The Threat of Terror in Rhode Island—Americans and ISIS

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

GoLocalProv News Team

The bombing at the Boston Marathon

Who are the biggest terrorist threats to the United States? In June, a Rhode Island man whose home was investigated in connection with a terror suspect shot the prior week by members of the Joint Terrorism Task Force in Boston was arrested by the FBI.

"Everybody should be be aware, and have a working knowledge of what to look for, it doesn’t take much to know it’s here," said Rhod Island State Police Superintendent Colonel Steve O'Donnel. "You don’t have to be crazy about it, if [the tip] doesn’t vet out, it doesn’t vet out. We have people do it for a living. See something, say something. It can be anonymous…it’s not a requirement to say who."

SLIDES: See FBI's Terrorist Watch List BELOW

GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST

Massachusetts was hit with one of America’s most hideous and infamous terror attacks when the Boston Marathon was bombed by two of its residents -- Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaerv -- who were were both educated, and had lived in the Commonwealth, for nearly a decade.

The terror attack in San Bernardino earlier this month was perpetrated by two individuals who were not on any global watch list despite their travel to Saudi Arabia. Neither of the ISIS attackers were detected by any federal law enforcement agency or California law enforcement.

An NBC/WSJ poll from Monday said that terrorism and national security is America's number one concern. What is Rhode Island doing to be prepared?

ISIS and Westerners

The relationship between Westerners and ISIS is far deeper than may be previously known.

Both the Paris attack and the San Bernardino mass shootings were perpetrated by individuals who lived in the respective country - legally.

A study by New America has unveiled a number of chilling trends between the relationship between western-based ISIS.

The number of Americans killed from terrorist attacks in the United States post-9/11 is approximately the same as the number of people killed by white supremacists. Terrorists have killed 45 and supremacists 48 claims New America.

View Larger +

A report issued in November found:

•Western fighters in Syria and Iraq represent a new demographic profile, quite different from that of other Western militants who had fought in Afghanistan in the 1980s or Bosnia in the 1990s.

•Women are represented in unprecedented numbers. One in seven of the individuals in New America’s dataset are women. Women were rarely if at all represented among militants in previous jihadist conflicts.

•They are young. The average age for individuals in New America’s dataset is 24. For female recruits, the average age is 21. Almost one-fifth of New America’s sample are teenagers, more than a third of whom are female.

•They are active online. Almost a third of the foreign fighters in New America’s dataset were reported either to have been active in online jihadist circles or to have radicalized via interaction online. However, there continue to be cases of in-person recruitment.

•Many have familial ties to jihadism. One-third of Western fighters have a familial connection to jihad, whether through relatives currently fighting in Syria or Iraq, marriage, or some other link to jihadists from prior conflicts or attacks. Of those with a familial link, almost two-thirds have a relative fighting in this conflict and almost one-third are connected through marriage, many of them new marriages conducted after arriving in Syria.

•The Americans drawn to the Syrian jihad—250 have tried or have succeeded in getting to Syria, according to official estimates—share the same profile as the Western fighters overall: Women are well-represented, and volunteers are young, they are active online, and many have family ties to jihad. One in six of the Americans involved in Syria-related violence are women. The average age of American militants is 25, with one-fifth still in their teens. Almost nine out of 10 of the Americans are active in online jihadist circles.

•The United States will have to remain aware of the threat from non-American returnees - many of whom come from countries that are part of the United States’ visa waiver program.

•ISIS-inspired violence will pose the most likely threat to the United States.

What Rhode Island is Doing

View Larger +

The State of Rhode Island's "Fusion Center" lists 8 Signs of Terrorism -- and provides contact numbers to report suspicious behavior.

The vigilance comes at a time when other states are addressing direct threats. On Monday, the FBI arrested a man in Maryland who was suspected of receiving money from ISIS to stage an attack.

Warning signs:

Surveillance: Someone recording or monitoring activities. This may include the use of cameras (either still or video), note taking, drawing diagrams, annotating on maps, or using binoculars or other vision-enhancing devices.

Elicitation: People or organizations attempting to gain information about military operations, capabilities, or people. Elicitation attempts may be made by mail, fax, telephone, or in person.

Tests of Security: Any attempts to measure reaction times to security breaches or to penetrate physical security barriers or procedures in order to assess strengths and weaknesses.

Acquiring Supplies: Purchasing or stealing explosives, weapons, ammunition, etc. Also includes acquiring military uniforms, decals, flight manuals, passes or badges (or the equipment to manufacture such items) or any other controlled items.

Suspicious Persons Out of Place: People who don't seem to belong in the workplace, neighborhood, business establishment, or anywhere else. Includes suspicious border crossings and stowaways aboard ship or people jumping ship into port.

Dry Run/Trial Run: Putting people into position and moving them according to their plan without actually committing the terrorist act. This is especially true when planning a kidnapping, but it can also pertain to bombings. An element of this activity could also include mapping out routes and determining the timing of traffic lights and flow.

Deploying Assets: People and supplies getting into position to commit the act. This is a person's last chance to alert authorities before the terrorist act occurs.

Funding: Suspicious transactions involving large payments, deposits or withdrawals are common signs of terrorist funding. Collections for donations, the solicitation for money and criminal activity are also warning signs.

The Threat of Terror in Rhode Island—Americans and ISIS

Related Slideshow: FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorist List - Dec, 2015

Enjoy this post? Share it with others.

Sign Up for the Daily Eblast

The Threat of Terror in Rhode Island—Americans and ISIS

Related Slideshow: FBI’s Most Wanted Terrorist List - Dec, 2015

Related Articles

Enjoy this post? Share it with others.

Sign Up for the Daily Eblast