Examining the Tactics Used in the Mali Attack

As Stratfor has long noted, security measures and personnel alone can never provide absolute protection for a target. Quite simply, if proficient attackers are allowed to conduct preoperational surveillance at will, they will be able to assess security measures, observe patterns and identify ways to either exploit gaps in security coverage or launch an attack powerful enough to defeat the protective measures in place. Indeed, it appears that the Bamako attackers observed that vehicles with diplomatic license plates were given preferential treatment at the Radisson's security checkpoints and thus used a car with diplomatic plates to penetrate the hotel’s outer ring of security....