Who Becomes a Terrorist and Why?: The Psychology and Sociology of Terrorism

by Hudson, Rex A., Malcolm Nance (Foreword by)

Overview

Who Becomes a Terrorist and Why? is the shocking landmark government study that predicted who would terrorize the United States and how they would do it. In an attempt to profile what members of society join terrorist groups such and commit acts of violence, the report drew on government documents that profiled current and past terrorist cults and their leaders. The study includes a glossary with profiles of terrorist groups that wish harm the United States and also shows what means terrorists had used so far to bring their vision into reality, with tactics ranging from kidnapping, hijacking, and sabotage, to the use of nerve gas and suicide bombings. The evidence clearly pointed to the escalation of hostilities, and the report even speculated that Al-Qaeda could use suicide bombers to crash-land aircraft into government buildings and other landmarks.

This is the government study that correctly predicted the events of September 11, 2001, profiled the precursor groups to ISIS, and identified into the methods used in lone wolf attacks such as the San Bernadino shootings and Pulse nightclub attack in Orlando. Find out who becomes a terrorist, the psychology and reasoning behind why they do so, and how they will carry out their attacks in a study that continues to be all too relevant.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781510726123
Publisher:	Skyhorse
Publication date:	01/23/2018
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Malcolm Nance is a globally recognized counterterrorism expert and Intelligence Community member who has been deployed to intelligence operations in the Balkans, Middle East, and sub-Saharan Africa. He is the author of The Plot to Hack America, Hacking Isis, and New York Times bestseller Defeating Isis. He appears regularly on MSNBC. Nance lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Table of Contents

Preface i

Executive Summary: Mindsets of Mass Destruction 1

New Types of Post-Cold War Terrorists 1

New Forms of Terrorist-Threat Scenarios 5

Introduction 9

Terms of Analysis 11

Defining Terrorism and Terrorists 11

Terrorist Group Typologies 14

Approaches to Terrorism Analysis 15

The Multicausal Approach 15

The Political Approach 15

The Organizational Approach 16

The Physiological Approach 17

The Psychological Approach 18

General Hypotheses of Terrorism 19

Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis 19

Negative Identity Hypothesis 20

Narcissistic Rage Hypothesis 20

The Psychology of the Terrorist 22

Terrorist Motivation 22

The Process of Joining a Terrorist Group 24

The Terrorist as Mentally III 26

The Terrorist as Suicidal Fanatic 31

Fanatics 31

Suicide Terrorists 32

Terrorist Group Dynamics 34

Pressures to Conform 36

Pressures to Commit Acts of Violence 37

Terrorist Rationalization of Violence 38

The Terrorist's Ideological or Religious Perception 41

Terrorist Profiling 43

Hazards of Terrorist Profiling 43

Sociological Characteristics of Terrorists in the Cold War Period 46

A Basic Profile 46

Age 47

Educational, Occupational, and Socioeconomic Background 48

General Traits 50

Marital Status 51

Physical Appearance 51

Origin: Rural or Urban 52

Gender 52

Males 52

Females 53

Characteristics of Female Terrorists 55

Practicality, Coolness 55

Dedication, Inner Strength, Ruthlessness 56

Single-Mindedness 57

Female Motivation for Terrorism 58

Conclusion 60

Terrorist Profiling 60

Terrorist Group Mindset Profiling 64

Promoting Terrorist Group Schisms 66

How Guerrilla and Terrorist Groups End 67

Appendix 72

Sociopsychological Profiles: Case Studies 72

Exemplars of International Terrorism in the Early 1970s 72

Renato Curcio 72

Leila Khaled 73

Kozo Okamoto 76

Exemplars of International Terrorism in the Early 1990s 77

Mahmud Abouhalima 77

Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman 78

Mohammed A. Salameh 79

Ahmed Ramzi Yousef 80

Ethnic Separatist Groups 82

Irish Terrorists 83

Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and Abdullah Ocalan 84

Group/Leader Profile 84

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) 90

Group Profile 90

Background 90

Membership Profile 91

LTTE Suicide Commandos 94

Leader Profile 96

Velupillai Prabhakaran 96

Social Revolutionary Groups 97

Abu Nidal Organization (ANO) 97

Group Profile 97

Leader Profile 99

Abu Nidal 99

Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC) 103

Group Profile 103

Leader Profile 105

Ahmad Jibril 105

Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) 106

Group Profile 106

Leader Profiles 106

Pedro Antonio Marín/Manuel Marulanda Véiez 108

Jorge Briceño Suárez ("Mono Jojoy") 109

Germán Briceño Suárez ("Grannobles") 110

"Eliécer" 111

Revolutionary Organization 17 November (17N) 112

Group Profile 112

Religious Fundamentalist Groups 114

Al-Qaida 114

Group Profile 115

Leader Profiles 116

Osama bin Laden 116

Ayman al-Zawahiri 121

Subhi Muhammad Abu-Sunnah ("Abu-Hafs al- Masri") 121

Hizballah (Party of God) 121

Group Profile 121

Leader Profile 123

Imad Fa'iz Mughniyah 123

Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) 123

Group Profile 124

The Suicide Bombing Strategy 126

Selection of Suicide Bombers 126

Leader Profiles 128

Sheikh Ahmed Yassin 128

Mohammed Mousa ("Abu Marzook") 129

Emad al-Alami 131

Mohammed Dief 131

Al-Jihad Group 131

Group Profile 131

New Religious Groups 133

Aum Shinrikyo 133

Group/Leader Profile 133

Key Leader Profiles 140

Yoshinobu Aoyama 140

Seiichi Endo 141

Kiyohide Hayakawa 142

Dr. Ikuo Hayashi 142

Yoshihiro Inoue 144

Hisako Ishii 144

Fumihiro Joyu 145

Takeshi Matsumoto 146

Hideo Murai 146

Kiyohide Nakada 147

Tomomasa Nakagawa 148

Tomomitsu Niimi 149

Toshihiro Ouchi 149

Masami Tsuchiya 150

Tables 152

Table 1 Educational Level and Occupational Background of Right-Wing Terrorists in West Germany, 1980 152

Table 2 Ideological Profile of Italian Female Terrorists, January 1970-June 1984 153

Table 3 Prior Occupational Profile of Italian Female Terrorists, January 1970-June 1984 154

Table 4 Geographical Profile of Italian Female Terrorists, January 1970-June 1984 155

Table 5 Age and Relationships Profile of Italian Female Terrorists, January 1970-June 1984 157

Table 6 Patterns of Weapons Use by the Revolutionary Organization 17 November, 1975-97 159

Glossary 161

Bibliography 165