JORDANIAN MAJ. GEN. (RET.) OUDA SHUDEIFAT
Despite all the blessings it bestows on mankind, technology is a double-edged sword, damaging lives if exploited in ways that no longer help people.
Evil people can harness technology to serve sinister goals and purposes. Everything was legitimized to achieve the aims of deviants, extremists, narcotics traffickers, cheats and fraudsters, and terror practitioners in all forms.
How many crimes involved drones, how many lives were lost, how much blood was shed in vain, human dignity desecrated and property destroyed? Long-distance terrorism has become accessible and affordable, used by those who wish to abuse, destroy and subvert countries. It has reached the point where drones can transport narcotics and explosives, and we restrain and intercept them only with difficulty.
Despite all this, some technologically advanced countries have become masters at enhancing the capability and performance of these methods to further evil, spread chaos and destroy peoples’ lives. They distract the armies of nations they view as hostile, savor the misfortune of others, and spread brutality and deceit via gangs, militias, and their protectors and schemers who fight their dirty wars by proxy in various countries. They sponsor those who cultivate, manufacture, export, trade and traffic in damage and destruction, and they have all the means to achieve their evil deeds and goals.
If destroying bodies and taking lives does not work, they strive to destroy minds, behaviors and morals, propagating anything to degrade societies and countries, encouraging depravity in all shapes and forms fueled by deceit, hatred and envy.
They use networks of instigators and agitators who spread rumors, lies, falsehoods, slander and fatwas that are compatible with their aims and desires.
Drones used by these people have become available and accessible to terrorist gangs in areas where terrorism has spread, and they will be used by the children of the camps of internally displaced people and Daesh, and by those who escaped from prisons and have been indoctrinated and trained by countries and militias and gangs.
Children of these camps are like a ticking time bomb within countries and on the borders of neighboring countries, along with some overseas illegal migrants. This mixture is the weapon that countries look for, sponsor and commit to, spreading poison and terror that does not discriminate between color, religion and creed. Their goal is to make chaos reign, distract every effort, preoccupy the troops, and eradicate the security of countries and borders.
Terrorists have neglected no method or tool, misusing them and letting them serve their destructive projects. Despite the many positives of the sustained technological advancements the modern world is witnessing, there are many negatives, the most important of which is the delay by the international community in regulating emerging technology through laws that govern its use and punish those who abuse it, be they individuals, groups or nations.
Terrorists have taken advantage of the absence of international deterrence — and the support of some countries — to exploit information technology to serve domestic and transnational crime. They have organized recruitment and funding campaigns for terrorist groups through social media platforms, mobile phones, satellite phones, computers and virtual private networks.
They have attacked the internet, disrupted public computer systems, and conducted systematic online extortion and intimidation. To rein in this rampant terrorism, the international community must agree to put an end to cybercrime by enacting strict laws against any government or private entity proven to be involved in, promoting or turning a blind eye to this type of crime. Failure to take punitive action against a criminal can be the legal equivalent of complicity in the crime.