Asymmetrical Warfare - The Post World War - Lecture Slides, Slides of History

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Week 4: Distinctiveness of 911 Attack

Lecture 9: “Asymmetrical Warfare”

Structure of Lecture 9:

• Introduction to the Distinctiveness of the 911 Attack
• Asymmetry Type A:
  • Military Vs Civility
• Asymmetry Type B:
  • Low-tech Vs High-tech
• Osama Bin Laden’s Perspective on Asymmetry
• Conclusion: Was it so “asymmetrical”?

“Language 101” and 911’s Uniqueness

• George W Bush: “A Threat with No Precedent”… - Actor - Event
• Venue
• Tool
• Timing
• Different Perspectives on its Uniqueness owing to Different Personal Backgrounds…

Actor – the Planner

• Al-Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden:
  • The “Shadow Leader”
• “Desperately seeking for enemies”
• A Non-governmental Organization instead of a Country - From 2-dimensional World to 3-dimensional world
• … more on week 10

Venue (I)

• Attack on American “Homeland”
• 1776-1783: War of Independence
• 1812-1815: Anglo- American War - 1814: Fall of Washington, D.C. - Burning of White House and the Capitol

Venue (II)

• 1916: Mexican guerrilla war
  • Pancho Villa
  • Raid on Columbus (New Mexico)
• 1941-1945: Second World War
  • 1941: Pearl Harbor Incident
  • 1942: Japanese Incendiary Bombs in Pacific Northwest
• A “Safe Haven” during Cold War

Tools (II)

• Asymmetry Type A:
  • Military Warfare Vs Common People
• Asymmetry Type B:
  • Low-tech Primitive Weapons Vs High-tech Modernized Weapons

Timing

• Accidentalism Vs Incrementalism
• Dramatic Setting (“September 11”)
• Media Coverage’s Impacts on Modern Warfare
• End of the World, WWIII, Ghost Stories…
• … more on Wednesday

Identities of 911 Attackers and Victims

• Hijackers: Murderers/ Military Soldiers
• Planners: Military Commanders
• Pentagon Victims: Military officers
• World Trade Center Victims:
  • Common people (non-militant)
  • Internationalized (multi-national corporations)
• The Editing Strategy of Politically Incorrectness
  • Emphasis on WTC (Asymmetrical)
  • Tune down on Pentagon (Symmetrical)
  • The Article #23 Analogy

War Codes and Charters

• Ancient War Codes: “Just Wars”/ Chevaliers
  • Ancient China: Confucius Vs Legalists
  • Ancient West: Christianity Vs Machiavellian
• United Nations Charters
  • Geneva Convention
  • International Court of Justice (the Hague)
• Protection of Common People at Wars
• Against Exploitation of Women and Children
• Against Exploitation of War Prisoners

Low-tech Primitive Strategies

• Hi! Jack…
• Everyday life weapon: pocket knifes, folks, box-cutters…
• Commercial Plane Vs F
• The “Shoe Bomber”
• Psychological Attack
  • Martyrdom

High-tech Modernized Strategies

• Star War (Strategic Defense Initiative, SDI)
  • President Ronald Reagan (1983)
  • Aim: to destroy Soviet nuclear weapons IN SPACE
  • Hollywood movies: “Star War I, II, III”…
  • Purpose: to keep American cities save
  • Effect: collapse of USSR?

The 911 Balance Sheet

• Lives: 3,
  • World Trade Center: 2,
  • Pentagon: 125
  • Planes: 269
  • Hijackers: 19
  • Turnover: 160 times
• Financial Cost:
  • USA: US$33,000,000,
  • Al-Qaeda: US$1,000,
  • Turnover: 33,000 times

Assigned Readings

• Main Text: Lawrence Freedman: “A New Type of War” (B&D P.37-47)
• Supplementary Text: Christopher Harmon. Terrorism Today. Chapter 2: Strategies (P.44-75).