the audacity of ‘lone wolf’ terrorism

7/28/2019 The Audacity of Lone Wolf Terrorism

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TheAudacity of

Lone

Wolf

TerrorismByDon Okereke

Introduction


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The recent gruesome daylight murder of a 25-year-old off-duty British Army DrummeLee Rigby, in Woolwich, Southeast London five weeks after the Boston Marathbombings in the United States of America, has once again brought to the fore, tgrowing threat of Lone Wolf Terrorism, a new terror impetus towards unsophisticatand uncoordinated attacks that are virtually impossible to thwart. A cardinal analogbetween the London and the Boston incidents is the prospect that the suspectmasterminds became radicalized and may have inculcated their proficiency fro

extremist publications on the Internet. The potency of terrorism generally is that it altethe psyche of a society and instills fear in the minds of people.

The Shifting Face of Terrorism

Some analysts have described the London attack as a form of "open-source jihadRecent incidents lend credence to the assertion that 'lone wolf' attacks seems to be tnew corridor to terror. Lone Wolf terrorism narrows the ease with which terrorists slbetween the seams of a countrys security, military/defence establishment.

To refresh our minds, terrorism refers to premeditated acts that are committed with thintent to seriously intimidate a population, or unduly coerce a Government international organization to perform or refrain from performing any act, or seriousdestabilizing or destroying the fundamental political, constitutional, economic or socstructures of a country or an organization (Council of the European Union, 2002).

According to Dr. Boaz Ganor, a counterterrorism expert at the Interdisciplinary Centin Herzliya, Israel, terrorist attacks can be divided into two types: personal initiativ

attacks, and organized terrorism.

A lone wolf is an individual or small group of individuals who use regular terrortactics including violence and the targeting of civilians -- towards the realization overtly political or ideological goals, but who act devoid of membership or cooperatiowith an official or unofficial terrorist organization, cell or group. Lone wolf terrorisare tricky to spot and cannot be easily sniffed out by Security agencies. Lone-woterrorists may identify or empathize with extremist movements, but they do not for

part of these movements. The boundaries of lone-wolf terrorism are often fogjuxtaposed with crimes carried out strictly for personal reasons (cf. Hewitt, 2005).

Sequel to the waning of Al Qaeda's leadership cum network by more than a decade protracted war with the U.S. and its allies, analysts believe that lone wolf terroriswill pose an enormous threat to World Peace. The audacious reassertion of irredentiracial and religious identities is sequel to the fact that the capability to propagaviolence is increasingly trickling down from State actors to Non-state actors and even Lone wolves or freelancers. Because of this escalating flux in the application of ra
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power, smaller groups and in many cases freelancers are upping the ante in tdeployment of terror and acts of subversion.

There are significant and profitable insights to be gleaned from understanding tphenomenon and modus operandi Lone Wolf terrorism.

American Lone Wolf Phenomenon

Some analysts argue that lone wolf terror is particularly likely in the American settindue to the American cultural stress on individualism. Thus, an American might be lelikely to seek out a group to assist him in carrying out an ideological or politicagenda. In the last twenty years, most of the major terrorist attacks in the United Stat(with the exception of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center) have bethe handiwork of lone wolves. American lone wolves include such infamous goons Timothy McVeigh, who killed one hundred and sixty eight civilians in an bombing the Oklahoma City Federal Building on 1995; Theodore Kaczynski, the man branded

the Unabomber, who killed three people through a targeted campaign of sending lettbombs to those engaged in scientific research between the years 1978 and 1995; aJohn Allen Muhammad, the man known as the Washington sniper for his onslaughts civilians in the Washington, DC area in the fall and winter of 2002.

Psychological and Ideological underpinning of Lone Wolf Terrorism

The foremost ideological underpinning of Lone Wolf Terrorism inter alia includradical religion fundamentalism, ethnic jingoism/irredentism, hopelessness, frustratietc.

Dr Ganor cites that the motives of a lone wolf terrorist may be personal-psychologicallied with the motives of a local group, or derived from global political motives. Thpsychologically-driven lone wolf may be responding to an internal imperative born ofpast unpleasant incident.

It has long been argued that terrorists should not be regarded as mad or suffering froany identifiable psychopathology (Post, 1998; Horgan, 2005). There is no systemat

evidence to support the view of terrorists being psychologically dissimilar from noterrorists. Crenshaw (1981: 390) has noted that the outstanding common characteristof terrorists is their normality.

For example in the case ofYigal Amir, the young man that killed YitzhakRabin, tthen Israeli Prime Minister, a court-ordered psychiatric evaluation revealed that YigAmir was neither mentally ill nor emotionally disturbed. Amir painstakingly planntheassassination over several months and calmly carried out the crime ( The New ToTimes, 27 March 1996).
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Religion fundamentalism and radicalizationIn addition to asking why individuals commit terrorist offences, we should also ahow they come to engage in terrorism. The second question stresses the trajectory lone-wolf terrorism and urges a search for latent developments that contribute to tonset of the individuals terrorist career. In the context of terrorism, radicalization cbe defined as a persons growing keenness to pursue (or to support or spur on others

pursue) profound societal changes through violence or the threat of violence (cf. AIV2004b: 13-14; COT, 2006: 5). Radicalization can result in an activist attitude involvinthe public expression of ones beliefs and a vigorous search for verbal and physicaltercation with adversaries.

Weapons of Choice for Lone Wolf Terrorists

Firearms are the foremost weapon of choice to lone-wolf terrorists, followed bexplosives and armed hijackings. There exist significant cross-national variations in t

weaponry of lone-wolf terrorists. The use of firearms is considerably more common the United States than in other countries which may be partly due to the relativaccessibility of firearms in the United States. Only one lone wolf, Muharem Kurbegov(a.k.a. The Alphabet Bomber), has threatened to use chemical or biological weaponKurbegovic threatened to release sarin in populated areas and claimed that he walready conducting experiments with it. (Simon, 2000: 87). Just few days ago, IraAuthorities reportedly thwarted an attempt by an Al-Qaeda Cell to manufacture adeploy chemical weapons/Poison gas to Europe and North America.

The Impact of Lone-Wolf TerrorismIt has been argued that lone terrorists are likely to have comparatively modest impact osociety when compared to large terrorist organizations (Stern, 2003:173; Schuster Stone, 2005:362). The organizational competence and resources of terrororganizations generally make them more threatening than lone individuals. Althougthis appears to be true at least for most sustained terrorist campaigns and high-proficoordinated attacks, it is also clear that the lone wolf can strike fear. Scholars haasserted that lone-wolf terrorists can be remarkably dangerous and that if such lo

terrorists have access to sophisticated technologies, their acts may be extremedestructive (Vasilenko, 2005:54). In addition, scholars concurr that lone wolf terroriare more difficult to detect and pose specific challenges for counterterrorism (e.g. Ster2003:173; Laqueur, 1999:269). They are hard to identify before they act and oftehard to track down subsequently (Hewitt, 2003:79).

Responses To Terrorism: Counterterrorism Policies

The United States of America: An average American will not mince words in tellin

you that that the US does not negotiate with terrorists. After the September 11 terrori


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attacks, the United States embarked on wide-ranging reforms. They effective

restructured their terrorism/counter-terrorism policy and strategy. It is now bias

towards deterrence and taking the battle to the door steps of the enemy, keeping the

busy in their own soil.

The leading framework of deterrence policy of the United States is encapsulated in t

Patriot Act. The Patriot Act gave new powers for Intelligence-gathering, authority

intercept communications, creation of a terrorist exclusion list. It also specifiassignments to specific agencies- the FEMA has the responsibility of developing

overall federal response plan while Delta Force and Seal Team Six are the muscles

the US counterterrorism. Other sister agencies like the DCI counter-terrorist centre, t

CIA and the FBI have varied roles.

Lone-wolf terrorism is usually dealt with within subsisting counterterrorism policies. the United States, however, the events of 9/11 and the consequent War on Terrorism

also triggered off significant (proposed) changes in the legal provisions for dismantlinand forestalling lone-wolf terrorism. The controversial draft version of the DomestSecurity Enhancement Act of 2003 (DSEA) (Department of Justice, 2003) contains nelaw enforcement powers beyond those contained in the USA Patriot Act of 2001. ThDSEA would change this definition to include all individuals, regardless of wheththey are affiliated with an international terrorist group, who engage in internationterrorism (Department of Justice, 2003, 101). This change is believed to enhance tinvestigation of lone-wolf terrorists and sleeper cells who may not have active ties

an established terrorist group.

In 2004, the United States Congress adopted a significant change to FISA with tintroduction of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act. The Aamended the definition of agent of a foreign power in FISA, 50 U.S.C. 1801(b) (to add a lone wolf provision. Under this new provision, a non-United States persowho engages in international terrorism or activities in preparation for internationterrorism is deemed to be an agent of a foreign power under FISA. This amendme

permits the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) to issue a court ordauthorizing electronic surveillance and physical search orders without having demonstrate a connection between the target of the electronic surveillance or tphysical search and a foreign government or terrorist group (Bazan, 2004; see alBellia, 2005). The new lone wolf provision makes it easier for the government conduct surveillance of suspected lone-wolf terrorists who either act in sympathy withe aims of an international terrorist group but not on its behalf, or whose link to ainternational terrorist group cannot be demonstrated.


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Israels Counterterrorism Policy: Israel ranks high in the ladder of countries wi

massive experience with counter-terrorism measures. Due to hostility from its Ar

neighbors, the State of Israel enacted the Prevention of terrorism Ordinance in w

back 1948. Like the United States, Israel has a zero-tolerance Policy in negotiating wi

terrorists. They demonstrated this in June 1976 when a group of Palestinian and Germ

terrorists abducted an Air France Plane and held its passengers hostage at Entebb

Uganda.The United Kingdom: Sequel to the global hegemony that Great Britain once enjoye

the UK is adept at terrorism issues. Recall the UK battled the Irish Republican Arm

(IRA) for several years. The United Kingdom redoubled its domestic counterterroris

strategy after the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 by Libyan terrorists in December 198

In December 2001, the British parliament passed the Anti-terrorism, Crime a

Security Act which empowers Security agencies to detain suspected terrorists upwar

of 6 months without charges. The United Kingdom also has an alert system thindicates and warns its citizens when a terrorist incident is likely, critical heightened a

so on. This effectively sensitizes the citizenry and makes them conscious of goings-

around them and to report suspicious activities/individuals around them.

In the recent incident in London, people in Woolwich took pride in the way thhandled the whole episode. Women bravely tried to help the dead soldier. The scene Cub Scout leader Ingrid Loyau-Kennett talking to the killers in order to prevent the

attacking others was inspiring. Nearby schools took reasonable preventive measures ensure that children were not jeopardize. Mainstream Muslim groups were also swift denounce the horrific killing.

The grisly murder in Woolwich has prompted calls for Britain's government to looagain at a shelved bill that would profoundly expand law enforcement's powersmonitor suspects' use of the internet, which is currently only possible on a more limitbasis.

"There is some internet surveillance going on," said Yates who was Metropolitan Poliassistant commissioner until he retired in 2011. "It's been made very clear by polichiefs in recent weeks that if you download something like 'Inspire' you will arrested, it is an offence and you will be charged." Yates believes that in order prevent future attacks; counter-terrorism police must bolster their communiengagement strategy -- making local people feel "free and able to provide relevainformation at the right time."
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So where to draw the line between free speech and invasion of privacy? The proposal expand police powers for collecting online data caused hullabaloo among privaadvocates in late 2012, but the government says more vigorous surveillance tools anow needed to effectively combat terrorism.

However radicalization specialist Shiraz Maher is of the opinion that monitoring tinternet and tracking down anyone who downloads an al-Awlaki speech or a bommaking guide won't solve the lone wolf problem. "You don't have to have read 'Inspiranymore -- everyone knows what's going on because, if nothing else, the media talabout it so much. The idea of committing an unsophisticated attack against a higprofile symbol is out there. It's an impossible thing to work against," he said.

The Nigerian Experience: Urgent Need for a Counter-Terrorism Strategy/Policy

Strategyand Policyare synonymous. A Strategy or a Policy is a template that stipulat

an elaborate and systematic plan of action to be adopted by an individu

group/organization or a country in an eventuality whereas a law is a collection of rulimposed by an authority or a country. A law is skewed towards punitory, reacting to

stimulus after the harm has been done. The presence of a Strategy/Policy and a releva

law will mesh and yield a coveted outcome.

If what happened in Boston or Woolish (London) had happened in Nigeria,

Presidential committee will be set up. Another committee will be assembled to stud

and harmonize the findings of the first committee. Reports of the coterie committe

will subsequently join their ancestors in Nigerias flourishing National Archive

Committee and Panel Reports and it is business as usual again, the vicious cyc

continues.

Tracking the Leadership of Boko Haram

The knack for releasing their Press Releases through the internet- YouTube et al showthat the leadership of BH under Abubarka Shekau is to say the least, trendy. No matthow IT Savvy they are, they cannot afford not leaving behind online forensfingerprints/trails. This is a clue to Nigerian Security establishments and individuawho might be eying the $7m Bounty on Abubakar Shekau by the United Statgovernment. Granted the bloke may rely on foot soldiers to release the Press releasand do other legwork for him. He cannot run or hide forever. Compared to OsamShekau is a small fry. Osama Bin Laden seemed larger than life and eluded capture fseveral years until he was sniffed out through a potpourri of massive intelligen

network.


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Nigeria recently upped the ante with a $40-$60 million internet surveillance contrasupposedly awarded to an Israel firm- Elbit Systems. The capability of an Open SourIntelligence Software or a Wise Intelligence Technology (WiT) System fIntelligence Analysis to be deployed by this firm is incontestable. The snag howeverthat there is little the technology will do in stopping a run-of-the-mill Lone Wolf or almajiri who may not be internet savvy or rely on it for communication.

Conclusion

After a period of wobbling and summersaults, the Goodluck Jonathan administratio

seems to be walking the talk with the declaration of a State of emergency in some of t

hotbeds of terrorism and insurgency in Nigeria. The government has also proscribe

Boko Haram and Ansaru. These are commendable. The much touted Nigeria

Antiterrorism law must not be a paper tiger.

Furthermore, Nigeria needs to take a cue from some of the advanced countries of t

world; we need a much more proactive approach than a knee-jerk approach. Permit mto reiterate that it is high time Nigeria articulated a Coherent Counterterroris

Policy/Strategy, a template if you like, that will define our position on terrorism an

provide detailed guide on how to respond to such incidents. We cannot conta

terrorism by blowing hot and cold. Due to the unpredictable nature of terrorism, o

National Security think-tank or agencies must think the unthinkable. Another viab

option will be the entrenchment of a massive intelligence network that will help t

Security agencies nip goings-on in the bud.

The resilience of Bostonians and lately, Londoners in the wake of the murder of the o

duty British Soldier- Lee Rigby must be commended. Imagine a woman, a mother

two by the name Ingrid Loyau-Kennett courageously walking up to and striking

conversation with a blood-letting terrorist. How many women nay men can do that

Nigeria?

There are news reports that some Nigerian soldiers were arrested for giving informati

to BH. One will presuppose that the Nigerian Military should be able to filter thofficers and men to be deployed for such operations. For instance an indigene of s

Baga community serving in the Nigerian Army will likely have a divided loyalty

he/she is deployed to quell an insurgency in his own community.

Due to the unconventional (akin to guerrilla warfare) and fluid nature of terrorism

deploying battalions of gung-ho soldiers as Nigeria is apt to do, may yield semblance

result in the short run. The prevailing scenario will definitely whittle the capabilities


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the Sect but it will not stop them from re-grouping in another less hostile environme

or launching lone wolf sporadic attacks. It is not uhuru yet. Aso Rock must not ba

on the euphoria of the seeming success of its latest campaign. Nigeria must brace up an

have answers to the growing trend of lone wolf terrorism. Ombatse and a plethora

other latent insurgency/terrorist groups are still out there.

A lot of people are asking, what next after the State of emergency? With the gung h

military approach and the US bounty on Shekau, how do you convince him and his mto negotiate or accept an amnesty? The so-called Amnesty Committee has outstay

their welcome and should be disbanded so as not to further waste tax payers money

Inter alia, the insecurity, terrorism and instability challenges bedeviling Nigeria is

butterfly-effect and vestiges of a dysfunctional society grappling with the miasma of t

infernal foisting of diverse ethnic nationalities on each other.

At the risk over-egging the pudding or been dubbed a pessimist, permit me to postulathat with or without negotiation/amnesty, with or without a State of Emergency/JoiTask Forces, pockets of sporadic terrorist incidents, kidnappings will persist acroNigeria unless far-reaching measures are taken to shrink abject poverty, risiunemployment, hopelessness, wanton corruption, entrenched culture of impunitreligion fundamentalism and injustice.

Nigeria needs to urgently address the remote and immediate causes of insecuri

terrorism and instability rather than treating the symptoms of the disease as we a

currently doing.

We want lasting peace in Nigeria not a simulated/semblance of peace. We want lastin

peace not sustained deferment of the evil day.

Don Okereke

(Security Analyst & Consultant)Abuja, Nigeria

Email: [email protected]: +2347080008285Twitter: @ DonOkereke
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]

the audacity of ‘lone wolf’ terrorism

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