August 29, 2017
The Threat of Small-Dollar Terrorism
The recent ISIS terrorist attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils likely cost no more than a few thousand dollars—little more than the cost of renting vehicles and housing and feeding operatives for a few weeks. These attacks fit a pattern of high-impact, low-cost terrorism across Europe. Even the Paris attacks in November 2015, which killed 130 revelers, likely cost no more than $10,000.
It’s not clear whether the terrorists in Spain received money from abroad or raised funds locally to carry out the attacks. But we know that even as coalition military forces have scored victories against ISIS in Iraq and Syria, ISIS operatives and terrorists have turned to these kinds of low-cost attacks across the West. Just since the beginning of January, we have seen horrific examples in London, Paris, Manchester and Stockholm, in addition to the attacks in Spain.
Read the full article in Politico.
More from CNAS
-
Munitions Procurement and the Fiscal Year 2027 Defense Budget
Reports
Executive Summary The war with Iran has taken a tremendous toll on the American military’s munitions stockpile. Over half its inventory of high-end missile interceptors has be...
By Carlton Haelig
-
How to Avoid Disaster in the Next Iran War
Commentary
Should full-scale fighting resume against a reconstituted Iran in the near term, coalition forces will run out of Patriot, THAAD, and Standard Missile interceptors in days, no...
By Stacie Pettyjohn & Philip Sheers
-
Sea Drones a Taiwan Game Changer
Commentary
This article was originally published in the Taipei Times. China prefers to win without firing a shot in its bid to strangle Taiwan’s strategic autonomy. Chinese military str...
By Trey Meeks
-
We Go High, We Go Low
Podcast
Missiles and drones (slow missiles) put the bang in airpower. But given how many we used in Iran, what would U.S. magazines have to look like to, say, defend Taiwan from the C...
By Stacie Pettyjohn & Philip Sheers
