Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
$500 million. Six people were killed; more than a thousand were injured.
Extremist Ramzi Ahmed Yousef led a small group of Islamic extremists who
executed the attack.
The group conducted visual surveillance. Twice in February 1993, they
drove to the WTC and inspected Level B-2 of the parking garage. The last
trip was two days before the attack (Weiser, 1997). Additionally, Niddal
Ayyad rented two separate cars one week apart to conduct surveillance of the
WTC and listed Mahmud Salameh as an additional driver.
The cycle consists of 5 stages, each with its own unique set of requirements,
and is normally carried out by specific member(s) of the overall terrorist cell. Not
all phases are necessary for every mission. All is dependent on the overall goal of
the attackers.
For example, not all events require an escape plan. Attacks involving the
suicide method of attack allow the operational planners the luxury of not being weighed
down with the often complex plan of escaping the incident.
Depending on the size of
the group and the complexity of the operation, the cycle itself is scalable and will
often appropriately match the planner's level of experience, expertise and resources.
The 5 general phases are normally allotted time constraints and often come with
organizational limitations (Figure 14.2). Understanding this cycle and nuances
within is critical for any emergency responder in any discipline to know and under-
stand in order to better prepare for and mitigate against.
Phase I—Target Selection
Considering that most targets of terrorism tend to be utilities of public use (e.g.,
hotels, office buildings, shopping areas), the targeting aspect of the cycle is usually
not easily predicted. Groups tend to overlay their own ideology with specific goals
in order to choose the target that best suits their message. They often look to targets
of symbolic value or those that can garner the most media attention and then com-
bine it with a consideration for specific target groups in order to increase the impact
of the attack and possibly avoid collateral damage.
They tend to avoid “hard targets,” or those locations, people, or areas with a
higher, more reinforced level of security. The softer targets consisting of civilian
populations and civilian infrastructure will often result in a more successful mis-
sion and a higher number of casualties and deaths. This intended result, coupled
Operational
planning
Plan
implementation
Escape and
evasion
Media
exploitation
Target selection
Figure 14.2
Five phases of the terrorist attack cycle.
