Frag Out! Magazine
Issue link: https://fragout.uberflip.com/i/1115818
atively easy to handle. There are virtually no attacks involving the use of sniper ri- fles or other firearms – i.e. more difficult to use or get. The third type of attacks is attacks car- ried out with the use of various kinds of dangerous tools. The range of available options is very broad, starting from knives through cars and ending with derail devices. One issue of "Inspire" was devoted entirely to the practice of derailing passenger and freight trains. Again, real-life situations show that what is mainly used is knives and similar ob- jects as well as cars of different types. These are, simply speaking, 'tools' which are easiest to use and promise quick and spectacular effects. Plus, they're avail- able without any restrictions. A so limited scope of attack tools limits the set of potential targets much more than ideological criteria. Ideology deter- mines only a general group of targets. For a far-rightist, like Breivik, these tar- gets were left-wing politicians and social activities. For the far left, they can be representatives of the state, business leaders or right-wingers, and for jihad- ists, targets include "the infidel" in a very broad sense, with a special consid- eration of those actively opposing their ideology or leading a particularly "sinful" life. That's why bars, restaurants, and nightclubs are more likely targets than, say, churches. Symbolic targets – like the seats of government institutions, embassies, public persons or facilities of significance to the functioning of a state and its econ- omy, such as power plants or industrial plants, are theoretically attractive to terrorists, and were so in the past, in the times of organizations such as the Provisional IRA or the Red Army Faction, able to collect information for a long time and work on sophisticated methods of attack. Nowadays, launching an attack on a "hard" target is increasingly diffi- cult on account of the range of security measures applied. Overcoming or break- ing them requires bigger measures, and this stands in opposition to the modus operandi of "lone wolves". It is clear that even very well-organized groups have trouble with intelligence and planning. For instance, during the November 2015 attacks launched in Paris, a bomber at- tempted to enter the stadium having for- gotten that in order to do so, you need to have a ticket, show up on time, and not to hope that security guards let someone with a suspicious object underneath their clothes in. That's why despite attempts and ap- peals, the attacks carried out in Europe in recent five years have been aimed mainly at soft targets, such as the said restaurants, concerts halls, transporta- tion hubs – especially the underground, railway stations, airports (outside secu- rity zones) or places of mass gatherings on the occasion of public holidays or oth- er events. There have also been attacks on soldiers and policemen – both on duty and in places of their residence. And sometimes these attacks tend to target completely random places. The already mentioned limitations in the area of intelligence are compensated for by the selection of known targets. An at- tack occurs therefore in a place where the attacker lives – or in the vicinity. It may be a place which the terrorist has frequently visited, or even studied or worked at. We can speak then of targets of opportunity because, speaking col- loquially, such targets are simply often within reach. How do all these trends translate into a possible scenario of a terrorist attack in Poland? So far, we have seen very few cases of events that could be regarded as politically motivated attacks occurring in our country. This leads to a dangerous underestimation of the problem of ter- rorist threats, thinking that "this cer- tainly won't happen in Poznań (Wrocław/ Sosnowiec/any other town or city)". Ac- cording to such assumptions, terrorist is something that happens in large cities in Western Europe, and even if a terrorist attack did occur in Poland, it would most www.fragoutmag.com