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Institute for Crisis, Disaster, and Risk Management Crisis and Emergency Management Newsletter Website |
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November
2006
Volume 11 -
Number 2 |
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Terrorism Perception By Ryan Beebe Terrorism. Noun. The unlawful use or threatened use
of force or violence by a person or an organized group against people or property
with the intention of intimidating or coercing societies or governments, often
for ideological or political reasons.
The risk of terrorist acts occurring within the United States is very real. In contrast to the prevailing fear, that a foreign extremist will commit a suicide attack on US soil, the vast majority of terrorist incidents against the United States and its government originated within the country. Most terrorist incidents and suspected terrorist incidents have not been committed by Islamic fundamentalists. Most convicted terrorists have been young white men. The United States is focusing too many resources preventing terrorism abroad. Domestic acts of terrorism have been occurring since the nation’s inception. The federal government has always played a major role in responding and investigating terrorist incidents. All of this changed on September 11, 2001. Since that day, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the entire Department of Justice, has altered its structure as well as its priorities. The top priority of the FBI is to protect the United States from terrorist attack. The agency allocates the majority of its funding to this cause. On the surface, it appears that the FBI does not distinguish between domestic or foreign terrorists. However, their second priority is protecting the United States from foreign intelligence operations and espionage. This leads one to infer that the agency is focusing mainly on international terrorist groups. Statistics do not lend credibility to this approach. Of the forty-four terrorist incidents occurring with the United States between 1996 and 2001, twenty-six were committed by environmental terrorist groups, four were committed by Eric Rudolph (a pro-life extremist), and three were committed by Los Macheteros (a Puerto Rican independence extremist group). Special-interest terrorist organizations have become a significant threat to the United States and its citizens. Special-interest terrorist organizations are groups that seek resolution of specific issues, rather than broad political change. Environmental and pro-life organizations that use violence against the public are examples of special-interest terrorists. While environmental terrorists have not directly caused any deaths, they have caused tens on millions of dollars worth of property damage. Since September 11, 2001, the definition of terrorism has changed drastically. Environmental groups that burglarize and vandalize animal research laboratories are no longer classified as terrorists. They are simply lumped in with regular crime statistics. According to their websites, groups like the Animal Liberation Front and Earth Liberation Front are still active. These organizations pose a threat to life and property around the United States. With the exception of one segment on “Sixty Minutes,” these groups receive little to no attention from the media. Special-interest terrorists’ tactics mimic those of Islamic fundamentalists but they are not labeled as terrorists. They use improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and arson to draw attention to their cause and create fear. There is no doubt in my mind that the risk of foreign terrorism is real. However, domestic sources of terrorism have not gone away since 2001 either. The Departments of Defense and Homeland Security should remain focused on preventing foreign terrorists from committing an attack on US territory. The FBI should continue to focus its efforts on domestic sources. With increasing divisiveness among citizens, special-interest terrorist groups will likely see a boost in membership. Attacks may escalate until they reach infamy similar to the bombing of the Murrah Federal building in Oklahoma City. Likely, it will take another high-profile domestic incident to change the federal government’s terrorism policy. REFERENCES Department of Justice. “Report to the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States.” 14 April, 2004. 22 Oct. 2006. <Fbi.gov http://www.fbi.gov/publications/commission/9-11commissionrep.pdf> Department of Justice. “Terrorism 2000/2001.” 2004. 21 Oct. 2006. <Fbi.gov http://www.fbi.gov/filelink.html?file=/publications/terror/terror2000_2001.pdf> Department of Justice. “Terrorism in the United States: 1996.” 1997. 21 Oct. 2006. <Fbi.gov http://www.fbi.gov/filelink.html?file=/publications/terror/terroris.pdf> "terrorism." The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. 23 Oct. 2006. <Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/terrorism> |