Terrorist attacks are some of the cheapest to plan and execute considering the amount of damage they do physically and mentally. While war can cost a nation up to billions, and even trillions of dollars, a well-managed terrorist attack can cost between a few hundred dollars to a few hundred thousand. For example, September 11th only cost Al-Qaeda 400,000$-500,000$. This includes materials, training, plane costs, housing, food etc. (Eggen) On the other end of the spectrum, 9/11 cost New York City around 95$ billion. (Chan) Since then, terrorist attacks have only gotten cheaper. The Madrid train bombings on March 11, 2004 only cost 10,000$ to plan in all. One hundred and ninety-one people were killed, and over one thousand eight hundred were injured. If you were to put a price tag on human life, it cost 52$ to kill a person that day, not including those who were injured. The London bombings of 2007 were even cheaper, estimated in the low thousands. (Buchanan)
With these numbers, it is not surprising why terrorists continue with the attacks. The amount of death and destruction they deal per dollar is shocking. Waging a war that is cheap, in contrast to modern warfare, is prime since they are fighting it independent of state support. Terrorism is cheap, and therefore very cost effective.
Along with being cost effective, Jihadists are efficient at eluding the U.S and its allies. Terrorism in general is hard to stop, counter and predict. So much so that the three words hanging from the CIA’s counterterrorism office are “Preempt-Disrupt-Defeat.” When one walks into the CTC’s Global Response Center, one will see a sign saying, “Today is September 12th 2001” A reminder to workers that there is a great need to stop the next terrorist attack, to act as if everyday is September 12th, the day after the greatest terrorist attack the United States has suffered.
Part of the reason that terrorism is difficult to preempt, disrupt and defeat is because different terrorist networks are unified, but widespread. Physically stopping terrorist’s networks takes a lot of organization and planning due mainly to the terrain of Pakistan and Afghanistan. However, to make matters more difficult, defeating a single terrorist organization is quite the feat. For example the Taliban, an organization that has been crippled by the all-out invasion of Afghanistan remains strong and steadfast because it is spread throughout multiple countries and is divided into different sects. (Kilcullen, 83) Not only is the Taliban spread out but also they are efficient. The Taliban over the past eight years have managed to stay afloat despite a multi-national invasion of Afghanistan. Being widespread helps, but the key is the determination of the fighters, experienced leaders, and a new capacity for terrorist attacks. (Kilcullen, 53)
