42 Tell-tale Signs Suggesting How to Identify Sleepers

This post is about Terrorism Awareness.

Daniel B. Kennedy, Robert J. Homant, and Erick Barnes are the authors of “An Insider View of the Sleeper Cell Terrorist: A Face Validity Study,” Journal of Applied Security Research, 3(3–4), 2008: 325-50, based on the research of Daniel Pipes, who argues the importance of sleeper cells and then lists 42 tell-tale signs suggesting how to identify sleepers.

Kennedy, Homant & Barnes tested those signs by turning to “a diverse sample of Muslim ‘insiders’ to evaluate the 42 characteristics listed by Pipes as being possible indicators of a sleeper” (where an insider is defined as “anyone who grew up in the Islamic religion and culture, and has some knowledge of what it means to be a Muslim in a Westernized society”)

If you see something, say something.  An excerpt from “An Insider View of the Sleeper Cell Terrorist: A Face Validity Study”:

The 42 traits that Pipes lists are subdivided into six categories:

• connection with foreign countries (4 items);
• making preparations for (terrorist) operations (9 items);
• displaying certain attitudes, such as “accusing the West of trying to destroy Islam” (p. 153) (11 items);
• identity problems (e.g., “cover story that does not ring true,” p. 153) (5 items)
• questionable social activities (e.g., financial support for militant Islamic groups) (6 items);
• miscellaneous pointers, such as “a preference for cash transactions” (p. 154) (7 items).

The following is a table of weights that were assigned to answers on questionnaires that subjects were given:

• Background: Arabic is the person’s native language
• Foreign connection: Came to U.S. from a country where a violent Islamic group is known to operate in a widespread fashion.
• Preparations: Detonators for explosives found in garage
• Attitudes: Excuses terrorist actions against the U.S. because they were provoked by U. S. policies.
• Identity Problems: Falsely claims to be a French citizen
• Social Activities: Attends services at a local mosque known for the militancy of its Imam.
• Miscellaneous: Lives in a multicultural, “anything goes” sort of neighborhood.
• Control: Works in a department store selling clothing.

Oh, and if you didn’t hear me say it before, I’ll say it again.

If you see something, say something.

What happened in Mumbai was not an aberration.  It is the Muslim terrorist standard.

It was Thanksgiving.  It got everyone’s worldwide attention.

It could have been revenge on the part of Pakistan against India for .having blown up a pirated Thai fishing vessel stolen by Somalian pirates.

Or it could not have been.

Muslims are involved in 25 of some 30 conflicts going on in the world: in Afghanistan, Algeria, Bangladesh, Bosnia, Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Cyprus, East Timor, India, Indonesia (2 provinces), Kashmir, Kazakastan, Kosovo, Kurdistan, Macedonia, the Middle East, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Sudan, Russia-Chechnya, Tajikistan, Thailand, Uganda and Uzbekistan.

Doesn’t this mean that extremist Islam is the norm and normal Islam is extremely rare?