Radical Islam a.k.a. Terrorism as: Lightning

Jihad

Radical Islam
a.k.a.
Terrorism

Jihad

Hamas / Hezbollah
Houthis
Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq
Kata’ib Hizballah
Taliban / Haqqani
Muslim Brotherhood
Al Qaeda
Al Shabaab / Al Qaeda Islamic Maghreb / Al Qaeda Iraq / Al Qaeda Arabian Peninsula / Boko Haram / Jemaah Islamiyah
Al Qaeda in Syria (Al Nusra)
ISIS-K

as:
Lightning

One might perceive lightning to be a potentially devastating random act of nature,
that is to say, an act of nature "occurring without an identifiable pattern, plan, system, or connection."
But the reality is, that is simply not true.
Lightning is not a simple and isolated occurrence.

One also might perceive lightning to be spontaneous, rather,
"an act resulting from internal or natural processes with no apparent external influence."
But the truth is:
Lightning is a natural phenomenon resulting from scientific and environmental facts.

So it is with Radical Islam a.k.a. Terrorism.

Five Absolute Distinctions

Thunder or lightning? A general and strong opinion is held that lightning is often thee most spectacular aspect of a thunderstorm. I concur. And a close association is commonly understood between the two:

"Lightning is a giant spark. A single stroke of lightning can heat the air around it to 30,000 [more broadly 18,000] degrees Celsius (54,000 degrees Fahrenheit)! This extreme heating causes the air to expand at an explosive rate. The expansion creates a shock wave that turns into a booming sound wave, better known as thunder. This explains why it has the name thunderstorm." (Windows to the Universe)

When terror strikes, energy is released and a booming sound wave is created.
So which has the greater psychological impact -- thunder or lightning?
Does one not prepare to take proper cover at the sound of thunder?
Does one not prepare to take proper cover at the sight of lightning?
Both storms can, and do, have a psychological impact:

"The intended results of terrorist acts cause a psychological effect ("terror").
They are aimed at a target audience other than the actual victims of the act."

The facts of a thunderstorm. . .

Three basic ingredients are required for a thunderstorm to form: moisture, rising unstable air (air that keeps rising when given a nudge), and a lifting mechanism to provide the “nudge.”

The sun heats the surface of the earth, which warms the air above it. If this warm surface air is forced to rise -- hills or mountains, or areas where warm/cold or wet/dry air bump together can cause rising motion -- it will continue to rise as long as it weighs less and stays warmer than the air around it.

As the air rises, it transfers heat from the surface of the earth to the upper levels of the atmosphere (the process of convection). The water vapor it contains begins to cool, releases the heat, condenses and forms a cloud. The cloud eventually grows upward into areas where the temperature is below freezing.

As a storm rises into freezing air, different types of ice particles can be created from freezing liquid drops. The ice particles can grow by condensing vapor (like frost) and by collecting smaller liquid drops that haven't frozen yet (a state called "supercooled"). When two ice particles collide, they usually bounce off each other, but one particle can rip off a little bit of ice from the other one and grab some electric charge. Lots of these collisions build up big regions of electric charges to cause a bolt of lightning, which creates the sound waves we hear as thunder. (NOAA)

"Most of the lightning we see appears as a single line of bright white light called streak lightning. However, several other types of lightning can occur." There is forked lightning, ribbon lightning, bead lightning, sheet lightning and heat lightning. And as there are different types of lightning, so is the case with terrorism.

The truth about terrorism is that there are:
1) separatist groups,
2) ethnocentric groups,
3) nationalistic groups,
4) revolutionary groups,
5) political groups,
6) religious groups,
7) social groups,
8) domestic groups,
9) international or transnational groups, and
10) "the terrorist next door."

Yet, we should never overlook. . .
"the next wave," and. . .
"the next wave," and. . .
"the next wave," and. . .
"the next wave," and. . .
"the next wave," and. . .
"the next wave," and. . .
"the next wave," and. . .
"the next wave," and. . .

Do thunderstorms develop every day? Every week? Every month? In all parts of the world?
When it rains it pours.
There is drought and everywhere between. . .

And when lightning strikes!

What category of thunderstorm will develop next?
There is the single-cell storm.
Then the multicell storm.

And yes, the supercell storm, among others.

Worldwide, there are an estimated 16 million thunderstorms each year. At any given moment, there are roughly 2,000 thunderstorms in progress around the world. There are about 100,000 thunderstorms each year in the U.S. alone. About 10% of these reach severe levels. (NOAA)

Indeed, with advancing technology, state-of-the-art equipment and human intelligence, the world is becoming adept at diagnosing thunderstorms and analyzing information about them, as well as detecting conditions conducive to them.  And thunderstorm warnings and watches are issued.   No doubt, these measures shall continue to be perfected!

                    And so it will be with Radical Islam.

In closing, one might perceive lightning to be a potentially devastating random act of nature, that is to say, an act of nature "occurring without an identifiable pattern, plan, system, or connection."   But the reality is, that is simply not true. Lightning is not a simple and isolated occurrence. One also might perceive lightning to be spontaneous, rather, "an act resulting from internal or natural processes with no apparent external influence." But the truth is, lightning is a natural phenomenon resulting from scientific and environmental facts.

So it is with Radical Islam.

Five Absolute Distinctions:

Radical Islam is real. Radical Islam is evil. And Jihad is an ideological enemy of freedom.

Radical Islam is terrorism and unconventional warfare. And like lightning, Radical Islam is not going away anytime soon.

Thunderstorms bring balance to the earth. Radical Islam does not.

Lightning doesn't set out to kill (murder) "a human body" or target an audience. Radical Islam does.

Lightning has never destroyed, and never will destroy the world nor the United States of America. . .

And neither shall Radical Islam.