Terrorists and technology: the exploding pagers point out a fact about modern-day terrorists
… which is that for the most part terrorists rely on the creations of Western technology.
9/11 was an excellent example of that. In a jijitsu-like move, the terrorists turned a modern Western invention – jet planes – against one of the societies that had created and maintained that invention. The move was utterly unexpected by the US government – although imaginative writers such as Tom Clancy had come close to envisioning it.
And if Iran gets a nuclear weapon capacity – and it seems well on its way – it won’t be because Iranian scientists came up with the idea and launched a Manhattan Project.
Nor did any Arab nation come up with the idea or technology of pagers (or walkie talkies – source of today’s new Hezbollah casualties). Even wealthy Arab nations such as the Gulf States get their income mostly from oilfields which were originally developed by Westerners and are only of any value because of Western inventions which make use of oil energy.
Even as early as 9/11, Arab terrorists made tremendous use of the internet. They are well aware, however, that although reliance on modern technology gives them greatly increased reach and power and the ability to coordinate attacks and spread propaganda about them, it also creates a vulnerability. That’s why Hezbollah had abandoned cellphones as too dangerous, and replaced them recently with pagers and walkie-talkies – probably to their great dismay at this point.
A commenter yesterday suggested, perhaps tongue-in-cheek, that terrorists might now resort to carrier pigeon. It’s a possibility, however, and was done (for example) by ISIS in 2016.
Israel, in contrast, is a country known for technological innovations. But it’s over-reliance on technology for military intelligence was one of the things that made it vulnerable on 10/7, when its leaders showed a failure of imagination that Hamas exploited. I hope it doesn’t make that mistake again. And I doubt Hezbollah will be using cellphones or pagers or walkie-talkies in the future. At the very least, it won’t be ordering them in bulk from foreign countries.
Fighting for survival focuses the mind. Israel continues to show itself as a leader in innovation for striking their enemies. Didn’t they a few years (decades?) back mess up Iran’s centrifuges remotely?
I wonder if Iran’s leaders have suddenly decided to drop their cell phones in the river. The psyop of this strike also has to to case a bit of fear in Iran. All to the good in my view.
Gotta hand it to the Israelis. Making even the “dumbest” technology dangerous to use is a bit of inspired thinking.
Islam is a retrograde and backwards religion. Its followers have contributed very little to creating the modern world. For one a half millennia its business model has been warfare, piracy, and slavery.
‘’What would have happened had Muslims won the battle of Poitiers (and it was a very close thing) in France in 733? Probably not much – a bit more plunder for them but no lasting consequences. But Edward Gibbon (1737-1794) saw that battle as a key turning point in European history. Here is his renowned counterfactual passage from The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (1776-78): Had the Muslims won at Poitiers, the Arabian fleet might have sailed without a naval combat into the mouth of the Thames. Perhaps the interpretation of the Koran would now be taught in the schools of Oxford, and her pulpits might demonstrate to a circumcised people the sanctity and truth of the revelation of Mahomet.”
A commenter yesterday suggested, perhaps tongue-in-cheek, that terrorists might now resort to carrier pigeon.
________
Tippi Hedren is still alive. Maybe she could train them.
Hamas & Hezbollah might trust the use of pigeons, but with the drones around now, one of the faster drones could follow the pigeon. Then it could observe for awhile or leave and let the *BIG* drone or Jets come in…yeah, forget pigeons (unknowing Rats that they are!).
I wonder if Israel purposely left certain pagers off the hot list in order to bring their owners under suspicion?
Had the Muslims won at Poitiers, the Arabian fleet might have sailed without a naval combat into the mouth of the Thames.
The Anglo-Saxons and seafaring Scandinavians in the region might have had something to say about that.
BTW, the Battle of Poitiers took place in 732.
I wonder if those human rats killed carrying pagers went to Muslim paradise, where virgins await martyrs, per the Koran.Rape seems an inherent conduct of a worshipful Muslim.
Islam is not a religion. It is a bizzare cult. And in the US, CAIR, its mouthpiece, gets full media attention. But the Pope does not.
CAIR= Council on American-Islamic Relations.
The implication inherent in CAIR’s name is that Muslims are NOT Americans.
It looks gallant has given one more chance with thd hezbollah offensive
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/new-wave-blasts-rock-beirut-2nd-day-hand-held-radios-personal-devices-explode
Cair is the political arm of the islamic resistance movement and the brotherhood in general
Oh really
https://x.com/Surabees/status/1836528757408174526
Well that would be election interference
Perhaps the interpretation of the Koran would now be taught in the schools of Oxford, and her pulpits might demonstrate to a circumcised people the sanctity and truth of the revelation of Mahomet.
Of course it is being taught in Oxford, and Cambridge and elsewhere.
If Hezbollah communicates by carrier pigeon, we could sic some of our Haitians on them.
The pager attack was quite impressive.
However, it was based on a zero-day exploit — a vulnerability in the pager software, which will likely be fixed quite soon. Thus the attack can’t be repeated this way again. Which is why it’s called a zero-day exploit.
Zero-days aren’t easy to find, so they become trump cards that are saved up for important occasions.
That Israel is now playing this trump means they are quite serious and this is part of a larger offensive against Hezbollah. Not that I blame Israel.
Yes but they will wary around any device like after the hamshari hit in 73 also wasnt the engineer targeted this way
“this way”
He was and he wasn’t. So much to elide, so little time.
Yes i think thats how it worked he was blown up with his phone but they usually dont have that kind of access salameh mugniyeh car bomb
In short strokes