March 11, 2004:
“Ten bombs exploded on four trains during rush hour in Madrid. More than 190 people died, almost 2,000 were injured.
“One year on, Madrid was the setting for a unique conference, the International Summit on Democracy, Terrorism and Security.”
The Club de Madrid has just published the full set of the Madrid Conference papers. As an example of the content, in the Intelligence section of Volume 2 (PDF), intel expert Brian Jenkins begins:
These documents are worth perusing. More below:
Writes Victor Comras, a noted authority on al Qaeda and terrorism financing, for the Counterterrorism Blog:
The First Volume [ALL VOLUMES ARE IN PDF FORMAT] deals with the Causes of Terrorism, including its psychological roots as well as political, economic, religious, and cultural factors.
The Second Volume is on Confronting Terrorism and deals with policing, intelligence, military responses, terrorist finance, and science and technology.
The Third Volume concentrates on a “Democratic Response” to terrorism including the role of international institutions, legal responses, democracy promotion, human rights and civil society.
There is a load of excellent material in these volumes for consideration by policy makers, practitioners, advisors, and scholars. I will be posting my own reflections on these materials shortly.
The first section, for example, includes:
Addressing the Causes of Terrorism Psychology By Jerrold M. Post
Political Explanations By Martha Crenshaw
Economic Factors By Ted Robert Gurr
Religion By Mark Juergensmeyer
Culture By Jessica Stern
The Club de Madrid Mission and Activities
List of Members
The Madrid Summit
The Madrid Agenda
Victor Comras’s link to the full set of documents (PDF format).
The next couple paragraphs from Brian Jenkin0 in the 2nd volumes:
We defined the task of intelligence broadly, perhaps more broadly than its consumers. Policymakers often look to the intelligence services to solve their policy problems: if all attacks can be thwarted, if all terrorists can be eliminated, difficult policy choices may be avoided. This can lead to asking the wrong questions.
While intelligence plays a critical role in assisting policymakers to understand and frame the challenges they face, and in reducing the adversaries’ capability to carry out attacks, good intelligence cannot by itself solve political problems. Intelligence managers must contribute to a fuller understanding of policy problems, but they also must assist in shaping policy considerations. Intelligence-tasking should reflect a very wide perspective, even broader than policymakers might prefer, identifying and illuminating issues which are being overlooked, or which are inconvenient and, for political reasons, are being ignored. In addition to getting the right answers, intelligence must make sure their customers are asking the right questions. …
that you and Apian will be the actual corner-turners in the world as it is today?
oh and Dood, on the spiritual side.
Ohhhh … TY! … well, you might change your mind after you see what I next posted. ;):)
I may turn a corner, but are you sure it’s safe?! 🙂
Bood will keep us in stitches, no doubt. As will you. Apian will keep us IN LINE.
that was “the other MJ” more akin to Olberman, than other Breathless in MSM.
forgot Juno & Iraqi union diary at dKos.
What’s that?
not only is heorshe hilarious, but has posted an article about Iraqi trade unionists touring this country with an Iraq for Iraqi’s intent.
I know something Suhu doesn’t. Nah. when you see, you’ll know:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/6/11/132349/848
I seeeeeee …. (assuming my most diabolical Cartman imitation) … I see that you have gone to the orange place that has no frogs. We will have to deal with you.
Well, you see, some frogs still go to the orange place…
and you can even find orange frogs:
(you may think) I never left. there’s a trick to staying in the margins and I accidentally applied a lesson I’ve know all my life.