Report: Terrorists cannot train online

WASHINGTON, Dec. 19 (UPI) -- The Internet is useful to Islamic terror groups for propaganda and recruitment, but it cannot be used for terrorist military training, says a U.S. report.

The Austin, Texas-based private sector intelligence company Stratfor says in an analysis that some experts overstate the importance of the Internet.

"Although the Internet has been a great enabler for grassroots (terrorist) cells to spread their ideology and recruit new acolytes, some things are incredibly difficult to accomplish online -- namely, absorbing the technical information and tradecraft of terrorism and applying it to a real-world situation, particularly in a hostile environment," reads the analysis, published last week.

"The application of technical skills (bomb-making, targeting, and deployment) often requires subtle and complex abilities that one cannot perfect simply by reading about them," says the analysis, adding it is "quite difficult to follow written instructions and build a perfectly functioning improvised explosive device from scratch; as with any scientific endeavor, trial and error and testing in the real world usually are required.

"Bomb-making is a talent best learned from an experienced teacher," it concludes.

The analysis adds that "tradecraft -- those intuitive skills needed to sustain secrecy and operations in a hostile environment" -- is another set of skills hard to acquire online.

It concludes by pointing out that terrorist use of the Internet "is an operational security hazard that can allow counter-terrorism forces to identify potential militants and close in on them."