With the recent attack on NYPD officers showing how quickly and easily, and unconventionally an attack can be carried out, local authorities as well as Federal agencies should realize the nature of what is actually confronting us.
Unconventional warfare does not subscribe to uniforms, specific tactics, or well-defined battle lines.
Unconventional warfare is the practice of thinking as far outside of the box as possible in order to carry out attacks.
Often in unconventional warfare, the message is the biggest thing being emphasized. Not necessarily tactical destruction or specific targets. This is why terrorism fits in unconventional warfare so well.
Terrorism is the cheapest and easiest tactic to carry out. It doesn’t matter if you are shooting up a parliament, or if you are attacking a police officer with a hatchet, the goal of terrorism is to affect fear on a population in an attempt to change their political views. It doesn’t matter how big the attack or what technique you use.
I do believe the attack yesterday on NYPD officers was terrorism, whether directly related to any Islamic group or not.
If a mad man kills 20 people in a mass murderer and we find evidence that he did not like people of a certain race, that person is identified as a crazy person that committed a hate crime. Similarly, if an individual is crazy and he shoots up a public space or hits a police officer in the head with a hatchet, and his motivation is Islamic Jihad, he is an Islamic warrior using terrorism.