From Wichita to Fort Hood: Justifying Terrorism as God-Given Responsibility

By Brigitte L. Nacos

Earlier this year, Scott Roeder shot and killed Dr. George Tiller, an abortion provider, in a Wichita church, where Tiller served as an usher. The other day, in a telephone interview with the Associated Press, the jailed Roeder justified his deed with the necessity to defend pre-born children’s lives. As Roeder admitted and defended his act of terrorism, the most fanatic and violent anti-abortion fringe released the third edition of a so-called “Defense Action Statement” that characterizes Roeder’s action as a just and defensive action—obviously because he discharged his “God-given responsibility” that is explained at great length in the document. The latest declaration that ends with the call “Take defensive action!” mirrors the hate messages publicized on the web sites of the so-called Army of God.

All indications are that the killer of Dr. Tiller acted as a lone wolf without the backing of a terrorist cell behind him. But since Roeder was a frequent visitor to and participant in discussion board exchanges on extremist anti-abortion web sites, there is no doubt that his is a case of inspirational recruitment to the unholy cause of violence by extremists who deem the relevant laws of the land as contrary to the will of God.

To recognize Scott Roeder and previous killers of abortion providers as terrorists who claim to be the instruments of God does not mean an association between the large mainstream of the pro-life movement and the very small fringe of violent anti-abortion terrorists. The non-violent mainstream of that movement works within the legitimate political process for change and has the right to do so.

It seems that there are parallels between anti-abortion extremist Scott Roeder and the Fort Hood mass-shooter Maj. Nidal Hasan. There are indications that both had psychological problems and that both had become intensely religious in the years preceding their steps toward violence. Just as Roeder drew from and contributed to extremist anti-abortion web sites, Dr. Hasan visited reportedly jihadi web sites and corresponded with an extremist Muslim cleric, Anwar al-Awlaki, who once associated with several of the 9/11 terrorists and who now praises Dr. Hasan on his web site as a model for doing the right thing in attacking soldiers on their way to Iraq and Afghanistan.

It seems that Hasan like Roeder acted as a lone wolf. Like Roeder he was inspired by the preachers of hate and violence who exploit the vulnerabilities of individuals like Roeder and Hasan to recruit them into their terrorist causes.

To consider Hasan and other jihadis as terrorists who claim to be instruments of God does not at all mean an association between the large mainstream of American Muslims or Muslims in general and the very small fringe of violent extremists.

I have written about the terrible consequences of stereotyping minorities and especially American Muslims and Arabs—as well as Muslims and Arabs in general. This stereotyping became particularly clear after 9/11 when Arabs and Muslims here became the targets of violence. Actually, these prejudices were obvious much earlier. Thus, the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995 was spontaneously and, of course, wrongly blamed on “Middle Easterners” or Arabs or Muslims.

Not surprisingly, then, there is great reluctance in the news media and elsewhere to explain what Maj. Hasan did as an act of religiously motivated political violence or terrorism in spite of reports that he had a political and religious agenda. .

But just as we should not hesitate to recognize and guard against the ways in which people like anti-abortion terrorist Roeder are conditioned for and motivated to resort to violence in the name of God, we should recognize and guard against the ways in which people like the Fort Hood shooter Hasan are conditioned and inspired to kill and maim in the name of God.  

 

Comments

[Healthexamination]

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[Eric Chen]

Professor Nacos,

True, the radical Jeffersonians were known to be publicly upset: Ruby Ridge was 1992, followed by Waco in 1993. Also in 1995, the Unabomber was still at large and had made public his manifesto.

But the Oklahoma City bombing was the 1st anti-federal terrorist act of the type and scale already established by Islamic terrorists, at least as far as American targets. Even though the upset of the anti-federal groups over recent events was known, it still made more sense initially to suspect Islamic terrorists than assume anti-federal radicals had made a copycat leap in their methods and jumped precedent.

The Oklahoma City attack set a new precedent, including the affirmation that 'domestic' terrorists learn from 'foreign' terrorists. The correct response was to expand our vigilant scope with the new knowledge, not to recriminate reasonable suspicions based on already known, threatening, dangerous enemies.

Related, this is a reason the controversially named "War on Terror" is aptly named. We were compelled into the War on Terror by the 9/11 attacks; therefore, we have in mind a specific fairly well-defined enemy. However, our failures of 9/11 proved generally our pre-9/11 counter-terrorism methods, tactics, and strategy were obsolete and inadequate. Therefore, by way of the war against the particular enemy, our counter-terrorism ability is evolving to compete with the adaptable 'open source' methods, tactics, and strategy of terrorism that virally develop and spread among revolutionary radical groups and aspirants, foreign and domestic.

[Brigitte]

Eric, as always your comment is thoughtful and very much appreciated.
As for suspecting Arabs and/or Muslims immediately after the Oklahoma City bombing, there was plenty of reason to suspect person's in or infected by the anti-government, right-wing extremist fringe at the time.

[Eric Chen]

Professor Nacos,

"the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995 was spontaneously and, of course, wrongly blamed on “Middle Easterners” or Arabs or Muslims."

I agree with almost all of this post, especially the obsolescence of the notion that in order to qualify as a terrorist one must be a dues-paying, card-carrying, registered member of a terrorist organization, but I take issue with your implication that the initial speculation about the origin of the Oklahoma City bombers was baseless.

At the time, Islamic terrorism and incitement against the West already had a decades-long history. More, at the time of the Oklahoma City bombing, our mission to disarm Saddam's Iraq was collapsing and radical Islamic extremists, indeed much of the Arab public, were rallied against our then-intervention in Iraq - which unlike our current liberal mission in Iraq, lacked any commitment to a better future for Iraq. Specifically, a similar high-profile Islamic extremist terror attack had recently happened within the US, on the World Trade Center, in 1993, which also used a vehicle-based demolition bomb. Not to mention, of course, the famous 1983 vehicle-bombing of the US Embassy in Beirut. In short, given the historical context, it would have been no less than naive and foolish for anyone not to immediately suspect Islamic terrorists.

But law enforcement did their job, the culprits were soon identified, and historical context changed. Of course, terrorism is largely a method adaptable by different revolutionary radical groups. A promising attempt by one group can be improved upon by another group in short order. The right-wing radicals of 1995 learned from the Islamist radicals of 1993, and in turn, the Islamist radicals learned from the right-wing radicals of 1995, perhaps influencing the 1998 US Embassy truck-bombings. The different identities of the bombers in no way diminished the Islamic terrorist threat even as the politically correct perspective sought to distract us from the known, threatening, and dangerous enemy.