Is terrorism currently a harder target for intelligence agencies than the USSR was during the coldwar?

desertviking_00

In the Cold War we had more human intelligence (HUMINT) assets. For nearly twenty years we had a mole inside the Kremlin. And the Soviets were rather crude when it came to the use of operational security when using their electronic means of passing information. We had taps on the telephone cables between the Soviet Union interior and the ports of the various Red Banner fleets. And little of their military radio transmissions were encrypted, so we could just listen in, tape record what we heard and have our analysts figure it out. Those traits also showed up in Soviet surrogate states.
This war against the Salafist Jihadists is somewhat different. To begin with, we did not give enough credibility to the threat. And we had few HUMINT assets among their ranks to let us know what was coming. We also miscalculated when deciding who made up the ranks of their "army". We concentrated on gathering intelligence from the Arab "street" figuring that they were being recruited from the poor and illiterate of the Souk, Casbah and Bazaar. But, those who were drawn to Bin Laden and his other leaders were the sons of well-off parents from the Islamic Crescent who had attended university in the West or their own countries. Even with the older movement of Jemma Islamiya operating in Southeast Asia for ten years before Al Queda declared war on us, we didn't put it together.
But, since the attack on America of September 11, 2001, we have been learning. We have also used our intelligence capabilities and turned the very means of communication used by the "hirabah" (terrorists) against them. Still, I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of political leaders who have ever read the book listed in the source box below. It's only 160 pages long and is finally available in an English translation. It is to Al Queda and the similar groups what "Mein Kampf" was to the Nazis. Reading it will give the average person a chilling portrait of what the "hirabah" are all about and how deadly serious they are. Then, maybe, all this nonsense about calling them to the "Kumbaya Table" for some resolution of their grievances will come to an end.

SchizoWriter

I doubt it, our boys just killed the Al Qaeda in Iraq intelligence minister and he had absolutely every damn thing you could want on him lol

the jihadis dont seem to have any real intelligence or counter-intelligence

its all just doped up militia wanting to shoot guns

nicrage

both of the above answers are correct with their point.

I would also like to add that, during the cold war, it was easier to deploy "spies", since we had numerous Americans who could fit the part. We don't have many people in our military who could fit into an Afghanistan terrorist camp.

Chad

Yes. The enemy was easy to spot in the cold war, and had a home country that was identifiable. Terrorists are amorphous (as groups) and can't be identified unless they're pointing a rifle towards you.

rabdomness

I would say yes because then you knew what countries was with the USSR, as now, not every country is known whether they intend terror, or not!

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