Global Guerrillas

GG TECHNOLOGY: Secure P2P Communication

Here's a trend in technology that will provide Global Guerrillas with a nearly zero cost global communications system with military level encryption. Secure (encrypted) P2P (desktop to desktop communication) is on the rise due to the legal onslaught of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on open file sharing networks. New software of this type is in development almost everywhere you look. An example is Kdrive from the creators of eDonkey (an open P2P network that has over 2 m active users at any one time). It includes file sharing and chat (although voice is possible later on). Here's the download of the beta Windows version with a GUI. It uses a two layer distributed security managment system. One layer is generated the group manager (admin) and the second is built by the two desktops that want to connect. The result is a system is secure for person to person communication. The distributed management system means that if the central company is shut down by legal pressure, the network will continue to operate via any admin that runs the software. The plethora of software providers in this space, as well as the ease of installation, will make it possible for GG's to stay ahead of slow moving government law enforcement.

THE TERRORIST SOCIAL NETWORK

A common misconception of terrorist networks is that they are solely violent in nature. Many terrorist networks have developed complex and sophisticated systems that provide important social services to their supporters.

These terrorist social networks thrive in the vacuum created by a failed state. A good example of this is Hamas (who may be serving as a model for al-Sadr in Iraq). Since its founding in 1987, Hamas has proven to be a well run counterweight to Yassar Arafat's corrupt Palestinian National Authority (which, in many ways is the Palestinian state). Hamas runs the following services (a more detailed outline of the Hamas structure is available here):

1) An extensive education network
2) Distribution of food to the poor
3) Youth camps and sports
4) Ederly care
5) Funding of scholarships and business development
6) Religious services
7) Public safety
8) Health care

This network of social services provides Hamas with multiple benefits. These include:

1) Popular support that shelters the organization.
2) A plentiful supply of recruits for its terrorist mission.
3) Sources of external funding through charity organizations that support their social mission (much of which can be redirected to the terrorist mission) and funding through a small number of profitable businesses.

The rise of terrorist social services indicates that the loose networks that power terrorist military organizations can also replicate the social responsibilities of nation-states. As a challenger to the nation-state system, this capability speaks volumes.

This leads me to think that there is a generalized ("business") model that can be derived for fully developed terrorist organizations operating in failed states. However, any model developed must accomodate the decentralized decision making process used to make Hamas survivable. I will work on this and post.