Another Day Another Blog

Not having had much to do recently, I've been drifting around the internet trying to keep myself amused. Much of this time has been spent exploring the blogosphere. Like the atmosphere this is an expansive domain and made up largely of hot air. Mercifully this is interspersed by refreshing, eye-opening pockets (yeah, I know I'm stretching the metaphor well beyond its safety limit). One of the most intriguing blogs I've come across, however, is John Robb's Global Guerillas.

Robb seems to be some kind of military theorist, although there's no obvious biopgraphy anyway on his site and Googling the name turns up a wealth of unconnected John Robbs. The site is concerned with analysing terrorism and related issues, but does so in a fascinating and - as far as I'm aware - unique way. Robb talks about "open source warfare"; describes Fallujah (as of November last year) as a TAZ (Temporary Autonomous Zone, a term presumably borrowed from the anarchist theorising of Hakim Bey); suggests that militant groups interact in a "bazaar of violence"; and argues that terrorist groups are moving away from body-count maximising attacks to system disrupting ones.

There's a huge amount to take in and, to be honest, I'm far from sure I understand more than a fraction of it. I certainly couldn't precis Robb's whole theory coherently. Nevertheless, I think Robb offers a fascinating and potentially powerful way of analysing groups which are becoming increasingly influential. Read it, think about it and worry.