Another Approach to Counter-Terrorism: Terrorists with Guilty Consciences
Abstract
There are some cases in which terrorists had second thoughts about harming other people. Their conscience, specifically their guilty conscience, forced them to reconsider their plan. This raises thought-provoking questions: Are there other examples of terrorists pulling back from an operation because of their guilty conscience, and can countries take advantage of this phenomenon to reduce the prevalence of terrorism? This thesis will answer these questions in an exploration of how exploiting guilty consciences can be an element of a country's counterterrorism strategy that focuses on the personal, psychological component of terrorism. The thesis includes 19 case studies of terrorist attacks, or would-be terrorist attacks, including suicide bombings, to highlight the effects of the guilty conscience. A primary source of evidence is the perpetrators' own statements with regard to the influence of their conscience on their decisions and actions. The data are gathered from various sources: a book, which consists of 37 case studies that include the personal statements and letters of former terrorists from different terrorist organizations; a dissertation, which explores the notion of individual disengagement from political violence in Turkey; an article, which examines the factors that have contributed to the end of the Red Army Faction (RAF), and places particular emphasis on the causes and characteristics of individual disengagement of RAF members from the armed struggle; and credible online news resources.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 2012
- Accession Number
- ADA574226
Entities
People
- Ilyas Gocer
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School