use-and-throw one. In fact, in this battle, the winner will be the one who keeps the basics in mind, but innovates constantly.’
Anbu paused momentarily, recognizing the need to drive home some ground realities to the young officers he commanded.
‘Diplomatically, we have to attack the terror sponsor states. Politically, we have to stop vote bank politics and ensure that economic development is equitable and addresses all sections of society. Our leadership has to work on the root causes of alienation, which allow terrorists to recruit and subvert easily swayed youth. We have to make sure that local support to the terrorists is cut off since without that, they’re dead in the ditch.’
He raised his hand to prevent Tiwathia from interrupting.
‘On the intelligence front, we have to make sure we have our eyes and ears to the ground at all times so we can see an attack coming. Simultaneously, our security forces have to be ramped up to contain the attacks that get through because, despite all our efforts, some certainly will succeed. Militarily, we have to use force to cut down the attackers and force the terrorists to the negotiating table. And legally, we have to bring terrorists, their supporters and financers to book.’ There was another pause as Anbu allowed his words to sink in. ‘You see... it has to be a comprehensive package if we are to deal with this menace successfully.’
‘So, what I understand is that for us – the security forces – the main plank of the war on terror is good, timely intelligence.’
‘Bang on target! That is the key. As we all know, there are only three basic ways to gather intelligence – observe it, buy it or steal it. However, in such a fluid and geographically unconfined war, the way to get timely intelligence is either by subverting some terrorists and turning them into informers or sending in our own people to infiltrate the terror groups.’
‘I don’t know how easy it will be to subvert these crazies,’ said Tiwathia. ‘Most of them have been brainwashed so thoroughly that they can no longer differentiate right from wrong. I was going through the Al Qaeda recruitment manual the other day and it exhorted the recruiter to keep the recruit busy with lectures and religious pamphlets, especially those that discuss heaven and hell.’
‘Yes, the recruiter will always try to play on the aspects of Eternal Paradise or Eternal Damnation. This works especially well with new religious converts or those who are not very conversant with the scriptures and can be browbeaten easily. But there will always be people who have become disgruntled with the uncertainity of life as terrorists, or realized they are being misguided and misused in the name of religion... or someone who can simply be bought over with more money.’
‘But I thought these days the typical terror recruit is far more literate and savvy than before, when they were mostly poor, uneducated youngsters who had been lured in.’
‘Obviously! They need savvy terrorists because the uneducated ones wouldn’t last very long against modern security forces. But this is also a major chink in the terrorists’ armour, since the literate ones are also going to be able to see through the hidden agenda and realize they are only being used.’
‘Isn’t that what happened with Iqbal?’
‘Precisely! However, we have to be very careful that the guys we subvert don’t turn on us – or they could cause a lot more damage.’
‘Yes, they could,’ Anbu agreed. ‘In this battle, as in every battle, the key is not allowing the enemy to know what we know.’
‘So subverting one of their guys may be far more complicated and troublesome than the results it may yield.’
‘True, but also remember that trying to send an infiltrator into any terror group is not only a difficult and time-consuming process, it is extremely dangerous for the person trying to do so. They will show absolutely no mercy if his cover breaks for any
Anbu paused momentarily, recognizing the need to drive home some ground realities to the young officers he commanded.
‘Diplomatically, we have to attack the terror sponsor states. Politically, we have to stop vote bank politics and ensure that economic development is equitable and addresses all sections of society. Our leadership has to work on the root causes of alienation, which allow terrorists to recruit and subvert easily swayed youth. We have to make sure that local support to the terrorists is cut off since without that, they’re dead in the ditch.’
He raised his hand to prevent Tiwathia from interrupting.
‘On the intelligence front, we have to make sure we have our eyes and ears to the ground at all times so we can see an attack coming. Simultaneously, our security forces have to be ramped up to contain the attacks that get through because, despite all our efforts, some certainly will succeed. Militarily, we have to use force to cut down the attackers and force the terrorists to the negotiating table. And legally, we have to bring terrorists, their supporters and financers to book.’ There was another pause as Anbu allowed his words to sink in. ‘You see... it has to be a comprehensive package if we are to deal with this menace successfully.’
‘So, what I understand is that for us – the security forces – the main plank of the war on terror is good, timely intelligence.’
‘Bang on target! That is the key. As we all know, there are only three basic ways to gather intelligence – observe it, buy it or steal it. However, in such a fluid and geographically unconfined war, the way to get timely intelligence is either by subverting some terrorists and turning them into informers or sending in our own people to infiltrate the terror groups.’
‘I don’t know how easy it will be to subvert these crazies,’ said Tiwathia. ‘Most of them have been brainwashed so thoroughly that they can no longer differentiate right from wrong. I was going through the Al Qaeda recruitment manual the other day and it exhorted the recruiter to keep the recruit busy with lectures and religious pamphlets, especially those that discuss heaven and hell.’
‘Yes, the recruiter will always try to play on the aspects of Eternal Paradise or Eternal Damnation. This works especially well with new religious converts or those who are not very conversant with the scriptures and can be browbeaten easily. But there will always be people who have become disgruntled with the uncertainity of life as terrorists, or realized they are being misguided and misused in the name of religion... or someone who can simply be bought over with more money.’
‘But I thought these days the typical terror recruit is far more literate and savvy than before, when they were mostly poor, uneducated youngsters who had been lured in.’
‘Obviously! They need savvy terrorists because the uneducated ones wouldn’t last very long against modern security forces. But this is also a major chink in the terrorists’ armour, since the literate ones are also going to be able to see through the hidden agenda and realize they are only being used.’
‘Isn’t that what happened with Iqbal?’
‘Precisely! However, we have to be very careful that the guys we subvert don’t turn on us – or they could cause a lot more damage.’
‘Yes, they could,’ Anbu agreed. ‘In this battle, as in every battle, the key is not allowing the enemy to know what we know.’
‘So subverting one of their guys may be far more complicated and troublesome than the results it may yield.’
‘True, but also remember that trying to send an infiltrator into any terror group is not only a difficult and time-consuming process, it is extremely dangerous for the person trying to do so. They will show absolutely no mercy if his cover breaks for any
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