The lone wolf, however, has none of these concerns. With the world filled with bright young people highly skilled in technical computer knowledge, it may only be a matter of time before one of them figures out a way to do what others thus far have not been able to do or have not been willing to attempt. We cannot expect that security against major cyberterrorism operations will always remain ahead of those who are trying to penetrate various computer and communications systems. It would not be surprising, therefore, if the first major cyberterrorist attack came from a creative, smart, and dangerous individual motivated by anything ranging from political, social, and religious issues to criminal or mischievous intent.
Another innovative lone wolf tactic in the coming years may involve bioterrorism. We have seen how a lone wolf was able to perpetrate the first anthrax letter attack in history. Although that's not considered a major attack, since the casualty total was relatively low (five people killed), the next time a lone wolf uses bioweapons, we may not be as lucky. I discussed some of the potential scenarios involving a mass-casualty bioterrorism attack perpetrated by a lone wolf in chapter 3. These range from dispersing anthrax spores from a low-flying airplane or crop-duster to releasing ricin in the heating, ventilation, air-conditioning (HVAC) system of a building.
There remain many doubters about the ability of not just a lone wolf but any type of terrorist to successfully launch a major bioterrorist attack, due to the technical and scientific knowledge required to handle and use biological agents. However, as I pointed out in chapter 3, former secretary of the navy Richard Danzig is correct when he writes that the hurdles for terrorists to obtain an effective bioweapon “are being lowered by the dissemination of knowledge, techniques, and equipment.”12 This dissemination is only likely to increase in the coming years, as the Internet continues to expand, providing even more detailed information than it does today on all types of weapons, including biological warfare agents. It should also be noted that if an innovative bioterrorist attack fails, or even if it is only a hoax, it can still be significant if it generates fear throughout a country, causes the closure of government buildings and other facilities, and, perhaps most importantly, gives new ideas to other terrorists, who then improve upon the failure or hoax and commit a successful attack.13
Lone wolves may also be among the first to design effective ways to evade or defeat the emerging biometrics that are being used around the world. The creativity of lone wolves will allow them to test their skills in matching wits with governments and other entities that are deploying biometric devices. For example, it was a researcher who decided to create a fake finger by using the gelatin found in gummy bears candy and a plastic mold. The fake finger was able to fool fingerprint detectors four times out of five.14 Although the researcher was not a lone wolf terrorist, it still indicates that smart, creative individuals can at times succeed in evading or penetrating existing security measures.
NEW THINKING ON TERRORISM
The lone wolf is also forcing us to rethink some of our basic concepts about terrorism. This reevaluation will likely continue in the coming years, as lone wolves make their presence felt throughout the world. The individual terrorist has proven repeatedly that he or she can be as dangerous and have as much impact on societies and governments as the larger, better-financed, and better-trained terrorist organizations.
One area where the lone wolf is forcing new thinking about terrorism is with regard to the age-old problem of definitions. No longer can definitions of terrorism be restricted to actions taken by “subnational groups or clandestine agents,” as the US State Department continues to view the terrorist threat.15 The definition needs to also include the activities of lone wolves. Similarly, the tendency to restrict definitions of terrorism to those violent acts or threats that have a political or religious motive, as many definitions do, also merits change, since there are some lone wolves who are motivated mainly by financial incentives, personal revenge, or psychological problems, yet the impact of their activities is no different than had they stated they were acting in the name of some political or religious cause. The case of Bruce Ivins, who perpetrated the anthrax letter attacks partly to increase interest in his new anthrax vaccine, illustrates that point.
The lone wolf is also making it clear why viewing antiterrorism activities as part of a “war” is unrealistic. A government cannot really be at war with an individual terrorist, and such declarations only raise the status of terrorists, since it puts them on equal footing with the government that declares such a war. Yet equating terrorism with war has occurred throughout history. As noted in the introduction, following the 1920 Wall Street bombing, which turned out to be the work of a lone wolf terrorist, the New York Chamber of Commerce described the bombing as an “act of war.”16 During the 1985 hijacking of TWA Flight 847 in Lebanon, Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger stated: “It is a war and it is the beginning of war.”17 One year later, Secretary of State George Shultz said that the United States was “pretty darn close” to declaring war on Libya due to Moammar Gadhafi's terrorism activities.18 And President George W. Bush, shortly after the 9/11 attacks, referred to them as “acts of war” and launched what became known as the “global war on terror.”19
The problem with equating terrorism with war, however, is that it raises expectations for the public and others of an ultimate victory, which, as pointed out throughout this book, is unattainable, given the endless nature of terrorism. With respect to the recent global war on terror, many people in the Muslim world viewed it mainly as a war on Muslims, which Osama bin Laden and other Islamic extremists exploited to their advantage. Although the administration of President Barack Obama ended the “war” terminology in 2009 by instead referring to counterterrorism efforts as “overseas contingency operations,”20 it may only be a matter of time before another administration in the United States or elsewhere brings back the “war” analogy after a major terrorist attack. Lone wolf incidents, though, will continue to serve as reminders of the fallacy of viewing terrorism as a war.
The lone wolf is also causing a reevaluation of basic counterterrorism policies. While traditional measures (such as cutting off the finances of terrorist groups, launching military strikes when necessary, and pressuring state sponsors of terrorism to end their support for various terrorists) will continue to be vital parts of any nation's battle against terrorism, these measures will not be effective against a lone wolf. However, by employing a range of preventive and responsive strategies, as discussed in chapter 6, progress can be made in dealing with the lone wolf terrorist threat.
Finally, the lone wolf is changing the way we think about how somebody becomes a terrorist. No longer can theories and concepts about the radicalization of individuals be limited to considering only sociopolitical and economic explanations like poverty, unemployment, a sense of hopelessness among youths in a given society, revenge against perceived injustices, oppression, and other conditions. Likewise, we must dispense with the notion that radicalization is solely due to the efforts of charismatic leaders and other group members who recruit or brainwash impressionable individuals with face-to-face meetings. Explanations must now also include the impact of the Internet on virtually anybody who is curious about the world and finds information, websites, chat rooms, and other material online that can somehow accelerate the process of taking violent action in the name of some cause. The lone wolf may also develop out of a combination of personal and psychological problems that make certain individuals more susceptible to engaging in terrorist activities.
The world of lone wolf terrorism will continue to evolve in the coming years. We cannot predict the new issues that may arise to propel certain people into terrorism. It could be global economic and political developments, certain policies by various governments, or just a local issue that angers a particular individual. But whatever the cause, the lone wolf will try to remain anonymous and in the background until he or she strikes. Uncovering the secret world of the lone wolf
terrorist will remain one of the major challenges in the battle against this form of terrorism.
“The really valuable thing in the pageant of human life,” Albert Einstein once wrote, “seems to me not the political state, but the creative, sentient individual, the personality; it alone creates the noble and the sublime, while the herd as such remains dull in thought and dull in feeling.”1 Individualism has certainly been lauded by philosophers, politicians, writers, and others throughout history. Among the characteristics valued in the individual are uniqueness, free will, spirit, and, as Einstein noted, creativity.
The lone wolf, however, has taken the positive aspects of individuality and turned them into a frightening form of violence. The lone wolf is usually not “dull in thought” but rather strives to think up new ways to commit terrorist attacks. Free from “the herd” or any type of group or peer pressure, lone wolves march to their own beat. This has allowed them to commit some of the most creative and horrific terrorist attacks in history.
Many people assume that the lone wolf terrorist is a wildcard, unpredictable, and usually mentally ill, and because of that, there is little that anybody can do to prevent an attack. I believe I've demonstrated in this book why that perception is wrong. The lone wolves demand our attention not just because of what these types of terrorists are capable of doing, but also because of what they tell us about the world we're living in.
Lone wolf terrorism is about individuals blowing up airplanes, sending package bombs and anthrax spores through the mail, setting off car and truck bombs in front of government buildings, and massacring scores of youths at a summer camp. It is also, though, about people who seek a purpose in their lives, with some of them finding it by embracing a cause and then embarking upon a terrorist attack. Like every other terrorist who joins a group, the lone wolf, too, seeks camaraderie with others, but instead of through face-to-face contact, he or she finds it on the Internet, whether that be from online chat rooms, reading extremists’ blogs and websites, or living vicariously from learning about the terrorist exploits of others, until he or she perpetrates an attack.
The lone wolf, in many respects, is no different from anyone who takes advantage of the revolutionary technological age we're living in, but at the same time, without even knowing it, we are all being taken advantage of by that very technology. The lone wolf surfs the web, just like many of us, to learn about things, but often receives an “exponentially increasing amount of unvetted and unverified information”2 that can be biased, manipulative, and many times just plain wrong. The Internet, with its vast reach and many different components, including websites, blogs, and social networks, can influence all types of people, ranging from peaceful citizens to lone wolf terrorists. The Internet can also be used to learn the identities of lone wolves through their online postings, searches, and chat-room activities, just like it can be used by commercial enterprises to learn about our online activities so as to exploit them for profit.
Lone wolves also tell us a lot about terrorism. They symbolize the diversity of this endless phenomenon, with terrorists coming from different backgrounds and possessing a wide range of motivations. Just as there is no prototypical terrorist who is a member or leader of an extremist group, so, too, is there no prototypical lone wolf. The lone wolf could be a male or a female, a highly educated or an illiterate individual, or a person driven by various political, religious, or financial motives. Lone wolves also serve as a reminder of why terrorism can never be “defeated,” since there will always be one person, somewhere, with a cause and a weapon to commit a terrorist attack.
When Timothy McVeigh acknowledged blowing up the federal building in Oklahoma City and stated, “Isn't it scary that one man could reap this kind of hell?” he got at the heart of the lone wolf terrorist threat. It seems mind-boggling that in a world where some terrorist groups have global networks of highly trained militants, a lone individual is capable of matching, and sometimes exceeding, the carnage, destruction, and grief that larger and better-financed extremist groups can inflict upon society. It is a somewhat discomforting thought that after all the resources, time, and personnel are expended in the fight against terrorism—usually terrorist groups, their affiliates, or their state sponsors—along can come a Timothy McVeigh or an Anders Breivik to reap their own “kind of hell” upon all of us.
Those who have been the target of lone wolves do not easily forget their traumatic experiences. Charles Epstein, who lost several fingers and suffered permanent hearing loss when he opened a package bomb that had been sent by Theodore Kaczynski, the Unabomber, put it best when he said that “there's never closure” to the emotional wounds. He could have been speaking for virtually anybody who has survived a terrorist attack or lost a loved one or friend to terrorism.
Although we cannot obviously prevent every lone wolf terrorist incident from occurring, we can employ a creative mix of strategies that may help reduce the threat. State-of-the-art technology in the form of detection systems, biometrics, and Internet monitoring tools will play a key role in accomplishing this, as will good old-fashioned police and intelligence work, including an alert public that reports suspicious packages and individuals to the authorities. But living with terrorism and its aftereffects will continue to be an unfortunate fact of life in the twenty-first century, just as it has been for previous generations.
Lone wolf terrorists are fascinating and frightening creatures—fascinating because they can be incredibly creative and innovative in their thinking and actions, frightening because they often exhibit no fear and have few, if any, constraints on the level of violence they're willing to inflict on their targets. “I am not a killer at heart,” Bruce Ivins, the lone wolf terrorist whom the FBI determined to be responsible for sending the anthrax letters, told a former coworker in June 2008, less than two months before he committed suicide while being investigated. “I, in my right mind, wouldn't do it.”3 In the end, though, it really doesn't matter whether the lone wolf is in his or her “right mind.” While some lone wolves are mentally ill, others are quite rational. Regardless of their mental state, based on their past actions and future potential, lone wolves have clearly demonstrated that they are important players in the world of terrorism and that they will have to be reckoned with both now and for the foreseeable future.
Illustration of Charles Guiteau shooting President James A. Garfield at the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station in Washington, DC, on July 2, 1881. Garfield survived for more than two and a half months before succumbing to his wound. Guiteau, who was mentally ill, was found guilty and hanged on June 30, 1882. (Library of Congress)
Illustration of the assassination of President William McKinley on September 6, 1901. Leon Czolgosz, an anarchist, shot the president at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York, with a concealed revolver in his right hand, which was wrapped in a handkerchief. McKinley died eight days later. (Library of Congress)
Photographs of Czolgosz taken shortly after his arrest. He told police he thought it was his “duty” to shoot McKinley due to what he believed was the president's indifference and hostility toward the working people of the United States. (Library of Congress)
Czolgosz was tried and convicted in a two-day trial in September 1901 and executed one month later. The assassination of McKinley led the new president, Theodore Roosevelt, to declare the equivalent of a “war” on anarchism. (Library of Congress)
The Wall Street bombing on September 16, 1920, represented the first vehicle bombing in the United States. A horse-drawn wagon exploded in front of the J.P. Morgan and Company bank headquarters, killing thirty-eight people and injuring more than two hundred others. The bombing is believed to have been the work of a lone wolf terrorist, Mario Buda, who fled the country shortly after the attack. (Library of Congress)
A United Airlines executive points to the spot on the reconstructed plane where an explosion took place shortly after takeoff from Denver on November 1, 1955, killing all forty-four people onboard. Th
e incident represented the first major midair plane bombing in US history. (AP Photo/Edward O. Eisenhand)
John Gilbert Graham sits with his wife, Gloria, outside a district courtroom in Denver. Graham had placed several sticks of dynamite in his mother's luggage on the United Airlines plane in order to collect a $37,500 insurance policy he had taken on her life. The bombing made the public and the government aware for the first time of the need for airline security measures. Graham was executed in 1957. (AP Photo)
Muharem Kurbegovic held Los Angeles in fear during the summer of 1974 with a bombing at Los Angeles International Airport and a series of subsequent terrorist threats. He became known as the “Alphabet Bomber” because his attacks were supposed to spell out the name of his fictitious group, “Aliens of America.” The first attack at the airport represented the letter “A.” (AP Photo/Wally Fong)
Yigal Amir, the assassin of Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, in a Tel Aviv court. Amir killed Rabin on November 4, 1995, because he felt Rabin was betraying Israel in peace negotiations with the Palestinians. (AP Photo/Motti Kimchi)
The Unabomber's mansion in Montana. Theodore Kaczynski lived in this shack, where he constructed package bombs that he either sent to his victims or left at the scene of the attack. Over the course of seventeen years, beginning in 1978, he was responsible for a total of sixteen bombings throughout the United States that killed three people and injured twenty-three others. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)
Kaczynski was arrested in April 1996 after his brother, David, informed the FBI that writings he discovered by Kaczynski resembled the Unabomber manifesto that had been published in the Washington Post. Kaczynski pled guilty and received a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. (Federal Bureau of Investigation Photo)
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