Feb 10, 2008

From January 28th through February 8th 2008, the Joint Special Operations University (JSOU) in Florida held an advanced training course on Counter-terrorism. The course was particularly designed for senior military personnel who were currently engaged in the global war on terrorism. The key participants were from Indonesia, Pakistan, Thailand, and Jordan. Some of the most well known and respected authorities included Dr. Magnus Ranstorp and Dr. Sebestyen Gorka, who were called upon to teach specific segments of the course.

 

Mr. Hekmat Karzai, Director of CAPS was invited to teach a seminar on Terrorism: History, Trends and Evolution. In his lectures, Mr. Karzai focused on the evolution of terrorism and how it had affected government politics and freedom of action. He also highlighted the dilemmas and challenges that terrorism posed to democratic governments; the implications for conducting special operations missions with reference to apparent trends in terrorism; and the historical context of terrorism as a framework for understanding current trends.

 

Mr. Karzai finally discussed the four waves of terrorism and highlighted the evolution of Al Qaeda from an organization to a network to an ideology.