Gary LaFree is a professor of criminology at the University of Maryland and the director of the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, or START, which is funded through the Department of Homeland Security. People might remember the attention START gained after deeming Boise, Idaho, one of the top targets for a terrorist attack.
What’s the greatest misconception Americans have about terrorism?
The biggest that Americans in particular have is a misconception about is how much terrorism is domestic versus transnational. After 9/11 there’s been a tendency to see major terrorist attacks as terrorist agents acting in foreign countries. But we’ve collected the most comprehensive database on terrorism (http://www.start.umd.edu/data/gtd/) and found that’s not necessarily true. For example, 95 percent of the attacks happening outside of the U.S. were domestic – Pakistani groups acting within Pakistan.
What tactics have been shown to be most successful in combating terrorism?
It’s interesting how little we know about that. Some extensive work has been done about Northern Ireland, however. Two things that were successful: A military surge called Operation Motorman. However, we found that the idea of the surge and the publicity around it had more impact than the actual number of soldiers on the ground. On the other end of the spectrum, negotiating with the [Irish Republican Army] and their supporters, and working out a power-sharing agreement seem to be working.
What about a tactic like the wall dividing parts of Israel from parts of the West Bank?
There’s some evidence that the wall has been relatively effective. What’s interesting, though, is we’ve also tracked attitudes. And while it’s reduced strikes, it’s inflamed attitudes.
Was Boise actually threatened?
There have been something like 1,500 attacks against the U.S. since 1970, and the vast majority are domestic. In Boise, there were two reasons. First, there are a lot of right-wing crazies in that part of the country who had staged attacks in the past. And, Boise is right in front of a major dam that if it was hit would make a huge mess.
