Ever since the greatest catastrophe in American fire service history—the terrorist attacks of 9/11—the current generation of firefighters has been forced to adapt to a new reality when it comes to performing as America’s Bravest. Terrorism adds yet another unpredictable element into a profession already fraught with uncertainty.
Today’s firefighters are facing terrorism on a scale never seen before on American shores, and it may be generations before this threat subsides. However, before proceeding with what we’re facing and how we’ll need to change our tactics to survive, it’s important to define terrorism as we understand it.
There are multiple definitions, depending on the authority you consult, even within the U.S. government and its agencies, but I believe this definition that I have come up with works best for our purposes: “A campaign or individual acts of violence, or threats of violence, directed toward a civilian population, infrastructure, environment, military forces or government of an organized nation or territory, for the purpose of destabilizing same in order to advance a political, religious, economic or social agenda, carried out by forces, groups or individuals incapable of advancing said agenda by legitimate, peaceful means.”
In America’s past, radical and fringe groups have adopted what we can deem terrorism for various purposes, and some even managed to wage sustained, low-level terrorist campaigns aimed at destabilizing the American political system. Ultimately, they lacked the popular support necessary to succeed. Groups like the Weather Underground, the Symbionese Liberation Army, and the Armed Forces of National Liberation waged campaigns of violence based on political ideology, while groups like the Ku Klux Klan and the Black Liberation Army perpetrated violence based on racial ideology. The Earth Liberation Front and Animal Liberation Front engaged in acts of what many describe as eco-terrorism.
By far the most successful groups have been those organized around a radical view of Islam, organizations like Al Qaeda and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). These groups pose the greatest threat to our emergency services today and likely for the foreseeable future. They are waging what they describe as a “thousand-year war” to create the United States of Islam, a worldwide complete “radical” Islamic State. This is not to be confused with traditional Islamic practices or religion.
Terrorism and cyberspace
Today’s terrorism is more insidious than any ever faced. The internet has created a worldwide network of terrorists, wannabe terrorists and terrorist supporters. These terrorists never have to meet in person or physically become part of the organization to claim membership. Membership in the group only requires adopting the radical ideology of the organization and pledging allegiance, even from afar.
Unlike “legacy” criminal groups, such as the various mafias, crime syndicates or drug cartels, today’s terrorists can use the internet to connect with any terrorist group, cause or individual they desire. They can take directions from the organization, pledge their loyalty, learn best practices for performing these heinous attacks, delve into the ideology and gain acceptance into a cause they otherwise may never have had access to, nor even understood in most cases. Many of these followers and “believers” have zero understanding of the ideology they are buying into or being brainwashed to believe.
By using the internet, terrorist groups can expand their reach and influence worldwide participation while maintaining a facade of anonymity and detachment from responsibility for the actions of those they influence. This new anonymous world of cyberspace-based terrorism helps to insulate the terrorist cadre from exposure to direct action by government security forces or law enforcement.
These faceless, cell-less organizations have utilized the internet and all forms of social media to bring in “followers” and “believers” from near and far. Unlike the Cold War in the last century, there is no need to “plant” their network on United States soil; they simply use the internet to recruit those already living here.
Terrorist organizations are always actively recruiting, and social media and the internet have made recruiting of these “forgotten” or “lost souls” even easier through these propaganda networks. The terrorist leadership advances their message to impressionable, disaffected recruits through anonymous internet web links and chat rooms. When caught, the terrorists can claim they were acting on behalf of the larger organization, one which is only too happy to take credit for their actions. The terrorists are held up as examples by the network and used for propaganda purposes. Sometimes their families are given large sums of money and are feted in the community as “martyrs” for the cause.
This loose connection of the rank-and-file terrorist foot soldier to the higher command or larger group is what makes this brand of terrorism so incredibly hard to detect, track and intercept. Network connections are often only discovered after an attack is carried out and intelligence and law enforcement agencies begin the tedious task of dissecting the perpetrator’s life.
The success of the attack is in large part simply that the attack was carried out and occurred. Even a less-than-successful attack, or an alleged plot being stopped has the effect of promoting the terror organization, as the organization and the media broadcast loud and far that a “plot was underway.” Even “failed” attacks can cause considerable damage, disruption and massive financial losses in today’s modern world.
The investigations place enormous strains on law enforcement resources. The local community comes under scrutiny as the investigation searches for answers. Businesses associates, friends and coworkers can feel the fallout of this unknown association. As an example, with the recent gun-related violence that has occurred in this nation, legitimate businesses and family members are forced to hire legal counsel and defend their actions or their “lack of knowledge” that these actions were going to take place.
Recent attacks
Most of the recent attacks have followed certain patterns or prescriptions established by ISIS. Using their internet and media assets, ISIS, while losing a ground war with American and allied forces, has been able to achieve worldwide brand status and recruit many suicide attackers to their cause. These attackers have successfully conducted mostly non-complex, yet devastating attacks.
“Non-complex attacks” are attacks that require minimum training, equipment, material, money or logistical support to carry out. The term the media assigns to these attacks is “low level”; however, there is nothing low level about them, as these events usually end with multiple fatalities, injuries, large loss of property and a chilling effect on the local economy and community.
These attacks are very effective due to their ability to garner media attention. They also command parallel social media bandwidth utilized by the parent media outlets. The following are a few examples of “non-complex” attacks:
· Charlie Hebdo (France)—12 dead. Method: small arms
· Bastille Day (France)—86 dead. Method: motor vehicle
· San Bernardino, CA—14 dead. Method: small arms
· Pulse Night Club, FL—49 dead. Method: small arms
· Ft. Hood, TX—13 dead. Method: small arms
· London Bridge (England)—8 dead. Method: motor vehicle, knives
· Bike Path (New York)—8 dead. Method: motor vehicle
In addition to the dozens killed and hundreds maimed in these incidents, many times the local economy is directly affected as the public is more cautious as to their travels and willingness to be in locations that are seen as soft targets. This list could easily number into the hundreds of attacks over the past decade, as they have occurred all around the world.
These are “non-complex” attacks due to the minimum amount of planning, training and equipment needed. In each of these cases the weapons have either been commonly available firearms or equally common, rented or stolen motor vehicles. Millions of people drive cars and trucks on our roads and streets every day, own pressure cookers, and in America there are tens of millions of law-abiding firearms owners. The reality is the implements of death and carnage used by today’s terrorists are objects common in our everyday lives being turned against us on an almost daily basis.
Complex attacks
While the above non-complex attacks have become increasingly frequent, they are much less spectacular and media-grabbing than the complex attacks favored by terrorist organizations, such as Al Qaeda. Complex attacks are just that—attacks that require more extensive training, materials, equipment, financing, logistical support and, in some cases, even the direct or indirect support of rogue foreign governments/agencies (as in the case of the attack on Pan Am flight 103).
These large-scale attacks can linger in the media for days, weeks, months and even years. They garner the national and international media attention terrorist organizations need to help continue the ongoing recruitment efforts and financial support for their followers and the above-mentioned terror-sponsoring nations. This is a critical objective of many terrorists—using these attacks to drive a media narrative that depicts the terrorist group as engaging in a grand struggle against a much more powerful, but evil power structure. The David vs. Goliath narrative plays well with the followers of these organizations. Their narrative being that the “infidels” are not only evil, but sacrilegious, and making a mockery of thousands of years of their culture, strict religious beliefs and sacred lands.
Further, funding is the mother’s milk of terrorism. These terror organizations must stay in the public’s eye, or fear being presumed defunct. This scenario played itself out between Al Qaeda and ISIS over the last decade, as each wanted to be “the number one terror organization” since they are often competing for recruits and funding from the same sources.
The desired psychological effect behind terrorism is to make people feel unsafe and to demonstrate the current government/administration/security forces inability to protect the public from being attacked. Some examples of complex terrorist attacks include:
· Pan Am Flight 103, Lockerbie, (Scotland)—270 dead, both on the plane and on the ground. Method: bomb.
· Boston Marathon (Massachusetts)—3 dead. Method: near simultaneous improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and small arms.
· Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building (Oklahoma)—168 dead. Method: truck bomb.
· Attacks of 9/11 (New York, Virginia and Pennsylvania)—approximately 3,000 dead. Method: hijacked aircraft.
· American Embassy attacks (Africa): Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania—11 dead and Nairobi, (Kenya)—213 dead. Method: simultaneous truck bombs.
· Mumbai (India) attack—164 dead. Method: complex coordinated attacks at multiple locations using bombs, small arms and fire.
· Moscow Theater siege (Russia)—130 civilians, 40 terrorists killed. Method: building takeover, bombs, small/heavy arms.
Now that we have examined several types of terrorist attacks, Part 2 (coming in February 2019) will look at how the fire service should prepare for and respond to these events.
