Stratfor: How Do Terrorists Measure Success?

October 02, 2017

The Brief   How Do Terrorists Measure Success?  Like natural disasters, terrorist attacks have the potential to shape human history — if they happen at the right time and at the right place. But even then, both are more likely to leave their mark by shaping larger trends than by causing radical shifts by themselves. Unlike natural disasters, the humans who orchestrate terrorist attacks have the ability to choose the time and place, and oftentimes to exploit political or societal fault lines that can accelerate trends.   Essential Reading The History of North Korea's Arsenal Each new step that Pyongyang has taken in its development of missile and nuclear technology has been critical to its goal of acquiring a viable nuclear deterrent to U.S. military action against it.   Spain Pumps the Breaks on Catalonia's Independence Drive Tensions remain high between the Spanish government and the regional government in Catalonia. Madrid insists that the referendum on Catalan independence, scheduled for Oct. 1, is illegal and won't take place. But the Catalan government has promised that the vote will go on as planned.  Blog: Bringing Geopolitcs Home - How to Help Children Understand the World Around Them Geopolitics touches upon geography, government, politics, economics and history. As a parent, you can use these areas to provide a framework for answering their questions.    Watch and Listen Podcast: Iran, the Nuclear Deal and the Road Forward With U.S.-Iranian tensions once again on the rise, questions remain as to what path forward Iran will take, what the future of the Iranian nuclear deal may be and what the answers to these questions will mean for the region at large.  Iran's Geographic Challenge In this short geographic primer, Stratfor examines Iran's geographic position at the crossroads of the Islamic world.          Stratfor Store Reports The Geopolitics of Natural Disasters - Free download for a limited time When analyzing natural disasters through a geopolitical prism, there are many factors to consider. But geopolitics focuses on the broader, long-term impacts of such events, showing how natural disasters play a part in determining the fates of nations.  The Geopolitics of Germany Geography has blessed Germany, the wealthiest portion of a capital-rich region, with navigable waterways and arable land. These features have helped secure Germany's place at the center of the European system for much of the past two centuries. But as this report shows, geography has also cursed Germany by leaving it exposed on the North European Plain.  Stratfor P.O. Box 92529  Austin Texas 78709-2529 USA

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