Since the September 11th attacks, terrorism and more specifically counter terrorism has taken over as the number one priority of the US government following the introduction of the war on terror. Many different strategies and tactics have been put into effect in an effort to thwart acts of terror throughout the world, but almost all have had little success. In a cat and mouse game such as hunting terrorists, it on paper seems nearly impossible that a plan could ever be devised to stop them before committing violent acts. Tactics such as gun control and surveillance have shown to have some benefits to them, but many flaws that are exposed to limit their effectiveness. That is why I believe that the first step in controlling terrorism should be understanding the psychology of a terrorist, in order to see what aspects of an extremists life from birth influenced their eventual entrance into a terror group. 

To contend with a threat, it is better to understand the forces that shape it. Contrary to the popular belief that terrorists are simply psychopaths, most are actually regular people who were shaped by the norms of their groups to do harm in the name of the cause they find just. While most like to think these extremists are insane, insanity is actually not a leading influence in the entrance into a terror network. This is investigated in “Terror Psychology: Mindset of a Jihadi” when Loudon writes, “Some contend that actual, clinical insanity is not a leading indicator of susceptibility to follow a terror group, nor is it a credible defense after a terrorist crime in most cases. Further, she says, terrorist leaders prefer to select those of highest status for their suicide missions, since they believe sending those with more to lose lends credibility to their mission.”(Loudon) These groups instead aim at those who feel lost or victimized, and use collectivism to get the members to sacrifice for it. This is once again reiterated by Loudon in her piece when she writes, “Kruglanski surveyed thousands of Arabs and people from other cultures, and he found that those most likely to support terrorist activities against Americans are indeed those with the strongest collectivist mentality.”(Loudon) This shows that the joining of the group gives a sense of security and meaning that wasn’t felt by the person as an individual. 

The extremists’ ideology found in essentially all terrorist groups revolves around the idea that the world is divided into good and evil. This view of the world paired with the sense of hopelessness fuels a deep rooted hatred that children carry with them to adulthood. This topic is analyzed in “The Roots of Terrorism are Found in Brutality of Shattered Childhood” in which Goleman writes, “Along with that rage they have neither the expectation nor hope of being anything other than powerless for the rest of their lives.”(Goleman) Terror groups use this feeling to offer the individual a way out with a different perspective of the world; telling them that in the battle of good and evil, the evil will prevail at first but will eventually be defeated by good. This promise of hope and eventual peace is what makes terrorists so dangerous. They themselves must act in order to achieve their goal, making any action they do justified in their eyes as they believe they are acting in order to save the world. The ideology of the group kills any emotions the member has and the group gains their full support to do whatever is necessary. 

While there are extremists who are recruited into the organization as adults, there are also those who are recruited as children. These children are instrumental in the studying of terror groups as they have complete information on the teachings that lead up to the eventual initiation into the group itself. Organizations attract these children to the group by enticing them with candy and toys, then use schooling to provide exposure to the group’s ideologies. This allows them to seek and pick out potential candidates for the various roles they go on to serve. The group then desensitizes the children by showing them videos and even live beheadings, eventually building up to the child doing the beheading himself. The process serves as a way for the group to weed out those they feel fit for the cause and to make something unnatural, such as beheadings, natural. Once the children are selected by the group, they are taken through a brutal military boot camp training that involves beatings and poor living conditions, leaving the troops with a strong sense of camaraderie with one another. Upon completing the training camp, the children are then stationed in order to ensure that the cycle continues. This is a great threat to the war on terror as these children are subjected to forceful entrance into the world of extremists. However they are no less dangerous as Dorell states in “Here’s How the Islamic State turns Children into Terrorists” when he writes, “The idea is to make sure this caliphate experiment continues...Not all the kids being groomed are being sent out as suicide bombers. Horgan said he views Islamic State children as victims. ‘But there’s no doubt about it,’ he said. ‘Today’s victims are tomorrow’s terrorists, and no one will view them as victims anymore.’”(Dorell) 

While collectivism is one of the main strategies used by terror networks to gain support for their cause, globalism also leads the way as a major influence. Globalization has helped many cultures positively, but it has also forced some on an effort to survive. In many cases, terror groups feel this pressure and believe that their fundamentalistic way of life is under attack and therefore commit an act of terror as a response. This idea is reiterated by Goleman in his piece who writes, “Fanaticism breeds on social upheavals, such as the loss of traditional ways or devastating war, that leave people feeling dislocated, as though they and their world were falling apart.”(Goleman) This is an example of one of the main reasons why understanding the terrorist’s mindset can lead to a cut down on terror attacks. From the response to globalism by terror networks, we can see that extremists are very protective of their traditional values and ethics. The threat of losing those traditions that give meaning to their lives lead people to extreme ideologies so that they can feel a sense of security. That is why I see educating ourselves on the teachings these people have grown up with and lived by is the first step, as a better understanding of the culture will naturally assist in all other areas of terror reform. 

This resistance by extremists to letting their foundation be broken down is indicative of the lengths that they will go to ensure that their religion is preserved. It is important to distinguish that the religion is not the enemy, the true evil lies in the oppressive leaders whom take great advantage of their followers. This oppression has led to millions of deprived Muslims looking right to the source of their troubles for an answer, feeling that there is sanctum in the strength of the group. Unknowingly to them these same leaders who claim to be loyal to the teachings of Islam rob them dry and impede change on the society that negatively impacts the progression of the country. Because of this corruption, it is essential that changes be made to the government in order to reclaim power within the country. This is explored in “Eradicating Terrorism: Reforms and More Reforms” when Askari says, “there must be a clear system to revisit the constitution and to make amendments as needed over time. Muslim countries can, and should, incorporate Islamic values (many of which are compatible with those of liberal democracies) into a modern-day constitution that protect the rights of the citizenry from oppressive rulers and fanatical Jihadists.”(Askari) By making changes to the fundamentals of the religion, people will look to them and follow them with dedication while simultaneously fighting  the oppression faced from corrupt rulers. While making changes to the Quran would be an effective tool in limiting terror, Islamic followers might not be enthusiastic to join as it morphs their current life’s understanding. These changes may seem dangerous to some, but modernizing specific aspects of the teachings is vital to Muslims taking their religion back and setting themselves up positively for the future.

Because of the misconception that all terrorists are insane, many feel that there is no true reasoning behind their motives. From educating ourselves on the lifestyles and societal norms of these cultures we can extract valuable information that can be used to comprehend some of their actions. Loudon further analyzes this when she says, “Other professionals disagree with the opinion that Muslims are fundamentally insane. They argue that the Islamic acceptance of rape, the training of children to kill and the severe oppression, even mutilation and killing of women is not the product of a sane culture. They say the claims of a mental imbalance is little more than an excuse to literally get away with more murder.”(Loudon) This quote serves as a perfect example of how gaining better understanding can help. By identifying specific roots of violence from the cultural norms of these groups we can start to develop a more strategic approach towards neutralizing them. 

Educating ourselves on the history of these cultures is not only beneficial to the destruction of these organizations, but also helpful in breaking the cycle of co-radicalization. Unknowing to most, we all have a part in the fueling of these groups as our overreactions and fear can provoke further terrorism. This is highlighted in “Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations” when Pratt says “Within North America and Western Europe, as elsewhere, there is an upsurge of various forms of reactionary rhetoric and opposition expressed towards Islam and Muslims. An increase in extremist behaviour, even violence, is appearing from quarters opposed to, or varyingly fearful of, Islamic extremism if not Islam or Muslims.”(Pratt) This quote highlights the disadvantage in involving ourselves in co-radicalization. By responding to an act of terror with an equally vicious act, we are naturally only begging for a response from extremists. From educating ourselves, we can better understand that the battle is not against all Muslims, but solely terror groups. This increase in knowledge can subdue the ever growing population of those with Islamophobia and put an end to co-radicalization.

With the constant threat of terror hanging over our heads, the US government has pushed hard to put an end to terrorism with the introduction of the war on terror. Of the tactics used by the government as defense, gun control leads the way as one of the most popular and well known forms. Gun control in terms of terrorism however is very ineffective as radicals will always find a way to fulfill their mission, with or without a gun. This is acknowledged in “NRA: Gun Control Laws Won't Stop Terrorists.” in which Devaney writes, “It's time for us to admit that radical Islam is a hate crime waiting to happen. The only way to defeat them is to destroy them — not destroy the right of law-abiding Americans to defend ourselves.”(Devaney) While limiting access to guns will undoubtedly assist in reducing attacks, they unfortunately can’t protect us from converters constructing a bomb in their basement. Devaney backs this argument up when he writes, “Radical Islamic terrorists are not deterred by gun control laws. The San Bernardino terrorist attack wasn't stopped by California's so-called 'assault weapons' ban. The gun ban in Brussels didn't prevent the terrorist attack there. And France's strict gun control didn't stop the two attacks in Paris, committed with fully automatic rifles and grenades. Repeating the same thing but expecting a different result is the definition of insanity.”(Devaney) This quote exposes the inability of gun control laws to prevent attacks, showing that these laws are nothing more than a dangerous false sense of security. 

Another popular and well known tactic is the use of surveillance by the government, the purpose being to locate and identify terrorists through the screening of the internet and technology. This tactic is a very useful tool but it unfortunately morphed from surveillance for hunting terrorists, to surveillance of all people within the US. This flaw is highlighted in “Safe and Sorry – Terrorism & Mass Surveillance” when Kurzgesagt says, “If you are looking for a needle in a haystack, adding more hay to the stack isn’t going to make it any easier.”(Kurzgesagt) This use of surveillance gives the government the ability to demand private customer information from companies, access to a person’s email and contact list and even the ability to go into the cameras on personal computers and phones. This is not only a major breach of privacy among the citizens of the US, but also does little to actually limit terrorist activities. Surveillance by the NSA has not stopped any major terror attack to date proving that “what we need is not even more random data, but better ways to understand and use the information we have”(Kurzgesagt) 

Through these unsuccessful methods and our handling of Islamic cultures as a whole,  one thing becomes clear, there is a great culture barrier that shields our understanding and effectiveness in limiting terror activities. These groups rely on our separation from the normal, feeding off of our overreactions and tendency to highlight terror attacks from the same crimes that don’t involve extremists. It is vital to understand that terrorism can be addressed through normal means, not only extraordinary tactics. Putting an end to terror seems to be impossible, but mitigating the damage begins with the acceptance of the American people that terrorism is a threat but not one that is more likely than any other violent crime. In order for us to put our fears aside, we must therefore educate ourselves on the history and progression of the Islamic nations. All aspects of our war on terror will be enhanced greatly by the introduction of knowledge on the inner workings of these societies. Putting an effective plan in motion takes time, by taking a step back and assessing the complete motives and psychology of a terrorist we will be able to then successfully develop a more strategic plan of attack. 
