Who Will Become a Terrorist? Research Yields Few Clues

by Guest Wed Mar 30, 2016 1:35 pm

The brothers who carried out suicide bombings in Brussels last week had long, violent criminal records and had been regarded internationally as potential terrorists. But in San Bernardino, Calif., last year, one of the attackers was a county health inspector who lived a life of apparent suburban normality. And then there are the dozens of other young American men and women who have been arrested over the past year for trying to help the Islamic State. Their backgrounds are so diverse that they defy a single profile. What turns people toward violence — and whether they can be steered away from it — are questions that have bedeviled governments around the world for generations. Those questions have taken on fresh urgency with the rise of the Islamic State and the string of attacks in Europe and the United States. Despite millions of dollars of government-sponsored research, and a much-publicized White House pledge to find answers, there is still nothing close to a consensus on why someone becomes a terrorist.
“After all this funding and this flurry of publications, with each new terrorist incident we realize that we are no closer to answering our original question about what leads people to turn to political violence,” Marc Sageman, a psychologist and a longtime government consultant, wrote in the journal Terrorism and Political Violence in 2014. “The same worn-out questions are raised over and over again, and we still have no compelling answers.” When researchers do come up with possible answers, the government often disregards them. Not long after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, for instance, Alan B. Krueger, the Princeton economist, tested the widespread assumption that poverty was a key factor in the making of a terrorist. Mr. Krueger’s analysis of economic figures, polls, and data on suicide bombers and hate groups found no link between economic distress and terrorism.
More than a decade later, law enforcement officials and government-funded community groups still regard money problems as an indicator of radicalization. When President Obama announced plans in 2011 to prevent homegrown terrorism, the details were sketchy, but the promise was clear. The White House would provide warning signs to help parents and community leaders. It’s going to be communities that recognize abnormal behavior,” Denis McDonough, the deputy national security adviser at the time, said. As an example, he cited truancy, which he said was an indicator of possible gang activity. “Truancy is also going to be an early warning sign for violent extremism,” he said.
But the years that followed have done little to narrow the list of likely precursors. Rather, the murky science seems to imply that nearly anyone is a potential terrorist. Some studies suggest that terrorists are likely to be educated or extroverted; others say uneducated recluses are at risk. Many studies seem to warn of the adolescent condition, singling out young, impatient men with a sense of adventure who are “struggling to achieve a sense of selfhood.”

https://richarddawkins.net/2016/03/who-will-become-a-terrorist-research-yields-few-clues/

Its blatantly obvious to me what the main issue is and maybe this has already been stated but as seen:

When researchers do come up with possible answers, the government often disregards them.

Rolling Eyes

by nicko Wed Mar 30, 2016 3:00 pm

Would you agree that certain races! [I use that word as it's easily understood] are more prone to violence than others?

by eddie Wed Mar 30, 2016 4:11 pm

All races can be violent Nicko

by nicko Wed Mar 30, 2016 4:13 pm

Of course they an Eddie, but some are more violent than others.

by Guest Wed Mar 30, 2016 4:15 pm

nicko wrote:Of course they an Eddie, but some are more violent than others.

Depends on the era Nicko

last century it would have to be European whites, with two world wars, the holocaust, let alone the murder of many ethnic groups by both Stalin and Hitler

In the 12th century it would have been the Asians with Ghenghis

So which era are we talking about?

by Ben Reilly Wed Mar 30, 2016 6:39 pm

Here's a thought experiment: "I'm a pacifist."

Is that as cool as if I had declared myself a "warrior for righteousness?"

Shit no. People find it romantic, intoxicating when someone takes up arms for a cause they believe in. Likewise, a lot of people love movies or TV shows where somebody completely disregards the rules of polite society and just starts killing the bad guys indiscriminately:

Who Will Become a Terrorist? Research Yields Few Clues The-punisher-comic

Who Will Become a Terrorist? Research Yields Few Clues The-punisher-comic

That's the psychological reward of terrorism. There's no compromise, no negotiating with people you've been indoctrinated into hating, just righteous rage and vengeance.

by Guest Wed Mar 30, 2016 6:43 pm

Ben_Reilly wrote:Here's a thought experiment: "I'm a pacifist."

Is that as cool as if I had declared myself a "warrior for righteousness?"

Shit no. People find it romantic, intoxicating when someone takes up arms for a cause they believe in. Likewise, a lot of people love movies or TV shows where somebody completely disregards the rules of polite society and just starts killing the bad guys indiscriminately:

That's the psychological reward of terrorism. There's no compromise, no negotiating with people you've been indoctrinated into hating, just righteous rage and vengeance.

Pacifism is about the worst and most awful concept going whilst we will continue to have conflict
It allows people to sit back and watch people be butchered

There is no compromise with those who render you as inferior and to be controlled or killed

by Ben Reilly Wed Mar 30, 2016 6:48 pm

I get your point -- I'm saying that I think a big factor in the creation of a terrorist is this human desire to stop dicking around with negotiations and the law, and just grab a weapon and start killing the people you perceive as the bad guys. I think we're seeing an awful lot of that attitude these days, from all corners.

by Guest Wed Mar 30, 2016 6:54 pm

Ben_Reilly wrote:I get your point -- I'm saying that I think a big factor in the creation of a terrorist is this human desire to stop dicking around with negotiations and the law, and just grab a weapon and start killing the people you perceive as the bad guys. I think we're seeing an awful lot of that attitude these days, from all corners.

You can negotiate with people who want to live, no matter if they are or have once been terrorists, who place the value of live over that of death. So on that I agree Ben. When you are combating someone who places their death through as much mayhem and carnage as possible through a belief system which makes them believe its the most quickest and easiest way into their heaven. There is no ability to negotiate with that.
I ask you just simply look at the many Japanese who had this mentality in WW2. In the end it was those who never wanted to die added to the fact they would not be able to take out many of the Allies in the process with Atom bombs being able to wipe out tens of thousands from a single bomb dropped. They sought surrender. Those who do want to die, you will never be able to negotiate with, as that is their main goal, alongside taking out as many people as possible

by Raggamuffin Wed Mar 30, 2016 6:55 pm

Ben_Reilly wrote:I get your point -- I'm saying that I think a big factor in the creation of a terrorist is this human desire to stop dicking around with negotiations and the law, and just grab a weapon and start killing the people you perceive as the bad guys. I think we're seeing an awful lot of that attitude these days, from all corners.

Good point.

the trouble is that the law has to take one side or the other - there's no compromise really. It can also take soooo long to sort anything out. For example, the chaps who shot the Charlie Hebdo lot were probably fed up of all that messing about taking them to court, and decided to shoot them instead.

On the other side, those who are confronting terrorists probably get fed up with all the pussyfooting around re "rights", and find it quicker and easier to just take them out.

by Syl Wed Mar 30, 2016 8:23 pm

It's true that one mans terrorist is another mans hero.

I doubt many people no matter how violent or brain washed would fight without them having a deep rooted cause or reason.

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