The new, softer target: tourists

Artykuły


Artykuł pochodzi z pisma "Guardian"

Holidaymakers at risk

Giles Tremlett in Madrid
Friday November 29, 2002
The Guardian

Experts are warning that Osama bin Laden's network has "rebranded" itself as the scourge of unprotected targets like the tourists killed yesterday in Kenya.
If the explosion was the work of al-Qaida, it would be the third attack on a tourist target since April. The previous two, which killed nearly 200 people in Bali last month and another 19 on the Tunisian island of Djerba in April, fulfilled three of Osama bin Laden's new aims for the group.
Those include not only killing Israelis and westerners but also wreaking economic damage on those parts of the Muslim world that welcome them.
With security around western embassies and military installations now too tough to crack, al-Qaida is only guaranteed success if it hits "soft" civilian targets.
"Al-Qaida has relaunched itself, a rebranding that presages a second phase in its war against the west," the security expert Peter Bergen warned in the Washington Post last week. He believes tourism and economic targets are now top of al-Qaida's list.
That view was shared by the US deputy assistant secretary of state, Matthew Daley, who said recently: "They've shown an ability to shift their focus from targets that are well defended and alert to targets that are less well defended."
The attack, though, has not prompted the Foreign Office to change its advice for British travellers to the region. Last night officials decided to stick to guidelines made before the attack which warned holidaymakers to be vigilant".
Recent audio tapes released by Osama bin Laden name, for the first time, people from Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Canada and Australia as valid targets alongside Americans and Israelis.
"Those threats should be taken at face value. Mr Bin Laden's statements have been a reliable guide to the subsequent actions of al-Qaida," Mr Bergen said.
Tourism is an easy and effective target. The industry in Bali accounted for 6 million jobs, and earned an estimated £12.5bn a year.
The tourism minister Gede Ardika said: "It is predicted that by the first six months there will be at least 2.7 million people unemployed all over Indonesia due to this incident."
Bookings to Tunisia this summer fell by 25% after the attack on the Djerba synagogue in April.

to rebrand – to change one’s activity profile, ”przebranżowić się”, zmienić profil działalności
a scourge - zmora, utrapienie
an aim - cel
to wreak – to cause, powodować (szkody), siać (spustoszenie>
to crack – to damage, uszkodzić
to presage - zapowiadać (jakieś zdarzenie), zwiastować
to prompt – to make someone do something, skłonić (do czegoś),
vigilant - czujny
to take something at face value – to accept something for what it appears to be, przyjmować coś tak, jak to na pierwszy rzut oka wygląda
a booking - rezerwacja



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