Connect with us

Politics

What the New Orleans Terrorist Attack Shows About the Islamic State Franchise

What the New Orleans Terrorist Attack Shows About the Islamic State Franchise

 


In the early hours of New Year's Day, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old U.S. Army veteran, drove through a crowd of revelers in New Orleans' French Quarter, killing at least 14 people and injuring others. dozens of others. Jabbar displayed an Islamic State flag on the rented vehicle and allegedly recorded a video pledging allegiance to the jihadist group.

The FBI is likely conducting an assessment of Jabbar's electronic devices to see what the digital scans reveal: what kind of Islamic State propaganda he was soaking up; how often he read Islamic State articles; downloaded guides for making improvised explosive devices, or IEDs; which social media platforms he visited; and was he in contact with actual Islamic State operatives who may have served as a cyber coach or virtual contractor during the attack.

In the early hours of New Year's Day, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old U.S. Army veteran, drove through a crowd of revelers in New Orleans' French Quarter, killing at least 14 people and injuring others. dozens of others. Jabbar displayed an Islamic State flag on the rented vehicle and allegedly recorded a video pledging allegiance to the jihadist group.

The FBI is likely conducting an assessment of Jabbar's electronic devices to see what the digital scans reveal: what kind of Islamic State propaganda he was soaking up; how often he read Islamic State articles; downloaded guides for making improvised explosive devices, or IEDs; which social media platforms he visited; and was he in contact with actual Islamic State operatives who may have served as a cyber coach or virtual contractor during the attack.

Over the past year, almost all of the Islamic State's external operations have been thwarted and successful, that is, attacks outside the group's perimeter in various provinces. inspired by the group, rather than activated or directed by it. It is a staggering feat: the Islamic State has effectively leveraged its brand around the world to inspire violence and carnage far from the territories it controls, without even providing basic support to the attackers.

This highlights the crucial role of technologies such as social networks and communication platforms by providing access to radicalizing content, as well as the technical knowledge and know-how necessary to orchestrate attacks. It also implies, however, that many of these plots depend on crude, low-tech methods, such as vehicle ramming, that capitalize on the simplicity and brutal effectiveness of forceful tactics.

So how can we thwart these attacks and what are the ways to stem the effective franchise of the Islamic State around the world?


The adoption of advanced technologies by terrorists, from IEDs to unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as the continued and highly successful use of simple attack measuresfrom vehicle-ramming attacks to stabbing attacks, indicate the need for a more nuanced understanding of why terrorists choose certain technologies to carry out attacks over others. In a case that occurred last November, a far-right extremist in the United States planned to attack a energy installation substation with a drone equipped with explosives, a stark contrast to what happened in New Orleans.

Car-ramming attacks, which require little or no planning, have become one of the most effective tactics of Islamic State-inspired terrorism, due to a combination of practical and ideological factors. They have been used in attacks inspired and enabled by the group around the world, including in Barcelona, ​​Berlin, London, New York, Nice and Stockholm. Vehicle-ramming attacks are more likely to succeed because they are incredibly difficult to detect in the planning phase and are equally difficult and resource-intensive to mitigate.

In terms of accessibility, cars are readily available and, thanks to vehicle rental and sharing platforms, only limited resources are required to carry out such an attack. In what the FBI says was merely a coincidence, the New Orleans attacker and a U.S. Army Special Forces soldier who killed himself before the Tesla Cybertruck he was in exploded on 1 January in Las Vegas both used peer-to-peer rentals. Turo app to get their vehicles.

Additionally, the barrier to entry is low and only requires a driver's license. The symbolic aspect of car-ramming attacks is also important: an everyday utility object can cause massive carnage at any time, almost without preparation. These attacks are not unique to jihadist groups. A far-right extremist used a vehicle at the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, to ram a crowd of counterprotesters, killing one. Just a few weeks ago, a Saudi national living in Germany, motivated by a strange mix of anti-Islamic and far-right ideas, used a car to attack a Christmas market southwest of Berlin.

Islamic State has long relied on inciting its supporters to carry out vehicular attacks, following an explicit warning from its former No. 2, Abu Mohammad al-Adnani, who once urged Islamic State supporters to carry out attacks against Westerners by all means possible. their elimination. Hit his head with a stone, or slaughter him with a knife, or run him over with your car, or throw him from a high place, or suffocate him, or poison him, Adnani. exhorted more than ten years ago. These brute force tactics remain very effective and difficult to detect in the planning stages.

Counterterrorism can be a thankless profession. When plots are foiled or terrorist cells are deployed, it may momentarily make the news, but few people think about what might have happened if an attack had been successful. And the FBI, CIA, and other specialized counterterrorism agencies have a legitimately impressive record in the generational fight against groups like Al Qaeda, the Islamic State, and their various subsidiaries, franchises, and regional branches. .

But like the Irish Republican Army publicly declared after nearly killing British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 1984, you only have to be lucky once. You always have to be lucky. It also means that counterterrorism authorities must allocate resources where they believe the threat is greatest, sometimes leading them to focus on the shiny object or potential black swan event. This means much attention is being paid to terrorists using drones to carry out attacks or attempting to deploy chemical or biological weapons. But the most everyday attacks, like the one in New Orleans, can still be very deadly and almost impossible to deter or defend against.

Constructing steel bollards or other objects to harden vulnerable targets is a method used by counterterrorism practitioners to secure public event spaces. In New Orleans, the terminal system was under repair in preparation for next month's Super Bowl. But even this shows that our societies are still adapting or reacting to terrorism, even though our politicians like to spout the fallacy that altering our lives in any way allows the terrorists to win. Continuing to remove your shoes in the airport security line more than two decades after the infamous shoe bomb attack is a clear example of this. Rather, hardening soft targets, either with protective barriers or increased police presence, is simply an acknowledgment that the threat is real and that, as a society, we intend to oppose it.

There is no silver bullet for managing the threat posed by terrorism. After all, it is a tactic that, as such, cannot be defeated in the traditional sense, as if it were an army or a nation-state. Effective counterterrorism involves kinetic measures such as drone strikes and special operations raids, but also a comprehensive approach to addressing root causes and grievances, whether socio-economic, religious, ethnonationalist or otherwise. . In many ways, the Islamic State's model of outsourcing its terrorism in the West to lone actors with a litany of grievances is the group's realization of its long-sought playbook. It is also more important to focus on root causes. In Jabbar's case, reports suggest that he, like many others, struggled to reintegrate his country. civil life after leaving the army.

In the modern era, the fight against terrorism must be viewed from a broad and multifaceted perspective, addressing high- and low-tech threats in tandem. Although the proliferation of advanced technologies such as drones, encrypted communications and bombs requires a sophisticated and coordinated response, we must not overlook the continuing threat posed by more primitive methods such as stabbing attacks and ram vehicles. Therefore, a comprehensive counterterrorism strategy means dismantling the technological infrastructure that allows terrorist groups to communicate and operate across borders while simultaneously strengthening the physical and societal barriers that mitigate the risk of simpler brute force tactics.

Only a balanced approach covering the full spectrum of technologies used in attacks can ensure the safety and resilience of our communities in the face of the ever-changing and ever-changing landscape of terrorism. As the Islamic State ramps up its operations abroad, taking advantage of power vacuums from Syria to Somalia, it will also ramp up its propaganda and media operations, prompting more of its supporters to seek to carry out attacks in his name.

The Islamic State may have faded from the headlines, overshadowed by Russia's war in Ukraine and Israel's response to the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, but it remains stubbornly resilient and will prove be a hot topic for the media. the Trump administration.

Sources

1/ https://Google.com/

2/ https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/01/03/new-orleans-attack-islamic-state-vehicle-ramming-jihadi-franchise/

The mention sources can contact us to remove/changing this article

What Are The Main Benefits Of Comparing Car Insurance Quotes Online

LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 24, 2020, / Compare-autoinsurance.Org has launched a new blog post that presents the main benefits of comparing multiple car insurance quotes. For more info and free online quotes, please visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/the-advantages-of-comparing-prices-with-car-insurance-quotes-online/ The modern society has numerous technological advantages. One important advantage is the speed at which information is sent and received. With the help of the internet, the shopping habits of many persons have drastically changed. The car insurance industry hasn't remained untouched by these changes. On the internet, drivers can compare insurance prices and find out which sellers have the best offers. View photos The advantages of comparing online car insurance quotes are the following: Online quotes can be obtained from anywhere and at any time. Unlike physical insurance agencies, websites don't have a specific schedule and they are available at any time. Drivers that have busy working schedules, can compare quotes from anywhere and at any time, even at midnight. Multiple choices. Almost all insurance providers, no matter if they are well-known brands or just local insurers, have an online presence. Online quotes will allow policyholders the chance to discover multiple insurance companies and check their prices. Drivers are no longer required to get quotes from just a few known insurance companies. Also, local and regional insurers can provide lower insurance rates for the same services. Accurate insurance estimates. Online quotes can only be accurate if the customers provide accurate and real info about their car models and driving history. Lying about past driving incidents can make the price estimates to be lower, but when dealing with an insurance company lying to them is useless. Usually, insurance companies will do research about a potential customer before granting him coverage. Online quotes can be sorted easily. Although drivers are recommended to not choose a policy just based on its price, drivers can easily sort quotes by insurance price. Using brokerage websites will allow drivers to get quotes from multiple insurers, thus making the comparison faster and easier. For additional info, money-saving tips, and free car insurance quotes, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ Compare-autoinsurance.Org is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc. "Online quotes can easily help drivers obtain better car insurance deals. All they have to do is to complete an online form with accurate and real info, then compare prices", said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company. CONTACT: Company Name: Internet Marketing CompanyPerson for contact Name: Gurgu CPhone Number: (818) 359-3898Email: [email protected]: https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ SOURCE: Compare-autoinsurance.Org View source version on accesswire.Com:https://www.Accesswire.Com/595055/What-Are-The-Main-Benefits-Of-Comparing-Car-Insurance-Quotes-Online View photos

ExBUlletin

to request, modification Contact us at Here or [email protected]