University of Wollongong Research Online University of Wollongong Thesis Collection University of Wollongong Thesis Collections 2010 A systematic analysis of Islamist terrorism in the USA and UK: 2001-2008 Samuel John Mullins University of Wollongong Recommended Citation Mullins, Samuel John, A systematic analysis of Islamist terrorism in the USA and UK: 2001-2008, Doctor of Philosophy thesis, Centre for Transnational Crime Prevention, Faculty of Law, University of Wollongong, 2010. http://ro.uow.edu.au/theses/3442 Research Online is the open access institutional repository for the University of Wollongong. For further information contact Manager Repository Services: [email protected]. ‘A Systematic Analysis of Islamist Terrorism in the USA and UK: 2001-2008’ A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree Doctor of Philosophy from The University of Wollongong by Samuel John Mullins (MA., MSc) Centre for Transnational Crime Prevention, Faculty of Law 2010 Certification I, Samuel John Mullins, declare that this thesis, submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the award of Doctor of Philosophy, at the Centre for Transnational Crime Prevention, University of Wollongong, is wholly my own work unless otherwise referenced or acknowledged below. The document has not been submitted for qualifications at any other academic institution. Samuel J. Mullins August 25, 2010 (Re-submitted following minor corrections, November 11, 2010) ii ‘A Systematic Analysis of Islamist Terrorism in the USA and UK: 2001-2008’ Sam Mullins, 3335884, CTCP, UoW Table of Contents List of Tables pp.viii-xix List of Figures pp.xx-xxi List of Terms & Abbreviations pp.xxii-xxiii Abstract pp.xxiv-xxvi Acknowledgments p.xxvii Chapter 1: Introduction Part 1: Working Definitions pp.1-12 1. Working Definitions pp.3-12 1.1 Terrorism pp.3-6 1.2 Islamist Terrorism pp.7-8 1.3 Home-grown Islamist Terrorism pp.9-10 Chapter 2: Research Questions and Methodology pp.13-27 2.1 Research Questions pp.15-16 2.2 Goals p.16 2.3 Justification pp.16-17 2.4 Methodology pp.17-26 2.4.1 Phase 1: Literature Review and Identification of Key Variables pp.17-20 2.4.2 Phase 2: Case Study Selection and Data Collection pp.20-24 Case Study Selection pp.20-22 Data Collection pp.22-24 Limitations of the data pp.24-25 2.4.3 Phase 3: Case Study Analysis p.25 2.4.4 Phase 4: Cross-comparison and Conclusions p.26 Chapter 3: Introduction Part 2: The Evolution of Home-Grown Islamist Terrorism in the West pp.28-62 3.1 Terror in the Middle East and the Move from Secular to ‘Spiritual’ Terrorism pp.31-32 3.2 The Iranian Revolution and the Afghan Jihad pp.33-34 3.3 The Rise and Fall of Al-Qaeda and the Seeds of Home-Grown Terrorism pp. 35-50 3.3.1 The Jihadi Warzones pp.35-37 3.3.2 The First Attacks in the West pp.38-40 3.3.3 Al-Qaeda Takes Centre Stage pp.40-41 3.3.4 The West as a Primary Target pp.41-44 3.3.5 Al-Qaeda as a ‘Brand Name’ and the Growth of HGIT pp.45-50 3.4 Explaining the Evolution of Global Islamist Terrorism pp.51-55 iii Chapter 4: Current Understanding of the Threat Part 1: Explaining Terrorism pp.63-97 4.1 Individual Explanations pp.65-67 4.1.1 Psychopathology pp.65-66 4.1.2 Personal Trauma pp.66-67 4.2 Societal Explanations pp.68-70 4.2.1 Root causes pp.68-69 4.2.2 Relative Deprivation pp.69-70 4.3 Social Explanations pp.71-90 4.3.1 Social Influence pp.71-76 Brainwashing pp.71-72 Top-down vs. Bottom-up Influence pp.72-75 Ideology and Behaviour pp.75-76 4.3.2 Social Identity pp.77-84 Identity ‘Crises’ pp.77-78 Theories of Identity and Terrorism pp.79-80 Theories of Identity Applied pp.80-83 Processes of Identification pp.83-84 4.3.3 Social Organisation pp.84-91 Structural Developments pp.84-86 Stability, Identity and Permeability pp.86-87 Islamist Terrorism as a Social Movement pp.87-89 An Alternative Social Movement Perspective pp.89-91 Chapter 5: Current Understanding of the Threat Part 2: The Radicalisation Process pp.98-118 5.1 Precipitating Risk Factors pp.101-102 5.2 Ideological and Social Progression pp.103-104 5.3 The Mechanism of the Group pp.105-106 5.4 Patterns of Radicalisation pp.106-108 5.4.1 Joining the Radical Social Scene p.106 5.4.2 Increasing militancy p.107 5.4.3 Training for Jihad pp.107-108 5.5 Going Operational pp.109-110 5.6 Recent Developments pp.111-115 5.6.1 Increased Autonomy pp.111-112 5.6.2 The Impact of the Internet pp.112-114 5.6.3 Changing Jihadi Profiles pp.114-115 Chapter 6: Islamist Terrorism in the USA pp.119-139 6.1 Historical Overview of Terrorism in America pp.121-122 6.2 Islamist Terrorism in the US pp.122-135 6.2.1 Pre-1993 pp.122-125 6.2.2 1993-2001 pp.126-132 6.2.3 Post 9/11 pp.132-135 iv ‘A Systematic Analysis of Islamist Terrorism in the USA and UK: 2001-2008’ Sam Mullins, 3335884, CTCP, UoW Chapter 7: Islamist Terrorism in the UK pp.140-159 7.1 Historical Overview of Terrorism in Britain pp.142-144 7.2 Islamist Terrorism in the UK pp.144-155 7.2.1 Pre-9/11 pp.144-151 7.2.2 2001-2005 pp. 151-153 7.2.3 Post-7/7 pp. 153-155 Chapter 8: HGIT in the US and UK: Preliminary Comparisons pp.160-181 8.1 ‘Facts’ & Figures pp.162-171 8.2 Explaining the Difference pp.171-176 8.3 Reflecting on Current Explanations pp.177-178 8.4 The Need for Further Research p.179 Chapter 9: Case Study Analysis Part 1: Islamist Terrorism in the United States: 2001-2008 pp.182-235 9.1 Statistical Summary pp.185-186 9.2 Analysis of variables pp.187-230 9.2.1 Geographical distribution pp.187-189 9.2.2 Demographic profiles pp.189-199 Gender, Nationality & Age pp.189-191 Education pp.192-193 Occupation pp.193-194 Faith p.195 Marital Status p.196 Criminal record pp.197-199 Mental Health p.199 9.2.3 Offence date range p.200 9.2.4 Radicalisation pp.201-202 9.2.5 Group characteristics pp.203-206 Immediate group size pp.203-204 Leadership pp.205-206 9.2.6 Operational activity pp.207-218 Ideological commitment pp.207-210 Behavioural classification pp.210-212 Domestic vs. overseas focus & operation pp.213-216 Planned M.O. of attacks pp.217-218 9.2.7 International dimensions & associations pp.218-223 9.2.8 The role of the Internet pp.224-227 9.2.9 Stated motivations pp.228-229 9.2.10 Outcomes pp.229-230 9.3 Summary and conclusions pp.231-234 v Chapter 10: Case Study Analysis Part 2: Islamist Terrorism in the United Kingdom: 2001-2008 pp.236-296 10.1 Statistical Summary pp.238-240 10.2 Analysis of variables pp.241-295 10.2.1 Geographical distribution pp.241-243 10.2.2 Demographic profiles pp.244-255 Gender, Nationality & Age pp.244-246 Education pp.246-248 Occupation pp.248-250 Faith p.250 Marital Status p.251 Criminal record pp.252-253 Mental Health p.254-255 10.2.3 Offence date range pp.255-256 10.2.4 Radicalisation pp.256-258 10.2.5 Group characteristics pp.258-261 Immediate group size pp.258-260 Leadership pp.260-261 10.2.6 Operational activity pp.262-276 Ideological commitment pp.262-265 Behavioural classification pp.265-269 Domestic vs. overseas focus & operation pp.270-274 Planned M.O. of attacks pp.275-277 10.2.7 International dimensions & associations pp.276-283 10.2.8 The role of the Internet pp.284-287 10.2.9 Stated motivations pp.287-288 10.2.10 Outcomes pp.289-291 10.3 Summary and conclusions pp.291-295 vi ‘A Systematic Analysis of Islamist Terrorism in the USA and UK: 2001-2008’ Sam Mullins, 3335884, CTCP, UoW Chapter 11: Cross-Comparison and Conclusions pp.297-350 11.1 Statistical Summaries pp.299-300 11.2 Geographical distribution pp.301-302 11.3 Demographic profiles pp.302-307 Gender, Nationality & Age pp.302-303 Education pp.302-304 Occupation pp.304-305 Faith p.305 Marital Status p.306 Criminal record pp.306-307 Mental Health p.307 11.4 Offence date range p.308 11.5 Radicalisation p.309 11.6 Group characteristics pp.310-312 Immediate group size p.310 Leadership pp.311-312 11.7 Operational activity pp.313-325 Ideological commitment pp.303-314 Behavioural classification pp.315-320 Domestic vs. overseas focus & operation pp.320-324 Planned M.O. of attacks p.325 11.8 International dimensions & associations pp.326-330 11.9 The role of the Internet pp.331-333 11.10 Stated motivations pp.333-334 11.11 Outcomes pp.334-336 11.12 Comparative summary pp.337-342 11.13 Theoretical implications pp.342-343 11.14 Implications for counter-terrorism pp.343-348 11.15 Concluding remarks p.348 Bibliography pp.351-430 Appendix A Part 1: List of US Cases Included in the Sample in Chronological Order pp.431-436 Appendix A: Part 2: United States Case Summaries pp.437-495 Appendix A Part 3 List of US Cases Excluded from the Sample in Chronological Order pp.496-503 Appendix B Part 1: List of UK Cases Included in the Sample in Chronological Order pp.504-509 Appendix B: Part 2 United Kingdom Case Summaries pp.510-590 Appendix B Part 3: List of UK Cases Excluded from the Sample in Chronological Order pp.591-597 vii List of Tables Table 3.1.