ARTICLE: "The Terrorists Next Door? Plot Suspects Lived Quietly in Suburb," By Anthony Faiola and Dale Russakoff, Washington Post, May 10, 2007; Page A01
This is exactly what I'm talking about: notice how in the Core this type of insurgent has to hide in plain sight? Then notice how they get caught: the video store.
In a connected place with strong local government (we have no idea how strong our local government is compared to the Gap), it's hard to be the guerrilla. You have to hide all the time. To emerge is to shoot your wad, one way or the other. The calibration of local rules, police, vigilance, etc, is constant. There are no warlords to buy off, just other off-grid types like yourself to ally with.
Do something weird and the grid's alerted and you're done.
Different in the isolated hinterland, though. There the bad boys can rule because the power is far away and the locals have to choose.
No choosing in the suburbs. Behave or we call the cops.
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Comments (5)
What happens when the guerrilla’s learn (insert your own Planet of the Apes reference here)? Were these guys happy with low-definition VHS – or keen on being DIYers - would we be hearing about an arrest or a massacre? What’s more normal that delivering pizzas? Agreed, tradecraft of the black or white sort is hard (I know) but it happens all the time. Maybe that’s the factor here: time.
Posted by Michael Tanji![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.thomaspmbarnett.com/weblog/nav-commenters.gif)
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May 10, 2007 9:36 AM
The insurgent stands out by virtue of his need for covertness. In an age where having the wrong color scheme on your condo gets you a CCR violation nastygram from the HOA dweebs, a bad guy breaching any of the many written and unwritten rulesets of American suburbia (which vary sharply from one part of the country to the next) will likely run afoul of the bluehairs, gossips, and neighborhood busybodies long before he can execute his OPLAN.
Just think: that little old lady who narc'd you to the HOA for having too big an flag up on the 4th of July may end up being the DEW Line of Homeland Security.
Sheesh. (c8
Posted by Ken Prescott | May 10, 2007 1:33 PM
Yes, but both sides learn at the same time. Meanwhile, transparency grows apace across our society, to the dismay of some and the delight of others.
I guess it depends on whether you think they're--on average--better and brighter than us.
Me, I wouldn't trade.
Posted by Tom Barnett | May 10, 2007 2:48 PM
Reading this article made me wonder about the extent to which this case is really just a variation on garden-variety criminal activity, and not something that should be made a part of some global Islamic terrorist network. Anyone experienced in NY law enforcement will tell you that Albanian gangs have notoriously been among the most violent and ruthless, often making even the Sicilians seem tame by comparison. This case struck me as having a lot more to do with that ethnic criminal culture, than it has to do with al Qaeda.
Posted by stuart abrams | May 10, 2007 3:56 PM
Hmmmm.
The smart-ass reply is to say "everything's blurred, Stuart."
But it's always smart to disaggregate. It's how docs avoid zebra diagnoses when a simple horse one will do.
Sometimes seeing everything as connected can just confuse simple causality. It was a real problem of mirror-imaging and paranoia during the Cold War, messing up OODA loop "management" on both sides--as in, too much over-thinking and not enough reasoning.
Posted by Tom Barnett | May 10, 2007 10:57 PM