The army forces, various government departments and the civilian population all have a role to play.

In implementing the anti–terrorist action contained herein, members of the army forces must appreciate the vital need for cooperation and the under–standing of each other's characteristics and capabilities.

ATOPS warfare probably places a greater burden of responsibility on the individual than does any other form of conflict. It connotes small groups and light scales. Catch–words are: thorough training, self–discipline, skill at arms, initiative, guile, endurance and above all, the will to win.

This manual details specific strategies implemented to fight Rhodesian insurgents and maintain order.

This report examines social and economic development policies enacted by three countries; Northern Ireland, Mindanao and West Bank and Gaza Strip .

Topics covered include; development policies, policy implementation and impact on the reemergence of terrorism.

Detailed in this guide:

Chapter One

• Interpreting the Problem

Chapter Two

• Northern Ireland
• Development Policies
• Policy Implementation
• Impact on the Reemergence of Terrorism
• Key Judgments

Chapter Three

• Mindanao
• Development Policies
• Policy Implementation
• Impact on the Reemergence of Terrorism
• Key Judgments

Chapter Four

• West Bank and Gaza Strip
• Development Policies
• Policy Implementation
• Vi Terrorism And Development
• Impact on the Reemergence of Terrorism
• Key Judgments

Chapter Five

• Policy Implications

Continuing conflicts between violent groups and states generate an ever–present demand for higher quality and more timely information to support operations to combat terrorism.

In particular, better ways are needed to understand how terrorist and insurgent groups adapt over time into more–effective organizations and increasingly dangerous threats. To adapt, terrorist organizations must learn. A group’s ability to learn determines its chance of success, since learning is the link between what the group wants to do and its ability to gather the needed information and resources to actually do it.

Despite the importance of terrorist group learning, comparatively little focused research effort has been directed at understanding this process and identifying the factors that influence group learning ability. While relevant data and insights can be found in the literature on terrorism and terrorist organizations, this information has not been collected and systematically analyzed to assess its importance from the perspective of efforts to combat terrorism. This study addresses that need in an effort to both analyze current understanding and stimulate further study and research in this area.

The National Institute of Justice provided funding to the RAND Corporation to conduct an analysis of organizational learning in terrorist groups and assess its implications for efforts to combat terrorism. The work was performed between November 2003 and November 2004, a period during which the threat of international terrorism was high and concern about the capabilities of terrorist organizations and how they might change over time was a central focus of policy debate and U.S. homeland security planning.

The study is described in this report and in a companion volume, Aptitude for Destruction, Volume 2: Case Studies of Organizational Learning in Five Terrorist Groups–332–NIJ, which examines the innovation and learning activities of five groups selected to represent the spectrum of organizations that have used terrorist tactics.

This report should be of interest to a wide range of audiences, including professionals with interests in terrorism, counterterrorism, emergency response planning, and homeland security.

Continuing conflicts between violent groups and states generate an ever–present demand for higher quality and more timely information to support operations to combat terrorism.

In particular, better ways are needed to understand how terrorist and insurgent groups adapt over time into more–effective organizations and increasingly dangerous threats. To adapt, terrorist organizations must learn. A group’s ability to learn determines its chance of success, since learning is the link between what the group wants to do and its ability to gather the needed information and resources to actually do it. Despite the importance of terrorist group learning, comparatively little focused research effort has been directed at understanding this process and identifying the factors that influence group learning ability.

While relevant data and insights can be found in the literature on terrorism and terrorist organizations, this information has not been collected and systematically analyzed to assess its importance from the perspective of efforts to combat terrorism. This study addresses that need in an effort to both analyze current understanding and stimulate further study and research in this area.

The study is described in this report and in a companion volume, Aptitude for Destruction, Volume 1: Organizational Learning in Terrorist Groups and Its Implications for Combating Terrorism, MG–331–NIJ, which applies the analytical framework described in the second part of this report to the practical demands of intelligence and law enforcement activities.

This is the 2nd Volume in a two part series on understanding terrorist groups.

Several experiments, focusing on decisions made by young, voting–age citizens of the United States about how to respond to incidents of international conflict, are summarized.

Participants recommended measured reactions to an initial attack. Repeated attacks led to escalated reaction, however, eventually matching or exceeding the conflict level of the attack itself.

If a peace treaty between contending nations was in place, women were more forgiving of an attack, and men were more aggressive. There was little overall difference in reactions to terrorist versus military attacks.Participants responded with a higher level of conflict to terrorist attacks on military than on cultural.

Find out more about the results of these experiments in this interesting article.