What Can We Do About Terrorism?

Terrorism has many faces. It is the face of Timothy McVeigh who detonated a bomb at the Federal Building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people. It is 9/11 in which 2,996 people were killed. It is the bombing at the Boston Marathon, killing 3 people and injuring 264. It is the face of Dylann Roof who shot and killed nine people during a prayer service at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in South Carolina. It is the face of Robert Lewis Dear who attacked a Planned Parenthood Clinic in Colorado Springs killing three people. And it is the face of Jihadist’s “holy war”.

What would motivate someone to become a terrorist? Many people would think they have a mental disorder, such as a psychopath. Only “crazy” people would commit these horrible acts. But this is not the case. Studies show terrorists have no more mental illness than the general population. They are also not necessarily from a lower socioeconomic or education level than the general population.

Many people have extreme views. However, what distinguishes a terrorist is the commitment to use violence to impose their beliefs on others, or to punish others for their “evil” actions or beliefs. Terrorism is not random violence. It is violence guided by a belief system that provides rules for one’s behavior. To be “radical” implies not only extreme beliefs, but extreme action to impose their beliefs on the rest of society.

Certain conditions exist that make people vulnerable to becoming a terrorist. There is a perception of injustice in which violence is seen as an appropriate remedy. There is a need to create a sense of meaning, belonging or affiliation. All terrorist movements have an “us vs. them” mind set. The “us” is at risk from “them”. The “us” is seen as good and right and serves to form an ingroup cohesion as well as opposition to all nonbelievers. And they foster hate to dehumanize others which lowers the barrier to engage in violence.

Once a terrorist, always a terrorist? Not necessarily. John Horgan, PhD is the director of the Center for Terrorism and Security Studies. He has studied hundreds of terrorist around the world and found that “just as there is a steady stream of people who become involved in terrorism, there’s also a fairly steady and regular stream of people who disengage. It’s not as difficult as we would have once imagined for people to actually leave. And people leave for a gamut of reasons.” Dr. Horgan found that disillusionment plays a significant role in individuals’ decisions to want to leave behind terrorism.

So what can we do stop terrorism? The FBI requests the help of citizens in preventing terrorist acts. If you see or know about suspicious activities that occur at high profile sites or places where large numbers of people gather, please report them immediately. Report instances of anyone recording or monitoring activities; anyone attempting to gain information regarding a key facility; attempts to penetrate or test security procedures; attempts to improperly acquire supplies such as weapons, badges, identification cards; observations of “dry runs” that appear to be preparations for terrorist acts; or observing stockpiling of suspicious materials or abandoned vehicles. Your tip could save lives.