CIAO DATE: 06/2011

Video-recorded Decapitations: A seemingly perfect terrorist tactic that did not spread

May 2011

Danish Institute for International Studies

Abstract

In 2002, Daniel Pearl was kidnapped and be­headed in Pakistan. The horrific live footage of the decapitation quickly spread on the inter­net, causing widespread shock and revulsion. A new and effective terrorist tactic had emerged - which did not require a lot of money, training or weapons to carry out. Added to that, the internet made it possible to disseminate the video content widely. A perfect terrorist weapon for the information age had been invented and it was to be expected that it would soon spread to Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Thai­land, and India. But so far it has not. Why?

Resource link: Video-recorded Decapitations: A seemingly perfect terrorist tactic that did not spread [PDF] - 267K