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Would talking to terrorists be a good idea? And if we were to engage modern day terrorists in a real dialogue what would we potentially learn about their agendas, motivations and the possibility of negotiated peace? Is it possible to come to terms with Al Qaeda, Palestinian or Chechen terror groups and what would the differences in how those terms are reached likely be? If we took seriously the individual motivations for terrorism would we possibly find the openings in how the terror networks might be undermined? This paper based on three years of dialogues with terrorists-their families, close associates, those who have observed them up close, the senders of human bombs and the individuals themselves who become bombs-speculates on these very questions.
THE GLOBAL NATURE OF MODERN-DAY TERRORISM
Terrorism has changed dramatically in recent years. What was once viewed by states as primarily a domestic problem present in nearly every country, but on a small scale, has suddenly burgeoned into an international global threat knowing no state boundaries and long international reach. Many of the changes due to globalization make possible today what was inconceivable in previous years. For instance since the fall of the Soviet Union and the rise of the European Union there is increasingly easy movement of people and goods over porous state boundaries. High-speed global Internet and satellite communication makes virtual command and control structures, once only imagined, increasingly possible. Technological advances making weapons of mass destruction more accessible and more portable also puts at the disposal of international terrorists lethal weaponry which was once only in the domain of states. All of this takes place during a time in which mass media is now able to relay terrorist events as well as those occurring in conflict zones as nearly simultaneously reported global events.
Just as technology has opened the door for changing the nature of the terrorist threat from simply addressing local failed politics and threats to in many cases a more global and unified threat, so too have terror tactics changed. In 1983 Hezbollah happened upon an age-old maxim-willingness to die can make a soldier invincible. A "soldier" carrying a bomb on his body or transporting a bomb in a truck that he detonates on contact with...