Insurgency: Global Insurgent

The idea of insurgency provides a useful way of analysing the motives of the hijack bombers who attacked America.

The World Today
6 minute READ

The lessons of counter insurgency are far from comforting as we search for ways of dealing with them. western society has created a virus which is allowing the global insurgent to thrive.

After disasters as visible and massive as the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, broadcasters and correspondents use language that matches the scale of horror, the anguish of survivors and our feelings of insecurity. But as we move away from the events of September 11 and gain a better perspective, a problem arises when we continue to apply the same style of reportage to explain the nature of the suspected attackers and anticipate the steps to arrest or neutralise them.

Subscribe to read all issues

Articles from the current issue are free to read by all, the archive is exclusive to magazine subscribers and our members. Subscribe or become a member to view articles from the archive.