Terrorist Techniques - Essay Example

Terrorist groups use attrition against a state in an attempt to destroy their resources, leaving the government weak and ineffective. Specifically, this motive is aimed at liberating territory from the control of the state or acquiring a particular position within the society either politically or geographically (Kydd & Walter, 2006). In particular, attrition is a war based on longevity, and the team with the most resources to assume the costs of attacks wins. The conflict between Sri Lanka and the terror group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) utilized this strategy.

Specifically, throughout the year 2000, the LTTE employed the attrition war model to suppress and weaken the government with a series of attacks on the government, the public, and the military (Kydd & Walter, 2006). However, the application of this strategy by the Tamil Tigers was due to the financial disability that curtails them from direct involvement in the war with the government. In their attacks, the terrorists aim at persuading the enemy that it has the financial strength to inflict high-cost tests in order to achieve its desires.

As argued by Robert Pape, terrorists use bombing as an attrition strategy due to their financial constraints.Terrorist group's success lies in their ability to influence the behavior of their target group. Specifically, the success of their actions is embedded in threat elimination by attacking the government and any other relevant authority or individual whose influence will aid in the realization of their objectives (Kydd & Walter, 2006). Risk avoidance is a form of intimidation that suppresses the target group.

According to Drake (1998), the psychological fear or threat created by a terror group helps in the achievement of its political goals. Threat elimination uses violence and costly attacks to deter and prevent some undesirable behavior from the government (Kydd & Walter, 2006). Specifically, this acts as a signal that the terrorist group is willing and capable of eliminating any person or group that interferes with their operation. For example, the explosion outside the American Consulate in Karachi and the bombing of 202 Australian citizens are signals to warn the respective governments not to interfere with the terror group activities.

Therefore, the use of threat elimination as an objective under the intimidation strategy focuses on an established government (Kydd & Walter, 2006). Specifically, the terrorist group uses threats such as car bombing, suicide bombers in public places, and other cheap methods of attack to limit the government’s intervention.