DOMESTIC TERRORISM

Domestic Terrorism

ABSTRACT

U.S. policymakers need to improve their understanding of the underlying conditions and proximate drivers which appear to prompt and propel radicalization among American citizens to combat the upsurge in Domestic Islamist terrorist plots in the U.S., since 9/11. Keeping in mind that radicalization is a dynamic, inherently personal process that entails a unique combination of environmental strains, ideology, motivations, and socialization processes.

Domestic Terrorism

Introduction:

For a long time, many in the United States thought that our specific melting point meant we were immune from this threat - this despite the history of violent extremists of all kinds in the United States. That was false hope, and false comfort. This threat is real, and it is serious. (Abbas, 2007, 289).

On November 5, 2009, Major Nidal Malik Hasan, a U.S. Army psychiatrist, entered the Soldier Readiness Center at Fort Hood and opened fire, killing 12 people and wounding 32 others. Adam Gadahn, a California native who has become a spokesperson for Al Qaeda, applauded Hasan's efforts in an English-language video released by As Sahab (Al Qaeda's media branch) in March 2010 and encouraged other aspiring terrorists to follow Hasan's example of selecting realistic targets, which have symbolic resonance. Samir Khan, a Saudi-born American citizen who grew up in New York and North Carolina, is the editor of an English language magazine called “Inspire” which published by Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula since July 2010 (Peter & Bruce, 2011, 65-101).

The magazine promotes Domestic Islamist terrorism in the West through an edgy, colorful mix of feature stories, photos, theological backgrounders, and hands-on instructions for operating weapons and pursuing violent actions.

Thesis Statement:

This study will explore the recent history of Domestic Terrorism in order to understand their motivation and detail. It will decide what needs to be accomplished politically in the future to stop the threat of Domestic terrorism in the United States.

History and Background:

Violent Islamist ideology and the terrorism it inspires pose a substantial threat to America's homeland security. The core tenet of this murderous ideology is straightforward, uncompromising, and absolute. The ideology calls for the pursuit and creation of a global Islamist state a Caliphate that unites all Muslims the Ummah and governed by Islamic law Sharia. In pursuing this dystopian goal, violent Islamists are not only encouraged to attack those who are not committed to their ideology in its purest form, including other Muslims, but are purportedly obligated to do so (Bakker, 2006, 45-78).

Violent Islamist terrorists have attacked the United States and its interests many times. The first World Trade Center bombing in 1993, the attacks on the United States embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, in 1998, the attack on the USS Cole in 2000, the devastating attacks of September 11, 2001, and many others carried out by well-organized, well-equipped, and well-trained individuals indoctrinated into violent Islamist ideology. The United States government has appropriately focused its attentions at its borders and abroad, disrupting terrorist planning, training, and operations as part of the Global War on ...