Why Terrorism Fails

Schneier on Security
Many people — along with our politicians and press — believe that al Qaeda is out to kill us all.

This paper [pdf] examines this belief: where it came from, how it manifested itself, and why it is wrong. This study analyzes the political plights of twenty-eight terrorist groups — the complete list of foreign terrorist organizations as designated by the U.S. Department of State since 2001.

Correspondent inference theory can explain not only why terrorist campaigns rarely work, but also perhaps why counterterrorism campaigns tend to breed even more terrorism. – Max Abrahms