LEEP Participant in San Diego Union Tribune on “Lone Wolf” Terrorism
Lone wolf terrorists challenging for local law enforcement
By Commander David Myers, San Diego Sheriff’s Department
Lone wolf terrorists challenging for local law enforcement
By Commander David Myers, San Diego Sheriff’s Department
In the last 10 years, we’ve seen the degrading of the al-Qaeda network, the killing of Osama bin Laden and made tremendous advances in intelligence-gathering to prevent another catastrophic terrorist attack from occurring. At the same time, we’ve also seen the opening of a new front in the war on terrorism: the radical ideological movement largely inspired by the Islamic State and executed by so-called “lone wolf” militants who have no direct organizational ties to any extremist group.
Lone wolf terrorists represent a different challenge altogether from the terrorist cell plotting a major attack. They are typically limited to conducting attacks requiring very little training, advanced planning or communication, and utilize common weapons such as knives, handguns and automobiles. Hence, they can act quickly, unpredictably and leave very little in terms of an intelligence trail that can be analyzed. For those of us in law enforcement and homeland security, the pressing question is: What must we do to prevent and prepare for attacks of this nature?
Myers is a commander with the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department.