Along with intelligence, preventing terrorist attacks requires disrupting planning, logistics and operational support systems, a counterterrorism expert said Feb. 11 in a virtual presentation hosted by Texas A&M University-San Antonio.
“Intelligence is extremely important from this perspective, but intelligence alone is not enough,” Dr. Ahmet S. Yayla, associate professor and director of the Center for Homeland Security at DeSales University, said.
Yayla, a former chief of counterterrorism in Sanliurfa, Turkey, examined how terrorist organizations plan and execute attacks.
He spoke to students, faculty and staff at A&M-San Antonio via Zoom. His talk “From Strategy to Execution: The Anatomy of Terrorist Attack Cycle,” explained how terrorist cells organize, prepare and carry out attacks.
Drawing on two decades of counterterrorism experience with the Turkish National Police, Yayla described a structured cycle used by terrorist organizations, beginning with strategic objective setting and intelligence gathering and ending with deployment and post-attack procedures. He emphasized that terrorist groups learn from failed operations and from one another, adapting to improve effectiveness.
Yayla said intelligence collection, leadership review and logistical support are among the most critical stages. Those strategies provide opportunities for law enforcement to disrupt attacks before they occur. He also noted that advances in technology have changed modern terrorism, making target identification easier while expanding surveillance and intelligence capabilities for authorities.
“Essentially, this is one of the most important steps of carrying out a terrorist attack because all the details are going to be shared here, listed, and then shared with leadership,” Yayla said.
The presentation launches the Department of Criminology and Political Science’s speaker series, which exposes students to current issues and career pathways in criminal justice and public service, Durant Frantzen, professor and chair of Criminology and Political Science, said.
For more information, visit the department’s JagSync page.
