Journal of Threat Assessment and Management

© 2019 American Psychological Association 2019, Vol. 1, No. 999, 000 2169-4842/19/$12.00 http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/tam0000120

The Case: The Nexus of Psychopathology and Ideology in a Lone Actor Terrorist

Patricia Cotti J. Reid Meloy University of Strasbourg University of California, San Diego

This is a psychoanalytic case study of Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the terrorist who bombed the Marathon in April, 2013, with the help of his younger brother. The focus is upon the nexus between his psychopathology and ideology, in this particular case an arguable paranoid and psychotic disorder and his growing commitment to radical , culminating in his identification as a jihadist warrior and a renunciation of Western ideals. The theoretical approach is both object relations and developmental, with empirical reliance on both primary and secondary source material, including the testimony of those within his family and social network at his brother’s trial. The nexus of psychopathology and ideology in this case is the degree to which conspiratorial belief systems blaming, among others, an international Jewish and a covert CIA program—which he found in both the virtual (Internet) and terrestrial (travel to ) worlds—helped alleviate the anxiety of a decompensating mind.

Keywords: terrorism, threat assessment, TRAP-18, psychopathology, mental disorder

While the historical view among experts has Corner, Gill, & Mason, 2016; Gill, 2015; Gill, been that terrorists do not show any specific Horgan, & Deckert, 2014; Gruenewald, Cher- psychiatric or psychological abnormalities mak, & Freilich, 2013; Hewitt, 2003; Lankford, (Crenshaw, 1981, 1986; Kruglanski & Fishman, 2012; Meloy & Yakeley, 2014; Misiak et al., 2006; Merari, 2010; Pape, 2005; Post, 2005, 2019; Spaaij, 2010). Such work has resurrected 2007; Sageman, 2008; Silke, 2004), recent stud- interest in the psychiatric disorders and psycho- ies of lone actor terrorists, but not group terror- logical factors, and by extension the psychody- ists, have tended to contradict these views namic hypotheses concerning the structure of (Capellan, 2015; Corner & Gill, 2015, 2017; personality and the course of life events, that may advance radicalization and pave the ways for terrorist acts. As Corner and Gill (2015) stress: “[In terrorism] Mental illness mecha- Editor’s Note. Laura Guy served as the action editor for nisms remain unexamined in a systematic way, this article.—LSG and there may be grounds to pursue a more concrete understanding of how mental illness

This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers. and psychological processes influence an indi- Patricia Cotti, Faculty of Psychology, University of Stras- This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individualbourg; user and is not to be disseminated broadly. J. Reid Meloy, Department of Psychiatry, University vidual’s participation in and trajectory through of California, San Diego. terrorist behaviors” (p. 24). Patricia Cotti’s work on this study was supported by the This is a psychoanalytic study of the case of French research program RIGORAL (Religiosites inten- Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the elder of the Tsarnaev sives, Rigorismes, Radicalites) from the French National Research Agency (ANR 2017). J. Reid Meloy derives in- brothers who bombed the on come from the TRAP-18 Manual and trainings. the 15th of April 2013. In the view of those Correspondence concerning this article should be ad- familiar with the case, Tamerlan Tsarnaev was dressed to J. Reid Meloy, Department of Psychiatry, Uni- the one who instigated the Boston attacks (Bates versity of California, San Diego, School of Medicine, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093. E-mail: reidmeloy@ & Nye, 2013). Tamerlan and his brother gmail.com Dzhokhar can certainly be considered as lone

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actors because their actions were not directed by of this radicalization, we will examine the psy- a terrorist organization, and they acted without chic mechanisms and psychopathological pro- orders whenever they followed Internet propa- cesses these imply. We will also analyze Ta- ganda or received indirect support from friends merlan’s relationship to his parents and (Stewart & Burton, 2009). We consider them an relatives, and especially his mother, as part of autonomous terrorist cell inspired by radical the elements which contributed to his radical- Islam, rather than supported or directed by a ization and determination to become a martyr. terrorist organization. In conclusion, we will examine how the for- Lone actor terrorists represent a major risk mation of the nexus of psychopathology and and are very difficult to spot, hence the central ideology could have been prevented, or at least hypothesis of this article: to demonstrate the monitored in the Tsarnaev case, and stress risk need for threat assessment and management situations for such a formation. We suggest based on the identification of psychological fac- general threat management prevention policies, tors, and to discuss the desirability of preven- because prediction of a specific terrorist attack tion policies that can evaluate and mitigate the is exceedingly difficult, if not impossible. formation of a “nexus of psychopathology and ideology”. Virtually all lone actor terrorist cases Method are framed by an ideology and between 26% and 41% appear to be affected by a diagnosable In this article, we are not drawing on written psychiatric disorder (Corner & Gill, 2015, statements by Tamerlan as there are none. 2017; Meloy & Gill, 2016). Nonetheless the criminal investigation of the The phrase “nexus of psychopathology and attack, and criminal trial of his younger brother, ideology” was coined by Meloy and Yakeley revealed Tamerlan had assembled binders, one (2014). It is one of the indicators in the Terrorist containing Surahs (chapters in the ) and Radicalization Assessment Protocol (TRAP-18; Hadiths (traditions containing sayings and ac- Meloy, 2017; Meloy & Gill, 2016), defined tions of the prophet ), another with descriptively as “mental disorder.” articles on Jewish actors, and that he had un- Extant terrorism research has often formu- derlined passages in some of his books. The lated this debate as an either/or proposition, but analysis of these materials is part of our case this is likely a false dichotomy. As the content study. The comments and behavior that we will of delusions is often shaped by cultural and refer to as being Tamerlan’s are for the most social forces (Suhail & Cochrane, 2002), “why part quoted and corroborated by the cross- is it not feasible that patently bizarre percep- checking of sources, including statements made tions of reality, represented in various extreme by witnesses under oath during the trial (trial belief systems, would not either rationalize transcripts). We also benefited from the help and/or intellectualize, and therefore perhaps and accounts of someone who knew Tamerlan buffer against, the anxiety-producing internal and was close to him and his family since their experience of a decompensating mind (Meloy arrival in the . We refer to this & Yakeley, 2014, p. 356)”? person by J.H. and to the additional information By the phrase “nexus of psychopathology and materials given by J. H. with the expression and ideology” we mean the myriad ways in “personal communication” and the date of our which psychiatric symptoms of a mental disor- conversation. We also used as secondary This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers. der influence, and are influenced by a violent sources newspaper articles and two investiga- This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly. ideology. It is a functional and dynamic inquiry, tive journalists: One who knew the Tsarnaevs which eschews the false dichotomy of a mental (Alan Cullison of ) and disorder or an ideology (Corner & Gill, 2015). Christian Caryl who revealed the name of Ta- Tamerlan Tsarnaev offers an exceptional oppor- merlan Tsarnaev’s alleged mentor. The data are tunity to better understand this relationship in interpreted utilizing psychoanalytic theory, spe- one particular case. Our study will first detail cifically an objects relations-developmental ap- Tamerlan’s gradual process of radicalization, proach (Jacobson, 1964; Kernberg, 1976, showing the events that triggered it, the roles 1992). Psychoanalytic theory originated with played by his alleged religious mentor, and the the work of Sigmund Freud during the first half materials he found on the web. Along each step of the 20th century—his complete works are TAMERLAN TSARNAEV CASE 3

available in a 23 volume Standard Edition orig- We do not attempt to describe just a linear inally published by Hogarth Press in London— narrative, and instead draw inferences from the and is fundamentally based upon the premise disparate facts as verified by us, as well as that mental life is both conscious and uncon- discuss known areas of his internal life where scious. In other words, there are many thoughts, reasonable inferences can be made. Because fantasies, emotions, impulses, and psychologi- this is an indirect assessment (Acklin, 2018; cal defenses of which we are not consciously Meloy, 2004) of the state of one individual’s aware at any given moment; and such internal mind over the course of many years, it is both “psychodynamics” influence our behavior. An highly inferential at times—we have noted this object relations-developmental approach to psy- through the use of adjectives and adverbs that choanalytic thinking emphasizes the mental describe our tentative formulations—and un- representations that we have in our mind that doubtedly incomplete. define the self and others, and the relatively stable emotions or affects that color them, heav- ily influenced by our personal history and those The with whom we have had a bond or attachment. For example, a young man may have been aban- On 15th of April 2013, two pressure cooker doned by his father as a child and raised by a bombs filled with nails exploded near the fin- mother upon whom he could not depend for ishing line of the Boston Marathon, causing love and safety. He would then form stable three deaths and hundreds of casualties among mental representations, or object relations, in the spectators who had come to celebrate the his mind of others colored by his fear and anger sporting event and Patriot’s Day.1 Three days that he could not trust anyone, and in extreme later, a manhunt was launched to find two men cases might develop a paranoid condition. The who appeared in security videos (CCTV) car- word “radicalization” in our case study has been rying backpacks to the Marathon. Two Bosto- widely commented upon and Githens-Mazer (2012) warned of the lack of conceptual clarity. nians of Chechen origin, the Tsarnaev brothers, Here we follow Borum (2011, p. 1) who defined went on the run, killing a police officer and radicalization as “the process of developing ex- taking a car driver hostage; the latter managed tremist ideologies and beliefs—as a precursor to to escape and gave the alarm. When confronted terrorism.” by the police who had tracked them down, It is relatively easy to construct a linear and Tamerlan, aged 26, the elder brother, was hit by causal narrative of an individual’s psychology several bullets and run over by the vehicle in over time. It is likely to be clear and explana- which his brother was escaping; he died of his tory, but is often incomplete, and on occasion wounds on his arrival at the hospital. His wrong. The reason is that psychological devel- younger brother, Dzhokhar, aged 19, was dis- opment and the psychodynamics of thought and covered on the evening of under the emotion are nonlinear, often meandering, and tarpaulin cover of a boat at the end of a drive- sometimes incomprehensible when there is se- way not far from the site of the . He vere abnormality. A psychoanalytic case study was charged on 30 counts, including the use is an exemplar of this process because it at- of weapons of mass destruction to cause death, tempts to grapple with both logical and linear This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers. and was convicted and sentenced to death on thought, as well as illogical and nonlinear un- This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly. May 15, 2015. conscious processes that often dramatically af- fect the person’s behavior. Note the illogic of dreams, what Freud referred to as the royal road 1 Patriot’s Day is actually April 19, and celebrates the to the unconscious. first shot fired by the colonialists against the British in the A psychoanalytic case study is often nonlin- American Revolution in 1775. It is most ardently celebrated ear, as this one is, as we attempt to grapple with by right wing ethnic nationalists in the U.S., and was the the conscious decision-making, as well as un- date chosen by Tim McVeigh to bomb the federal building in Oklahoma City in 1995. The symbolism of this minor conscious dynamics when they can be inferred, American holiday, however, has never been explicitly tied and the ways in which we hypothesize they to the Boston Marathon bombing as a jihadist strike against affected the behavior of Tamerlan Tsarnaev. the United States. 4 COTTI AND MELOY

2004–2009: Ambitions and Realities, in Two years later (in 2009), at age 23, Tamer- Search of a New Identity lan was noticeably ambivalent about becoming American. He flaunted himself as fundamen- Tamerlan has been described as having sev- tally foreign and different. He described himself eral arrows in his quiver: A talented but eccen- as very religious, and one senses a certain cha- tric boxer, he had hoped to be selected for the grin when he declared, “I don’t have a single Olympic games, to go to Harvard, or to become American friend. I don’t understand them” a musician or an actor (Cullison, 2013d; United (Hirn, 2010). Over a few years, a string of States v. Tsarnaev, 2015, Day 50, pp. 80–89). disappointments had initiated some kind of dis- In 2004, 6 months after his arrival in the trust in the United States. Yet at that time United States, he declared, “I like the USA [. . .] (2009), Tamerlan was still dreaming of entering America has a lot of jobs. That’s something the National Boxing Championships and being Russia doesn’t have. You have a chance to selected for the U.S. Olympic Boxing Team. make money here if you are willing to work” (Sobey, 2013). Tamerlan obtained his high school diploma in 2006. He rejected the offer of Deprivations and Frustration his uncle Ruslan to help him with college near Hamm and Spaaij (2015) stress the impor- Ruslan’s home. In accordance with his mother’s tance of a process of deprivation in the lone wishes, Tamerlan stayed with his family in actor terrorist’s trajectory to targeted vio- Cambridge, MA and enrolled in a community lence: college program in accounting which hardly enthused him (J. H., personal communication, terrorism is caused by relative deprivation. October 19, 2015). By this time, he had got into In their social exclusion, lone individuals feel deprived of what they perceive as values to which they are the habit of going out, drinking and smoking entitled, and form grievances against the government weed: “most of the time he was drunk, most of responsible for their unemployment, discrimination, the time he was high” (United States v. Tsar- injustices [. . .] Personal and political grievances are naev, 2015), Day 50, pp. 87–89; 2015, Day 51, important because they go to the crucial question of pp. 5–21. motives (p. 7). Concerned about the behavior of her son, The deprivation originated in two experi- Tamerlan’s mother encouraged him to become ences which had a joint impact on Tamerlan’s more engaged in the practice of Islam and en- commitment to radical Islam. First of all, ticed a new convert to Islam, whose name was deprivation resulted from a set of personal Misha, with the role of getting Tamerlan back frustrations caused by the disparity between on track (Cullison, 2013a; Suspect’s mother: Tamerlan’s capabilities and ambitions, a fail- ‘Misha’ devoted Muslim, 2013). Mikhail Al- ure to live up to his ego ideal (a mental lakhverdov, known as Misha, was at the time of picture of the ideal self), and between his the attacks a 39-year-old man, the son of an capabilities and a lack of adequate recogni- Armenian-Christian father and an ethnic Ukrai- tion, a failure to be mirrored (admired and nian mother, who had converted to Islam. Misha imitated) by others. Whatever people around refused to confide publicly about the nature of him might have thought about his various his relations with Tamerlan, and was not pros- talents as a performer, they did not translate This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers. ecuted; he apparently played no role in the into measurable social achievement. For ex- This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individualpreparations user and is not to be disseminated broadly. for the attacks. We will return to ample, Tamerlan was not permitted to join the the nature of his relationship with Tamerlan high school jazz band to which he aspired (Caryl, 2013a, 2013b). Between 2006 and 2007, (United States v. Tsarnaev, 2015, Day 50, pp. at age 21, the first phase of Tamerlan’s radical- 198–205, 2015, Day 51, p. 80). And, above ization began: the gradual passage from a per- all, although he had won two Golden Gloves sonal loss of direction to the mutable religious boxing championships in New England, his and political radicalism of someone using drugs hopes of becoming a member of the U.S. on a daily basis, the first confluence of a phar- Olympic Boxing Team were dashed by the macologically induced unstable mental state requirement for U.S. citizenship in 2010, even and extremist beliefs. though he was a legal permanent resident, TAMERLAN TSARNAEV CASE 5

Soviet born of Chechen and Dagestani heri- the feeling that he was still searching, and I’d tage. get the idea that he was going in the wrong Second, it was said that Misha (the convert) direction” (Cullison, 2013c; Murphy, Tanfani, prescribed for Tamerlan a path of deprivation, & Loiko, 2013). Zeitgeist (Joseph, 2007) is a mandating that he turn away from his former film promoting suspicion of Judaism and Chris- ideals (playing music, being an actor, and box- tianity which are portrayed as fraudulent ac- ing) in favor of a single objective: to be a good complices of the political powers who are at- Muslim, filled with the presence of God and tacking impoverished peoples, third-world rejecting worldly temptations. In 2008, Misha children, and in particular Muslim children, allegedly said to Tamerlan that, “in Islam, hit- whom one sees on the screen and are victims of ting people in the head is not a good thing to war. do,” and similarly about music, “Misha said it’s The second part of the film maintains that the not really good to create music. It’s not really 9/11 attacks and other disasters were directed good to listen to music” (Caryl, 2013b; United and orchestrated by the American government States v. Tsarnaev, 2015, Day 56, p. 36). and its allies; they were also planning to control These religious precepts gave rise to two people by the subcutaneous implantation of an internal processes: a search for his identity electronic chip which carried identification de- which was fueled by assertiveness, in being tails. The cinematography and its messages con- proud of one’s religion and origins; the other a sist first in producing an existential anxiety sectarian move, in which his claim for identity whereby the individual feels alone in the uni- was based on the rejection of the ideals and verse (deprivation), in order to promote a con- values of the people around him (Meloy, Mo- spiracy theory which ties together numerous handie, Knoll, & Hoffmann, 2015). scattered facts and ideas, a clinical phenomenon called apophenia: the misperception of patterns Radicalization: The Jewish Conspiracy and relationships where there are none. The film thus promotes the development of a “paranoid The sectarian trend engendered in Tamerlan cognition” (Kramer, 1998) or “paranoid pro- by deprivation was strengthened by his Internet cess” (Meissner, 1978). At the time when Ta- search for ideas with which he could identify. merlan watched Zeitgeist, he was looking for As his dreams of going to Harvard and of be- The Protocols of the Elders of Zion (Marsden, coming a musician or an actor vanished, Tamer- 1920). Tamerlan had noted a reference to The lan began to seek explanations of some kind. He Protocols in a message from a Caucasian Isla- read widely and explored the Internet, fixing on mist site that he downloaded before 2008, and sites such as the Chechen “Kavkaz Center,” he did acquire a reprint of an English edition which was based on jihadist ideology (United (J.H., personal communication, October 23, States v. Tsarnaev, 2015, Day 51, pp. 139 and 2015). Day 52, pp. 30–34). Then Tamerlan fixated The Protocols describes a plot purportedly upon : devised by Jews, in which the democratic insti- He [Tamerlan] did talk a lot about religion in general tutions (parliamentary representation, the right and particularly about conspiracy theory. He showed to hold opinions or to publicly demonstrate) are me some videos on the Internet about that stuff. He was portrayed as being totally manipulated by the hoping to find some books to read about conspiracy authorities for their own treacherous ends. Ta- This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers. theory...Itdidseem that he had a goal to actually find merlan read and wrote notes on the book (Cul- This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to beout disseminated broadly. what is happening around the world, how it is connected with politics and how it is connected with lison, 2013c; J. H., personal communication, big businesses and how—what place he has and reli- December 16, 2015) and from then on, the gion has in all of that. He was searching for these kinds conspiracy theory supplied him with a reason of things, yes (United States v. Tsarnaev, 2015, Day for his failures in his student and professional 56, pp. 36–37). life; at the same time it could offer him a role as In May, 2008, at age 22, Tamerlan watched a resistance fighter in a worldwide political and the film Zeitgeist: “He was fascinated by it, he religious war. Two psychodynamics are notable was beginning to think that all sorts of things here: first, the defensive use of projection and were connected by a conspiracy of some kind”; denial, attributing to forces outside the self en- “If you had a conversation with him, you’d get tire blame for one’s social failures; and second, 6 COTTI AND MELOY

a burnishing of one’s depleted narcissism the reason why Russian intelligence (FSB) re- through the conscious identification as a soldier ported to the FBI the radicalization of Tamerlan in a global movement, a grandiose fantasy and his mother. He considered traveling to Pal- maintained by the conscious cultivation of the estine but renounced the idea as he did not self as a warrior (Belew, 2018; Gibson, 1994; speak Arabic. A call from the mother to his Meloy et al., 2015). family in Dagestan also mentions Tamerlan’s wish to fight as a jihadist (Chappell, 2013; 2010–2013: From Warrior Fantasies to United States v. Tsarnaev, 2015, Day 52, p. 19). Terrorist Project The FBI began to investigate Tamerlan in March, 2011, and went to his home to question Tamerlan personalized the policy change that him; they closed the case 3 months later in June barred him from fighting in the National Golden that same year (United States v. Tsarnaev, 2015, Gloves championship in 2010. He thought the Day 52, pp. 24–26; Deutsch & Chayes, 2013). rule had been enforced that year to prevent him On September 9, 2011, the decade anniversary from participating, perhaps an idea of refer- of 9/11, Brendan Mess, one of Tamerlan’s clos- ence—when one experiences an unrelated event est friends, was murdered in his home with two or mere coincidence and believes it is person- of his Jewish friends. The crimes were evoca- ally directed at him—an early symptom of psy- tive of Islamic slaughters in that their throats chosis for some. Although he had once been were cut, they were nearly decapitated, and helpful and generous with beginners in the gym, money was left behind. After the Marathon he became arrogant and would disturb the train- bombing, authorities alluded to the probability ing sessions. After 2010 he wore plainer of Tamerlan’s involvement due to forensic ev- clothes, let his beard grow, and performed his idence at the scene and cell phone records that prayers in a corner of the ring. Moreover, he placed the brothers in the area; however, the tried to talk about politics and religion all the Waltham triple murder remains an unsolved time as if it was an “obsession or passion” crime to this day (Rezendes, 2013). This may (United States v. Tsarnaev 2015, Day 50, pp. have been what Meloy characterized as “novel 88–93 and p. 161): the emergence of a patho- logical fixation (McEwan, Mullen, Mackenzie, aggression”—a behavioral tryout—one of eight & Ogloff, 2009; Mullen et al., 2009) or an proximal warning behaviors in the TRAP-18 extreme overvalued belief (Rahman, 2018).2 (Meloy, 2017). Three days before the bombings, he visited the In January 2012, at the age of 26—16 months gym with his brother, behaving in an antagonis- before his attack—Tamerlan left for Dagestan, tic and disrespectful manner. When they entered now a federal subject of Russia. He failed in his the gym, the manager asked them to take off attempts to join a resistance group. Magomed their shoes. Dzhokhar complied immediately Kartashov—the mother’s second cousin who with the request, but Tamerlan did not and met with Tamerlan when he traveled there— began arguing with the manager, who would was subsequently interviewed in , later describe him as “arrogant and selfish” and Dagestan, by FBI agents (the FBI 302, a stan- “extremely opinionated and outspoken about dard interview reporting form, was partly read his Muslim religion.” Following this scene, the during the younger brother’s trial). Kartashov manager asked the owner of the gym to ban declared to the FBI that “when Tamerlan ar- This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers. him, although neither brother ever returned rived in Russia, he was already thinking about This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly. (Feyerick & Levitt, 2013). and looking to do something. Tamerlan Tamerlan’s personal grievance was joined then asked Kartashov if he had any radical with ideas of religio–political revenge on behalf connections to Islam or contacts with people in of a suffering group, what Meloy and Yakeley the forest.” Kartashov who saw Tamerlan at (2014) called “moral outrage.” At the beginning least 15 times during his stay in Dagestan tried of 2011, Tamerlan was looking for jihadist op- portunities and wished to die for Islam. Tamer- 2 Extreme overvalued beliefs are not obsessions because lan sent text messages and had a telephone call they are welcomed by the individual and often consciously with his mother about his will to wage jihad. amplified as absolutely true and important (Cunningham, These messages and phone call were probably 2018; Rahman, Meloy, & Bauer, in press). TAMERLAN TSARNAEV CASE 7

to stop Tamerlan, and they argued about reli- aspect. These are internalized object relations gion and jihad. Kartashov said Tamerlan was which structure fantasies of being both adored not aware of the reality in Dagestan. Kartashov (by Allah) and being persecuted (by the unbe- told the FBI Tamerlan told him he had radical- lievers). Tamerlan had learned whom to love ized online with Internet sites like Kavkaz Cen- and whom to hate. There is also the suggestion ter and lectures from Anwar al-Awlaki (United of regression: the defense of splitting is utilized, States v. Tsarnaev, 2015, Day 52, pp. 19–34). wherein internalized objects are either good or When Tamerlan returned to the United States bad, and there is no tolerance, or even perhaps at the end of July, he continued to nurture his capacity, to perceive and represent the ambigu- religious radicalism, feeding on videos and ser- ities of the world, to stay in the gray. Such mons he found on the Internet. He was aggres- polarized thinking is often regressive, yet cor- sive toward a Jewish man he met at Starbucks in relates with a Manicheaen religio-political view August (United States v. Tsarnaev, 2015, Day of good and evil, the latter existing only outside 51, p. 132); there was an outburst at a mosque in the self (Meloy, 2018). Such thinking, common December 2012, when Tamerlan opposed what to all fundamentalist beliefs, is simple and easy, the was saying about how Thanksgiving and can be quite comforting. could be celebrated by (United States v. Tsarnaev, 2015, Day 52, pp. 17–51). Tamer- Psychotic Troubles lan had considered changing his Russianized surname (Tsarnaev) to Tsarni, a more Chechen Occult Forces and Powers: Djinns and version (United States Intelligence Community, Demons 2014, p. 8). But on his return from Dagestan, he created a link on YouTube under the title of If Zubeidat, his mother, wanted her son Tamer- “Muazseyfullah”—that is, “the glorified—the lan to be more religious and to follow Misha’s sword of God”—finally revealing his choice of advice, it was not only because he was spending an Islamic identity and leaving little doubt his time drinking and smoking, but also because about his intention to make himself a soldier for Tamerlan had told her “he felt like there were two Allah. It was also with the name of “Muaz” (the people living in him” (Filipov, Jacob, & Wen, Glorified) that he then signed his application for 2013; Reitman, 2013). Zubeidat did not take her naturalization (Harding & Dodd, 2013; Serrano, son Tamerlan to see a doctor but thought religion 2014; Vizer & Bender, 2014). On Tamerlan’s could solve his problems. Thus, Misha who alleg- computer, the FBI were to find post-it notes in edly “claimed to be an exorcist who fights with Russian which were stuck on his screen and demons” (Bates & Nye, 2013), treated Tamerlan exhorted the reader to violence. “If Allah had so to a series of part-religious, part-esoteric lectures: willed, he would have taken revenge himself, “they would discuss things like hearing demons but he wanted to test some of you by other talk and talking to demons, and to djinns3 ... means; Allah will punish them through your Misha was telling him in what cases it was pos- hands” (United States v. Tsarnaev, 2015, Day sible to hear djinns and in what cases it was not 51, pp. 56–7). possible.” These talks were about religion “inter- The “personal grievance”—a failure in work mix[ed] with politics and conspiracy theories and or love, accompanied by humiliation, anger, and Satanism” (United States v. Tsarnaev, 2015, Day blame—which triggered Tamerlan’s warlike 56, p. 34). This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers. and revengeful intentions is nonetheless en- Misha played a significant role in Tamerlan’s This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly. crypted in the target he chose to bomb: The initial turn toward religion. With Misha’s teach- marathon is the mythical, singular event which ings, Tamerlan was about to create the idea of a closes the Olympic Games, and it was indeed God who encapsulated his feelings of strange- this Olympic glory from which Tamerlan be- ness and persecution. From then on, he thought lieved he had been deliberately banned in 2010. of himself as being at the center of a conflict Moreover, the terrorist project guaranteed him access to another path, the ultimate path to 3 Also known as jinns in Arabian and Muslim mythology, glory—martyrdom. In Tamerlan’s psychologi- these are intelligent spirits of lower rank than the angels, cal turn toward terrorism, the megalomaniac able to appear in human and animal forms and to possess aspect was just as powerful as the paranoid humans. 8 COTTI AND MELOY

between divine and devilish forces (Caryl, Jewish conspiracy theory would be supple- 2013a, 2013b). mented by the delusion of a CIA/MK conspir- acy. The content of Tamerlan’s internalized per- Voices and “Majestic Mind Control” secutory objects (both conscious and unconscious representations) were coalescing Whatever Misha’s religious education and around the Jews as the source of his occupa- treatment was intended to achieve, it could not tional failures and the control of his mind by the stop the ongoing psychopathological process in CIA MK Ultra program. It appears that he ex- Tamerlan’s mind which led him more and more perienced these as actual auditory hallucina- to feelings of persecution and the hearing of tions (perceived sensations when there are no voices, what is referred to as psychotic decom- external stimuli) and delusions (fixed and false pensation by clinicians. In 2008–2009, Tamer- beliefs), rendering him psychotic. Such symp- lan said to his girlfriend that “TV is a project of toms were both personal and conspiratorially Satan” and he claimed “Satan sent us messages organized, within his mind but not of his mind. through commercial music” (Parry, 2013). In Projective mechanisms appear to have changed 2012, after he had returned from Dagestan, he once loved, admired and idealized goals (being spoke about someone who was inside him: an actor, a champion boxer) into a persecuted “Someone is in my brain, telling me stuff to do” and hateful internal experience (Freud, 1911; (Filipov et al., 2013). Tamerlan resorted to the Klein, 1946). idea of a conspiracy to explain his delusions and auditory hallucinations; he believed in “majes- From Mental Automatism to Ideological tic mind control,” which is a so-called way of breaking down a person and creating an alter- Paranoia native personality with which the person must If we try to reconstruct a chronology of Ta- coexist. One can give a signal, a phrase or a merlan’s psychotic decompensation and radi- gesture, and bring out the alternate personality calization—the nexus of psychopathology and and make them do things. Tamerlan thought ideology—three additional elements are appar- someone might have done that to him (Filipov et al., 2013). ent. Majestic Mind Control, or “Monark Mind (a) Tamerlan was attracted (at least from Kontrol,” was an actual CIA project that origi- 2007 onward) by occult phenomena, and was nated following the Korean War to test methods interested in “invisible forces,” hypnosis, and of mental manipulation (various forms of tor- influence: “Mr. Tsarnaev underlined chunks of ture, electric shocks, and drugs). The program a speed-seduction course by Ross Jeffries, was formally closed down in 1988, but since ‘How to Create an Instantaneous Sexual Attrac- then, ideas about plots of various kinds to res- tion in Any Woman You Meet,’ including urrect the project have abounded, especially monologues to create an ‘incredible’ connec- with Hollywood actors (Celebrities Under Mind tion,” and an essay on hypnotism (Cullison, Control, 2013; Hollywood Subliminals, 2012; 2013c). This interest corresponded at that time Thomas, 1989). Tamerlan had once dreamed of to his feelings of strangeness, to a magical con- becoming a well-known actor. He had tried an nection to the world, and to a wish to be all acting class but dropped it on Misha’s advice. powerful. This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers. Before 2009, Tamerlan had assembled a ring (b) The comment Tamerlan confided in his This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly. binder with “collected biographies of famous mother about “two people in him” first sug- Jewish actors, and pages filled with racial the- gested an inner and anxiety-based experience of ories purporting to explain why Jews were so psychotic troubles. Thereafter Tamerlan would successful” along with references to The Proto- articulate beliefs which indicated that he cols (Cullison, 2013d; J. H., personal commu- thought of himself as a victim of some external nication, October 23, 2015). At this time, Ta- influence (feelings of persecution, a delusional merlan might have believed that his path to belief in thought control): Tamerlan believed in fame was thwarted by, and under the control of demons and djinns, and was tempted by the a Jewish conspiracy. After 2010 and his visit by exorcism that Misha was able to offer him. the FBI in 2011, Tamerlan’s conviction of a Undoubtedly it was during this period, toward TAMERLAN TSARNAEV CASE 9

2008, that Tamerlan felt more clearly the exis- himself the nickname “the professor,” function- tence of two people within himself. ing as a role model and guide for his three (c) Tamerlan had auditory hallucinations younger siblings: two sisters and a brother 8 (hearing voices which are not real) at least from years his junior. This role was supported by his 2009 onward, which would have taken a parents’ expectations, in accordance with strongly persecutory and command form, that of Chechen custom. Tamerlan’s readings show he a giver of orders. wanted to seduce others and have control over A clinical picture of this kind was also them, especially women. He overestimated his described by the French psychiatrist de abilities and projected himself into a grandiose Clérambault in the early 20th century as a future without considering the difficulties he “mental automatism:” sensations of strange- could face in fulfilling his dreams: ness and hallucinatory phenomena (thought echoing, hallucinatory commentaries about It was 2004,...healready had an outsize American dream. He planned to box for the U.S. Olympic Team acts, auditory hallucinations; De Clérambault, one day, and he wanted to earn a degree, perhaps at 1920/1992). Mental automatism may engen- Harvard or MIT, and to hold a full-time job at the same der ideas of persecution, and persecution ma- time so he could buy a house and a car (Cullison, nia (paranoia), as a “superstructure” through 2013d). which the sufferer subsequently interprets his One senses a megalomaniac and controlling “automatism,” as it becomes more and more side in Tamerlan’s personality, who also fed on severe and compelling. We can consider Ta- the helplessness of others, or on the physical merlan’s ideological paranoia as a psychody- superiority he could bring into play. He had a namic which gradually (a) provided him with childish fantasy of omnipotence which had a cause for his failures in life; (b) gave him an never receded through repression, as usually explanation for his hallucinations and psy- happens in the emotional and relational devel- chotic troubles; and (c) gave him an alibi to opment of a child. seek revenge and join a personal grievance As a young man, Tamerlan also fed off the with a political and religious cause. The nexus between psychopathology and admiration of others and could be amused by ideology in Tamerlan Tsarnaev was the de- their distress; he once provoked panic in his gree to which a developing paranoid psycho- girlfriend by making her believe he had HIV sis was consciously explained by his beliefs (United States v. Tsarnaev, 2015, Day 55, pp. in occult forces, ongoing CIA conspiracies, 12–13). Certain psychopathic aspects of his per- Jewish conspiracies, and . The exter- sonality, including sadism, seem to underlie his nal reference points of others and their belief megalomaniac predilections. systems—now readily available on the Inter- Tamerlan was also said to be arrogant, a net—helped modulate the anxiety of a de- show-off. He dreamed of becoming an idol, but compensating mind, and appear to have been his eccentricities could make the other boxers clearly welcomed as plausible reasons for his smile: “some fighters mocked him for his fancy victimization. The evidence for his psychosis clothes and for being so high on himself”; “no- is found in the testimony of collaterals who body liked him...they thought he was too affirmed his hearing of voices (auditory hal- cocky and self-centered” (Murphy, Tanfani, & lucinations) and his delusions (fixed and false Loiko, 2013), “disdainful of all these other This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers. beliefs), although such symptoms can only fighters” (Cullison, 2013a). Tamerlan’s ten- This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly. remain strong hypotheses without historical dency to overestimate himself diminished his evidence of a clinical examination and diag- ability to endure, learn, and recover from events nosis by a mental health professional. which had wounded his narcissism. The one who declared he did not have “a single Ameri- Personality and Relationships can friend” might have sometimes felt some- thing of a mismatch between himself and oth- An Egocentric and Controlling Personality ers, between his dreams and his achievements, but what would he do with all this distress? Tamerlan was described as a charismatic Tamerlan’s radicalization—the framing of his young man. As an adolescent, he had chosen for troubles with extreme and paranoid beliefs— 10 COTTI AND MELOY

would also be a way to heal his narcissistic version of Islam at odds with that traditionally wounds, his “loneliness and longing,” without practiced in the Caucasus (J. H., personal com- having to feel responsible for his failures (Cur- munication, October 19, 2015). tis, Willock, & Bom, 2012). Tamerlan’s Olympic dream was his family’s last chance in their hopes of rivaling the success Family Dynamics and Divisions of Anzor’s brother, Ruslan; Tamerlan, who was unconsciously invested with this mission, Personality is a product of both nature and dreamed of himself as the hero and savior who nurture. Tamerlan’s narcissism was constructed had to efface 20 years of family misadventures. and reinforced by his relationship with his So Tamerlan was torn between, on the one mother for whom he was a veritable demi-god, hand, his mother’s wish for dazzling success, “handsome like Hercules,” his body was a and on the other, the example of his father’s “masterpiece” (“Tsarnaevs’ News Conference, hard work and the effortful success of his uncles 2013). The passionate charge, almost erotic, of (Travis, 2013). this mother–son relationship was again seen in Tamerlan’s attitude in maintaining the role of a The Relationship to His Brother knight serving his mother, ever ready to defend her or to act as if she needed to be defended Dzhokar had great admiration for his brother (United States v. Tsarnaev, 2015, Day 56, p. and would be loath to criticize him. Tamerlan’s 32). Zubeidat was an omnipresent maternal ob- friend and brother-in-law Elmirza Khozhugove ject, showing great affection for her children described Tamerlan’s love for his brother, his and in particular for Tamerlan, always on the interest in his academic achievements and life, phone to them (United States v. Tsarnaev, 2015, yet his firm place in the family: “There is a Day 55, p. 46; Day 56, p. 31). However, she was saying we have in which goes it, like also described “as wanting the attention and is, in a family with seven sons, it is better to be removing it from everyone somehow:” she a dog than the youngest son, meaning that the could behave “as if she was the queen” (United youngest of the boys is obliged to do the things States v. Tsarnaev, 2015, Day 50, pp. 175–6). that the other boys tell him. So he had to obey The narcissistic mother is both a source of un- every order that the elder brother say, any of realistic inflation and tormenting dependency them” (United States v. Tsarnaev, 2015, Day for the son, often manifest in his difficulties 56, p. 38). When Dzhokar would resist, Tamer- emotionally separating from her (Greenson, lan would attempt to indoctrinate him (Wines & 1968; Meloy, 1992). Lovett, 2013). When Dzhokar abused mari- Anzor, Tamerlan’s father, a former USSR juana, Tamerlan would attempt to convince him boxing champion, was much more in the back- to read more religious texts, as he had done ground than his wife; he was often silent, pro- previously in addressing his own alcoholic is- viding for his family through his work as a sues. mechanic. Anzor appears to have suffered from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result The Mother–Son Relationship: A Pieta` of alleged captivity and torture in Central Asia. Fantasy? He may have had cognitive troubles as a result of boxing injuries (United States v. Tsarnaev, At press conferences after the death of her This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers. 2015, Day 56, pp. 100–106). For a long time, son, Tamerlan’s mother Zubeidat would per- This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly. Anzor’s family had regarded Zubeidat as an form for the photographers; they would con- inappropriate mate. Zubeidat was from Dages- tinuously record her theatrical attitudes, in tan, a neighboring Muslim country, and the which she alternated between a sorrowful question of Chechen identity, magnified by An- mother, and expressions full of anger and zor’s family from which she felt excluded, was hatred when she threatened the United States to heavily influence her determination to claim with the flames of hell. She was described as a Muslim identity for herself and her children. suffering from verbosity and hysterical jubi- In fact, it was a question of being registered as lation (United States v. Tsarnaev, 2015, Day part of a glorious genealogical line that would 51, pp. 165). The mother–son couple was lead Zubeidat and her son Tamerlan toward a indissoluble and the ideas of one were quickly TAMERLAN TSARNAEV CASE 11

adopted by the other, especially the conspir- manage anxiety in the face of imminent death acy theories surrounding the 9/11 attacks (Meloy, 2018). The pieta` fantasy is a masoch- (Warren & Boyle, 2013). Zubeidat herself had istic regression; in other words, psychological found in religion a new identity which caused movement to a younger age wherein the boy her to put aside her sexy mode of dress in suffers for his mother. Tamerlan may not favor of the (Kizler, 2013). She played have been able to escape the impingement of a vital role in the radicalization of Tamerlan his mother’s desire for a heroic son. A regres- and supported his fantasies of combat and sive fantasy may have led him to a total martyrdom; in 2011, as we have noted 2 years submission to it, through his death as a jihadi, before the attack, they discussed jihad to- pierced by bullets from the unbelievers. gether and she sent text messages to her fam- ily in Dagestan suggesting that Tamerlan was A Chronological Summary willing to die for Islam (Deutsch & Chayes, 2013; United States v. Tsarnaev, 2015, Day The case of Tamerlan Tsarnaev helps us clar- 52, pp. 22–23). Zubeidat invested emotionally ify a three phase dynamic in what Meloy and in Tamerlan as her ideal object, her warrior Yakeley (2014) call the “nexus of psychopa- self object—an extension of whom she was; thology and ideology.” The path followed by she was critical of and dissatisfied by her Tamerlan allows us to understand better, on the husband’s lack of success, and appears to one hand, the role of radicalization in relation to have projected onto her son her own fantasies the arguably psychotic disorder of Tamerlan; of glory. Zubeidat clearly voiced her admira- and, on the other hand, the evolution between tion for the “warrior figure” (Cullison, 2013d) the phase of radicalization and that of involve- and for the practicing Muslim, whatever roles ment in the terrorist project. Tamerlan chose to embody. On his side, it seems Tamerlan was partially identifying The Ideologically Paranoid Turning Point with his mother, and showed, like her, an interest in his appearance and an eccentric At the end of high school, Tamerlan was a sense of dress. In Dagestan, he chose to wear sporty young man who drank and smoked a a long tunic and to use kohl make-up around lot; he also told his mother that he was suf- his eyes, in keeping with jihadist tradition fering from hallucinations and feelings of from elsewhere, but in total disregard for strangeness (mental automatism). For these local customs (Cullison, 2013b; Filipov et al., reasons, Zubeidat pushed her son toward re- 2013). Surrounded by police several days af- ligion. However, Tamerlan’s pathological ter the attack, Tamerlan phoned his mother: structure of thinking led to an increasingly “The police have started shooting at us... esoteric interpretation of religion and the Mama I love you” (Bates & Nye, 2013), as if world. He found material on jihadi websites about to die in her arms, creating an image of which introduced him to the idea of a world- the pietá. We note here the observation Genet wide political conspiracy against Muslims. (1986) once keenly made to describe a young Not only did these materials of indoctrination Fedayeen and his mother (Zulaika, 2009), as echo Tamerlan’s inner growing feelings of it seems something similar has also been ob- persecution, but in addition, they provided served about Chechen mothers with their boys him with explanations and reasons for his This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers. (Kobrin, 2014). This deadly fantasy of a failures, underachievements, and difficulties This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly. wounded child who returns to his mother’s in life. Meloy and Yakeley (2014) recognize breast perhaps explains Tamerlan’s fascina- the paranoid functioning as the most broadly tion with the numerous photos of mutilated shared among lone actor terrorists, and they children found on his computer, and also with detail a process very similar to that which we a photo in which he is seen brandishing a found with Tamerlan: “Here again, ideologi- weapon when there is a child in the shade, as cal commitment may have buffered the well as another in which a boy is carrying a chronic presence of mental illness [. . .] Here gun. The closeness to the idealized mother is again the nexus between ideology and para- also evident among other jihadists as they use noia is suggested as a dominant force outside the soothing fantasy of the maternal object to the self and is perceived as attempting to 12 COTTI AND MELOY

control his [the terrorist’s] thoughts; this is death take his place among the shaheed (mar- linked to an esoteric belief system” (p. 360). tyrs) who preceded him to Heaven. Knoll and Meloy (2014) have also stressed the “violent paranoid spectrum” among mass Narcissistic Rage: From Personal murderers. Grievance to Moral Outrage

The Period of Warrior Fantasies Tamerlan could not reach the Olympic glory he was dreaming of, and we think consequently When Tamerlan lost his Olympic dream, his he bombed the Boston Marathon as an expres- resentment likely reached its most intense level sion of his envy and rage against those who and turned into chronic narcissistic rage. His succeeded where he could not: “The desire and radical and anti-Semitic ideology helped him decision to commit a terrorist act are often mo- project this rage onto the political stage, and tivated by a combination of personal grievance Tamerlan formed a desire to become a jihadist and moral outrage concerning particular histor- and die as a martyr. At the same time, Tamer- ical, religious or political events. However, the lan’s paranoid troubles increased dramatically: moral outrage is often vicariously experienced, Voices were giving him orders and he may have and not embedded in the personal history of the been involved in the Waltham triple murder of lone wolf (Sageman, 2008; Simon, 2013; his best friend and two Jewish boys (September Spaaij, 2012). These are processes of identifi- 11, 2011). Six months later, Tamerlan decided cation and projection” (Meloy & Yakeley, to travel to Dagestan (January–July 2012), but 2014, p. 352). could not find a likeminded group with whom to In considering this process, Meloy and Yake- interact, which hardened his ideology.4 ley (2014) stress that lone actor violence “is a superego-driven homicidal aggression” (p. The Terrorist and Martyrdom Project 362), in contrast to the valueless violence of the psychopath. We would add that the ideological There is also a striking paradox when the lone homicidal violence in Tsarnaev and other lone actor terrorist becomes psychotic: Delusions re- actor terrorists like Breivik does not seem to be move any ambivalence concerning the develop- driven by an “oedipal” superego dynamic which ing motivation to carry out an attack, and bring would imply the ability to experience responsi- a resolve and a commitment that may fuel both bility for one’s failure and a sense of guilt, desire and accelerate a pathway to violence. especially in actions such as killings. On the This phase includes both the conceptualization contrary, Tamerlan’s predominant psychic and the implementation of the terrorist project. functioning seems based on a “pre-oedipal” par- Tamerlan changed his name and decided he anoid dynamic (Klein, 1946). When his ideal would kill in the name of God; he broadcast an cannot be reached, Tamerlan does not feel de- “end of time” prophecy and exhortations to pressed and responsible for what happened, but martyrdom, fully aware he would probably lose he is driven by persecutory feelings; he is full of his life in his vengeful and redemptive action. a “narcissistic rage,” he sees himself as a victim, Meloy and Yakeley (2014) add that ideological and thinks he has an indisputable right to take “moral outrage” can “serve as a defense...in revenge (Kohut, 1972; Strozier, Terman, & some cases against psychotic decompensation” Jones, 2010). This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers. (p. 362). Tamerlan’s thinking was filled with the Terrorists such as Ted Kaczynski, Anders This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly. radical religious and political ideas he had Breivik, and Mohamed Merah have displayed found on the web. This content helped him the same psychological dynamics. Breivik was stabilize his psychotic disorder as the jihadi seeking revenge against the cultural Marxism ideology gave him an explanation for his grow- and feminism he accused of having emasculated ing paranoid feelings. Moreover, this process the Norwegian people; consequently, he at- likely fulfilled Tamerlan’s narcissism and meg- tacked a summer youth camp of the Norwegian alomania: once he had lost hope in his everyday life and did not have any more grandiose proj- 4 Failure to affiliate with an extremist or other group is one ects such as his Olympic dream, he would find of the distal characteristics of the TRAP-18 (Meloy, 2017), and a role in this political terrorist realm, and in appears to intensify the attachment to a radicalized ideology. TAMERLAN TSARNAEV CASE 13

Labor Party. This ideologically framed motive homogenizing fails to account for the fact that was actually a projection of his personal griev- individual psychology always mediates cultural ances: when his parents separated, - expectations and interpersonal violence. ship of Breivik was given to his mother who, Gibson (1994, p. 38) wrote, “The lone wolf is according to him, had feminized him. Kaczyn- reborn without a mother; separation from her ski suffered from the fact he left his home and and all young women is idealized (she is seen as family to join a scientific program at university, a source of power if kept at a distance), and and he then developed an ideology of his own, becomes a mark of maturity.” We would elab- denouncing scientific progress and “technolog- orate, in line with Ghent’s (1990) analysis of ical slavery” (Kaczynski, 2016). Merah, who masochism, that the lone terrorist wishes he had not been accepted into the French army, could be reborn without a mother, and wishes decided to kill soldiers (Merah & Sifaoui, he could widen the differences between himself 2012). Thus, the lone actor terrorist’s crimes and women—but he fails to do so. Tsarnaev, bear traces of his personal grievances and rage, like Atta or Breivik, was very close to his moth- and are driven by the need for personal revenge er. Anders Breivik decided he would perpetrate over a persecutory introject which has been a terrorist attack after he returned to his moth- actualized in the real world. er’s home. Thomas Mair hesitated between kill- ing his mother or the MP Joe Cox. To perpetrate Fear of a Feminine Infringement the Boston bombings, Tamerlan used an article published in the Al Qaeda magazine Inspire Meloy and Yakeley (2014) stress that there is entitled: “Make a Bomb in the Kitchen of your a “failure of intimate sexual pair bonding” in Mom” (Spencer, 2013). Tamerlan’s death was most of the lone actor terrorists they studied. both a destructive and also a masochistic apo- This hypothesis has been validated in subse- theosis, a last desperate effort to break away quent studies (Meloy & Gill, 2016; Meloy et al., from a feeling of feminine infringement. Nar- 2019). Anders Breivik, , Ted cissistic mothers make it extremely difficult for Kaczynski, Timothy McVeigh, and more re- their sons to disidentify with them due to their cently, , Mohamed Lahouaiej- hunger for their son’s attention and admiration; Bouhlel, and Anton Pettersson (Erlandsson & simply their inability to “let go.” Such symbi- Meloy, 2018) seem to have oscillated between otic anxiety does not dissipate, and often leaves heterosexual, homosexual, and sadomasochistic the son, now an adult, with both a dependency experiences (Nice: Les auditions des amants et upon his mother and a resentment of other adult maîtresses, 2016). Although Tsarnaev did women who attempt intimacy with him. Young marry in 2013 before his death and had a child, male adolescents in search of a masculine iden- his arrogant style—with silk scarf, snakeskin tity can have great difficulties in coping with boots, tight leather jeans, and open shirts their repressed feminine tendencies or their (Sontag, Herszenhorn, & Kovaleski, 2013)— feminine environment, and they wish they could suggests a narcissistic identification with the be radically different from women. They also display of the feminine. He also slapped a pre- fear being considered as feminine and not vious girlfriend for wearing “western” clothes, strong enough among other boys; this fear if and finally married another girl who converted intense enough can initiate paranoid feelings to Islam and decided to wear the hijab. Men and fuel a paranoid way of thinking (Freud, This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers. who have not completed the process of disiden- 1911; Greenson, 1968). They often remain yet This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly. tifying with mother and become secure in their in the mother. own masculine identity will continue to fear engulfment by any woman with whom they Contributions to the Threat Assessment for become intimate. Such fear is defended against Lone Actor Terrorism with anger and the perception that she is trying to control him, and may result in domestic vi- Use of Lone Terrorists as a Strategy olence and demands for submission of her will (Dutton, 2006; Greenson, 1968; Mahler, 1963). Lone actor terrorism has become a popular Although it is tempting to attribute such behav- strategy in some terrorist organizations. Several ior to only religious or cultural differences, such Islamist terrorists—Mateen (Orlando, FL), La- 14 COTTI AND MELOY

houaiej-Bouhlel (Nice, France), Coulibaly It is not apparent that a visit to the mosque (Paris, France), the Kouachi brothers (Paris, would have revealed Tamerlan’s resentment France), Abbala (Magnanville, France)—have and turn toward radical Islam during the 2011 seen their acts claimed after the event by terror- investigation, but the interview of his former ist organizations, usually Al Qaeda or ISIS. The girlfriend whom he had assaulted could have media of these terrorist organizations praise the revealed Tamerlan’s paranoid and psychotic solitary mode of action and provide detailed troubles (as early as 2008 Tamerlan thought TV instructions for building explosives with com- was a project of Satan, and was sending him mercially available, over-the-counter materials messages about this). A visit to the gym where in order not to attract the attention of the secu- Tamerlan was training at that time could also rity services (Aboulenein & Fahmy, 2013). have confirmed changes in his behavior as early The Al Qaeda magazine Inspire, which the as 2010. Tsarnaev brothers used to help them build their Our remarks should be justifiably criticized bombs, praised Tamerlan and his mode of lone as hindsight bias. No one can really know what action after the attacks in Boston. On this occa- would have been revealed by Tamerlan’s rela- sion, the editors dug up photos of Tamerlan tives of the changes which had happened in his from the press and reproduced a text message he behavior. Moreover, the FBI assessment was sent to his mother: “My dear mom, I will lay closed in June 2011, six months before Tamer- down my life for Islam, I’m gonna die for Islam, lan’s departure for Dagestan, one year before he Inshaa Allah ” (The Battle of Marathon, 2014, decided on his terrorist action, and several years pp. 50–52; Tamerlan’s Text Message to His after he had formed this nexus between his Mom, 2013). Here we see how jihadist propa- psychopathology and ideology. ganda is based on mortifying psychological mo- At the time of the FBI’s assessment of Tsar- tives to stimulate the martyr-terrorist’s determi- naev, a closer look at the relationship between nation. his decompensating mental state and his radi- ISIS also uses the Internet to groom and calization may have been helpful. There is one exploit vulnerable young persons—those that central question in such cases: What is the re- are isolated and socially inept; those that sym- lationship, if any, between this subject’s psychi- pathize with the plight of others in the Middle atric status or psychological state of mind, and East; and persons suffering from mental health his radicalization? Case studies of the many issues—all in an effort to encourage and incite ways in which various diagnoses could influ- lone wolf attacks in Western countries (Buggy, ence, and be influenced by ideology, could use- 2016, p. 1). fully detail a more granular look at such phe- nomena. Counterterrorism Investigations and Psychological Threat Assessment Religion as Psychiatric Treatment

In an unclassified summary of the report is- As we have seen with Tamerlan, the role sued by the Inspectors General of the Intelli- played by the environment and especially the gence Services and Department of Justice (Un- family can be a key factor in the building of this classified Summary, 2014) we read about the nexus. Faced with his addictions, his idleness conduct of the FBI in the assessment of Tamer- and his hallucinations, Tamerlan’s mother did This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers. lan Tsarnaev in March, 2011: not seek any help from the care services. This This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly. The CT [counter terrorism] agent did not take certain attitude is not exceptional in communities of steps during the assessment, including contacting local Muslim immigrants where religion and tradi- law enforcement, visiting the mosque that Tamerlan tional practices, sometimes embellished with attended, and conducting interviews with Tsarnaev’s wife, a former girlfriend he had been arrested for esoteric beliefs, can be used as a means of assaulting in 2009, or friends or associates...TheCT “regulating” more or less severe psychological agent did not wait to elicit certain information during disorders. In the first author’s practice of psy- interviews with Tsarnaev and his parents, including chotherapy with immigrant populations we information about Tsarnaev’s plans to travel to Russia, changes in lifestyle, or knowledge or sympathy for have encountered this kind of case. For exam- militant separatists in Chechnya and Dagestan (Unclas- ple, M., a young 23-year-old marijuana user had sified Summary, 2014, p. 9). been plagued by violence since adolescence TAMERLAN TSARNAEV CASE 15

and, one day after taking a drug, fell into a Clinical Thoughts psychotic episode: “He was afraid of every- thing, was anxious, did not want to go out Even if the extreme ideology claimed by the anymore, said he was seeing spirits, djinn, as lone terrorist is “often quite superficial: a cher- they say at home,” says one of his relatives. The ry-picked cluster of prescriptive or proscriptive young man’s mother found someone at the statements that provide a broad rationalization mosque to practice “exorcism” which took for the homicidal aggression” (Meloy & Yake- place at home for a fee. After a number of ley, 2014, p. 352), sociologists, political scien- rituals to “bring out evil spirits,” the exorcist tists, criminologists, and even psychologists and announced: “We have understood that he was psychiatrists can be dazzled by a logical and bewitched by four Jewish women.” Before the clear ideological discourse; especially when the meeting with the healer, the young man was terrorist is not known to have displayed any looking for content to explain his feelings of psychiatric troubles before his terrorist action, agonizing persecution but was still unclear. The when this action has been prepared in great exorcism session provided this content; it des- detail, has been carried out by ingenious and ignated a persecutor who could take hold of the resourceful people, and was “successful.” paranoid structure of thinking of the young From a threat assessment perspective, mental man. health clinicians play a significant role in the Mosques, or other places of worship, the fam- management of this nexus. Meloy and Genzman ily, or a friendly environment, can offer the (2016) recommend the following clinical steps: services of healers, more or less well-inten- (a) Determine if there is a relationship between tioned, even radicalized themselves, and for the diagnosed psychiatric disorder and ideol- whom fragile people are easy prey. Thus, Ha- ogy, with a particular focus at the level of kim Benchellali, sentenced in 2006 to 10 years symptom: Are there ways in which the symp- in prison for having prepared attacks in France, toms of this mental disorder are motivating, and always driven by radical, conspiratorial, facilitating, or disinhibiting movement of the and esoteric ideas, tried to organize a seminar subject down a pathway toward violence on the “roqya” after his release from jail. The (Douglas, Guy, & Hart, 2009)? (b) Therapeuti- seminar planned to introduce the world of the cally manage the case with whatever treatment djinn and the demon’s hold, to initiate witch- methods (psychotherapy, medications, etc.) are craft, and to offer remedies and “care by pro- indicated and available; (c) Utilize collateral phetic products.” The conference was banned contacts with the subject’s permission to gather after being publicized (Val-d’Oise, 2014). information on his behavior with family mem- Several recent reports (Bakker & Roy van bers, friends, and the larger community— Zuijdewijn, 2016; Buggy, 2016) concerning recognizing that he may be immersed in a group lone actor terrorists rightly point out: “Lower- which is promoting his or her radicalization; (d) ing barriers to mental health services is also Monitor the patient’s online behavior with the important. Part of this effort should be focused subject’s knowledge and permission; (e) Con- on removing taboos on speaking about mental sult with a mental health professional from the health problems in certain communities” (Bak- same ethnic, religious, or cultural background ker & Roy van Zuijdewijn, 2016, p. 4). From so normative behaviors will not be grossly mis- the perspective of prevention, it seems neces- interpreted by the clinician. The mental health This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers. sary to create a better understanding of the risks clinician must also judge when the subject poses This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly. related to the formation of this nexus between a risk of violence toward an identifiable target, psychiatric disorder and ideology and develop and engage law enforcement, knowing full well better access to psychiatric care, in particular that such a step will likely preclude any further through dialogue with the religious communi- therapeutic work with the subject, and in the ties which offer traditional care with esoteric U.S. will immediately involve the FBI. dimensions: “There are many cases of lone ac- Threat assessment instruments such as the tor terrorists of which their surroundings, in TRAP-18 (Meloy, 2017) and therapeutic modes hindsight, had noticed certain behavior that of action must always take into account guar- should have been taken seriously” (Bakker & anteed legal freedoms—freedom of thought, Roy van Zuijdewijn, 2016, p. 3). freedom of belief—but must also be based on a 16 COTTI AND MELOY

full and real reflection of normality and psycho- Roy van Zuijdewijn (2016) recommend the de- pathology. This requires a comprehensive un- velopment of anonymized biographies to be derstanding of the psychological deep structure used in training sessions with actors. Similarly, of the lone actor terrorist (Meloy, 2018; Roy in their article on the evaluation of deradical- van Zuijdewijn & Bakker, 2016, pp. 8–9). ization programs, Horgan and Braddock (2010) Where caregivers can see an attempt by police conclude with a “reflection on case studies:” services to encroach on the physician-patient Given the lack of detailed research on the underlying relationship and medical secrecy as evidenced, social and behavioral processes involved, it might ap- for example, by the recent debate in France pear premature to comment on the success of programs between the Minister of the Interior and psychi- that in some cases appear to attempt to secure sustain- atrists (Gourion, 2017; Radicalisation et Psy- able disengagement from terrorism, with or without the accompanying objective of achieving “de-radicaliza- chiatrie, 2017), the dynamics of the nexus tend tion”...Many programs appear threadbare with little to show that it is more a question of how a if any cognizance of how behavior changes are ob- psychologically fragile person can be tempted tained in other (e.g., criminal) contexts, and how those and manipulated by a violent radical ideology might inform the development of interventions for (Channel, 2015). changing terrorist behavior. As a consequence, the skepticism that surrounds these initiatives is not only to Above all, detailed psychodynamic studies be expected, but also welcomed (p. 279). could clarify a set of psychic processes related to what we now call the nexus, its formation, its A recent study by Meloy (2018) as well as evolution, and its cultivation through different older studies including that of Robins and Post environmental factors (friends and family ties, (1997), Stein (2002), Stern (2003), Strozier et situations of economic or cultural social exclu- al. (2010), or Volkan (2013) found among ter- sion, groups of reference points, meetings, web- rorists, violent fundamentalists, and their refer- sites, etc.). Such in-depth case studies are also ence ideologies, the psychological dynamics essential for identifying and categorizing pre- and fantasies that we have highlighted here in cisely the triggers that lead subjects, once a Tamerlan Tsarnaev. Also, it does not seem chi- process of radicalization has occurred, to action. merical to think that psychodynamics and psy- Any psychological or sociopsychological choanalysis, if they are based on in-depth case support of radicalized people (particularly in the studies, can garner very useful knowledge for “deradicalization” programs that have been set the development of more consistent tools for the up in Europe) could benefit from the knowledge evaluation of radicalization and the risk of a gained from these case studies in an attempt to terrorist activity. This knowledge could also identify and monitor this nexus. Let us recall help to define the issues involved in social as that psychodynamics, which makes it possible well as psychological follow-ups of many indi- to understand cognitive, affective, and rela- viduals who have been radicalized and con- tional functioning, is most clearly elucidated by victed in terrorism cases. the case study, just like psychotherapeutic know how. We would also note that treatment of the Concluding Remarks nexus may be most successful through the use of psychodynamic psychotherapy, although We consider the nexus of psychopathology such studies are essentially nonexistent. Re- and ideology a key dynamic in the mentally search has demonstrated, however, that long- disordered lone actor’s radicalization process. This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers. term psychodynamic psychotherapy is the supe- In the case of Tsarnaev, his paranoid feelings This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly. rior treatment for complex personality were projected onto the outside world with the conditions in terms of overall effectiveness, tar- get problems, and personality functioning,5 5 With regard to overall effectiveness, a between-group such as the nexus we have discussed (Leichsen- effect size of 1.8 (95% CI [0.7, 3.4]) indicated that after ring & Rabung, 2008). treatment with long term psychodynamic psychotherapy Not only are such case studies of lone actor (LTPP), patients with complex mental disorders on average terrorists too rare, but too little space is given to were better off than 96% of the patients in the comparison groups (P ϭ .002). According to subgroup analyses, LTPP them in science journals, whereas the need for yielded significant, large, and stable within-group effect such studies is increasingly emphasized by spe- sizes across various and particularly complex mental disor- cialists and actors on the ground: Bakker and ders (range, 0.78–1.98). TAMERLAN TSARNAEV CASE 17

help of a radical ideology, and at one and the The New York Review of Books. Retrieved from same time, anxiety concerning the onset of a http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2013/apr/ mental disorder was reduced. Whether such a 28/tamerlan-tsarnaev-misha-speaks/ nexus will turn into radical violence or not is Caryl, C. (2013b). The bombers’ world. The New York difficult to assess in any person of concern— Review of Books. Retrieved from http://www people may feel themselves persecuted without .nybooks.com/articles/2013/06/06/bombers-world/ Celebrities under mind control. (2013, July 1). Retrieved any endeavor to get rid of the persecutor. The from http://freemantv.com/celebrities-under-mind- Tsarnaev case has allowed us to give a specific control-release-the-stars-weird-stuff/ example of this dynamic, which certainly may Channel. (2015, April 23): Protecting vulnerable peo- vary and be highlighted by other case studies. ple from being drawn into terrorism. 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