The Need to Learn in Order to Change Effectively

The effectiveness of a terrorist group that lacks the ability to learn will be determined largely by chance—the chance that its members already have all the necessary skills, the chance that its current tactics are effective against desirable targets and against current countermeasures, and the chance that any accidental or arbitrary shifts the group makes will prove to be beneficial. Since a terrorist group’s learning capability is a key determinant of the level of threat it poses, knowledge of that capability is critical for law enforcement and intelligence planners in allocating resources for combating the most dangerous terrorist groups.