To fully assess terrorism and have an effective counter terrorism regime, the counter terrorist operatives must understand the motivating factor of the terrorists. Sun Tzu wrote in the Art of War about the importance of knowing your enemy. This has become a corner stone of all military intelligence and tactics.

“So it is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you can win a hundred battles without a single loss. If you only know yourself, but not your opponent, you may win or may lose. If you know neither yourself nor your enemy, you will always endanger yourself (Sun Tzu).”

However difficulty and challenges arise when military intelligence cannot keep up with the ever growing threat of multinational terrorism. Some multi-national terrorist groups have large objectives and make no distinction about future targets. They do not seem to have a specific goal such as animal rights, protecting the earth, racial segregation, or religious ideology. Some groups have goals such as the destruction of the government, to create fear and panic in the public, and to cause a global economic collapse.

These broad terror objectives are not what Sun Tzu expected two thousand years ago when he wrote “know your enemy.” Still the tenet of knowing you enemy is vitally important today when faced with a multinational group of terror cells as it was when Sun Tzu was faced with a Mongol horde. To have a successful campaign against one’s enemy, one must know what motivates and drives that enemy.

Protestor, Activist, Extremist, Terrorist Defined

Many different agencies within and outside the United States government have different definitions for terrorism. The definition for terrorism and what a terrorist is depends on the purpose of the agency. The current definition according to the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) state: “Terrorism is defined in the Code of Federal Regulations as “…the unlawful use of force and violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.” The FBI further defines terrorism into either further or domestic terrorism. This is clearly due to the FBI’s theater of operations and the different actions this agency must take based on where a terrorist attack occurs.

Further there needs to be a clear defined line drawn between extremists and terrorists. According to the Defense Departments 2005 strategic plan, extremism and terrorism are very close to the same. According to the Defense Department: an extremist is one that opposes the right of people to choose how to live and how to organize their societies and support murder of ordinary people to advance extremist ideology. While a terrorist is someone “who conducts terrorist acts” (pg 3). This definition of what a terrorist is too vague it does not define what a terrorist act is, which in turn would define how terrorists would be pursued and prosecuted. However, once again this is due to the nature of the defense agencies operations.  It does create problems when prosecuting would be terrorists.

A good example of this explanation is to take a deep look at the Black Liberation Movement in America. An example of a protestor in the Black Liberation Movement would be Rosa Parks.  Activists in the movement would be Martin Luther King, Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton all three that have desire to change society, but are against violent means of doing so. An extremist would be Louis Farrakhan or Reverend Wright who have spoken about the violent over throw of the government along with justification of violence against people with opposing viewpoints. It is important to note that they have spoken of violence but to our knowledge they have not participated in the violence or funded any violence. Finally terrorists within the Black Liberation Movement would include William Lee Brett who high jacked a plane to Cuba in 1969 or Elmer Pratt who committed robbery and murder in the name of Black Liberation (Anderson, pg 82).

For the purpose of this report we will focus on the difference between extremists and terrorists. What is the psychology that would make someone jump from extremist and wishing ill on society, to becoming a terrorist and actually performing ill deeds on society in order to further their cause? This downward spiral or terrorist growth pattern does not mean to become a terrorist one starts as protestor then grows to activist, then to extremist then finally to terrorist. It is actually quite the contrary; many terrorists skip the peaceful protestor beginning and become terrorists directly. This is due to the future terrorist’s observations of other like minded ideological protestors and the sharing of frustrations when their message is not being received. Added on top of this there is usually an extremist motivator which helps to feed the fire of ideology and grow resentment with society. 

It is important to understand that terrorism is not a new phenomenon. Terrorism has existed throughout history and throughout mankind. Jewish resistance to Roman occupation was most likely viewed as terrorism. According to Thackrah in 70 AD there was a zealot group called Sicarii that attacked people in day light with short swords in order to try to liberate Palestine from the Romans. There are many other examples throughout history of terrorist groups that have used terrorist techniques in order to try to further their cause.

For the purpose of this paper the focus will be on the progression or downward spiral of protestor / activist to extremist to terrorist. There is a fine line in the decline of the psychology of protestor to become an extremist. Moreover, there is a sharper decline in the member’s psychology to further the downward spiral to become a terrorist. This behavior and psychology is repeated throughout history, however political leaders and organizations have failed to recognize and act on this behavior for fear of repercussion, violations of civil rights, and loss of their own political power.

According to Kruglanski and Fishman (2006), “few would disagree that terrorism is the scourge of our time.” If terrorism has existed throughout history and has affected every society, why is it considered a scourge of our time? This scourge may be the result of two major factors; globalization and mass communication. Mass communication such as the Internet, cell phones, bulletin boards, cyber cares; text messages, etc allow like minded extremists to communicate at a scale and distance never before imagined.

Globalization provides a mean for people to travel as never before imagined. This creates a situation of cultures and races to mix as never before. The spread of businesses throughout the world creates a ‘cultural contamination’ that threatens many people and their way of life. It is not disputed that Dubai is a rapid growing capital with great wealth. But this wealth and growth have occurred since the 1970s, meaning that within one generation citizens in Dubai have gone from traveling Bedouins to wealthy oil aristocrats. This is a monumental cultural shift and may threaten some citizens of Dubai.

Understanding this motivation can help the counter terrorist experts to recognize possible terrorists before they progress downward through this spiral and be intercepted while they are still in the activist or extremist stage.

External and Internal Motivating

External motivation occurs when terrorist respond to what they perceive as a threat to their beliefs, their political environment, their religious ideology or their way of life in general. External motivation is may also be called the cause of a terrorist attack. It is the terrorist reply to an action from government, society, culture, or business. There is no sure fire way to accurately time when a terrorist attack will occur in retaliation to an external threat. Sometimes the attacks will occur soon after their perceived threat occurs, or at a future time. Generally the terrorist attacks will occur on the anniversary of an important day in order to mark their struggle. For instance Timothy McVeigh’s attack on the Alfred Murrah building in Oklahoma City occurred on April 19th exactly two years after the siege at Waco, Texas. McVeigh wanted the public to question the government’s siege on Waco and what he perceived as growing government interference in the public’s private lives. By choosing this date in history he was hoping to become a martyr not only for his actions, but for that of Waco and other perceived wrongs of the government.

            While there are many forms of external motivators for terrorists, this chapter will focus on three main factors: political, environmental and social external motivators.  There are other external motivating factors that may influence terrorist response; economic, religious, or other factors. However, for the purpose of this report we will not cover these. 

            Internal motivation deals with what drives the future terrorist to commit acts of terrorism. There are many factors described by psychologist as to what might a person to commit these terrorists act. In “The Mind of the Terrorist” Victoroff writes a great report about the internal motivating factors that may be driving terrorists to act. However, what is missing is the linkage (if any) of these internal motivating factors to the external motivating causes. For instance is there a common internal motivator for terrorists that are driven to political terrorism? Is there a common internal motivating factor in environmental terrorists? While every human is different and every situation unique, there are common underlying motivating factors.

External Political Movements

Perhaps the most difficult motivating factor to assess with terrorists is political motivation. Terrorists will react to political movements out of fear of lack of representation, fear of political isolation, a belief in not having a political voice, a belief in swaying political views in their direction, and a belief in swaying a political movement away from their opponents.

Moreover, it is extremely difficult to assess what action a government takes will be reciprocated with a terrorist attack. Some government regulations occur that are very oppressive to groups of people and receive no terrorist like responses, while others may seem minor and receive strong terrorist response. The persecution of the Lockerbie bomber was expected to receive a terrorist attack since many people in Libya viewed this man as a hero and not a terrorist. However, no terror attacks occurred.

For instance, The Irish Republican Army a faction of the now defunct Irish Republican brotherhood.  After the Government of Ireland Act of 1920, Ireland was separated into two separate countries. The six counties of Ulster in the north and three in the south were one half, and the remaining twenty three were the other half. The counties in the north accepted the act and the state of Northern Ireland were formed. The republicans in the south rejected the act and bitter fighting broke out between the British army and the IRA.

The IRA has always had one goal; a united Ireland and total separation from Britain. This was their external motivator and Counter Terrorism groups in Britain expected the IRA to act on British targets to further the IRA’s objectives.

Members of the IRA at first protested the move to separate Ireland. They marched in the street, held protests, wrote articles, wrote to government. Yet they did not feel they were being heard. They next grew into a more extremist role and took a more violent role. Afterwards the Ira took a more terrorist role by fighting the British for years.

The IRA remained active in fighting the British into the 1970s. During this time IRA leader Goulding  was trying to defeat capitalism and wanted to form a united Catholic and Protestant workers group.  This was a clear motivated goal to all. This split in the leadership of the IRA. It was during this time, after having Sinn Fein members elected to the British Parliament, that splinter groups such as the PIRA and INLA were formed with different motivators, but still clearly defined.

Another Example is in Russia which has deep roots in political terrorism. The Narodnaya Volya attempted to overthrow the Russian government and made numerous assassination attempts on Czar Alexander II.  A faction of the NV, the Boevoya Oranisatsia was formed and appealed to a wide range of Russians. The Bolsheviks took power in 1917 terrorist activities were wide spread, both from the Bolsheviks and against the Bolsheviks.

The majority of all terrorist activities were political based against the Soviet Union. Since the fall of the Soviet Union the Russian Federation has seen a rise in the Mafia and other free market crime organization. Russia has also faced a strong nationalist movement from areas such as Chechnya that do not wish to be part of the Russian Republic. The majority of external motivators in Russian terrorists are the unwillingness to join the Soviet Union or the lack of representation in the Russian parliament.

In Russian history we see the same motivation and the same downward spiral in terrorist growth. The challenge for counter terrorism groups is to try to predict the location, times and possible targets for future terrorist attacks when these groups are politically motivated. Their external motivation is clear: to cause disruption in the government or to create a loss of faith in the government.

The internal motivating factors for the majority of political terrorists fall into what Victoroff calls the identify theory. These groups such as the IRA, the Volya, The Stern Gang, the Timer Tigers, the Zapadistas, and many other are in search of their identity, not just individually, but for their society. this search for identity is the reason there are generally many different splinter groups from politically motivated terrorists, not everyone has the same definition or perception of what that identity should be. If the terrorist groups does win and further defines their identity, sometimes the splinter terror groups act against the newly formed power in order to further define that identity.

External Environmental Movements

            Environmental motivation is perhaps one of the newest forms of terrorist threats in the 20th century (next to cyber terrorism). Groups such as the Earth Liberation Front (ELF), Earth First, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), Greenpeace, etc. Environmental groups present an interesting debate on the terrorist standpoint. The majority of these groups have limited or no command structure making it difficult to define a leader or a source of funding. Moreover, most environmental groups, such as the ELF and ALF state they do not target humans, only targets they believe to be hurtful to the environment.

            This is not always the case. With the theory of climate change getting wide spread momentum and human beings believed to be the major cause of climate change, a new form of radical environmentalism has formed. There are many environmental extremists that believe the Earth would be better off if there were not so many humans. Many of these extremists believed in the early environmental movements of the 70s that through legislation (abortion, contraception, education, etc) this could be accomplished. However, the human population continues to grow at a higher rate and the environmental movement is blaming human growth more and more on the damage to the environment. The only reason we have not seen more terrorist attacks based on environmental fears on humans, is the lack of command structure in environmental groups.

            The environmental protestor, activist, extremist, terrorist is a phenomenon that has developed within developed cultures and society. Activists are generally from middle class families, young, educated, and finically established. These activists do not understand why people do not follow their cause or believe in what they are doing. They wish to win people over to their beliefs and some actually believe that the Earth is in danger if you do not believe and follow their beliefs. This is a very extreme view compared to other types of external motivators.

The best way to describe an environmental terrorist is by the syndrome perspective described by Kruglaski and Fishman. The root cause of this extreme syndrome is through frustration that people do not see what the extremist believe is very visible. Moreover they believe that the Earth itself is in danger of destruction is a version of the apocalyptic theory described by Victoroff. Even though Victoroff describes the apocalyptic theory as moral polarization within different religious groups, the same moral polarization applies to environmental extremists also.

These extreme beliefs may make extremists make the jump to terrorist. Recently a gun man entered the Discovery Channel headquarters building in Silver Spring, Maryland. this man killed a worker and himself and threatened to destroy the building since he did not agree with the channels programming. This man routinely protested outside the Discovery building for years displaying his message. He even posted his message on the Internet. But after feeling that his message was not getting to the general public, he felt it necessary to make the leap to terrorist to get the mass media coverage and the distraction of the Discovery Channel building.

It is the cases of these lone terrorists in the environmental movements that are of great concern. Extreme environmentalists are educated young people with an apocalyptic belief of the worlds end. Since there are no command structure in these groups, counter terrorism agents will have a difficult if not impossible time monitoring and intercepting their activities. Moreover, they are gaining momentum and gaining popularity by advertising on TV, and even having their own TV shows (Whale Wars on Animal Planet). This will turn more youth to their cause, some with better education and resources. Eventually one of these recruits will have the capability and means to perform a mass attack on society while remaining under the radar of counter terrorism expert, all in the name of the environment.

External Social Movements

            There are external social movements that effect people and may cause citizens to become radicalized and cross the line from extremist to terrorist. This is generally caused by a sense of worthlessness and a perceived growing threat that the extremist / possible terrorist is unable to overcome.

            Some of these perceived threats include the perceived rise in immigration whether it is legal or illegal. Many people who feel strongly for or against the rise of immigration in the United States have protested in contacted their government officials about their concerns. Some action has been accomplished by the government only to receive backlash from the media and general public. While at this point there have been no wide spread terror like behavior from US citizens, there could likely be in the future.

            The internal motivations of these groups are unlike that of politically motivated or environmentally motivated groups. Victoroff does not discuss the internal motivation of terrorists that are motivated by external social circumstance. This is because it is too easy to confuse political motivation with social motivation. It is also too easy to undermine the motivation of a socially motivated terrorist and just call it a hate crime. This is not the case. Most terrorists that are externally socially motivated are internally motivated by fear. They are only concerned with others knowing their message in an attempt to alleviate their fear. They are not absolutists, apocalyptic or narcissistic such as environmentalists. Nor are they motivated by a desire to change politics. These people are fearful that the society they were comfortable in will no longer be that society.

            For instance, the repeal of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy in the US military will change the American government’s stance on homosexuality. The repeal of this law will force states to recognize gay marriages and force private medical insurance companies to recognize gay marriages. This will create backlash throughout some of the American public. Some American’s will not like the facts that their tax dollars are going to support gay military couples housing units, health care, and medical expense. Currently there are groups such as the Westboro Baptist Church led by Fred Phelps that are protesting at military funerals against homosexuality. Some of these protests have turned violent with revival groups protesting against the Westboro Baptist Church. It could be very likely for a splinter group to break off from these protests, and perform homegrown terror activities against targets they feel deem it. Moreover as these extremist groups grow, funding grows for them. Mr. Phelps could fund these terror activities. 

            While the Westboro Baptist church have yet to make the jump from extremists to terrorists, it may occur soon or they will motivate other like minded extremists to do that jump for them. These people do not want political power, they want to change society. However, the Westboro Baptist Church is much like Al Qaeda in that they have a large broad target base. According to the Anti-Defamation League “Though the group’s specific focus may shift over time, they believe that nearly all Americans and American institutions are “sinful,” so nearly any individual or organization can be targeted.” 

However, many socially motivated terror organizations are very specific in their targeting. Racial extremists will targets organizations that cater to their opponent’s race or national origin. Terrorists motivated by immigration will target locations frequented by immigrants. Many of these socially motivated groups are very vocal in their desires to change society. They will most likely take credit for terrorist activities or blame the victim publically. The only way to change society is to be fully in view of society. However, they also fear that if terrorists commit violence in the name of their cause, it might turn sentiment away from their cause.  For instance racial extremists such as the Klu Klux Klan, Black Panthers or Aryan Nation frequently hide their identities and blame the violence terrorists commit on their behalf as not acting on their behalf. They also pass the blame of the terrorist act onto the victim, in yet another attempt to change society on their behalf.  

Conclusion

Counter terrorism agencies must learn both the internal and external motivating factors that affect protestors, activists, and extremist if they want to intercept the downward spiral to terrorist. There are external factors that will trigger protests but this does not signify terrorists acts will or may occur. What it does signify is unrest with society and the possible growth of extremists. Extremists need to be monitored closely along with world events. The Black Panther party would not have existed if it were not for the assignation of Martin Luther King and the preaching of Malcolm X (Thachrah). This is why Counter Terrorist groups need to maintain a proactive preventive approach. This will help to intercept extremists before the step to terrorist.

In the post 9/11 world counter terrorism operations have been focused on anti government Islamic radical terror groups. Fear has spread throughout the world that Islamic terrorists may get WMDs and become state sponsored from anti western governments such as Iran and Syria. While focus has been keeping citizens safe from these groups, other groups have risen that are under the radar of counter terrorist efforts. Environmental groups such as ALF, ELF, domestic extremist groups such as the Black Panthers, Michigan Militia and Aryan Nation have strengthened. Groups such as Greenpeace have funded the Sea Sheppard and filmed their form of eco-terrorism for Animal Planet. These groups will continue to grow and form into well established terror organization if left unchecked.

Due to the rise in mass communication and globalization, terrorism will continue to rise. Rise in social or economic status does not deter from the people joining extremist or terrorist organizations. It might actually romanticize some extremist or terrorists view. In the 1970s and 1980s it was very common to see fund raising jars for the IRA throughout Boston. President Obama attended Reverend Wright’s church. Why would people give to the IRA or listen to Reverend Wright? It’s because they sympathize with the objectives of the extremist or terrorist. Mass communication makes it easier for people to find organizations that they sympathize with, donate money to, and join, even if they don’t fully understand the conflict (for example Free Tibet or the Zapatistas). Because of this rise in communications, globalization and increased government regulation, terrorism will continue to increase regardless of counter terrorism efforts.  Therefore it is on the individual to remain educated, aware and secure.
References

Anderson, S. (2009). Historical Dictionary of Terrorism. The Scarecrow Press, Maryland US.

Author Unknown, (2010) Extremism in America, Anti-Defamation League. Retrieved 10 October 2010 from http://www.adl.org/learn/ext_us/WBC/default.asp?LEARN_Cat=Extremism&LEARN_SubCat=Extremism_in_America&xpicked=3&item=WBC

Erickson, Bonnie H., “Secret Societies and Social Structure”, in Social Sources, Volume 60, Issue 1 (Sep., 1981), 188-210.

Hudson, Rex A., “The Sociology and Psychology of Terrorism: Who Becomes a Terrorist and Why?” Library of Congress ed., Marilyn Majeska. September 1999.

Kamien, David.(2006).  The McGraw-Hill Homeland Security Handbook. New York, McGraw-Hill.

Kruglanski, Arie & Fishman, Shira. “The Psychology of Terrorism: “Syndrome” Vs “Tool” Perspectives.” Terrorism and Political Violence 18 (2006): 193-215

Rapoport, David, “Perceptions and Misperceptions of ‘Religious Terror’”, received March 5th, 2001.

Pluchinsky, Dennis. (2005). Ethnic Terrorism: Themes and Variations. POT

Essays, 1, 35-46.

Stout, C. (2002). The Psychology of Terrorism. Published by Praeger, Connecticut, US.

Thackrah, J. (1987). Encyclopedia of Terrorism and Political Violence. Routledge publishing London, UK.

Victoroff, Jeff. “The Mind of the Terrorist: A Review and Critique of Psychological Approaches.” Journal of Conflict Resolution 49, no.1 (2005): 3-42

Picture Source

You can do anything. You have always been able to do anything.

It has always been up to you to simply make up your mind to “just do it;” to just take that leap, to take that step, to stop procrastinating and making excuses. Maybe it might feel like you are holding your breath. Maybe it feels a bit exhilarating and frightening at the same time. This is completely natural.

Whenever you are doing something new or encountering something you are not familiar with, this is your body’s way to make sure that you are okay. It is your survival method to just make sure that you are “looking both ways before you cross the street” so that you don’t get hit by something unexpectedly.

When you are starting something new, those butterflies you feel (whether it be for a relationship or a new career move, etc.) is for your benefit. Do not be afraid of that feeling. Know that it just means that you are embarking on something new! It also means that you have built enough self-esteem and confidence in yourself to be able to trust that your instincts will help guard you and keep you safe where ever you go. Your instincts will allow you to not jump too soon into something and yet push you forward when you know in your gut that you need and want to try a new endeavor.

Pick up books by great motivators. Talk to positive people. Read health magazines. Do whatever it takes to keep feeding the positive feelings you feel about yourself. The more that you do, the more that you will be able to generate good energy for yourself and others to make this world and even better place.

And, remember no matter how successful you become in your career and your life, we all started out as babies with no belongings. No one person is better than another. Humility and having a genuine character are two important things that will take your farther in life than anything else. When you know in your heart you can live with yourself; that you are an amazing person with a beauty that shines inside and out, your life will only continue to soar.

You were meant for great things. Never let anyone tell you differently, ever.

Best wishes to all.

Joie Schmidt © Copyright 2007 All Rights Reserved.

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For more inspirational articles:

• Living Out Loud
• The Mentor’s Spirit
• Live Life to the Fullest
• Make Your Foundation Strong
• Create the Life of Your Dreams
• Your Path is Filled With Happiness
• Thinking Defines Who You Are
• Don’t Let the Grass Distract You
• Change Your Thoughts & Change Your Life
• Brian Tracy: Leading Self-Development Author and Coach

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