Dr. Gorka lectures on "The New Terrorist Threat: Why Al Qaeda is Different"
Posted: Wednesday, June 23, 2010
On June 22, 2010 The Institute of World Politics hosted a lecture by Dr. Sebastian Gorka, Assistant Professor of Irregular Warfare at the National Defense University.
IWP President John Lenczowski introduced Dr. Gorka, noting his reputation for presenting "sensible and creative analysis in matters of counterintelligence and national security."
Dr. Gorka, whose lecture was entitled "The New Terrorist Threat: Why Al Qaeda is Different," began by employing Sun Tzu's famous saying that if you know your enemy, you will be successful in half of your engagements. In order to understand Al Qaeda and the challenges it presents us, he described several ways of looking at this organization.
First, he described the various generations of individuals who are part of Al Qaeda. The youngest generation is not linked together by battlefield experience, as were previous members of Al Qaeda, but rather by their education in universities.
Second, Dr. Gorka explained that it is important to note how the enemy is rhetorically portrayed in general, and, in particular, how our government labels the enemy. He reviewed several descriptions of the Al Qaeda threat that have been promoted by various prominent thinkers and government officials, and described the most recent (and most accurate) conception of the current conflict - a "global counterinsurgency." Whereas normal counterinsurgencies are concerned with the control of a nation-state, he said, the one with which we are currently dealing has global ambitions.
The third way that we must look at the threat from Al Qaeda is in terms of the historic context - that is, the history of Islam and of the whole Arab community in the Middle East.
A significant way that Al Qaeda differs from past threats, according to Dr. Gorka, is that it involves "hyperterrorism." In the past, terrorists have been mainly concerned with having a large audience for their terrorist acts. Al Qaeda is interested in having both a large audience and with killing a large number of people with weapons of mass destruction.
Dr. Gorka also explained that another aspect of Al Qaeda that makes it unique from previous challenges for the U.S. involves its ultimate goals. Whereas other insurgencies often have an obtainable and feasible political goal, Al Qaeda has global ambitions. One can use all the tools of diplomacy and statecraft to deal with the first type of insurgency; Al Qaeda, on the other hand, is not open to negotiation.
Dr. Gorka ended his lecture by describing the lessons that we can learn from the Cold War that are helpful in understanding and responding to the threat from Al Qaeda. He explained the many similarities between the two threats, as well as the significant differences. One of these major differences is the fact that, in countering Al Qaeda's operations, we are dealing with non-European peoples and cultures. Further, he explained that Muslims - even moderate ones - have no religious basis to reject the actions of terrorists. The five pillars of Islam, which make you a good Muslim of you follow them, say nothing about not being a terrorist.
He suggested, ultimately, that we use a variety of means to counter Al Qaeda, including ideological warfare, propaganda, strategic communication, and law enforcement. The most important focus of our time and resources should be to destroy those who use violence against us, and stop them from killing us. Second, we should delegitimize those who subvert us legally, politically, and economically.
Questions led to discussions of the use or nonuse of reason in the religion of Islam, the speech by President Obama in Cairo and its meaning and implications, the reaction against Shariah law in Europe, and the practical way in which to fight against a global counterinsurgency.
Please click here to read a paper that Dr. Gorka shared with attendees of the event: 
Gorka, "The Age of Irregular Warfare - So What?"
Dr. Sebastian Gorka was born in the UK to parents who escaped Communism during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. He is an internationally recognized authority on issues of national security, terrorism and democratization, having worked in government and the private and NGO sectors in Europe and the United States. A graduate of the University of London and Corvinus University, Budapest, and was Kokkalis Fellow at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government. He holds a Ph.D. in political science.
In the past Sebastian has acted as a consultant to the RAND Corporation's Washington Office and was the first Director of the Institute for Transitional Democracy and International Security. After September the 11th 2001, he spent four years as Adjunct Professor for Terrorism and Security Studies at the George C. Marshall Center in Germany. He has published in excess of 130 monographs, book chapters and articles, many for the JANES Group of the UK, and appears regularly in the international press, to include the Financial Times, the BBC, CBS, FOX, CNN, REUTERS, the Washington Post, EuroNews, Al Jazeera, Alhurra and Newsweek. Dr. Gorka advises and briefs at the highest levels to US Special Operations Command and NATO. He is a frequent guest lecturer at institutions such as the National Counterterrorism Center, USMA West Point and the School of Advanced Military Studies, Fort Leavenworth. Most recently he advised the Office of the Secretary of Defense regarding the latest draft guidance from Secretary Gates on US Strategic Communications and was consulted during the drafting of the new Joint Operating Concept (JOC) for Irregular Warfare.
Sebastian is a founding member of the Council for Emerging National Security Affairs and a member of the Strategic Advisers' Group of the Atlantic Council of the United States.
