic power.
In December 1994, the Algerian Armed Islamic Group, an Al Qaeda affiliate, hijacked an Air France Airbus, intending to crash it into the Eiffel Tower. The pilots refused to carry out those demands and the terrorists could not fly the plane themselves. They were overpowered and arrested upon the plane's landing in Marseilles. Shortly thereafter, Al Qaeda members quietly enrolled in flight schools in the US. The results of that lesson learned are well-known.
Countering such determination is a major challenge to this industry. To meet it, say security consultants, we must deter them, detect them, delay them, respond to them, and provide severe consequences for their actions (see special report beginning on p. 24). And above all, we must avoid complacency, because the terrorists are pa tient and will be waiting for us to forget and let our guards down. The results could scare the hell out of all of us.
