Internet and Terrorism by James

Internet and Terrorism by James a. Lewis of the Center for Strategic and International Studies published April, 1 2005, in the Proceedings of the 99th Annual Meeting of the American Society for International Law.

Lewis's article is a detailed opinion piece stressing the nature of the threat of the internet, as it is utilized as a tool by terrorists. The author stresses that the internet is above all a tool that has been utilized by terrorists to spread extremist doctrine and commit fraudulent acts that ensure funding, through means that are better and less risky than bank robberies and kidnappings. Lewis describes the need to assess the threat of the utilization of the internet by terrorists and take action that logically hinders its use for illegal means, such as identity theft or other means of obtaining resources. Lewis stresses that those who wish to limit access to terrorists of internet are not thinking logically but act impetuously in a manner that will likely hurt democratic society and free speech more than it will hurt terrorists. The answer according to Lewis is not to restrict access but to control illegal activity through aggressive logical law enforcement of the new field, win the debate with the ideology, and monitor activities rather than attempt to restrict access or force the addresses to constantly relocate, furthering their ideology through word of mouth which feeds the idea that they are in some way winning the war with the weapon of the enemy. The author stresses that the terrorist is not likely to use the internet as a weapon, as those with intent to do harm wish to do so in a way that is violent, public and bloody and strikes terror in the hearts of the "enemy." This work stresses that as the creators of the internet we should be able to use the home court advantage to better deal with the utilization of the internet by terrorists, rather than trying to eliminate such use, an illogical possibility given the structure and nature of the internet. The author makes clear that like in so many other things overreaction, that created restricted use for whole regions and/or many individuals, via restriction would create demonstrative problems for the majority, rather than the minority, being the terrorists.

The problem in this work is clearly stated. The author is stating that the gut reaction by many to attempt to restrict the use of the internet by terrorists is not only illogical but likely impossible and would do more harm than good. The purposes of the article are to offer the reader a clear sense of the logical options associated with the control of internet use by terrorists. The author stresses that overreacting would not hinder the terrorists, as they would simply seek other means to access the technology and innocents would likely be bared from access. As with so many other documents associated with the CSIS there is a clear sense that the organization and its members seek to offer logical rather than counterproductive solutions to battling terrorism.

There is no traditional literature review within this work. There are only a few quotes, lacking citation a clear opinion piece that offers little in the way of evidence, and an great deal of expert opinion. A traditional review of literature would supplement this work with additional information in favor of the arguments as well as contrary to the arguments, which would likely be as illogical as the options the author counters in the work.

Again there is no traditional methodology section in this work as it is largely an expert opinion of the current state of the use of the internet by terrorists. The hypothesis as stated is assumed to be used by the reader and possibly future researchers as a basis for future research, rather than an isolated research hypothesis. The author gives logical reasoning to his opinion but does not prove or disprove his hypothesis with current research. This work could be judged as macro-analytical as it focuses on an issue that is global, as internet technology and those seeking to utilize it for unsavory purposes is a universal concern, and terrorism is a global problem in part being financed and supported through the utilization of the internet as a tool rather than a weapon of the fight.