Page 170 - Encyclopedia Of Terrorism

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Freelance Terrorism———145

traffic outside the gates of CIA headquarters in other serial bombers also built 10-by-12-foot cabins
Langley, Virginia. without electricity or running water on the edge of the
Other acts of international freelance terrorism took continental divide. They do not, however. Future ser-
place in the United States in 1994 and 1997. In 1994, ial bombers or freelancers might want to live the life
a Lebanese immigrant cab driver, Rashid Baz, spray- of a hermit and decry the evils of modern technology;
fired a Cobray M-11/9 assault pistol at a van carrying then again, they may not. They will have their own
Hasidic students across the Brooklyn Bridge in peculiarities and grievances, and this is why profiling
New York killing one and wounding three others. is an art, rather than a science. That is also why free-
And in 1997, Ali Hassan Abu Kamal, a 69-year-old lance terrorism poses such a problem to the intelli-
Palestinian visiting the Empire State Building, took gence-gathering and law enforcement communities.
a semiautomatic handgun from under his coat and
See also BROOKLYN BRIDGE SHOOTING; EMPIRE STATE
began shooting. After the rampage was over, two were
BUILDING SHOOTING; MIR AIMAL KASI; LEADERLESS
dead—including Abu Kamal, who shot himself—and
RESISTANCE; SUBWAY SUICIDE BOMBING PLOT; UNABOMBER
six others were injured. The solitary nature of these
acts can lead to confusion in the media as to the moti- Further Reading
vation—was Kamal a mere deranged gunman or free-
Graysmith, Robert. Unabomber: A Desire to Kill.
lance terrorist? Investigators subsequently discovered
New York: Berkley, 1998.
letters written by Kamal, in which he rails against
Kushner, Harvey W. Terrorism in America: A Structured
Americans and Zionists, that leave little doubt as to
Approach to Understanding the Terrorist Threat.
the political nature of his assault.
Springfield, IL: Charles C Thomas, 1998.
In the United States, domestic terrorist leaders of
various stripes have encouraged the formation of
small, phantom-like cells of individuals. These cells,
usually fewer than six in number, try to stay small and FRENTE PATRIOTICO MANUEL
are wont to split apart into other cells when member- RODRIGUEZ. See MANUEL RODRIGUEZ
ship becomes too large. This technique, known as PATRIOTIC FRONT.
“leaderless resistance,” encourages small groups with
fewer members. The leaderless group can act sponta-
neously to commit an act of terrorism, and their small
size makes the groups difficult to infiltrate. FUERZAS ARMADAS DE LIBERACION
Using the behavior of one freelancer to help predict NACIONAL. See FALN.
or explain the actions of another freelancer will prove
difficult, if not impossible, given the differences
between individuals. Take, for example, the actions
of Theodore Kacyznski, the Unabomber, who killed FUERZAS ARMADAS
three people and wounded 23 others in a nearly REVOLUCIONARIOS DE COLOMBIA.
decade-long serial bombing campaign aimed at saving See REVOLUTIONARY ARMED FORCES OF
the environment from modern technology. Knowing COLOMBIA.
the Unabomber’s behavior would prove helpful only if