Lone-Wolf Terrorism Research Paper

Since the terrorist attacks on 9/11, America has been on edge about the topic of terrorism. Groups like Al-Qaeda, Hamas, Taliban, and now more recently, ISIS, has kept the world cautious of their every next move. Looking more closely into how these groups are formed and operate could help us better understand how they can be stopped. Studying the history of terrorist organizations can help us better predict the future of terrorist organizations.

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

When combating terrorist, intel is the key to preventing or mitigating the damage from an attack. Since the bombing of the USS Cole (DDG-67) in 12 October 2000 the US navy has taken force protection to a new heights. This led to more meticulous research being done on local activity on ports of interest. As a result, we now know who is operating in the area and their modus operandi. This allowed for a more accurate assessment of the threat level before a ship enters into a port. However, unlike larger organizations, the lone-wolf terrorist is particularly harder to track. In other words, it’s like trying to find a needle in a haystack. This allows them to get much closer to their targets undetected, inflict more damage and most of all; it affords them the opportunity to escape prosecution for years. In the case study by Ramo ́Nspaaij (2010, p.867)it was noted that two terrorist, Theodore Kaczynski (U.S.) and Franz Fuchs (Austria
) were so successful at lone-wolf attacks that they were able to strike

According to national security specialists, lone wolf terrorists are the hardest to track down (Hilleary 2013). They are very unpredictable and their plans are typically not very difficult to conduct, with everything they need on the internet (Hilleary 2013). However, they do have many common traits. They typically have a political and/or personal grievance, feeling that they or their society have been harmed in some way (Hilleary 2013). They often will have disconnected from work, daily routines, and even loved ones (Hilleary 2013). Like other types of terrorists, they do sometimes suffer from mental disorders such as depression (Hilleary 2013). Sometimes they view violence as the way of gaining respect or love, or to prove themselves (Hilleary 2013). Looking at profiles alone, it is very difficult to notice a clear difference between someone who preaches hate and someone who wants to carry out a terrorist attack (Stewart

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

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.”

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.

have occurred, and tells of the difference between lone wolf and organizational terrorism. The study suggests

For a long time before the events of September 11th, typically foreign terrorist acts were committed in some relation to military acts like the Irish Republican Army (IRA) or disputes along Middle Eastern borders like Israel and Palestine both are long standing political issues that continue to tug on the hearts of those involved to this day. But more so today we see an influx of independent terrorist attacks which we call these lone wolf attacks. These people are unassociated or are un-sponsored by with any particular group and act of their own accord. These lone wolf attacks are a particular challenge to intelligence communities because the investigation comes down to their personal mindset and to what radicalized

“A lone-wolf terrorist operates individually, does not belong to an organized group or network and conceives and directs the modus operandi without any direct outside command or hierarchy” (Spaaji 2012, p. 16). Lone actor or autonomous cell (LA/AC) terrorism is emerging as a major threat and presents extreme difficulties for the intelligence community, chief among them is the fact that this type of terrorism is much harder to detect and prevent. “Although the state’s capacity to monitor is substantial, individuals are still able to operate under the radar screen and commit violence with little predictability” (Michael 2014, 49) The absence of a central or parent organization reduces, or eliminates in the case of lone actors, the “chatter” associated with planning an attack (Michael 2014, 50). These types of actors leave a much smaller mission footprint that has proved difficult to detect and therefore these attacks have proven difficult to prevent. Current research is lacking on this topic, as evidenced by the fact that lone wolf and small, autonomous cell attacks continue to occur and with alarming frequency: “There have been lone wolf terrorist attacks throughout history; the first vehicle bombing in the US happened when a horse-drawn wagon exploded on Wall Street in September 1920, killing more than 30 people and injuring more than 200 others. However, in recent years there has been a proliferation of lone wolf attacks in many countries” (Simon, 2013). Since terrorist

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.

Terrorism in the twenty-first century has some similarities and differences from terrorism in the twentieth century. Terrorism is, in its broadest sense, the use or threatened use of violence in order to achieve a political, religious, or ideological aim. Also useful to remember that because the two entities involved, the terrorists and the terrorized, are on the opposite end of the political, religious or ideological continuum, the same act is viewed by them differently. There is much sense in the phrase one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.

As a direct consequence of September 11, a number of substantial challenges lie ahead in the area of counter-terrorism..   The most prominent of these is the changing nature of the terrorism phenomenon.  In past years, when terrorism was largely the product of direct state sponsorship, policymakers were able to diminish prospects for the United States becoming a target using a combination of diplomatic and military instruments to deter potential state sponsors.  Today, however, many terrorist organizations and individuals act independently from former and present state sponsors, shifting to other sources of support, including the development of transnational networks.

Up until a few years ago, the four major loci of terrorist hot spots in the world were Manhattan, Washington D.C, Oklahoma and Florida. These hot spots have grown to include Arizona and Chicago. Attempting to make the determination if “Al Qaida, Iraq, North Korea, or Iran (with considerable thought given to Syria, the Caucuses, and lone wolves,) being the greatest threat to the United States” (Fisher, 2004), has proved to be more difficult than I primarily considered. Al Qaida would have been my initial answer. However, after conducting a little research I have reconsidered, and feel that lone wolves pose a greater threat to the United States because they are constantly increasing in volume as well as the height of destruction and casualties.