Characteristics Of Lone Wolf Terrorism

Domestic terrorist groups are violent extremists that want to attack the U.S. from the inside. Their intent is to frighten, pressure, and/or influence national principles. Today’s terrorist organizations are using cyberspace to spread their message. Training and online recruitment are also being made available by the Internet and social media websites. Some of the acts are lone-wolf attacks and others are collective attacks. Some examples of domestic terrorist groups that use cyberspace are Army of God, Sovereign Citizens, and Phineas Priesthood. The Southern Poverty Law Center released a report on terrorism, stating that more people have been killed in America by non-Islamic domestic terrorists than jihadists (Henderson, 2015). Terrorist

Domestic terrorism has been a major threat in the US since the catastrophic event that took place during attack on 9/11. Following the aftermath of the terrorist attack, the US intelligence services and law enforcement agencies emphasized heavily on combating terrorism on global scale as international terrorism was views as the major threat to the public security of the US which caused the issue of domestic terrorism to be overlooked. We have seen many terrorist attacks since the attack on 9/11 that were planned and executed by individuals and groups born and raised in America. Some of those attacks include the Oklahoma City bombing, the Boston marathon bombing. There has also been increasing number of mass shooting by individuals that were identified as to be radicalized by terrorist groups abroad, the most recent mass shooting that was identified as a terrorist act was in Orlando where more than 50 people were killed (Alveraz, p.1). The cases mentioned above will be discussed in detail later in the essay. Although, American law enforcement agencies are actively conducting intelligence and operational missions to prevent international terrorism, however, the US needs to develop efficient tactics to prevent the rise of domestic terrorism. Otherwise, the United States may face a danger of the unfailing growth of domestic terrorism similar to some of the European countries; such as the United Kingdom. Consequently, law enforcement agencies should concentrate on the preclusion

According to most analysis of the lone-wolf terrorist, the lone-wolf terrorist is identifiable by a few characteristics. However, Bartol and Bartol list seven main characteristics in textbook. The lone-wolf terrorist may identify or sympathize with extremist movements, but they operate individually. Since they operate alone, they act with the influence of a leader or hierarchy. They may often strive for notoriety on the behalf of an interest group. Because their plans are well throughout in advance, it is consider to be premeditated. Unlike other terrorist, the lone-wolf appears to have suffered from some form of mental illness. Lastly they may prefer solitude instead of the companionship of friends because they lack interpersonal and social skills (Bartol & Bartol, 2014, p337).

Domestic terrorism has played a major part in shaping the societies of the United States. The ideologies of individuals can become radicalized. This can lead to a movement. This movement involves the infliction of fear upon the communities, in attempt to make it a better world. It is critical to examine the events created by one man’s extreme ideologies in effort to better understand.

Yes it difficult to detect thsee individuals who carry out these lone wolf attacks but I believe that if law enforcement agencies get the involvement of citizen just like how dhs have passenger as a layer of security this model use be replicated in the society as a whole.Let citizenso know the importance they place for preventing such lone wolf attacks from happenings.Remember a terrorists never open his plans on targeted places when they want to cause disaster.The police are not every but citizens are.If it raised a concerns don't relax say something to law

They elucidate that terrorism is a “premeditated, politically motivated, violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups of clandestine agents, usually intended to influence an audience,” (National Institute of Justice).

Note: In this paper, a ‘lone wolf’ will be defined using Ramón Spaaij’s definition stated as “Lone wolf terrorism involves terrorist attacks carried out by persons who (a) operate individually, (b) do not belong to an organized terrorist group or network, and (c) whose modi operandi are conceived and directed by the individual without any direct outside command or hierarchy.”

Here I would like to make a parallel of the self- compartmentalization ( (Showers & Zeigler-Hill, 2007) theory and the strain theory of terrorism (Agnew, 2010).

Despite a few common characteristics amongst lone wolf terrorists, no psychological profile currently exists to accurately predict or explain potential suspects. The few empirical studies that attempt to create a profile of lone wolf terrorists suggest a greater prevalence of mental health issue among lone wolf terrorist when compared to group based counterparts. Particularly, research from Fein & Vossekuil reported that ~61% of lone wolf terrorists had prior contact with some form of mental health services before their attacks. Similarly, research from Gill et al. found that 31.9% of lone wolf terrorists, within their dataset, had a history of mental illness or a personality disorder, but failed to compare these results with the overall general population to establish or isolate the specific mental disorder. Ultimately, research on the psychological profile of lone wolf terrorism is severely lacking.

Lone wolf terrorism has been defined as an act of terror carried out by a terrorist who is not part of a group of directed by an outside organization. Lone wolf terrorism is not a new problem, however, the number of attacks carried out by lone wolfs has increased in recent years. Attacks carried out by lone wolfs usually kill fewer people than large scale terror attacks. However, lone wolf attacks have huge impacts and have been cited as fueling Islamophobia, have contributed to isolating Muslim communities, and empowering radicalists. IS has embraced lone wolfs and have used these attacks to their advantage. These attacks have allowed IS to spread their message in the West without sending fighters to different locations in the West. These

Living the United State when one thinks of a terrorist attacks often their mind will first go to a larger scale attack such as the events of September 11th 2001. “September 11, 2001 changed the United States forever, the terrorist attack that day marked a dramatic escalation in a trend toward more destructive terrorist attacks which began in the 1980s. It also reflected a trend toward more indiscriminate targeting among international terrorists. The vast majority of the more than 3,000 victims of the attack were civilians. In addition, the attack represented the first known case of suicide attacks carried out by international terrorists in the United States.” (Waston, 2002) However as the years have gone by we have come to learn that terrorist attacks are not always on a large scale and that even one person who is inspired by the ideologies of a terrorist group without being directly connected to them can carry out attacks. Those that engage in this type of terrorism are referred to as lone wolf terrorist. A recent example of such an even was the mass shooting at the San Bernardino Inland Regional Center in December of 2015.

National terrorism has been the focus of attention since September 11. But now domestic terrorism is becoming increasingly common among hate groups across the nation. Domestic terrorism can be defined as visible crime, or “street crime.” These acts would consist of violent crimes, (acts against people in which injury or death results) property crimes (acts that threaten property held by individuals or the state) and public order crimes. (acts that threaten the general well-being of society and challenger accepted moral principles) It can also however be described as political crime, (criminal acts by or against the government for ideological purposes) which would include the 9/11 and the Oklahoma City bombing.

The ever evolving subject of terrorism and terrorists is the subject of significant study worldwide. The psychological and behavioral factors involved in terrorism are one of the most studied issues. It has implications across the board for both the detection and deterrence of terrorism. How terrorists communicate and the influence that it plays in growing terroristic ideology, mission, and goals are also of significant importance, as well.

When the September 11, 2001 attacks occurred the United States responded in a manner which was seen as a traditional reaction to such an attack; it used its overwhelming superior military to invade the nation of Afghanistan. As Afghanistan was the operating base of the terrorist group responsible for the attacks, Al Qaeda, the invasion all but destroyed the group's operating capacity. But in response to the United States' apparent victory the terrorists have re-organized themselves into a looser confederation and turned to alternative methods of finance and operation. One could say that the success of the American military's answer to the September 11th attacks have created a new environment in which terrorists currently operate. This includes the use of the internet, unconventional alliances with international criminal organizations, as well the inception of the "lone wolf" terrorist. Faced with these new type of threats, the United States and its allies must find a way to identify and deal with them.

This is a peer-reviewed article that will be one of the primary foundation source for the research paper. As indicated in the week four outline, it is incredibly important to understand that in order to effectively combat extreme radicalization and terrorism in general, you need to understand what creates a terrorist. After all, not all terrorists are just born that way. This article supports that point effectively. It is important to realize that profiling is a terroist is near impossible because according to Leistedt (2013), “research has not found a ‘pattern’ of psychologically among terrorists.” (p. 22)