“Homegrown” Terrorists: Theory and Cases in the War on Terror's Newest Front

Abstract

The realities of a globalized society now allow international terrorist organizations like al Qaeda to dramatically expand their potential reach by courting sympathizers in dark corners around the world and teaching them how they can best serve al Qaeda's interests—without necessarily visiting an actual military training camp or even speaking directly with al Qaeda. In fact, despite their somewhat haphazard outward appearance, homegrown terrorist cells often possess a remarkable shared connection through reliance on particular al Qaeda training manuals, audio and video recordings, and even Internet chat forums. While these young men (and, increasingly, women) may have no formal contact with any terrorist organization, they can become virtual partners of al Qaeda by carefully studying its online knowledge base and executing terrorist attacks against its enemies. Recent law enforcement investigations have uncovered a surprisingly sophisticated network of budding terrorist “entrepreneurs” lurking in a host of major cities across Europe and North America.