New homeland security research findings that challenge some current government strategies were published and discussed before an audience that included a large contingent from the federal policy community, earlier this week.

Department of Homeland Security Center of Excellence researchers presented findings on the effectiveness of current strategies, including work on the psychology and motivation of terrorists and suicide bombers, as well as lessons from Hurricane Katrina that focus on community preparedness and resilience. The studies are being prepared for publication at a later date.

This was the first annual research symposium offered by the Department of Homeland Security Center of Excellence based at the University of Maryland, College Park, the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START).

Research findings include:

Behavior and psychology of terrorist groups
• The rise of suicide bombings does not reflect a so-called ‘new terrorism’ motivated by a lust for catastrophic destruction; it results from deliberate innovations by terrorist groups motivated by the goal of strategic effectiveness.

• Conventional understanding of suicide bombers’ motivation is flawed and underestimates the rational decisions made by bombers.

• ‘Get tough’ counter-terror measures historically enhanced rather than deterred the cycle of violence, based on an analysis of terror incidents in Northern Ireland.

Katrina lessons on community resilience
• START gave a presentation of a new method for assessing a community’s level of psycho-social resilience to traumas like a terrorist attack or natural disaster (based on research in Oklahoma City that suggested a connection between the 1995 bombing there and a more traumatic response to 9/11).

• Guidelines were presented on how preparedness planning can be adapted to recognize the value of the public as a resource, rather than as a problem to be managed.

•Date: 30th June 2006• Region: US •Type: Article •Topic: Terrorism
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