Essay on Homegrown Terrorism

Foreign and domestic policies are not linear, rather the policies are connected in a circle, with each policy reinforcing the values of another. Domestic American terrorism in the prison and detention systems and governmental reforms are influenced by the mobilization and ethnocentrism abroad. The militarization internationally is justified by the domestic handling of the same cultural issues within the United State borders. The United States has strangely used a near Catch-22 to handle dilemmas. The United States has allowed perspective to become reality, whether with oneself or regarding issues abroad, specifically in the Middle East. Terrorism is the use or threat of fear for political or economical gain. An internal characteristic of terrorism is how dependent it is of perspective, one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter. To understand “terrorism,” a focus must be applied to the history, what drove an organization to commit such acts. Respectively, the Middle East has been a hotbed for the key word “terrorism,” especially because of 9/11. Subsequently, Muslims have been stigmatized by the United States as terrorists. The consequences spawned because of 9/11 require a look to the past to understand the present.

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

Terrorism is a major threat to national and global security that encompasses more than violent means by foreigners and Islamic extremists. This is mainly because most of the recent terror acts in America have been carried out by single-issue individuals and special-interest extremists with the intention of protecting the environment and animals based on their beliefs. Actually, terrorism is described as the illegitimate use of extreme violence and force with the intention of coercing a

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.

In America, after September 11, 2001 racial fear has increased immensely due to terrorists. This caused an increase in racial profiling in the CIA and the military groups devoted to tracking terrorists groups (Lobe 1). There is a significant correlation between membership in certain racial groups and a tendency to commit certain crimes (Risse 13). However Osama bin Laden and other terrorists are well trained with considerable intelligence experience (Let’s not forget that

“Terrorism's particularly heinous but highly attractive means to achieve political objectives or even radically restructure political foundations is manifest within societies in all reaches of the world. While the practical application of terrorist methodologies comes across as a relatively straightforward craft, the conceptual and ideological understanding, and subsequent evaluation of its socio-political influence, implementation, and psychological impacts present difficult questions, and in some cases conceivably insurmountable obstacles” (Romaniuk 2014, para

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.

Radicalization have various sources, from reactionary hatred of the freedom world, involvement in antigovernment militia movements in the U.S, to even mental illnesses. The main focus in this paper is to focus on Jihad-based radicalization in the prison system because according the FBI these groups are the biggest potential threats to American security. It is important to recognize all of the factors of why Americans are radicalizing in the prison system. First off, in prison, individuals associate themselves with other individuals or groups to protect themselves. They also tend to associate with those that are similar to them; share background similarities, family, ethnicity, religion, etc. Ever since 911, the government has increased its economic spending to combat and prevent domestic terrorism. In October 2003, the U.S Senate Subcommittee on Terrorism, technology, and homeland security held a hearing, that warned the threats of Islamic radicalization in the U.S prisons. The subcommittee concluded that radicalization in prisons is a real threat and “prisons are producing a formidable enemy within. Eight years later, in June 2011, the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security held another series of hearings on the issue. In his opening remarks, Committee Chairman Peter King claimed that prisons have created "an assembly line of radicalization," which poses a major threat to the safety and security of the

An interview with Lt. Colonel Jeff Daigle (a Military officer for almost 25 years) has opened some insight on some of the homegrown terrorism issues that occur. For example Narco Terrorism is a huge issue that allows drugs to be bought and that money then to be spent on guns for terroristic purposes. Groups like this aren’t the only home issue we have. “How does a person develop into a homegrown terrorist when countries like America are extremely privileged with things such as health care, food stamps, free education, etc.” That and with social media around you even if you are looking at ISIS propaganda there is American patriotism. In addition, he talks about racial profiling, which is something we do a lot. The American public talks

Although each case is different and there is a combination of different factors involved in each case, some of the main factors that play a role in those U.S. citizens or U.S. residents who become radicalized and carry out extremist violence are crisis and depravation. In king an Taylor’s article, the factors of crisis or depravation are mentioned in almost all the theories that seek to explain the process of radicalization (King & Taylor, 2013). To understand why would someone commit such acts, it is important to understand what is radicalization and what is homegrown terrorism. Radicalization is when someone of any nation adopts new beliefs in which using violence will be the only way to resolve the problems that the individual or the group that the individual belongs to is facing; and homegrown terrorism is when someone becomes radicalized to exclusively commit terrorist attacks in the terrorist’s own nation (King & Taylor, 2013, pg. 603)(Miller, 2007). Most of the homegrown terrorists, particularly the ones in the U.S., tend to become radicalized when they are going through a major life crisis such as when they lose a job; when they have family issues; when they are going through a transition or drastic change in their life; or when they have been treated unfairly by a particular group (King & Taylor, 2013, pg. 607).

Living in America, we are given the freedom to practice the faith of our choice, but at the same time it does not give us the right to violate our laws or to organize, finance or develop a group whose motives are to attack and destroy the country they claim to be a citizen of, while practicing that faith or religion. We are now in the midst of a movement where homegrown American jihad will be the destruction of the United States.

Ever since September 11, 2001 Americans along with the majority of the world’s population have been skeptical of Muslims. It’s a sad reality but it’s hard for people to think of a Muslim without linking them directly to terrorism. But these assumptions aren’t totally out of the blue—the Muslim’s religion, Islam, teaches a low tolerance for other religions and the Islamic government has no separation of church and state, so it’s only normal to assume that their government shall have a low tolerance as well—some however, immediately translate this into terrorism. Through the Islamic government and religion, relations with foreign countries, and separation amongst themselves it can be concluded that Islamic Fundamentalism is clearly a threat

Terrorism by meaning comes with several facets and is something that cannot easily be understood by just simply labeling it with one specific group of people or religion due to a cultural misconception. Homegrown specifically is an extension of the basic underlying truth in terrorism. Homegrown Terrorism becomes more about the ideology behind such acts of violence. And in that, understanding that terrorism could potentially be all around us, committed by those in which can be closest to us. The biggest Common denominator is that we are all capable and that we all have choices in which we make every day. Within what makes you different from the other person is that you choose to be constructive rather than destructive with that choice. In Addressing that terrorism and more specifically, the situations occurring within the acts of homegrown terrorism for what has previously transpired as well as the effort and preparation to discourage future incidents, we will be able to understand and set forth means to protect the country from further attacks resembling ones that have affected the way we as people currently

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)

The government can implement many new methods to increase security, or better yet give off the image of better security which is what they have predominantly done, yet ultimately there will always be a way to bypass or come up with a new way to infiltrate that measure. The government so far has done a variety of things ranging from the closing of the Dulles airport (permanently), working with the FAA on new security measures, having pilots carry handguns, and a not so specific, profiling.