Domestic Terrorism in the U.S.

Domestic terrorism involves violence against the civilian population and the infrastructure of a nation. These groups conduct heinous acts to intimidate and promote their propaganda. With the recent attacks that have affected our homeland, what can we as a nation and as the people do to prevent these violent acts? What we can do as the people to stay vigilant and aware of your surroundings since these attacks could occur anytime and anywhere?

According to the U.S. Code, the definition of domestic terrorism involves acts dangerous to human life that violate federal or state law; to intimidate or coerce a civilian population; to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping; and occurs primarily within the territorial jurisdiction of the U.S. This subject intrigues me since as it hits so close to home and seems a never ending. This is a complex issue that we have not come up with a solution for. Even though we have faced numerous terrorist incidents in our country, the rest of the world has their own problems dealing with the same issues we are. Muhlhausen and Baker McNeill (2011) Between 1969 and 2009, there were 38,345 terrorist incidents around the world. Of these attacks, 7.8 percent (2,981) were directed against the United States. Of the 38,345, 92.2 percent (35,364) were directed at other nations of the world. Nearly 5,600 people lost their lives and more than 16,300 people suffered injuries due to international terrorism directed at the United States. Terrorist attacks against the United States tend to be slightly deadlier (2.01 fatalities per incident) than attacks against other nations (1.74 fatalities per incident). The higher number of average fatalities for the United States is a consequence of 9/11. Terrorism directed at the United States accounts for only 7.8 percent of all terrorism worldwide, but almost 43 percent of all attacks...