Terrorism Studies Commons^™

Baghdadi’S Bunker: Five Essential Tasks For Which The World Should Now Prepare, Paul Kamolnick

ETSU Faculty Works

Excerpt: The Islamic State Organization (ISO) will be defeated. That defeat will occur sooner rather than later. The nature of this terrorist organization suggests that preparations should now be made to minimize the carnage, loss of irreplaceable life, and cultural treasures that may without sufficient preparation accompany the final days and aftermath of ISO.

Ua3/9/7 Recent Events, Wku President's Office - Ransdell

WKU Administration Documents

Email from WKU president Gary Ransdell to faculty & staff regarding death of student and the Charlie Hebdo Attack in Paris.

Home Made, Printed, And Remote Controlled Firearms— Terrorism And Insurgency Implications, Robert J. Bunker

CGU Faculty Publications and Research

This essay in the TRENDS terrorism futures series focuses on trends in the manufacturing of homemade and printed firearms along with the emergence of remote (teleoperated) firearms. Each of these trends is discussed in turn in this short essay, as are the implications of their cumulative effects on terrorism and insurgency. Ultimately, as will be highlighted in this piece, both physical and cyber forms of terrorism are increasingly merging as a result of firearm and computer components becoming more closely integrated [1].

Patterns Of Lone Actor Terrorism In The United States, Brent L. Smith, Paxton Roberts, Jeff Gruenewald, Brent R. Klein

Research Projects

This research explores the differences in geospatial and temporal patterns between lone actor and group-based terrorists in the United States. These include differences in demographics, precursor activities, proximity to the terrorism incidents, and longevity of conducting terrorist activities. Data for this analysis were derived from the American Terrorism Study (ATS). The ATS includes information on federal criminal cases resulting from FBI investigations for “terrorism or terrorism-related activities.” The analysis includes data from 264 prevented or completed terrorism incidents in the United States from 1980-present. These incidents involved 314 indictees charged with over 3,000 federal criminal counts. They were responsible for …

The Snowden Effect: The Conflict In A Free Society, Who Values Privacy Versus Who Values Security?, Matthew C. Blake

Political Science Theses and Capstones

The Obama Administration has come under scrutiny by both the public and Congress, since former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden made known the scope of government surveillance programs being utilized by the U.S. government to gather intelligence on domestic citizens. Snowden’s disclosures about the government’s surveillance practices to the mainstream media began in June 2013. I focus on how public opinion towards the government’s surveillance practices and an individual’s reasonable right to privacy has shifted after revelations made by Edward Snowden on the practices of the NSA. Individuals may show support for more government surveillance in the name …

Imagining The Unimaginable: Torture And The Criminal Law, Francesca Laguardia

Department of Justice Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

This article examines the use of torture by the U.S. government in the context of the late 20th-century preventive turn in criminal justice. Challenging the assumption that the use of “enhanced interrogation tactics” in the war on terror was an exceptional deviation from accepted norms, this article suggests that this deviation began decades before the terror attacks, in the context of conventional criminal procedure. I point to the use of the “ticking time bomb hypothetical,” and its connection to criminal procedure’s “kidnapping hypothetical.” Using case law and criminal procedure textbooks I trace the employment of that narrative over several decades, …

Use And Potentials Of Counter-Optical Lasers In Riots And Terrorism., Robert J. Bunker

CGU Faculty Publications and Research

This essay in the TRENDS counter-terrorism futures series focuses on LASER (Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation) effects on human vision and activities in the context of riots and terrorism. Both the use and potentials of counter-optical lasers—that is, lasers utilized so as to disrupt and degrade human vision—will be highlighted with in regard to each of these forms of criminal-political activities. Additionally, a discussion of some of the applicable police and security response (countermeasures) to such laser use will be provided.

Indicators Of Terrorism Vulnerability In Africa, Raymond J. Hill

Theses and Dissertations

Terrorism in Africa has increased more than six-fold since 1997, with an increase in lethality as well. The U.S. government has spent billions of dollars to counter this increase in terrorism; however, terrorism in Africa has increased seemingly unabated. Furthermore, these methods used to counter-terrorism have been reactionary as opposed to preventative. To address the terrorism threat to a country, we must first understand which characteristics make a country vulnerable to such a threat. A confirmatory analysis bridges the inter-discipline gap between quantitative and qualitative fields through as assessment of observational findings about the causes of terrorism. An exploratory analysis …

Close To The Body And Body Cavity Suicide Bombs, Robert J. Bunker

CGU Faculty Publications and Research

The variation in human borne suicide bomb types used by terrorist organizations is much broader than is typically realized due to a number of iterations that have taken place over the course of decades. In this installment of the terrorism futures series, the more specialized close to the body and body cavity types will be focused upon. In addition, HAZMAT (hazardous materials) variants will be discussed along with the future potentials of these devices and the increased security interest in detecting them.

Fifth Dimensional Battlespace: Terrorism And Counter-Terrorism Implications, Robert J. Bunker

CGU Faculty Publications and Research

This essay in the terrorism futures series will highlight the emergence of fifth dimensional battlespace, its implications for both the conduct of terrorism and counterterrorism operations, and, to some extent, interactions with terrorist disruptive targeting capabilities. Additionally, the larger civilizational context in which a dynamic yet little recognized terrorism and counterterrorism ‘fifth dimensional capabilities race’ that is taking place will be highlighted. While initially this concept may seem abstract, the importance of understanding its implications will become apparent.

Terrorism As Disruptive Targeting, Robert J. Bunker

CGU Faculty Publications and Research

This short terrorism futures essay will focus upon differing forms of targeting and their effects, that is, destructive versus disruptive, and the interrelationship between these and the scale of effect of weaponry in engagements, highlighting the differences between legitimate state use of coercion and the illegitimate use of disruptive targeting—and the subsequent magnification of the scale of effect of weaponry in engagements—when employed by terrorists. It will conclude with a discussion of the counter-threat implications of acknowledging terrorism as a form of disruptive targeting and the need for states to focus on new counter-threat protocols that go beyond physical consequence …

Challenging The Political Assumption That “Guns Don’T Kill People, Crazy People Kill People!”, Heath J. Hodges, Mario Scalora

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Every time an infamous mass shooting takes place, a storm of rhetoric sweeps across this country with the fury of a wild fire. “Why are we letting these people carry guns?” “Why were they not hospitalized?” “The government needs to crack down on this issue!” What is the government’s response to these cries of concern? Politicians and the media attempt to ease public fears by drawing tenuous connections among a handful of poorly understood tragedies. The salient commonality is that these high-profile shooters had some history of mental illness. A cursory review of the Internet will paint a troubling picture …

Terrorist And Insurgent Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: Use, Potentials, And Military Implications, Robert J. Bunker

CGU Faculty Books

This manuscript focuses on the present threat posed by terrorist and insurgent use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) as well as associated future threat potentials. This work presents a counterintuitive analysis in the sense that armed drones are typically viewed as a component of America’s conventional warfighting prowess—not a technology that would be used against U.S. troops deployed overseas or against civilians back home. The emerging threat of such UAV use against the United States is investigated, and the unique analysis and creative approach related to the threat scenario variants generated are very informative. Hopefully, the larger implications posed by …

The Relationship Between Terrorism, Oil Prices, And Airline Profitability, Ubirathan Miranda

2010-2016 Archived Posters

Increase in the price of petroleum and terrorism negatively affect airline profitability. This quantitative study was an exploration of the relationship between terrorism, fuel price, and airline profitability. Airline financial and security archives were the data for this study. Results indicate that terrorism and fuel cost significantly predict profitability.

The Field Trip, Randy Harritan

Mighty Pen Project Anthology & Archive

A soldier grapples with horrifying events in Vietnam, then comes home to grapple with the effects those events have had on him.

Articles, stories, and other compositions in this archive were written by participants in the Mighty Pen Project. The program, developed by author David L. Robbins, and in partnership with Virginia Commonwealth University and the Virginia War Memorial in Richmond, Virginia, offers veterans and their family members a customized twelve-week writing class, free of charge. The program encourages, supports, and assists participants in sharing their stories and experiences of military experience so both writer and audience may benefit.

Blue Devil 2, Malik Hodari

Mighty Pen Project Anthology & Archive

A soldier in Vietnam continues to face interpersonal conflict as he fights to keep his team alive and complete his mission.

Articles, stories, and other compositions in this archive were written by participants in the Mighty Pen Project. The program, developed by author David L. Robbins, and in partnership with Virginia Commonwealth University and the Virginia War Memorial in Richmond, Virginia, offers veterans and their family members a customized twelve-week writing class, free of charge. The program encourages, supports, and assists participants in sharing their stories and experiences of military experience so both writer and audience may benefit.

Blue Devil 1, Malik Hodari

Mighty Pen Project Anthology & Archive

A soldier in Vietnam keeps his team alive and moving while grappling with interpersonal conflict.

Articles, stories, and other compositions in this archive were written by participants in the Mighty Pen Project. The program, developed by author David L. Robbins, and in partnership with Virginia Commonwealth University and the Virginia War Memorial in Richmond, Virginia, offers veterans and their family members a customized twelve-week writing class, free of charge. The program encourages, supports, and assists participants in sharing their stories and experiences of military experience so both writer and audience may benefit.

Racism Vs. Social Capital: A Case Study Of Two Majority Black Communities, Bruce W. Strouble

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Several researchers have identified social capital as a means to improve the social sustainability of communities. While there have been many studies investigating the benefits of social capital in homogeneous White communities, few have examined it in Black homogeneous communities. Also, there has been limited research on the influence of racism on social capital in African American communities. In this dissertation a comparative case study was used within a critical race theory framework. The purpose was to explore the role of racial oppression in shaping social capital in majority African American communities. Data were collected from 2 majority Black communities …

Framing The Question, "Who Governs The Internet?", Robert J. Domanski

Publications and Research

There remains a widespread perception among both the public and elements of academia that the Internet is “ungovernable”. However, this idea, as well as the notion that the Internet has become some type of cyber-libertarian utopia, is wholly inaccurate. Governments may certainly encounter tremendous difficulty in attempting to regulate the Internet, but numerous types of authority have nevertheless become pervasive. So who, then, governs the Internet? This book will contend that the Internet is, in fact, being governed, that it is being governed by specific and identifiable networks of policy actors, and that an argument can be made as to …