Continuing conflicts between violent groups and states generate an ever-present demand for higher-quality and more timely information to support operations to combat terrorism. Better ways are needed to understand how terrorist and insurgent groups adapt over time into more-effective organizations and increasingly dangerous threats. Because learning is the link between what a group wants to do and its ability to gather the needed information and resources to actually do it, a better understanding of the group learning process could contribute to the design of more-effective measures for combating terrorism. This study collects and analyzes the available information on terrorist groups' learning behavior, combining input from the organizational learning literature, published literature on terrorist and insurgent groups, and insights drawn from case studies and workshop discussions. It describes a model of learning as a four-part process, comprising acquiring, interpreting, distributing, and storing information and knowledge. This analytical framework, by providing a fuller picture of how terrorist groups try to adapt and evolve over time, may help in understanding the behavior of individual groups and the level of threat they pose; in developing effective counterstrategies to detect and thwart their efforts; and in appropriately allocating resources to counter potential and proven adversaries. A companion report, "Aptitude for Destruction, Volume 2: Case Studies of Learning in Five Terrorist Organizations," examines in detail the learning activities of five major terrorist organizations and develops a methodology for ascertaining what and why groups have learned.

"Prepared for the National Institute of Justice"--T.p.

Introduction. About this study -- About this report / What is organizational learning?. Organizational learning as a four-part process -- The need to combine explicit and tacit knowledge -- Different forms of organizational learning / The need to learn in order to change effectively. Development, improvement, and employment of new weapons or tactics -- Improving skills with current weapons or tactics -- Collecting and utilizing intelligence information -- Thwarting efforts to combat terrorist activities -- Preserving organizational capabilities despite the loss of group members / How understanding terrorist group learning can aid in combating terrorism. Detecting terrorist groups' efforts to change -- Anticipating the outcome of terrorist groups' efforts to change -- Acting more effectively to thwart terrorist efforts / Limitations of an organizational-learning-based approach for analysis and operational planning in combating terrorism. The need to understand terrorist group structure and membership -- lack of data on terrorist group learning processes -- The nature of learning models -- Difficulties in measuring the results of learning -- Understanding the contributions of learning ability to specific terrorist operations / Conclusions. Assessing the threat posed by individual terrorist groups and understanding their behavior -- Developing and implementing effective counterstrategies -- Allocating resources and developing metrics to assess the effectiveness of efforts to combat terrorism -- Concluding remarks / Appendix: overview of the case study groups.