Repères 19/02/08 - Al Qaeda et les cibles du terrorisme économique
The asymmetry of economic war
Paul Rogers, Open Democracy 14-02-2008"The targeting of western business interests is becoming a potent weapon in the militant armoury...
...The application of economic targeting by al-Qaida and its affiliates is not new; many of the more nationalist Iraqi insurgents have also caused great devastation to oil and service installations in their operations since 2004. What is happening now, however, seems to be that this type of activity is becoming more of a focus of militant groups' thinking, including in countries minimally if at all connected with the United States-led war on terror. It may be too early to call this a global trend, but the example of earlier periods and contexts of armed insurgency or guerrilla warfare suggests that "economic warfare" could become a potent weapon in the armoury of a new generation of militants...
...Some analysts who study the development of economic targeting and also watch the evolution of the al-Qaida movement express coded surprise that the movement has not been more systematic or focused in undertaking this kind of action. The indications from Iraq, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and even Britain suggest that this might now be changing. If so, then 2008 may witness the beginning of another phase in what is proving to be another - and this time global - "long war". "
