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Is a lone attacker a terrorist?
Washington, July 18: Can a terrorist act alone? It`s a question US officials are asking themselves and the answers could change how Americans live, from ethnic profiling to a culture of neighbourly snooping.
Washington, July 18: Can a terrorist act alone? It's a question US officials are asking themselves and the answers could change how Americans live, from ethnic profiling to a culture of neighbourly snooping.
US policy has traditionally defined terrorism as the act of a group, not individuals, but that view is being challenged by the prospect of suicide bombers acting alone and this month's attack by a lone gunman at Los Angeles International Airport.
"The threat now in the US is less of an organisation abroad making a top-down decision to set up a cadre here, and more the Los Angeles scenario - someone unaffiliated with anything," aid Matthew Levitt, a former FBI analyst.
President George W Bush's domestic security plan plays down the old conspiratorial definition of terror.
"Terrorism is not so much a system of belief, like fascism or communism, as it is a strategy and a tactic – a means of attack," the plan says.
The threat of a lone terrorist slipping through traditional law enforcement screens is key to the broad changes Bush proposes. The more elusive the terrorist, the plan suggests, the broader the security net. "Mobilise our entire society," it advises.
One element of the plan has already drawn sharp criticism from civil libertarians. The terrorism information and prevention system - tips - would enlist millions of Americans to watch for suspicious activity and report it to government.
People whose jobs take them through neighbourhoods, along the coasts and highways and on public transit, would report suspicious activity. Truckers, cable-TV installers others would be recruited as volunteers.
Bureau Report
US policy has traditionally defined terrorism as the act of a group, not individuals, but that view is being challenged by the prospect of suicide bombers acting alone and this month's attack by a lone gunman at Los Angeles International Airport.
"The threat now in the US is less of an organisation abroad making a top-down decision to set up a cadre here, and more the Los Angeles scenario - someone unaffiliated with anything," aid Matthew Levitt, a former FBI analyst.
President George W Bush's domestic security plan plays down the old conspiratorial definition of terror.
"Terrorism is not so much a system of belief, like fascism or communism, as it is a strategy and a tactic – a means of attack," the plan says.
The threat of a lone terrorist slipping through traditional law enforcement screens is key to the broad changes Bush proposes. The more elusive the terrorist, the plan suggests, the broader the security net. "Mobilise our entire society," it advises.
One element of the plan has already drawn sharp criticism from civil libertarians. The terrorism information and prevention system - tips - would enlist millions of Americans to watch for suspicious activity and report it to government.
People whose jobs take them through neighbourhoods, along the coasts and highways and on public transit, would report suspicious activity. Truckers, cable-TV installers others would be recruited as volunteers.
Bureau Report