A terrorist is like a mouse confronting an elephant. His only hope is to frighten or enrage the great beast so badly that it ends up injuring itself.

Political killers, whether they are white supremacists, jihadists, animal rights extremists, or Marxist revolutionaries, cannot hope to take on the full force of a modern state. What chance do they have against the police, the armed forces, the intelligence agencies, and the panoply of powers enjoyed by even a small country? They can do just one thing: They can cause such outrage or fear that the authorities overreact, thereby doing lasting damage to their own cause.