The Making of a Homegrown Terrorist

Brainwashing Rebels in Search of a Cause

Peter A. Olsson MD

• Publisher: Praeger
• Year: 2014
• Print ISBN:
  9781440831010
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9781440831027
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Politics
• Index: Politics & International Relations

What are the factors that lead some individuals to become terrorists? In this book, a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst examines case histories of terrorism and reveals how radicalized youths living next door can become dangerous homegrown terrorists.

Religious zeal and passionate dogma can be powerful motivators for homegrown recruits of terrorist organizations. In this book, Peter A. Olsson, MD, applies his years of work with disordered personalities to the psychological understanding of why seemingly ordinary Americans turn into murderers of their countrymen. He identifies the psychodynamic patterns of the lives of those who become "homegrown terrorists" and commit acts of cold-blooded murder, examining 20 detailed case histories of individuals—often youths or young adults—to provide theoretical and practical understandings.

The book focuses on individuals that include Timothy McVeigh; Ted Kaczynski, a.k.a. "The Unabomber"; the "Shoe-Bomber" Richard Reid; Colleen LaRose, a.k.a. "Jihad Jane"; Nidal Malik Hasan, an American-born, former U.S. Army officer who opened fire on American troops at Fort Hood, Killeen, TX, killing 13 and injuring more than 30; and Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tzarnaev, the two brothers charged with placing pressure cooker bombs at the finish line area of the 2013 Boston Marathon. It also delves into topics such as distinguishing between "good charisma" in a youth versus "evil charisma" and recognizing the characteristics of a healthy group or leader versus those with unhealthy motivations—subject matter that will be of interest and importance to anyone from concerned citizens and parents to teachers and terrorism specialists.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Contents
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• 1 The Vulnerable In-Betweeners and the Children of Terror
• 2 Basic Techniques of Terrorists’ Brainwashing and Indoctrination
• 3 In-Betweener Countries and Communities
• 4 The Personal Pathway Model of Terrorist Development
• 5 Adam Gadahn: A Television Voice of Al Qaeda
• 6 John Walker Lindh: The American Taliban
• 7 Nidal Malik Hasan, MD: Fort Hood’s Jihadi Doctor of Death
• 8 Pfc. Naser Jason Abdo: An Explosive Conscientious Objector
• 9 Jose Padilla, Bryant Neal Vinas, and Sharif Mobley
• 10 Richard Reid and Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab: UK and Nigeria’s Homegrowns
• 11 Omar Hammami of Alabama: The Jihadi Next Door
• 12 Aafia Siddiqui and Colleen LaRose: Female Homegrown Terrorists
• 13 Right Wing Ideology and Its Violent Fringe
• 14 A Left Wing Homegrown Terrorist: Bill Ayers
• 15 The Boston Marathon Bombers, Chechnya’s History, and Spiritual Heirs of Osama bin Laden and Anwar al-Awlaki
• 16 Decisions, Actions, and Responsibility of Homegrown Terrorists
• Afterword: What We All Can Do to Help Prevent Homegrown Terrorism
• Appendix I: Timeline of Homegrown Terrorist Actions
• Appendix II: Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act
• Appendix III: Recommended Reading List
• Glossary
• References and Works Consulted
• Index