Terrorist Groups

Domestic Terrorist Groups

In line with Steven Chermak & Jeff Gruenewald

about Terrorist Groups in the Encyclopedia of Law Enforcement:

Public concern about international terrorism changed dramatically after al Qaeda successfully attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Although it was the most significant mass casualty terror attack in the history of the United States of America, it was not the first. As recently as 9 years ago, Timothy McVeigh, a right-wing extremist who has been called the American (United States) Terrorist (Michel & Herbeck, 2001), destroyed the Alfred P. Murrah federal building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, killing 168 people and injuring many more. This attack, like the September 11, 2001, attacks, shocked the public and changed people's concerns about terrorism. In order to understand terrorism and the threat of terror, it is important to consider both international and domestic threats. This entry focuses on the latter. This discussion serves as an overview of domestic terrorism in America.

Foreign Terrorist Groups

In line with Adam Dulin

about Terrorist Groups in the Encyclopedia of Law Enforcement:

The term terrorism is rooted in the French Revolution during Maximilien Robespierre's reign of terror, a period when potential enemies of the government were ruthlessly exterminated. Terrorism itself is much older than the origins of the term. For example, the Assassins, a group related to mainstream Shiite Muslims in Iran, committed acts of terrorism more than 1,000 years ago. Likewise, the Thugs of India terrorized travelers in ritualistic fashion for more than three centuries. There is no single accepted definition of what constitutes terrorism. More than 100 definitions have been offered by academe and law enforcement agencies through decades of research. The pejorative nature of the term, as well as the politics involved in designating an act of violence as terrorism, contribute to the difficulty in developing a single definition.