PDF version at: http://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/terrorism.html
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Author: Rex A. Hudson
Editor: Marilyn Majeska Project Managers: Andrea M. Savada Helen C. Metz Federal Research Division Library of Congress Washington, D.C. 20540-4840 Tel: 202-707-3900 Fax: 202-707-3920 E-Mail: frds@loc.gov Homepage: http://lcweb.loc.gov/rr/frd/ 
The purpose of this study is to focus attention on the types of individuals and groups that are prone to terrorism (see Glossary) in an effort to help improve U.S. counterterrorist methods and policies. The emergence of amorphous and largely unknown terrorist individuals and groups operating independently (freelancers) and the new recruitment patterns of some groups, such as recruiting suicide commandos, female and child terrorists, and scientists capable of developing weapons of mass destruction, provide a measure of urgency to increasing our understanding of the psychological and sociological dynamics of terrorist groups and individuals. The approach used in this study is twofold. First, the study examines the relevant literature and assesses the current knowledge of the subject. Second, the study seeks to develop psychological and sociological profiles of foreign terrorist individuals and selected groups to use as case studies in assessing trends, motivations, likely behavior, and actions that might deter such behavior, as well as reveal vulnerabilities that would aid in combating terrorist groups and individuals. Because this survey is concerned not only with assessing the extensive literature on sociopsychological aspects of terrorism but also providing case studies of about a dozen terrorist groups, it is limited by time constraints and data availability in the amount of attention that it can give to the individual groups, let alone individual leaders or other members. Thus, analysis of the groups and leaders will necessarily be incomplete. A longer study, for example, would allow for the collection and study of the literature produced by each group in the form of autobiographies of former members, group communiqués and manifestos, news media interviews, and other resources. Much information about the terrorist mindset (see Glossary) and decision-making process can be gleaned from such sources. Moreover, there is a language barrier to an examination of the untranslated literature of most of the groups included as case studies herein. Terrorism databases that profile groups and leaders quickly become outdated, and this report is no exception to that rule. In order to remain current, a terrorism database ideally should be updated periodically. New groups or terrorist leaders may suddenly emerge, and if an established group perpetrates a major terrorist incident, new information on the group is likely to be reported in news media. Even if a group appears to be quiescent, new information may become available about the group from scholarly publications. There are many variations in the transliteration for both Arabic and Persian. The academic versions tend to be more complex than the popular forms used in the news media and by the Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS). Thus, the latter usages are used in this study. For example, although Ussamah bin Ladin is the proper transliteration, the more commonly used Osama bin Laden is used in this study. PREFACE i 1: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: MINDSETS OF MASS DESTRUCTION 1 New Types of Post-Cold War Terrorists 1 New Forms of Terrorist-Threat Scenarios 4 2: INTRODUCTION 8 3: TERMS OF ANALYSIS 10 Defining Terrorism and Terrorists 10 Terrorist Group Typologies 12 4: APPROACHES TO TERRORISM ANALYSIS 13 The Multicausal Approach 13 The Political Approach 13 The Organizational Approach 14 The Physiological Approach 15 The Psychological Approach 16 5: GENERAL HYPOTHESES OF TERRORISM 16 Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis 17 Negative Identity Hypothesis 17 Narcissistic Rage Hypothesis 17 6: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF THE TERRORIST 19 Terrorist Motivation 19 The Process of Joining a Terrorist Group 20 The Terrorist as Mentally Ill 23 The Terrorist as Suicidal Fanatic 27 Fanatics 27 Suicide Terrorists 28 Terrorist Group Dynamics 29 Pressures to Conform 31 Pressures to Commit Acts of Violence 32 Terrorist Rationalization of Violence 33 The Terrorist's Ideological or Religious Perception 35 7: TERRORIST PROFILING 37 Hazards of Terrorist Profiling 37 Sociological Characteristics of Terrorists in the Cold War Period 39 A Basic Profile 39 Age 41 Educational, Occupational, and Socioeconomic Background 41 General Traits 43 Marital Status 44 Physical Appearance 44 Origin: Rural or Urban 44 Gender 45 Males 45 Females 45 Characteristics of Female Terrorists 47 Practicality, Coolness 47 Dedication, Inner Strength, Ruthlessness 48 Single-Mindedness 49 Female Motivation for Terrorism 50 8: CONCLUSION 51 Terrorist Profiling 51 Terrorist Group Mindset Profiling 54 Promoting Terrorist Group Schisms 56 How Guerrilla and Terrorist Groups End 57 APPENDIX 61 9: SOCIOPSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILES: CASE STUDIES 61 -- (247 Kbytes) Exemplars of International Terrorism in the Early 1970s 61 Renato Curcio 61 Leila Khaled 62 Kozo Okamoto 64 Exemplars of International Terrorism in the Early 1990s 65 Mahmud Abouhalima 65 Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman 66 Mohammed A. Salameh 67 Ahmed Ramzi Yousef 68 Ethnic Separatist Groups 70 Irish Terrorists 70 Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and Abdullah Ocalan 71 Group/Leader Profile 71 Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) 76 Group Profile 76 Background 76 Membership Profile 77 LTTE Suicide Commandos 79 Leader Profile 80 Velupillai Prabhakaran 80 Social Revolutionary Groups 81 Abu Nidal Organization (ANO) 81 Group Profile 81 Leader Profile 83 Abu Nidal 83 Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC) 86 Group Profile 86 Leader Profile 87 Ahmad Jibril 87 Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) 88 Group Profile 88 Leader Profiles 90 Pedro Antonio Marín/Manuel Marulanda Vélez 90 Jorge Briceño Suárez ("Mono Jojoy") 91 Germán Briceño Suárez ("Grannobles") 92 "Eliécer" 93 Revolutionary Organization 17 November (17N) 94 Group Profile 94 Religious Fundamentalist Groups 96 Al-Qaida 96 Group Profile 96 Leader Profiles 97 Osama bin Laden 97 Ayman al-Zawahiri 101 Subhi Muhammad Abu-Sunnah ("Abu-Hafs al-Masri") 101 Hizballah (Party of God) 101 Group Profile 101 Leader Profile 102 Imad Fa'iz Mughniyah 102 Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) 103 Group Profile 103 The Suicide Bombing Strategy 105 Selection of Suicide Bombers 105 Leader Profiles 107 Sheikh Ahmed Yassin 107 Mohammed Mousa ("Abu Marzook") 108 Emad al-Alami 109 Mohammed Dief 109 Al-Jihad Group 109 Group Profile 109 New Religious Groups 111 Aum Shinrikyo 111 Group/Leader Profile 111 Key Leader Profiles 117 Yoshinobu Aoyama 117 Seiichi Endo 118 Kiyohide Hayakawa 118 Dr. Ikuo Hayashi 119 Yoshihiro Inoue 120 Hisako Ishii 120 Fumihiro Joyu 121 Takeshi Matsumoto 122 Hideo Murai 122 Kiyohide Nakada 123 Tomomasa Nakagawa 123 Tomomitsu Niimi 124 Toshihiro Ouchi 124 Masami Tsuchiya 125 10: TABLES 126 Table 1. Educational Level and Occupational Background of Right-Wing Terrorists in West Germany, 1980 126 Table 2. Ideological Profile of Italian Female Terrorists, January 1970-June 1984 127 Table 3. Prior Occupational Profile of Italian Female Terrorists, January 1970-June 1984 128 Table 4. Geographical Profile of Italian Female Terrorists, January 1970-June 1984 129 Table 5. Age and Relationships Profile of Italian Female Terrorists, January 1970-June 1984 131 Table 6. Patterns of Weapons Use by the Revolutionary Organization 17 November, 1975-97 133 11: GLOSSARY 135 12: BIBLIOGRAPHY 138 |
