This article points out the fundamental “underpinning” of counter-insurgency or counter-terrorism; the surrounding populace is the lifeblood of the terrorist or guerilla group. Only by infiltrating or coercing the local populace can you then start making a dent in the enemy by disrupting their intel capabilities.
One of the reasons why I harp so much on Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) collection is because there are hundreds of millions of intelligence gatherers around the world. Every blog, every website, every reporter, every newscast, every everything is potentially producing information of Intelligence value. Our job is to identify those sources and monitor what they produce.
Information Nigeria published an interview with a young woman who was abducted by Boko Haram and later rescued. She explains one really good reason why Boko Haram still exists:
“When they heard soldiers were in Madagali, they took us to Peta where we lived under trees.
“We don’t know how Boko Haram gets its information, but they always know when the soldiers are coming. If there’s something like that, they just tell us to pack our things and run.”
Read the Rest at GuerillAmerica
Reblogged this on Brittius.