RESEARCH NOTE: CONCEPT TO DEVELOP A SOFTWARE-BASED COUNTER-TERRORISM CAMPAIGN DECISION SUPPORT TOOL

摘要

In the public policy community, a need exists for a software program that applies leading concepts of counterterrorism (CT) analysis to systematically display, track, operationalize and update on one's computer all the decisions and processes involved in addressing all the measures required to respond to, and, if possible, resolve on-going terrorist-type insurgencies. Such a tool kit would be employed for analytical and training purposes, not necessarily in a government's CT campaign. Since no such customized software exists at present (based on the author's knowledge), analysts studying these issues end up relying on creating briefing books and powerpoint presentations on what they consider to be effective components of CT responses, without, however, using templates that can be updated and revised for new analyses. This research note, which is of a preliminary nature, is primarily descriptive and does not include a discussion of how the tool would be operationalized in a software program. Hopefully, this note will generate interest in a collaborative effort to create such a tool kit.