Lesson on how to defeat terrorists

From Arab News

An excellent article on tactics to fight terrorists; read the whole thing.

The third lesson to learn is the strategy of forcing the terrorists into fixed positions before moving against them. The terrorist constantly seeks anonymity, like fish in water.

But he also needs safe havens, hospitals, recreation centers, places to hide his bigger weapons, and facilities to train new recruits or imprison potential defectors. All this means a loss of mobility which is the terrorist’s key advantage over the state.

In both Algeria and Peru, and to some extent even in Turkey and Egypt, the state decided to actually help the terrorists become fixed targets. In Algeria, for example, the anti-terror units deliberately stayed out of some areas, notably the Mitidja plain and the town of Blida, thus shooing the terrorists there. On some occasions the security forces even refused to intervene to stop terrorist operations that took place under their noses, so to speak. The idea was to convince the terrorists that they had a safe haven. In time this meant that the terrorists became fixed targets while the security forces enjoyed the advantage of mobility and the choice of the time to attack.

Isn't this exactly what just happened in Falluja today?

"Today coalition forces conducted a strike on a known Zarqawi safehouse in southwest Falluja based on multiple confirmations of actionable intelligence."

The air strike caused "multiple secondary explosions" - evidence of ammunition and roadside bomb materials stored there, he said.

I hope the coalition reads Amir Taheris' article.
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