Conflict/Terrorism/ Civil Unrest

Extract

I would like to talk about the changing forms of warfare, terrorism in particular, and try to relate to you where you may have some involvement with the problem. First of all, let me tell you that terrorism, and I'm not going to seek to define it fully because no one has ever succeeded in doing so, is political extortion. It is the warfare of the weak. The terrorists generally use very low technology weapons, by this I mean, hand grenades, bombs, automatic weapons, pistols; but their logistical support is of the highest magnitude in terms of technology, things such as jet aircraft and instant global satellite communications. The most fundamental observation to make about terrorism is that it's theatre and very highly choreographed. Its purpose is to make large governments, particularly democracies which both enjoy and insist upon human dignity and human rights, look impotent. And we have been made to look impotent in my mind.