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Terrorism

Problems Encountered in Investigating and Prosecuting Conspiracies to Commit Terrorist Offences 

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Terror conspiracies are among the most problematic criminal offences to prosecute because of the difficulty of distinguishing between the mere expression of subversive thoughts and substantive plans to execute an outrage. The afore mentioned dilemma has critical consequences for law enforcement agencies carrying out surveillance of conspiratorial meetings whether by way of SIGINT or HUMINT2 . To find the correct balance between a longer period of surveillance or a relatively short one is a refined technique. The task becomes more reliable when the intelligence base has infiltrated and become integrated in the suspect's community. On the prosecution process when two or more potential terrorists agree upon a plan for an act of terror, the legal elements of the offence of conspiracy may be made out even if the commission of the complete criminal enterprise is beyond their capability. In these circumstances the task of sentencing such individuals is often a conjectural exercise...

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Terror Management Theory: Interplay between Mortality Salience, Death-Thoughts, and Overall Worldview Defense

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This study examines both the generalizability of Terror Management Theory (TMT) and the mechanisms by which individual difference variables work in the TMT model. A plethora of research exists to support TMT, a theory that explains much of human behavior as attempts to buffer the potential for anxiety provoked by being aware of one‟s own inevitable mortality (Pyszczynski et al., 2003). This dissertation investigated the generalizability of Terror Management Theory (TMT) and the mechanisms by which individual difference variables work in the TMT process. In order to do so, an operationalization of the variable “overall worldview” was provided. Participants consisted of 367 college students from the Psychology Department Experimental Subject Pool of a mid-sized Midwestern university. Subjects were quasi-randomly assigned to a 2 (mortality salience vs. control) x 2 (death-thought word stems vs. neutral word stems) between subjects design. Results suggested that humanists defended humanism more in the mortality salience condition than in the dental pain condition.

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Integrated United States Security Database (IUSSD): Data on the Terrorist Attacks in the United States Homeland, 1970 to 2011

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About This Report and the Global Terrorism Database

The authors of this report are Gary LaFree (START Director, UMD), Laura Dugan (START Associate, UMD), Erin Miller (GTD Project Manager). Questions about this report should be directed to Gary LaFree (garylafree@gmail.com).

The initial collection of data for the Global Terrorism Database (GTD) data was carried out by the Pinkerton Global Intelligence Services (PGIS) between 1970 and 1997 and was donated to the University of Maryland in 2001. Digitizing and validating the original GTD data from 1970 to 1997 was funded by a grant from the National Institute of Justice in 2004 (PIs Gary LaFree and Laura Dugan; grant number: NIJ2002-DT-CX-0001) and thereafter in 2005 as part of the START Center of Excellence by the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate (DHS S&T), Office of University Programs (PI Gary LaFree; grant numbers N00140510629 and 2008-ST-061-ST0004). Data collection funding for GTD from 1998 to 2007 was supplied by the DHS S&T Human Factors/Behavioral Sciences

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Countering Radicalization in America

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Summary

• The recent surge in the number of American Muslims involved in terrorism has led U.S. authorities to question the long-held assumption that American Muslims are immune to radicalization, and to follow the example of other Western democracies in devising a comprehensive counterradicalization strategy.

• Radicalization is a highly individualized process determined by the complex interaction of various personal and structural factors. Because no one theory can exhaustively explain it, policymakers must understand the many paths to radicalization and adopt flexible approaches when trying to combat it.

• The role of religion in the radicalization process is debated, but theories that set aside Ideology and religion as factors in the radicalization of Western jihadists are not convincing. Policymakers who choose to tackle religious aspects should do so cautiously, however, cognizant of the many implications of dealing with such a sensitive issue.

• Policymakers need to determine whether a counterradicalization strategy aims to tackle violent radicalism alone or, more ambitiously, cognitive radicalism.

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Ad Hoc Arsenals PSSM Practices of Selected Non-state Actors

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The physical security and stockpile management (PSSM) of small arms and light weapons and their associated ammunition is a topic of growing interest to researchers and policy-makers. In recent years the Small Arms Survey and other research organizations have examined national (government) PSSM practices and international standards. These analyses have shed new light on the strengths and shortcomings of existing controls and the dangers associated with poor PSSM. With some notable exceptions,1the PSSM practices adopted by armed groups have received far less attention. Yet their arsenals often contain similar weapons and ammunition to those of government arsenals and cause similar problems when not properly secured or maintained. The small arms and light weapons held by armed groups pose multiple threats. Weapons that are lost or stolen from poorly secured stockpiles can fuel conflict and violent crime, both locally and abroad. Poor stockpile management practices can also lead to or fail

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Terrorist Precursor Crimes: Issues and Options

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Summary

Terrorist groups, regardless of ideological ilk, geographical location, or organizational structure, have certain basic needs in common: funding, security, operatives/support, propaganda, and means and/or appearance of force. In order to meet these needs, terrorists engage in a series of activities, some of which are legal, many of which are not. Terrorist precursor crimes, offenses committed to facilitate a particular attack or promote a terrorist campaign’s objectives, are thought to be often carried out far away from the primary theater of conflict associated with a terrorist group. Much of the precursor activity, especially with regard to crimes conducted for the purpose of fundraising, takes place in wealthy Western countries, including the United States. Precursor crimes, known and/or alleged, include various fraud schemes, petty crime, identity and immigration crimes, the counterfeit of goods, narcotics trade, and illegal weapons procurement, amongst others. The implications of domestically occurring terrorist precursor crimes on the current threat environment, and specifically the United State’s security posture, are not fully understood

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Organizational Learning in Terrorist Groups and Its Implications for Combating Terrorism

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If a terrorist group lacks the ability to learn, its effectiveness in achieving its goals will largely be determined by chance the chance that its members already have the necessary skills to carry out operations and support activities; the chance that its current tactics are effective against desirable targets and against current antiterrorism measures; and the chance that shifts made by the group will prove to be beneficial. Similarly, in a dynamic environment, a terrorist organization that cannot learn will not be able to effectively adapt to new developments in intelligence gathering and law enforcement. But when a terrorist group can learn—and learn well it can act systematically to fulfill its needs, strengthen its capabilities, and advance its strategic agenda. The ability to learn allows a terrorist group to purposefully adapt to ever-evolving circumstances by

• Developing, improving, and employing new weapons or tactics that can enable it to change its capabilities over time
• Improving its members’ skills in applying current weapons or tactics...

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Trends in Outside Support for Insurgent Movements

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The most useful forms of outside support for an insurgent movement include safe havens, financial support, political backing, and direct military assistance. Because states are able to provide all of these types of assistance, their support has had a profound impact on the effectiveness of many rebel movements since the end of the Cold War. However, state support is no longer the only, or indeed necessarily the most important, game in town. Diasporas have played a particularly important role in sustaining several strong insurgencies. More rarely, refugees, guerrilla groups, or other types of non-state supporters play a significant role in creating or sustaining an insurgency, offering fighters, training, or other forms of assistance. This report assesses post-Cold War trends in external support for insurgent movements. It describes the frequency that states, diasporas, refugees, and other non-state actors back guerrilla movements. It also assesses the motivations of these actors and which types of support matter most. This book concludes by assessing the implications for analysts of insurgent movements.

Additional Resource: Trends in Outside Support for Insurgent Movements

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Media Attention to Terrorist Attacks: Causes and Consequences

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Political movements that engage in terrorism typically have too few material resources personnel, funds, or territory under their control to achieve their goals through legitimate political action or large-scale organized violence (Fromkin, 1975). Terrorist attacks are part of an indirect strategy for achieving their political objectives by influencing an audience (Crenshaw, 1981). These terrorist groups differ in the audiences that they seek to influence and in the messages they seek to communicate to their chosen audiences (Kydd & Walter, 2006). Some use terrorism to convince opponents to concede to their demands. Other terrorist groups seek to provoke authorities into engaging in indiscriminate repression, which will undermine support for the government and justify the use of terrorist violence. Some use violence to demonstrate to current and potential supporters a capacity to deliver powerful blows against their opponents. Media attention is an important vehicle by which terrorists communicate with their audiences, and

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Update on Geospatial Patterns of Precursor Behavior among Terrorists

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Introduction

As part of the Terrorism and Extremist Violence in the United States (TEVUS) database integration effort, researchers at the Terrorism Research Center in Fulbright College at the University of Arkansas and University of Oklahoma have been adding: 1) federal terrorism court cases and associated data and 2) incident and precursor geospatial data from these court cases to the American Terrorism Study (ATS) in order to examine geospatial patterns in terrorist behavior and determine if the patterns identified in earlier studies have changed significantly. The ATS allows examination of a number of different units of analysis. Analyses may examine: (1) characteristics of federal terrorism court cases; (2) the characteristics of persons indicted in each court case or involved in incidents, otherwise referred to as indictees; (3) characteristics of incidents and planned incidents; and (4) precursor activities that lead up to the incident and are necessary to carry it out and/or achieve the goals of the persons or groups.

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Evil Done Vulnerability Assessment: Examining Terrorist Targets Through Situational Crime Prevention

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Background

Historically, a major focus of the government and society has been placed on public safety and crime prevention at the individual or micro-level; more recently, however, the focus has been placed upon protecting large clusters of society at the macrolevel. Following the events of September 11th, 2001, national attention has been captivated by terrorism and terrorism prevention. Between 1970 and 2011, there have been 104,689 documented cases of terrorism around the world, 2,362 of which occurred in the United States. These terrorist attacks have resulted in 228,526 fatalities, 299,202 injured persons, and billions of dollars in property damage (Global Terrorism Database, 2012). Parallel to this time of increased focus on terrorism prevention, adequate funding to support new departments or increased terrorism prevention efforts in existing departments was unattainable (Leson, 2005). It was, and still is, unrealistic to expect local, state, or federal authorities to fund additional personnel and equipment in addition to their daily costly behaviors

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Economic Terror: Market Manifestations of Terror Attacks

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In the recent past, we have paid painful witness to terrorism’s capacity to harm the United States financial sector. While the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and attempt on the Pentagon (9/11) are perhaps most commonly viewed as unprecedented physical terror attacks, they also exemplify an economic attack. Besides the immeasurable value of lives lost in the attack, there were also grave financial costs. The price of terrorism is something that is becoming more of an issue in a largely connected financial market. Where once, we worried about finance being used to support terrorism, there is now a clearer concern about the financial impact of terrorist attacks. The question is: if terrorists have noticed this, could they use this information to “doubledown” on the damage they cause?

A. FINANCING OF TERROR

The direct property damages of 9/11 are estimated at over $20 billion.The abstract cost, or opportunity cost, is estimated at around

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