Why is it Difficult or Impossible to Profile Terrorist Behavior: 4 questions

Terrorism
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Question 1: Why is it Difficult or Impossible to Profile Terrorist Behavior?
More often than not, the security agents in different locations such as air bases, ports and pubic places tend to look for certain behaviors in terrorists. According to Florence and Friedman (2010, p. 423), it is clear, that the most common form of profiling on terrorist behavior is what is termed as Screening Passengers by Observation Technique or SPOT. This strategy would employ looking at specific behaviors in such places. These behaviors could involve, appearing sweaty, carrying suspicious bundles and scurrying here and there looking over the shoulder. Later the security agents noticed that the terrorists had grown smarter. They do not appear as scared, lost and confused individuals. They have learnt to be more discrete and smart as well. However, knowing this is not all that it takes. Borum (2012, p. 5) indicates that the terrorists have learnt that in order to be effective, they have to be less predictable. As such, when the counter-terrorism agents are busy profiling the terrorist behavior, the terrorists get down to finding out ways of acting out of the expectations of these agencies. This means that the terrorist behavior keeps on evolving. The more the security agents try to profile the behaviors, the more the terrorists try to act contrary to that behavior. In the long run, it becomes virtually impossible to predict how a terrorist behaves. This, in turns, makes it hard to catch terorrists using the behavior profiling strategy.
Yun (2010, p. 111) gives another perspective from which terrorist profiling becomes an issue. He indicates that insurgency has become the new way for the terrorists. This implies that they have inside people within the security agencies, or they have ways of getting intelligence from the security agencies. What this implies is that the terrorists act on some kind of counter-intelligence. They understand what the security agencies are looking for, and they act in the exact opposite manner. In the long run, it becomes hard to predict who is a terrorist or a potential terrorist based on the manner in which they behave. Bell and Evens (2010, p. 370) also echo the same idea. They feel that in mapping the counter-terrorism terrain, it appears that the terrorists have learnt to act in a manner different from the way they are expected to. They attack the unexpected and most unlikely places; they dress and behave not like terrorists but like other civilians, until they reveal their true identity when it is too late for the security agents to do something about it. This makes it quiet tough for the profiling of terrorist behavior to be very effective.
Smith (2008) sheds even more light on this issue. He tries to look into the terrorist psychology; how they work and where they strike. Giving the examples of 9/11, Timothy McVeigh, and Eric Rudolph, Smith manages to bring out just how hard it is to profile the terrorist behaviors. In these cases, the terrorists chose targets which were miles from where they lived, places that were very unlikely to be attacked. The terrorists went ahead to use means of transport that are so obvious, but which could not be suspected to be ways through which terrorists could lay their siege. After the attacks happened, Smith (2008, p.1) observes that the police and security agents realize that they have nothing much to do than try and provide physical security in the high risk areas.
These examples explain why it is so hard to profile terrorist behavior. The current technologies and new modes of operation fro the terrorists mean that the security agents are left guessing on who can be a terrorist and who is not. There is no clear cut indication of a terrorist behavior. The bottom line is that profiling terrorist behavior is very difficult if not impossible.
Bibliography
Borum, R. 2012. Psychology of Terrorism: National Criminal Justice Reference Services. [Online] Available at /pdffiles1/nij/grants/208552.PDF [Accessed 1st 0ct. 2012]
Bell, C. & Evens, B., 2010. Terrorism to Insurgency: Mapping the Post-Intervention Security Terrain. Journal of Intervention and State Building, vol. 4(4), pp. 371-390.
Florence, J. & Friedman, R., 2010. Profiles in Terror: A Legal Framework for the Behavioral Profiling Paradigm. George Mason Law Review, 2009. [Online] Available at /doc/17-2_FlorenceandFriedman.pdf [Accessed 1st Oct. 2012]
Smith, B., 2008. A Look at Terrorist Behavior: How They Prepare, Where They Strike. National Institute of Justice, No. 260. [Online] Available at /journals/260/terrorist-behavior.htm [Accessed 1st Oct 2012]
Yun, M., 2010. Insurgency Warfare as an Emerging New Mode of Warfare and the New Enemy. The Korean Journal of Defence Analysis, Vol. 22(1), pp. 111-125.
Question 4: What are the Causes of Islamist Terrorism? Why does it Target the West?
According to Williams (2004, p. 54), there are various factors that propagate the occurrence of terrorist attacks. In looking at the facts about terrorists and terrorism, he indicates that the factors leading to terrorist activities can include ideological differences, religious differences or other secular motives. Whichever the case, the terrorists usually believe that they have a cause to fight for and they keep doing it.
Fine (2008, p. 59) indicates that the Islamist terrorism has been rising since the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran. The terrorism is propelled by ideological differences as well as religious agendas. On the ideological differences, Moore (2012) observes that the Islam believe in very different ideologies as compared to other non-Islamist people. However, they believe that it is in the interest of the Islam community to clean the world of the wrong ideologies and introduce the new Islamic ideologies which are acceptable. Such groups is the Al-Qaeda, formed by Osama bin Laden back in 1990. The main aim of this organization was to make sure that the Muslim State was re-established throughout the world by overthrowing the corrupt systems. These corrupt systems included the Americans and the Israelis, which they aimed to remove from the Middle East through well coordinated mujahideen networks. The Armed Islamic Group (GIA) was also propelled by the same interests, where the terrorist activities in Algiers in 1992 resulted after the country refused a democratically elected Islamist government. Other Islamic terroris groups such as the Harakat ul-Mujahidin, Aden-Abyan Islamic Army, Lashkari-i-Taiba (Army of the Righteous), and Jaish-e-Mohammed 9Army of Mohammed) all came up since the Islamic followers in the areas of interest felt that their ideologies were being neglected. As such, they chose to assert themselves in the community, and this resulted to the terrorist activities. This indicates that Islamic terrorist activities are partially propelled by the ideological differences. The main reason as to why such activities target the west is mainly because these are the nations which seem to be totally corrupt in the eyes of the Islam. As such, to prevent the spread of the corrupt nature, the West and the U.S must be prevented from spreading their interests. In other words, the west is subject to the terrorist activities.
Religious extremism is another factor that is closely associated with Islamist terrorism. Williams (2004, p. 112) also observes that this is one of the factors that motivate the Islamic terrorists. They feel that anyone who does not ascribe to their religions is kaffir, or one who odes not believe in God. Furthermore, they believe in Jihad or the Holy War which makes them believe that thy have to fight for their faith. The activities that are defined as terrorism by the rest of the world are seen as religious wars by the Muslim. They are motivated to keep going and keep fighting the war. The names given to the Islamic terrorist groups also seem to agree with the fact that religious extremism has a hand in it. They have names with religious meanings such as party of God, Army of Mohammed and other names which are religious related.
The west and especially the U.S.A cannot escape this form of terrorism. The Islamist terrorists believe that these two are the major causes of corruption in the world. Some of the organizations, such as the Hizballah, believe that the US is very corrupt, la...