Terrorism in the US

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Rowan University *

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LAWJ-053

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Political Science

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Dec 6, 2023

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docx

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Terrorism in the U.S. Assignment 5 If I were teaching a new local law enforcement class about domestic terrorism, I would first address what terrorism is, and how domestic terrorism is different than international terrorism. I would teach them about who terrorists target in their attacks and how they attack. Another thing to inform them on is the ideologies of domestic terrorists. Finally, I would cover ways to counter terrorism by both preventing attacks and recruiting measures. First of all, there are many definitions of terrorism as it is a hard thing to define. Even different federal agencies define terrorism differently such as the FBI or the DOD. There is a common theme in most definitions of terrorism though. According to Inside Terrorism by Bruce Hoffman, terrorism includes motivation of politics, violence or the threat of violence, intent to cause fear of the target, and is conducted by an organization whether they are identifiable or not. Acts of terrorism are carried out by subnational groups or non-state entities, groups who have different political views than the government they are attacking. It is also important to note that terrorism is a difficult label to apply. According to What Is Terrorism? Attacks in Canada and Belgium Reflect Uncertain Definition by Rick Gladstone, the mass shooting in Las Vegas where 58 people were killed and hundreds of others were wounded was not labeled as an act of terrorism. The label is difficult to apply to this situation because although it seems like an act of terrorism, the motivation of the gunman was unknown, there was no signs of political motivation in the shooting. Domestic terrorists target a wide variety of people and places such government and law enforcement officials, religious institutions, demonstrations and even things such as abortion

clinics according to The War Comes Home: The Evolution of Domestic Terrorism in the United States by the CSIS. A large number of attacks were targeted towards demonstrators of protests and political rallies by both left-wing and right-wing terrorists. One way that these extremists attack these rallies, is by running people over with their vehicles. Use of explosives and firearms are also another primary way in which both groups carry out attacks. Even going back to the early 1900’s domestic terrorists used bombs as a way to attack not only the public but government officials. According to Palmer Raids by history.com, in 1919, the anarchist bombings sought out people such as a U.S. Senator in Georgia, a judge in NYC, and the mayor of Seattle. There are multiple types of domestic terrorists. According to The Escalating Terrorism Problem in the United States by the CSIS, there are right-wing groups such as anti-government, white supremacists and incels. Respectively, these groups either view the government as corrupt, believe their culture is superior to other cultures and should exert their dominance, or believe men are superior to women and their place in society is determined by that. The left-wing groups such as Antifa, Animal Liberation Front (ALA), and Earth Liberation Front (ELA). Antifa is “anti-fascist” who oppose right-wing extremists and others who they consider to be fascist or racist. ALA and ELA attack groups or organizations/corporations that they believe are exploiting the environment or animals. Finally, there is religious terrorism in which people are inspired by jihadism and groups such as ISIS or al-Qaeda. There are multiple ways the United States can prevent terrorism. Starting with politicians avoiding language intended to spread hate towards certain communities according to The Escalating Problem of Terrorism in the United States by the CSIS. Social media companies should be monitoring their platforms to help combat terrorism recruitment methods and hate

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