". The ones carrying out the missions are the vast minority of such an organization.
This is highly incorrect, especially when looking at extremist Muslamic religous groups. Religious Extremism. Islamic extremists literally pose the largest danger in terms of religious terrorism. Sunni terrorists, such as Ramzi Yousef, convicted in the New York Trade Center bombing, tend to be representative of this trend, whereas Shi'a terrorists continue to pursue their goals in a more collective fashion, obtaining direction and support from Iran. Although the Sunni-Shi'a schism remains, some cooperation between members of the two branches of Islam has been evident. Muslim terrorists are often Mujahadeen, devoted to Islam and committed to Jihad, ("Holy War"), possessing combat experience of such locations as Afghanistan, Bosnia, and Chechnya. Well-schooled in handling weapons, explosives and communications equipment, they know the value of the Internet, fax machines, cellular telephones and encryption. Increasingly sophisticated and willing travellers, they have access to excellent false documentation and international contacts, and can blend easily into a local émigré community, where they can plan and execute attacks without being readily identified. It is their nebulous, unstructured characteristics, combined with zealous dedication, which contribute in large measure to the menace they present. Osama bin Laden is one such extraordinary example, made several times more dangerous by virtue of his immense wealth, personal capabilities, and charisma.
Intelligence gathering should and must be at the preliminary stage, by infiltrating such organizations, in any possible way. An operation of the size the US witnessed involved many people, at all levels of the organization. If the organization was well covered by the CIA/???, then the information would have reached them long time before the actual hit.
This is what intelligence is all about.
Intelligence is the best weapon for countering terrorism, but getting good intelligence on terrorism is challenging because it necessitates direct communication with the terrorists. CIA guidelines have discouraged hiring terrorist spies. This limits the information we can gather on terrorists and their agendas. ~ Clarke ~