International Journal on Criminology Volume 6, Number 1, Spring 2018 | Page 69

International Journal on Criminology
The technological methods of information and communication used; the
internet tools employed to conduct cyberattacks and to ensure recruitment, as
well as media coverage for their propaganda and operations, sometimes in real
time (Facebook, Twitter, Periscope, Telegram, etc.); the non-stop information offering
“support” and an “immediate sounding board” for any attack or operations
(Lagadec 2015)—all these constitute a third factor. The social and political dynamics,
and the migratory flows produced by situations of instability and conflict—as
in the case of Syria or the Arab revolutions—which favor the spread of ideas, the
recruitment of combatants and their movements, are a fourth factor.
In addition to these various factors, we should also take these groups’ strategic
orientations into account. The objective is no longer simply to influence certain
government decisions, notably in reaction to military interventions in Afghanistan,
Syria, or Iraq. It is, rather, to undermine the foundations of the Western model and
to bring about the failure of the democratic political system. The objective of the
wide range of “operations” of different kinds, conducted by isolated individuals
or groups, is to precipitate crises that will destabilize the political, economic, and
social structures of the threatened states. This radical Islamist “millenarian” terrorism
is part of a global strategy targeting all sectors of society and is developed on
three fronts: on national territories, against the foreign interests of the threatened
states, and in cyberspace. Its strategy for action consists in producing crises and
“generating chaos,” in other words triggering significant psychological shocks and
major breakdowns, or “systemic stalling” (Lagadec 2015).
The alternation between large-scale actions and more limited attacks, organized
from abroad or on national territory, have the effect of limiting the capacity
for prevention. This global destabilization strategy does not aim solely to create
terror among the population, but also to wear them down, to create an impact
of attrition, and to generate severe turbulence. The practice of attacking multiple
sites, or carrying out one attack upon another, serves to fulfill this objective. In
the short term, the aim is to cause major systemic dysfunctions that neutralize the
most elaborate procedures and systems for managing crises. In the medium and
long term, the objective is to create shocks of such a scale that they undermine the
values on which the political system rests.
The attacks on multiple sites involve attacking different targets simultaneously.
The nature of the targets (schools, shopping centers, airports, theaters, etc.),
and the radius within which the operation takes place are chosen with the aim of
disrupting any intervention by the emergency services. The difficulties linked to
making the targeted zones secure, the high number of victims, and the tactical
requirements of operational units, then end up severely hampering the ability to
manage the crisis. The operations involving one attack upon another consist in
making a direct strike upon operational units or the emergency services that have
rushed to the crisis zone, in such a way as to magnify their destabilizing effects.
They might also magnify the crisis by targeting crucial decision-making locations
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