Homegrown terrorism, also known as domestic terrorism, refers to the violation of federal or state regulations that jeopardizes public safety. Its primary objective is to instill fear and impact both the general population and authorities. This form of terrorism involves the use of firearms or other weapons for acts of murder and destruction. In the United States, there has been a significant rise in domestic terrorism since 1970, resulting in 2,608 attacks with 226 being lethal. The advent of dynamite in 1867 contributed to the increasing prevalence of such acts. Intelligence agencies have been diligently working on monitoring terrorists; however, this task proves challenging due to their disregard for border laws and receiving funding from terrorist organizations that support activities within the country.
The development of domestic intelligence abilities involves constructing these skills within a broader framework, while also ensuring intellig
...ence sharing among all agencies in the Intelligence community. It is crucial to implement monitoring mechanisms to safeguard citizens' liberties (Human Rights, Terrorism and Counter-terrorism, n.d.). Over the past decade on U.S. soil, there have been 60 to 70 terrorist incidents per year primarily involving bombings. This level of activity is significantly higher than pre-September 11 levels which saw approximately one-fifteenth to one-twentieth the number of incidents. During this period, hijacked airplanes and hostage situations occurred in Washington, New York, Chicago, and San Francisco. Bombings also targeted embassies, corporate headquarters, and local government buildings. Moreover, sporadic bank robberies and isolated instances of diplomat assassinations took place (Pike, 2010). However despite thousands of terrorist incidents occurring in the United States during the 1970s era., only 72 individuals lost their lives at that time. The nature of terrorist
has since undergone changes.
Modern-day terrorists have evolved their tactics from solely aiming to take lives to also seeking to make a large number of individuals witness their actions. Prior to September 11th, Islamist terrorism in the United States focused on indiscriminate killing. However, in recent decades, successful attacks have resulted in a higher death toll than all violent assaults combined in the 1970s. An example of this is the bombing at the World Trade Center on February 26, 1993, which caused six deaths and around 1,000 injuries ("National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States," 2001).
Six individuals were convicted for participating in acts of domestic terrorism, while Abdul Rahman Yassin, the seventh suspect, remains unaccounted for. A blast occurred at Centennial Olympic Park during the 1996 summer Olympics held in Atlanta, leading to one fatality and causing injury to 111 people. Eric Robert Rudolph was identified as the perpetrator behind this bombing incident along with other occurrences in 2000. He was apprehended in North Carolina State three years later, in 2003.
In 2013, Rudolf received a sentence totaling 120 years for four consecutive terms (CNN Library). The increasing severity and number of deaths or injuries associated with these threats raises concerns about the IC's ability to combat them. In order to ensure homeland safety and security, extensive domestic intelligence gathering will be necessary in the future. Both foreign and domestic intelligence agencies aim to support governmental power (Thompson, 2003). The need for domestic intelligence has significantly grown in countering terrorism, but advancements in technology are expected to further increase threats to home security. Therefore, it is crucial for domestic intelligence capabilities to expand in order
to effectively counter these potential threats. However, creating a comprehensive long-term strategic plan poses challenges due to the lack of a clear definition and scope of domestic terrorism; federal agencies use different terms to describe it. Unlike other developed countries, the United States does not have a specific agency solely dedicated to collecting domestic intelligence.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), which has been the primary intelligence agency since the September 11 attack, focuses on enhancing domestic intelligence gathering. Their main area of interest is anti-terrorism data collection and analysis (Smith, 2009). The FBI's involvement in the intelligence community dates back to 1946 when it formed a committee to investigate suspected terrorists. In 1973, it joined forces with the Department of Homeland Security to become a joint investigative body.
To proactively identify and prosecute terrorists responsible for national security attacks ("The Terrorist Threat Confronting the United States," 2014), the FBI aims to develop new technology capable of preventing future attacks by identifying and monitoring potential threats. Furthermore, they aim to expand their surveillance capabilities to establish connections between terrorism. The FBI plans to achieve these objectives by 2020.
Advancements in technology, such as machine learning, and improved surveillance capabilities of computer networks and mobile devices have led to increased usage of electronic surveillance systems. These systems are employed for monitoring crime patterns and conducting investigations in areas with limited information, thus contributing to enhancing public safety through increased surveillance and crime monitoring (Smith, 2009).
However, during the 1970s, there was a significant rise in terrorist attacks and severity of domestic terrorism activities. This increase in domestic terrorism has placed Congress in a challenging position where they must evaluate whether
the agency's data collection and analysis capabilities are sufficient for determining program effectiveness. This becomes especially crucial when intelligence obtained from overseas is utilized to prevent attacks within the country.
Consequently, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has collaborated with the State Department to develop new tools aimed at identifying and reporting terrorism threats.
The United States devotes more than half of its budget to intelligence organizations. This underscores the importance of our IC in protecting our borders and citizens. In fact, we spend three times as much on intelligence as other countries (Jackson et al., 2008). Intrigued by this issue, I decided to gather my own intelligence on ALF or AKA Animal Liberation Front, one of the various Domestic Terrorism groups within the nation. As mentioned earlier, there have been significant changes in domestic terrorist threats over the past decade. In the 1990s, right-wing extremism became a greater threat than left-wing terrorism to the United States. However, recent years have witnessed a significant rise in special interest extremism exemplified by ALF and similar extremists, posing a substantial danger to domestic security.
The text describes unique interest terrorism, which differs from traditional left-wing and right-wing terrorism. This type of terrorism involves extremist special interest groups who aim to address specific issues rather than achieve widespread political change. These radicals resort to politically motivated violence in order to compel society, including the general public, to change their attitudes towards critical issues. These extremist organizations engage in radical activities that are protected by constitutional law, allowing them the freedom to express their views and assemble (source: "The Terrorist Threat Confronting the United States," 2014).
During my investigation of this group, I
encountered several websites associated with the ALF. One particular website, https://www.animalliberationpressoffice.com, was particularly disturbing. It featured images of FBI agents along with license plate numbers belonging to a specific agent. This information was listed under a section titled "opposition," along with two other sections called "infiltrators" and "snitches." Upon further examination of these tabs, I discovered personal details about these individuals such as their names and social media accounts. The website even encouraged people to express their hatred towards these individuals and revealed some of their residential locations.
During my investigation of this site, I discovered a separate tab labeled "all communiques." This tab provided a list of recent criminal activities both in the US and abroad. Further analysis revealed that IP addresses originating from Poland and Germany were linked to internet providers connected to 1 & 1 Internet LLC, located at 701 Lee Rd Suite 300 Chesterbrook PA. The website is hosted by Go Daddy. It was also uncovered that the websites utilize a proxy, which is not uncommon given the nature of their operations. One company that drew my attention is Vuitr Holding LLC based in the United Kingdom. Research on this company uncovered complaints from individuals, but what intrigued me was its direct association with ALF. Could other illegal activities such as money laundering be taking place? It appears that ALF may require funds for their cause. Regrettably, I do not have sufficient space to include all my findings in this paper. Based on the origins of the IP addresses and involvement of Vuitr Holding LLC from the UK, it seems plausible that this organization operates within the Balkans—a well-known hub for transnational
criminal syndicates.
The Animal Liberation Front (ALF) claims to oppose projects that exploit animals for profit in business and research. They emphasize strict adherence to nonviolence principles, which include economic sabotage and property destruction but specifically exclude harm to individuals. However, websites like animalliberationpressoffice.com seem to contradict this stance. ALF lacks a centralized organization and does not have any membership guidelines. Instead, they claim individuals act according to their own conscience to further the cause of animal liberation. These claims embody the concept of plausible deniability, implying that they are not responsible for the actions of their members but will support and encourage violence through websites like the animal liberation press office. This includes sharing hate speeches and providing information on individuals perceived as threats to their cause.
References
- (2010, January 1). Animal Rights Extremism and Eco-terrorism. Retrieved February 24, 2019, from https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/news/testimony/animal-rights-extremism-and-ecoterrorism
- (2013, January 1). CNN Library. 1993 World Trade Center Bombing Fast Facts. Retrieved February 24, 2019, from https://www.cnn.com/2013/11/05/us/1993-world-trade-center-bombing-fast-facts/index.html
- (n.d.). Human Rights, Terrorism and Counter-terrorism. Retrieved from https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/Factsheet32EN.pdf
- Jackson, B. A., Jackson, B. A., Rhoades, A.
L., Rhoades, A. L., Reimer, J. R., Reimer, J. R., … Beaghley, S.
(2008, January 1).
"Building an Effective and Practical National Approach to Terrorism Prevention".
On February 24, 2019, the following sources were obtained:
- https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RB10030.html
- https://govinfo.library.unt.edu/911/report/911Report_Ch3.htm
- Pike, J. (2005, January 1).
The Animal Liberation Front (ALF) can be found at the website https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/alf.htm. Additionally, Smith (2009) provides information about the FBI's adaptation in meeting the domestic intelligence needs of the United States.
Retrieved from https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a501530.pdf The Terrorist Threat Confronting the United States. (2014, January 1). Retrieved February 24, 2019, from https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/news/testimony/the-terrorist-threat-confronting-the-united-states Thompson, L. D. (2003, December
8). Intelligence Collection and Information Sharing within the United States.
On February 24, 2019, the data was obtained from the website https://www.brookings.edu/testimonies/intelligence-collection-and-information-sharing-within-the-united-states/.
