YOUTH, IDEOLOGY, AND TERRORISM

Adolescent Psychiatry, 2003 by Flaherty, Lois T

Since September 11, 2001 many Americans, along with others around the world, have been preoccupied with the why of what happened. We wonder how Islamists could kill themselves and innocent people, believing they are doing this in the name of God. But terrorism is not new and exists everywhere. The radicalism of the late 1960s spawned its own terrorist movement, the Weather Underground. More recently the Unabomber-a lone individual with a history of mental illness-carried out successful terrorist operations and eluded capture over a period of many years. We saw another example in Oklahoma City in 1997. Terrorists have come from religious fundamentalist organizations, social protest groups, and radical political movements, both of the left and the right. Although many of the terrorists have been poor and uneducated, others have come from affluent, privileged circumstances. The fact that nearly all are late adolescents or young adults (or started their terrorist careers during this phase of their lives) raises the question as to whether there is something about youth that makes the lure of an ideology that promises a perfect society, together with the prospect of the violent overthrow of the existing world order, irresistible. If there is, can anything be done about it? This chapter is an attempt to explore this question and its implications.

TERRORISM

What Constitutes Terrorism?

The simplest definition of terrorism is the FBI's: "the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives" (United States Department of Justice, 1999). However, the differentiation between terrorism and legitimate political struggle is not easy. The saying, "One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter" illustrates the difficulty in knowing where to draw the line. Consider, for example, the following aspects of the American Revolution:

1. A series of underground cells were formed across Massachusetts with the goal of functioning secretly and independently of the political establishment.

2. A mob of men and boys began taunting a lone sentry at the Boston Customs House on March 5, 1770. When other British soldiers came to the sentry's support, the mob continued, daring the soldiers to shoot; a free-for-all ensued, and shots were fired into the crowd. Four died on the spot and a fifth died after four days. Six others were wounded.

3. Numerous other mob actions followed, involving destruction of homes of government officials and other buildings.

4. The colonies authorized the outfitting of privateers to prey on British ships, described as the enemies.

Terrorism is not a new phenomenon. The origin of the word terrorism comes from the period in France after its revolution, which became known as "the Terror." Terrorist groups have existed in the United States in many forms; examples include ecoterrorists, rightist militias, the Ku Klux Klan, Black Panthers, Weather Underground, and militant antiabortion groups. Worldwide examples include the Red Brigades, Islamic Jihad, Basque separatists, and the Irish Republican Army. We also speak of nonpolitical groups as terrorist, such as narcoterrorists, organized crime, and gangs. Although these groups resemble political terrorists in the methods they use and in many cases have similar dynamics, however they are usually thought of simply as criminals rather than terrorists.

Basically, terrorists are extremist groups with political agendas; their goal is to impose their views on others. The goal of theocracy is puritanism, that of Marxism is socialism, and that of groups such as the Aryan Nation is racial purity. All have a dream of what they consider to be an ideal society, and all believe that this ideal is achievable in reality, if only they can establish control. The goal of terrorism is to intimidate those whom they seek to influence. They do this by striking unexpectedly, creating a climate of fear and uncertainty-waiting for the other shoe to drop (Post, 2002). They choose targets that are symbolic, magnifying the perception of their destructive power. Thus, the influence of terrorist groups is often out of proportion to their numbers; a small group or even a single person can have a very large impact. The term asymmetrical warfare is an apt description.

Although not all radicals are terrorists, all terrorists are radicals. To understand terrorism, it is necessary to examine the nature of radical movements and why they often spawn terrorism.

Common Characteristics of Radical Movements

There is a sense of futility that anything other than extreme measures will work. A sizable contingent of American colonists urged negotiation with England, but those who favored declaring independence were opposed to any conciliation, maintaining that this would only be considered as proof of timidity and would encourage further repressive measures (McCullough, 2001). Thomas Paine (1776) exhorted the colonists to declare independence once and for all: