Misunderstanding Terrorism

Marc Sageman

• Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN: 9780812248890, 9780812248890
• eBook ISBN: 9780812293715
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: National Security
• Index: Politics & International Relations

Misunderstanding Terrorism provides a striking reassessment of the scope and nature of the global neo-jihadi threat to the West. The post-9/11 decade experienced the emergence of new forms of political violence and new terrorist actors. More recently, Marc Sageman's understanding of how and why people have adopted fundamentalist ideologies and terrorist methods has evolved.Author of the classic Understanding Terror Networks, Sageman has become only more critical of the U.S. government's approach to the problem. He argues that U.S. society has been transformed for the worse by an extreme overreaction to a limited threat—limited, he insists, despite spectacular recent incidents, which he takes fully into account. Indeed, his discussion of just how limited the threat is marks a major contribution to the discussion and debate over the best way to a measured and much more effective response.

Chapter 1

The Actual Threat

When al Qaeda–linked terrorists hijacked four airplanes and crashed two into the World Trade Center, one into the Pentagon, and one in the Pennsylvania countryside on the morning of September 11, 2001, it was beyond belief and understanding. People stared, in fascination and horror, at television images of the planes approaching and crashing into the World Trade Center, the smoking towers, and their eventual collapse. Hijackings of airliners had been occurring for several decades, and terrorist acts related to the Middle East for years, but these were different. The sheer number of people killed and wounded, as well as the enormous destruction and damage to property, set them apart. These attacks, with their chilling perpetrators bent on suicide and mass murder, were entirely alien to our mental universe.

The 9/11 attacks changed the psyche of people not just in America but throughout the Western world. Fear spread into their daily lives, leading to screening not just at airports but also at sporting events and concerts; and in the wake of terrorist incidents or threats, people canceled plans to travel to affected regions. It also led to anti-Muslim sentiment and actions, as Westerners blamed an entire community for the actions of a very small number and suspected innocent people of being likely terrorists.

That fear led to restrictions on civil liberties, as governments curbed rights in their zeal to prevent further attacks. In the United States, Congress overwhelmingly passed the Patriot Act without the usual discussions regarding the provisions of such a major law. Likewise, Britain passed the Prevention of Terrorism Act in 2005 despite strong criticism by human rights organizations. France allowed long periods of a state of siege, suspending common civil rights after major terrorist attacks. Canada and Australia passed controversial antiterrorist legislation in response to the 9/11 attacks. Outside the West, this change of attitude allowed authoritarian governments to eliminate domestic dissent without much Western protest by labeling their opposition “terrorism.”

This changed environment leads naturally to the question of just how serious was the global neojihadi threat to the West, the threat emanating from organizations like al Qaeda or from people claiming to act on their behalf, in the post-9/11 decade. The scope of that threat has been debated, with the “clash of civilization” argument going as far as suggesting that it was an existential threat to the West. Views about the nature of this threat are also divided: a top-down threat of foreign terrorist organizations infiltrating and attacking the West or one more bottom-up, with homegrown militants turning to violence, sometimes with the help of foreign organizations. Since the number of global neojihadi plots or attacks, successful and failed, during that decade is limited, we can in fact examine all of them to settle these debates.

Inclusion Criteria for the Survey of Global Neojihadi Plots/Attacks in the West

To determine what plots to study for this assessment (listed in table 1), I used several criteria. First, since it takes time for reliable information to surface about any attack, I am limiting this survey to the period from September 11, 2001 to September 10, 2011. Second, I require these plots/attacks to be in the West: any plot not reaching the West is not included. By the West, I mean the European Union, North America, and Australia/New Zealand. Third, the plots/attacks must belong to the global neojihadi wave of violence and include those linked to al Qaeda and its allies and homegrown incidents carried out in the name of the global neojihad.1

Table 1. Global Neojihadi Post-9/11 Plots in the West

...

#	Incident	Major suspects	Operation	Country	Date	Link	Perps
1	9/11 Attack on the US	Atta et al.		US	9/11/01	AQ	23
2	Paris US Embassy Plot	Beghal et al.		France	9/13/01	AQ	5
3	Kleine Brogel USAF Plot	Trabelsi et al.		Belgium	9/13/01	AQ	3
4	Concorde Temple Explosion

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Introduction
• 1. The Actual Threat
• 2. Probability Theory and Counterterrorism
• 3. Misunderstanding Radicalization
• 4. Militants in Context: A Model of the Turn to Political Violence
• 5. Ending Political Violence in the West
• Notes
• References
• Acknowledgments