Jonathan R. White
www.cengage.com/cj/white
Chapter: 5
Practicing Terrorism: Gender
Roles, Tactics and Force
Multipliers
Rosemary Arway
Hodges University
Gender and Mission
 Gender and Mission
o
o
Ideology draws certain types of recruits to a movement,
and it influences the tactics terrorist groups employ.
▪ Gender impacts tactics and is often related to
ideology.
Women active through the evolution of terrorism
▪ Women were active in terrorism:
▪
▪
▪
▪

at the time of the French Revolution,
in 19th century Russia,
in racial terrorism in the United States,
in revolutionary terrorism in Ireland and leftist movements
after 1968.
The role of women is more closely related to political
orientation than tactics (rather than based on religion).
Gender and Mission
o Women are more drawn to domestic terrorist groups.
o Women in domestic groups gravitate toward combat
and leadership.
o Women in international groups are more likely to be
employed as supporters, sympathizers and spies.
o Women relegated to support and service in religious
terrorist groups.
▪
This has changed as women become more involved.
o Women developed combat and leadership positions in
secular organizations.
Gender and Mission
o The role of women in racial terrorism in the
United States:
▪
▪
▪
In the post-Civil War era, they served as inspiration
for male violence.
In the 20th century women became actively involved
in lynching.
In the late twentieth century, White Supremacy
groups recruited women in support roles.
Gender and Mission

Overlooking Female terrorists
▪
Female terrorism is overlooked for the same reason that
female criminality has been underplayed: researchers do
not think of women as criminals, but rather, as victims.
▪
Popular culture does not accept the idea of female
terrorists.
▪
Women used as attackers or suicide bombers are
following male model.
Tactics of Terrorism and Multiplying Force
 Six tactics of terrorism:
o
o
o
o
o
o
Bombing
Hijacking
Arson
Assault
Kidnapping
Hostage taking
 Terrorism includes threats from weapons of mass
destruction (WMD) and virtual attacks through
computer systems.
Tactics of Terrorism and Multiplying Force
 Tactics of terrorism can be enhanced by force
multipliers.
 Force multipliers
o increase striking power without increasing the
strength of a unit
 Force multipliers giving terrorists more striking
power include:
o
o
o
o
Technology
Media coverage
Transnational support networks
Religious fanaticism
Tactics of Terrorism and Multiplying Force
 Most common weapon of terrorism is the
bomb.
 Anarchists in 1848 – philosophy of the bomb
o Only way to communicate with the social order was
to destroy it.
 Irish Republican Army found the bomb to be
the most important weapon after 1969.
 Groups throughout the world found bombs
could be delivered by suicide attackers
o Suicide bombings and road side bombs are
weapons of choice against U.S. military in Iraq.
Tactics of Terrorism and Multiplying Force
 Terrorists increase effectiveness by applying
explosive technology to weapons.
 Middle Eastern type of military-style weapon
o Thermobaric bomb
o Mini-nuke
 Force multipliers enhance destructive power
while innovation is used to achieve shock and
surprise.
 Purpose of a terrorist attack – send a message
of chaos and destruction to a larger audience.
o Victims are not the target; they are killed to send a
message.
Technology
 Terrorism is influenced by technology
 Cyberterrorism
o Cyberterrorists threaten to interrupt or confuse the
flow of information.
o Cyberterrorism refers to use of computers to attack
technological targets of physical attacks on computer
networks.
o Targets for cyberterrorism:
▪
▪
▪
Computers
Computer networks
Information storage and retrieval systems
o There has been a sharp rise in such attacks, with the
Internet providing the vehicle for launching most of
the strikes.
WMD: Biological Agents

Weapons of Mass Destruction – WMD – are biological
arsenals containing bacterial and viral weapons.
o
o

Biological agents include:
o
o
o
o

Microbes weaponized to increase their ability to kill
Difficult to control but relatively easy to produce
Natural poisons or toxins
Viruses
Bacteria
Plagues
Most threatening according to CDC are:
o
o
o
o
o
o
Smallpox
Anthrax
Plague
Botulism
Tularemia
Hemorrhagic fever
WMD: Biological Agents
 Two biological attacks in America
o 1984 religious group in Oregon
▪ Bacteria on a salad bar
▪ Elect religious followers to local office
o Anthrax in the wake of 9-11
▪ Two tabloid writers infected thru the mail
▪ Followed by numerous anthrax attacks throughout
the United States
o The Commission on the Prevention of weapons of
Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism
(2010) found that the United States still had no
structure in place to respond to a biological attack.
WMD: Chemical and
Radiological Weapons
 Forms of chemical alterations include:
o Radiological poisoning and “dirty” radioactive
devices
 Chemicals:
o Generally easier to deliver than biological weapons
o Faster acting
 Radiological devices:
o Slower than most chemicals
o Longer lasting
o Can be spread like chemicals
WMD: Chemical and
Radiological Weapons
 Four types of chemical agents:
o Nerve agents
▪ Ingestion, respiration, or contact
o Blood agents
▪ Absorbed through the respiratory system
o Choking agents
▪ Absorbed through the respiratory system
o Blistering agents
▪ Burn skin and internal tissue areas upon contact
WMD: Chemical and
Radiological Weapons
 Chemicals are attractive to terrorists.
o
o
Easy to control
Users can avoid area they attack
 Chemical weapons are problematic.
o
o
o
Delivery mechanism
Need for large quantities of chemicals
Chemicals can be neutralized by weather patterns, air, and
water.
 Dirty bomb
o
o
Explosive used to spread a chemical or radioactive agent
around a large area
Drawback of the dirty bomb
▪
The heat produced by the explosion may destroy the
chemicals attached to the bomb
WMD: Nuclear Weapons
 Nuclear weapons
o Available on the black market from sources in the
former Soviet Union.
o It is much easier for terrorists to use a conventional
weapon or to spread chemicals than to build a
nuclear weapon.
o The U.S. Congress has designated a site in
Nevada as the repository for all the radioactive
waste used in America’s nuclear power plants, and
all this material must be shipped across the
country.

This nuclear waste is a ready-made dirty bomb
WMD: Nuclear Weapons
 Nuclear terrorism:
o
Two methods for obtaining a nuclear device:
▪
▪

Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU)
Plutonium
Levi:
o
o
o
The United States is not ready for an attack.
Problems associated with terrorist’s attempts to obtain a weapon:
 Sophisticated security mechanisms
 National arsenals are secured
 Weapons are heavy and difficult to transport
The United States should approach nuclear terrorism in two
manners:
 debunking popular myths and focusing on a comprehensive
approach to a terrorist group and all its activities;
 revamp defense systems.
WMD
 WMD …. an international problem
o All countries should encourage their nuclear
companies to control their trade.
▪ Prohibit sales of nuclear goods to those
countries that sponsor or support terrorism.
▪ For example Uzbekistan, the biggest
exporter of nuclear materials (uranium) and
fuels (natural gas, petroleum), must regulate
their nuclear industry.
The Media as A Force Multiplier
 Governments and terrorists benefit from
media portrayal of terrorist activity.
 Everyone involved in terrorist conflict
tries to manipulate images of terrorist
activities.
o Continuous reporting amplifies the aura of
small groups
o Striking power of the group is magnified
o Wilkins: terrorists try to multiply force
through communication
The Media as A Force Multiplier
 Nacos: Most terrorist groups have
objectives beyond publicity
o Groups want recognition
 Wolfsfeld: Media victories are crucial for
terrorism
o How battles are reported as important as
battlefield combat
o Neither side wants to be portrayed as
aggressor
o Media primary tool for demonizing the enemy
 Terrorist groups will attempt to portray
respectability in all forms of media.
The Media as A Force Multiplier
 All forms of media can be used to multiply force.
o Internet is gaining attention of security forces



Online communication brings measure of freedom when
media is heavily controlled
Emerging as a major source of information
Krasnoboka: The Internet does not have an overwhelming
impact in democratic countries, but it is a powerful tool for
opposition forces in authoritarian régimes.
o Movies assist terrorism and distort issues
•
•
•
Create popular images of propaganda
Responsible for strong emotional projections
Presents another venue for examination, for both assisting
terrorism and distorting issues
Economic Targeting
and Transnational Attacks
 Transnational support or operations can
be used as a force multiplier.
o Striking transnational or international
economic targets increases the
effectiveness of terrorist operations.
 Three types of transnational attacks:
o Tourism
o Energy
o Shipping
Economic Targeting
and Transnational Attacks
 Tourism
o Attacks on tourism have a negative economic
consequences (ETA).
 Energy
o Interest in oil and gas production
o Fossil fuels present tempting targets.
 Represent power and strengths of industrialized
world.
 Strikes against oil refineries or transfer facilities
have economic impact on the West.
 Examples: Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan
Economic Targeting
and Transnational Attacks
 Endemic terrorism
o
Form of violence occurring in Africa where arbitrary
national boundaries have been drawn through ethnic
and tribal divisions
 Niger Delta
o Oil plays crucial role

o
Used to fund endemic terrorism and corrupt governments
Becomes target for those who cannot control production

Oil companies investing in the area have greater incentive
to focus on security than poverty engulfing the region.
 If poverty, endemic terrorism and criminalized
policies are not addressed it will:
o
o
Become base for emergence of new international
terrorist groups
Provide resources for training and eluding detection
Economic Targeting
and Transnational Attacks
 Transportation
o Provide tempting economic target as they
produce mass casualties with minimal
effort.
o Protection of transportation is very
expensive.
 Major feature of homeland security
o Critics of homeland security policies argue
that ports remain unsecured due to costs of
increased protection.
 Attacks on aviation, shipping and
transportation increase cost of security.
Suicide Attacks – Conflicting Opinions
 Gambetta’s three types of suicide attacks:
o
o
o
Suicide in warfare
Suicide for a principle without killing others
Suicide terrorism
 Altruistic suicide: suicide terrorists frequently believe
they are sacrificing their lives for a greater good.
 Pape:
o
o
o
o
Attackers are so diverse, it may not be possible to find a single profile.
Suicide terrorism should be considered as a strategic tool.
Suicide terrorism gives a small group the power to coerce large
governments.
Suicide terrorists tend to be more lethal than other types of attacks.
o They strike greater fear in the target audience.
o Each attack hints at future horrific violence.
o It is a strategy designed to multiply expectations of political victory.
Suicide Attacks – Conflicting Opinions
 Theory of suicide terrorism
 Pape:
o Three factors must be in place prior to a
suicide terror campaign:
 Nationalistic or ethnic group must be resisting the
occupation of a foreign power.
 Foreign power must represent a democratic
government whose voters will not allow
indiscriminate slaughter and total repression of the
people in occupied area.
 Difference in religions of the occupying power and
the people living under occupation.
Suicide Attacks – Conflicting Opinions
 Suicide terrorism is not caused by a
single religion; it is caused by differences
between two religions.
 Pape’s evidence from case studies:
o Israeli occupation of the Shi’ite areas of Lebanon
o The Sinhalese (Buddhist) control of the Tamil
(Hindu) region of Sri Lanka
o The fighting between Sunni Kurds and Sunni Turks
in Eastern Turkey
o The Indian (Hindu) struggle with the occupied Sikhs
Models for Suicide Bombing
 Tosini :
o
o
Suicide bombings are based on a strategic logic; a rational
choice perspective.
This neglects the study of the social structure and culture of
the group engaged in suicide terrorism.
 Wade and Reiter:
o
o
Suicide attacks are not used mainly against democracies.
Muslim states suffer more suicide attacks than Western
democracies.
 Gunaratna:
o
All suicide bombing attacks have three things in common:
 Secrecy
 Reconnaissance
 Rehearsal