In the old days, you needed a terror infrastructure with bases in Beirut or Afghanistan to lash out in a big way. Not anymore. Now all you need is the virtual Afghanistan %u2014 the Internet and a few cellphones %u2014 to recruit, indoctrinate, plan and execute. Hence, the atomization %u2014 little terror groups sprouting everywhere. Everyone now has a starter kit.
Gen. Michael Hayden, the C.I.A. director, recently noted in a speech that during the cold war %u201Cthe enemy was easy to find, but hard to finish,%u201D because the Soviet Union was so big and powerful. %u201CIntelligence was important%u201D back then, he added, %u201Cbut it was overshadowed by the need for sheer firepower.%u201D
In today%u2019s war against terrorist groups, said General Hayden, %u201Cit%u2019s just the opposite. Our enemy is easy to finish, but hard to find. Today, we are looking for individuals or small groups planning suicide bombings, running violent Jihadist Web sites, sending foreign fighters into Iraq.%u201D
I%u2019d go one step further. The Soviet Union was easy to find and hard to kill, but once it died, it was dead forever. It had no regenerative power because it had no popular base. The terrorists of Iraq or London are hard to find, easy to kill, but very difficult to eliminate. New recruits just keep sprouting.
