How to identify a terrorist. Domestic Edition.

Since terrorists can be anyone, and look like anyone, you need to know how to be able to identify a terrorist by how they act and talk, and by what they do.

Of course, I first have to explain what a terrorist actually is. This is hard as there is no single excepted definition of 'terrorism' but I will give it a try.

Terrorism is the systematic use of coercion, directly or indirectly towards your target, to achieve your personal or political goals.

Terrorists use an extremely wide variety of tactics to accomplish their goals. In can be a very large scale act or campaign, or can be acted out be a lone terrorist for his or her own reasons.

One of the most important things to know, is that terrorists rely very highly on modern technology. The internet has enabled groups of people with like minded ideas to find each other. It has also given terrorists who want to create a larger network a place to recruit.

Terrorists will speak out about what they are against at first. Then they will make threats saying what they are willing to do to accomplish their goals. Then they either begin to do what they threatened they would, or continue to recruit people towards their cause.

Usually they continue to recruit, hoping others to act on similar threats for the same reasons, or until they have enough followers to get them to act out the original threats. Also sometimes no threats are made public, and it is done as secretively as possible.

These recruiting tactics are usually done either on the internet, or in places terrorists feel they will find like minded people.

It is to be noted that terrorists always think they are on the correct side of the issue. Any attempt at conversation or negotiations with terrorists are usually found to not be effective at all.





I am hoping for some more points to add to this, so any help and opinion is appreciated.