Domestic Terrorism Research Paper

Domestic terrorism refers any forcefulness act exerted on the civilian population or the infrastructure of a particular nation. Mostly domestic terrorism is done by the citizens of the nation with the intention of coercing, intimidating the national policy. A lone wolf terrorist is a situation where a citizen performs a forceful act supporting or basing on ideology and beliefs of certain movements or groups. One person alone without any command or assistances does a lone terrorist from the group.

National terrorism has been the focus of attention since September 11 (Haubrich, 2006). Unfortunately, domestic terrorism is now becoming increasingly common with hate groups around our nation. Domestic terrorism can be defined as violent acts that someone has committed in their own country against their fellow citizens and infrastructures. Some examples of violent acts include violent crimes, (murder, assault, and etc.) property crimes, and public order crimes. It can also be a crime against the state or federal government, like for example the attack on the World Trade Centers and the infamous Oklahoma City bombing.

Recent discoveries show, “Of 134 jihadist-inspired terrorists who have carried out or plotted attacks here since 9/11, 96 were U.S. citizens” (Jenkins). In the United States there has been a serious rise in domestic terrorism, however the government refuses to acknowledge it. Instead their focus has been abroad, rightly so in some cases, while more domestic attacks make headline news. The change in visa laws does nothing, because since 9/11 86% of the terror attacks have been plotted or carried out by American citizens. Therefore, the United States needs to step up its efforts to combat domestic terrorism because the jail time is too short for current terrorists, there are no true task forces for current attacks, and there has been an increase of these groups and attacks.

Following the ending of the Civil War in 1865, America was in an era known as the Reconstruction. The Reconstruction lasted until 1877. Citizens were attempting to rebuild our nation following one of the deadliest war in American History. In this time, the Fourteenth Amendment and Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution were ratified. Although slaves were freed, African Americans still faced intense racial prejudice and discrimination. This led to continued to tensions between not only the north and south but also the blacks and the whites in America. According to The Unfinished Nation, the per capita income of African Americans increase from about one-quarter to about one-half of the per capita income of White citizens (365). Sadly certain

One of the major reasons why defining domestic terrorism has proved difficult is because different agencies approach terrorism with their different interpretations (White, 2013). The difference between the various definitions of domestic terrorism lies within the various descriptions given about terrorists’ motivations. White (2013) classified domestic terrorism as either those that are politically motivated or others that attempt greater specificity. It is however difficult to establish and define the motivations of terrorists. It is therefore necessary do in-depth analysis on terrorists’ motivation because their purpose reflects the methods and targets the terrorists are most likely to select.

After going through the immeasurable shock and horror of the 9/11 attacks, Americans have joined together to create a more secure nation than existed previously. “Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shattered steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve”, these inspiring words from President George W. Bush after the 2001 terrorist attacks (Bush “Address”). Immediately following these attacks the American government was working towards creating a more secure nation. After the terrorist attack on September 11th, the United States responded by creating the Department of Homeland Security. This agency has had many

Ganor puts this differentiation into perspective by comparing the targets of both terrorists and guerrilla fighters. While terrorists intentionally target civilians, guerilla fighter’s targets are military ones (Ganor 288). A civilian can be defined as one who is unarmed, uninvolved, unaware and uninformed. In order to terminate these different views on the qualifications of a terrorist, Ganor proposes that an international definition of terrorism is acquired (289). He suggests that an objective definition of terrorism could be “the deliberate use or the threat to use violence against civilians in order to attain political, ideological and religious aims” (Ganor 288). It is important for a definition such as this to be accepted internationally as current definitions of terrorism can be abused by various factions. Many terrorist organizations use the current ambiguous definition of terrorism to promote their own interests and goals. Although politicians also promote their own interests and needs by making political use of the term “terrorism” by emphasizing the brutality of the term (Ganor 293). Another significant reason that an international definition for terrorism is adopted is to help emphasize the difference between terrorism

Homegrown Terror is violent acts committed by citizens or residents of a state against their own people or property within that state without foreign influence in an effort to instill fear on a population or government as a tactic designed to advance political, religious, or ideological objectives. This topic has been one of the most talked about in the presidential race. The politicians in the running, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, are often given the question about their solution with homegrown terrorism. All of their solutions that were mentioned on both sides, were both very interesting. But at the end, one of the solution, that Clinton made and it really stood out the most. The best solution for homegrown terrorism is to be united and at peace with the Muslim community and not

The Ku Klux Klan was founded in 1866 by former Confederate veterans in Pulaski, Tennessee. Ku Klan is derivative of the Greek word “kyklos,” meaning circle. The creation of the Ku Klux Klan coincided with the second phase of post-Civil War Reconstruction, which was organized mostly by members of the Republican Party in Congress. Klan members wore white sheets or robes and masks to cover their identities. They used to march and ride horses at night threatening former slaves and make them believe that former Confederates are coming to reclaim their land. Klan activities were most successful in Tennessee, Georgia and North Carolina, where many Republicans left the office and blacks were discouraged from voting. Even though the Klan claimed to

Some challenges such as Terrorist networks today are more dispersed and less centralized. They are more reliant on smaller cells inspired by a common ideology and less directed by a central command structure. In addition, Internet and media has enabled our terrorist enemies to communicate, recruit, train, rally support, proselytize, and spread their propaganda without risking personal contact. Our effective counterterrorist efforts, in part, have forced the terrorists to evolve and modify their ways of doing business. Our understanding of the enemy has evolved as well. The enemy we are confronting today in the United States is a transnational movement of extremist organizations, networks, and individuals. Not all acts of terrorism are from foreign groups, police officers are faced with 6 possible situations everyday.

The appearance of radical terrorism in the United States has set incredible weight on the law authorization group. In particular, our emergency management held by the federal established organization such as (FEMA) have been looking for an approach to adjust country security and conventional wrongdoing and issue obligations. Constrained and in some cases rare assets must be allotted in light of need, which driving some CEO's of every agencies to recognize that they are having extensive trouble directing this exercise in careful control. Private security authorities are encountering a comparable wonder. While their customary obligation to secure individuals, property, and data has proceeded with, they are currently additionally anticipated that

In Matt Novak’s “Oregon was Founded as a Racist Utopia”, he corrects the “textbook” knowledge so many have on racism in America. It is common to believe racial exclusion was only prevalent in the South. Novak highlights that racism widely existed in America, even in a progressive northern city like Portland, Oregon. This is startling to many who believed racism was only seen in the South but, the only abnormality of Oregon was that the state was “bold enough to write it down” in their constitution. (qtd. in Novak 1) The Klu Klux Klan, known for their terrorism of colored people in the South, “boasted membership of over 14,000 men” in Oregon with “frequent cross burnings on the hills outside Portland and around greater Oregon.” (Novak 4) Even the government was corrupt with Klu Klux Klan from the state to city governments. ‘Oregon’s founding is part of the forgotten history of racism in the American West’ (Novak 1) yet the remains of Oregon’s past still resonates with the state; today ‘thirteen percent of Americans are black, [but] just 2 percent of Oregon’s population is black.’ (Novak 2)

Criminologists have not always been favorable toward incorporating terrorism into their field of study because of the political dimensions of terrorism, which have been claimed to prevent scientific analysis. This argument can be contested, however, because all acts of crime are subject to definitions and responses by a variety of institutions, such as law and police, in addition to their analytical treatment in the sciences. More recently, indeed, criminological models have been forwarded that conceive of terrorism in terms of crime and deviance. From the viewpoint of crime causation perspectives concerned with the etiology of criminal behavior, terrorism can be conceived as a form of violence, the causes of which can be analyzed at the micro-

On September 11, 2001, a terrorist attack by Al-Qaeda, a group of Islamic extremists, occurred. Four passenger airplanes were hijacked and used as guided missiles. Two airplanes struck the Twin Towers in New York while one struck the Pentagon in Virginia. The other crashed into a field in Pennsylvania. This attack forever changed the nation. This event occurred before I was born, but my father told me what happened from his perspective.

Domestic terrorism in the United States occurs between 1980s and 2000s. Before the legal definition had been set-up, a memo produced by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Terrorist Research and Analytical Center in 1994 had defined domestic terrorism as “the unlawful use of force or violence, committed by a group(s) of two or more individual, against person or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives. These act were considered as domestic because it usually done by U.S’s citizen or U.S permanent resident. The legal definition of domestic terrorism also has changed many times over the years in the U.S and it can be argued that acts of domestic terrorism have been occurring since long before any statutory definition was set forth.