Terrorist Plots Research Articles

“We Have Successfully Neutralised an Attack”—Historical Case Studies in Terrorism Prevention Through Cooperation

ABSTRACT While there is a large body of literature concerned with understanding terrorist attacks and the reasons for why they could not be prevented, this article looks at it from the opposite side: why could terrorist attacks successfully be prevented and what role did intelligence-sharing play? The article analyses three historical cases in depth based on extensive archival records from 18 intelligence agencies. This article traces how intelligence-sharing worked by highlighting the hands-on experiences of intelligence practitioners. The contribution of this article is twofold. First, the article shows how intelligence officers managed to establish successful and effective counterterrorism cooperation in the early 1970s. Second, through the eyes of intelligence reports the article presents new insights about terrorist tactics and terrorism innovation at the time. This included the use of women in terrorist plots and car sales as cover business for terrorism financing. The article concentrates on a peak moment in European terrorism history: it analyses early 1970s Black September attacks and the efforts of intelligence agencies to counter them.

Community Political Participation in Village Head Elections

If there is political behavior on the part of the village community, political socialization, and effective political communication from the candidates to the village head regarding the vision and mission or work program to be implemented, village community political engagement will move smoothly. Application the day before the village head election, political outreach by candidates was typically conducted at a distance and frequently ignored political ethics, such as money politics and terror plots. The majority of candidates for village, heads have a good chance of winning the election since they generally have compact, powerful, and familial networks. Politically powerful individuals typically run for village head positions. Villagers can participate in Pilkades in addition to carrying out activities by becoming campaigners (Jurkam) for one of the village head candidates and disseminating programs that will be achieved, joining active interest groups and supporting one of the village head candidates, getting involved in social programs or village social projects, such as promoting programs that will be achieved and carrying out activities in Pilkades. The findings of study conducted through interviews show how crucial it is to educate and socialise citizens about politics, especially those who must vote. Political activities such as political socialisation and political education can be used in efforts to preserve the political system. The two political communication activities serve as a method for influencing the attitudes and actions of future system recipients and successors. Political socialisation, which aims to influence, alter, and mould attitudes and behaviour based on ideals that are deemed right and beneficial to human life, is frequently linked with political education.

Always Be Prepared

Always Be Prepared

Introducing the Jihadi Plots in Europe Dataset (JPED)

The article introduces a new dataset on terrorist attack activity by jihadis in Western Europe. The dataset was built over nearly two decades at the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment. It records not only attacks that were launched, but also plots that were foiled by counterterrorism. The rationale behind the dataset is that analyses based on launched attacks may misrepresent the scale and nature of terrorism. The article shows that if we were to measure the jihadi threat to Europe by attacks only we would miss out on 58.2% of the total attack activity. We also show that while attack data signify a trend towards small attacks by individuals, these data hide the fact that terror networks persist in plotting big attacks that get foiled. We discuss how analyses based on attacks only may distort comparative analyses of different types of terrorists across countries, as well as causal analyses of terrorism drivers. By including foiled plots we gain a fuller picture of terrorism. The Jihadi Plots in Europe Dataset allows the gauging of different aspects of the threat from Al-Qaida and Islamic State in Europe. The dataset documents when and where terror plots occur, whether or not they result in attacks, and different types of information about perpetrators and how they operate. The Dataset offers a reliable overview of jihadi terrorism in Europe for research and policy.

Threat Modelling and Detection Using Semantic Network for Improving Social Media Safety

Social media provides a free space to users to post their information, opinions, feelings, etc. Also, it allows users to easily and simultaneously communicate with each other. As a result, threat detection in social media is critical for ensuring the user’s safety and preventing suspicious activities such as criminal behavior, hate speech, ethnic conflicts and terrorist plots. These suspicious activities have a negative impact on the community’s life and cause tension and social unrest among individuals in both inside and outside of cyberspace. Furthermore, with the recent popularity of social networking sites, the number of discussions containing threats is increasing, causing fear in various parties, whether at the individual or state level. Moreover, these social networking service providers do not have complete control over the content that users post. In this paper, we propose to design a threat detection model on Twitter using a semantic network. To achieve this aim, we designed a threat semantic network, named, ThrNet that will be integrated in our proposed threat detection model called, DetThr. We compared the performance of our model (DetThr) with a set of well-known Machine Learning algorithms. Results show that the DetThr model achieves an accuracy of 76% better than Machine Learning algorithms. It works well with an error rate of forecasting threatening tweet messages as non-threatening (false negatives) is about 29%, while the error rate of forecasting non-threatening tweet messages as threatening (false positives) is about 19%.

The Role of Financial Technologies in US-Based ISIS Terror Plots

This study explores how terrorists use financial technologies in their plots. Using a database of 231 US-based Islamic State actors, it analyses how they move money and make purchases, as well as whether the use of technology affects success. Fundamentally, terrorists opt for simplicity; there is little evidence of sophisticated financial plots. Terrorists tend to use the Internet in two ways: to make purchases and to coordinate transactions. Transactions via Money Service Businesses are more likely to be part of successful plots. Finally, the paper discusses factors which explain this simplicity as well as discussing whether this may change moving forward.

The Implementation of the Juvenile Justice System in Terrorism: Indonesia Case

ABSTRACT: This research aims to review the right to child protection as well as the implementation of the Juvenile Criminal Justice System (SPPA) based on court rulings. Behind the research is concern about the increasing number of children involved in terrorist networks in Indonesia. Some of them have been sentenced to prison for terrorism plots. The implementation of the SPPA Act and the PA Act has become a reference for law enforcement in addition to counter-terrorism legislation. The crime of terrorism is a crime that must be addressed immediately because it threatens the state, but the state remains obliged to ensure the fulfillment of the right to child protection during the judicial process with special protection. With the involvement of a child that is in relevance to the child protection act, it is a complex matter that needs to be resolved with a special analysis of law, due to its nature. This study examines court rulings with normative juridical methods to get significantly achieved results. In addition, this study also adds secondary resources such as article journals, books, reports, and any source that has relevance to the study. The results of the study found that the special protection of children in the Crime of Terrorism has not been met, by not considering the child as a victim, because of the actions he did the influence of persuasion as revealed in court. In addition, law enforcement does not seek diversion as mandated in the SPPA. To conclude the court's decision does not consider the regulations on PA and has not fully implemented the SPPA.
 KEYWORDS: Legislation on Terrorism, Children's Rights, Law Enforcement, Juvenile Justice.

Urban Security and Counterterrorism: An Approach to Proportionality

As cities and crowded areas increasingly become targets of terrorist plots and attacks, there is ample demand for risk assessment tools that consider proportional measures that reduce the threat, vulnerability, and possible impacts, whilst providing ‘security returns’ for those investments. There is a risk in this process of over- or under-fortifying places based on practitioners’ subjective biases, experiences, dead reckoning and conflicting agendas. Currently, risk assessments rely on qualitative tools that do not consider proportionality that removes these inherent biases. Critiquing well-known urban design strategies and national risk assessments, this article therefore seeks to develop a supplementary assessment tool – an equation for proportionality – that is more objective and is created to help practitioners make good choices, in particular on: (1) reducing the threat, (2) vulnerability, (3) impact, (4) accepting risk, and (5) measuring a security measure’s ability to deter, delay or stop an attack. It concludes that while no assessment is truly objective, the equation works to remove as much subjectivity as possible when assessing proportional urban security.

Critical Terrorist Organizations and Terrorist Organization Alliance Networks Based on Key Nodes Founding

The past years have witnessed increasingly widespread terrorism, violently destroying world peace and regional prosperity. Therefore, uncovering terrorist plots has become the most crucial step for eliminating terrorist attacks. However, with the terrorist scheme being disguised under the huge amount of data flow on the internet, identifying terrorist organizations still remains challenging. Since many terrorist organizations are prone to launch terrorist attacks together, here, we model their relationships as a Terrorist Organization Alliance (TOA) network and propose a novel method to identify the key terrorist organizations in the TOA network. The TOA network utilizes existing key nodes in order to extract useful information, and, with the help of the entropy weight method, the new solution to the TOA network is effective and precise. The experiments are performed on the dataset from the Global Terrorism Database, and the results are statistically validated through t-tests and convergence analysis. Compared with the traditional methods, our method is proven to be superior in terms of measure the harm of terrorist attack organizations and find the key terrorist organizations.

Chapter 9 – Financing the Toronto 18

Thethwarted Toronto 18 terrorist plot was an early indication ofthings to come for terrorist financing in Canada and internationally.The self financed plot demonstrated how terrorist cells, even thosenot directed by a terrorist group, could obtain enough money to fullyfund a sophisticated and complex attack. In total, the main elementsof the Toronto 18 plot likely cost thousands of dollars, but theorganiz ers of the plot had accumulated far more than they needed forthe components of the attack and had enough money to rent a safehouse, pay for plane tickets to escape prosecution after the attack, anddevelop a plausible cover story for their activities. De spite thefinancial elements of the plot, no terrorist financing charges were laidin the case. This may have been due to the lack of internationalfunding of the plot and a conceptualization within Canada’s lawenforcement and security services at the tim e that terrorist financingcame from “ The lack of financing charges in this case mayhave had longstanding implications in Canada, where, to date, veryfew charges of this nature have been laid, even 15 years after the plotwas disrupted.

MANUFACTURING FEAR IN POST-9/11 AMERICAN NOVEL

To illustrate the systematic means by which the Muslim other is turned into a source of anguish and horror, we coin the term manufacturing fear. Manufacturing fear is the systematized process of creating and constructing fear of the other. It occurs through regularized procedures and techniques in an almost persistent mood. Through these methods, the other is shaped into an awful entity with more-beast-like qualities as his/her definitive features. In this paper, we aim to investigate how fear functions in three American novels, namely, John Updike’s Terrorist (2006), Don DeLillo’s Falling Man (2007), and Andre Dubus III’s The Garden of Last Days (2009). We also examine these horrifying images concerning the narratives’ exemplification of Muslims. Pertaining anecdotes where fright is manifested about the Muslim other are contextualized within the existent discourse of fear. Situating these novels within the post-9/11 atmosphere of distrust and trauma uncovers the underlying approaches employed by novelists to exemplify the Muslim other. In the three narratives, dreadful imageries have been presented by employing diverse techniques and approaches. Fear of the Muslim other has been manufactured through blood scenes, historical conflicts, and terrorist plots.

Police programmes that seek to increase community connectedness for reducing violent extremism behaviour, attitudes and beliefs.

Police programmes that seek to increase community connectedness for reducing violent extremism behaviour, attitudes and beliefs.

THE PRAGMATICS OF CHAOS: PARSING BOLSONARO’S UNDEMOCRATIC LANGUAGE

ABSTRACT This paper unpacks different layers of Jair Bolsonaro’s pragmatics of chaos - the name I give to a reflexive, ordered and laminated method of producing a permanent sentiment of agitation, murk, and discontent in political audiences while a conservative and free market agenda is radicalized in Brazil. The communicative layers are: history, exemplified by Bolsonaro’s early career in the military: from his union-like activity, to his imprisonment and to evidences of a terrorist plot; persona, indexed by the jocular, non-serious performances that made him famous as a federal representative and that have been mediatized in his executive action as president; text and talk, characterized by a general texture of incendiary framing, smoke screens, backtracking, and avoidance of debate; audiences, seen from the perspective of the digital, pedagogic and performative populism that accrued from his campaign, almost entirely designed for being engendered on the non-public space of WhatsApp groups and in public, algorithmic social media platforms.

From Inspire to Rumiyah: does instructional content in online jihadist magazines lead to attacks?

ABSTRACT Considerable time has been spent examining how groups like AQAP and ISIS used their online magazines to reach and radicalize individuals in Western democratic states. This paper continues this investigation but shifts its analysis to focus on the ‘how-to’ or instructional content of these publications, an understudied part of the literature. One of the stated goals of these magazines was to provide tactical know-how and assist supporters conducting terror plots in their home states. The question: did the tactics outlined in the magazines materialize in actual plots/attacks and how quickly were they put into practice? The paper examines this question by creating an overview of the tactics which appear in these publications and cross referencing them with a dataset of 166 Islamist-inspired homegrown terror plots/attacks in 14 Western democratic states to determine if, and when, they first appeared in relation to their publication date. It concluded that while some of the suggested strategies did appear following their publication, often it occurred after considerable time had elapsed. This suggests the instructional content did not resonate with readers in real time.

Terrorist Plots: Temporality, the Politics of Preemption, and the Postcolonial Novel

Terrorist Plots: Temporality, the Politics of Preemption, and the Postcolonial Novel

Combatting Terrorism at SEA: Assessing NATO’S Maritime Operations in the Mediterranean

Terrorism via Mediterranean Sea route is one of the security threats faced by Europe in recent years. The basin recorded large volume of maritime vessels traversing daily via the major straits and consequently expose them for the possibility of terrorist attacks. This includes cargo and commercial vessels that carry tons of valuable cargo. There is growing concern that the vessels may be used to support terrorist activities. In light of this, NATO has adopted maritime operations to strengthen sea patrolling and enhance security of sea lanes in the Mediterranean. This paper seeks to examine the terrorist incidents occurred in the Mediterranean Sea. The paper then scrutinizes the evolution of NATO’s approaches to combat terrorism in the basin from 2001 until 2016. Specifically, this paper analyses the implementation of Operation Active Endeavour (OAE) which has initiated as an immediate response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States to fight against international terrorism. The mandate assigned through this operation includes, amongst others, monitoring and surveillance activities, escorting assistance, compliant boarding and joint training with NATO partners. These tasks have significantly contributed to a sharp decline in terrorist plot in the Mediterranean Sea. This paper obtains its data from textual analysis and interviews with NATO military officers. The results conclude that maritime operations by NATO play a functional role to hinder the potential of terrorist attacks and effectively maintain the security of the sea lanes.

How does the terrorist experience alter consumer behaviour? An analysis of the Spanish case

Although the number of terrorist casualties has recently decreased, terrorism still presents a threat to society. Within the last 20 years there has been a significant increase in the number of monographic studies about terrorist incidents’ impact on consumer behaviour. However, the present study is the first to analyse whether a terrorist threat specifically alters the consumer behaviour of direct victims. According to the literature, the impact of terrorism on many sectors is lower than originally expected and, if significant, only short term. We hypothesize that this influence is more significant and lasts longer with direct victims, who have undergone traumatic experience. For this purpose, we explore how victims of terrorism in Spain respond to hypothetical scenarios describing a terrorist plot against airplanes at an international airport. In addition, we check if there are significant differences between participants when confronted with situations in which they have to opt between taking or cancelling a planned trip by plane under the menace of a (hypothetical) terrorist attack.

Dropping the Baton?

Crowdsourced sensemaking has shown great potential for enabling scalable analysis of complex data sets, from planning trips, to designing products, to solving crimes. Yet, most crowd sensemaking approaches still require expert intervention because of worker errors and bottlenecks that would otherwise harm the output quality. Mitigating these errors and bottlenecks would significantly reduce the burden on experts, yet little is known about the types of mistakes crowds make with sensemaking micro-tasks and how they propagate in the sensemaking loop. In this paper, we conduct a series of studies with 325 crowd workers using a crowd sensemaking pipeline to solve a fictional terrorist plot, focusing on understanding why errors and bottlenecks happen and how they propagate. We classify types of crowd errors and show how the amount and quality of input data influence worker performance. We conclude by suggesting design recommendations for integrated crowdsourcing systems and speculating how a complementary top-down path of the pipeline could refine crowd analyses.

Finding Emergent Patterns of Behaviors in Dynamic Heterogeneous Social Networks

The search in graph databases for individuals or entities undertaking latent or emergent behaviors has applicability in the areas of homeland security, consumer analytics, behavioral health, and cybersecurity. In this setting, even partial matches to hypothesized indicators are worthy of further investigation, and analysts in these domains aim to identify and maintain awareness of entities that either fully or partially match the queried attributes over time. We provide a comprehensive version of a graph pattern matching technique called Investigative Search for Graph Trajectories (INSiGHT) to find emergent patterns of behaviors in networks and tailor the application to detecting radicalization in the homeland security domain. To enable analysts’ accounting of recurring behavioral indicators and the recency of behaviors as the imminence of a threat, we provide parameterized methods to score multiple occurrences of indicators and to dampen the significance of indicators over time, respectively. Additionally, we provide an indicator categorization scheme and a match filtering technique to ensure that partial matches to the most salient indicators are identified while reducing the number of false positives. Furthermore, since individuals may be radicalized in small groups or be involved in collective terrorist plots, we introduce a non-combinatorial neighborhood matching technique that enables analysts to use INSiGHT to identify potential query matches from clusters of individuals who may be operating in conspiracies. We demonstrate the performance of our approach using a synthetic radicalization data set and a large, real-world data set of the BlogCatalog social network.

Another Form of American Exceptionalism? A Comparative Analysis of Terrorism Sting Operations in the US and Abroad

ABSTRACT Sting operations can potentially thwart terrorist plots, but could also threaten civil liberties and alienate communities, making them a critical subject for counterterrorism research. Yet despite considerable research on U.S. cases, little is known about terrorism stings elsewhere. How common are such cases abroad, and how many feature strong entrapment claims or result in entrapment-related acquittals? In this study, data are gathered about non-U.S. terrorism stings, each of which is evaluated for entrapment indicators. Results show that, contrary to claims of American exceptionalism, terrorism stings could be identified in twenty-one countries, and the average number of entrapment indicators per case is similar between the U.S. and several countries. In addition, several non-U.S. cases present entrapment claims as strong as some of the most-criticized U.S. cases. However, relatively few non-U.S. terrorism stings (fifty-one) could be identified, while there are 156 U.S. cases. In addition, unlike in the U.S., courts have acquitted defendants on entrapment grounds in a high proportion of non-U.S. cases. Political, cultural, and legal differences between the U.S. and other countries, and certain cross-national commonalities, are identified as likely accounting for these results. Potential implications of these findings for terrorism prevention and legal reform are considered.