# How much could (current/reasonable) domestic actions provoke terrorism if it were a goal? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [June 26, 2017, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-could-current-reasonable-domestic-actions-provoke-terrorism-if-it-were-a-goal/789939 "2017-06-26T21:46:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2017, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-could-current-reasonable-domestic-actions-provoke-terrorism-if-it-were-a-goal/789939/1 "2017-06-26T21:46:23Z")
So there are plenty of liberals theorizing that on some level, some of the government’s current actions are at least partly designed to provoke a domestic terror event that would be used to make the power of those currently in government permanent or semi permanent. I’m not interested here in whether this theory is actually true. What I want to debate is whether and how much the current administration’s actions will or would actually increase the chances of a terrorist attack on American soil, and what sort of reasonable (feel free to use your own definition, but make it clear) acts of a hypothetical government that definitely wants to provoke a terrorist attack on U.S. soil would actually make a significant advancement towards that goal. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2017, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-could-current-reasonable-domestic-actions-provoke-terrorism-if-it-were-a-goal/789939/2 "2017-06-26T21:55:23Z")
If enough Trump-nominated justices overturn Roe, you could see SCUM Manifesto radfems carrying out an attack. If Trump claims, “My policies have prevented terrorism, not a single attack since my travel ban, what a blemish-free record!”, that could drive some folks to carry out an attack, just to spite him. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2017, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-could-current-reasonable-domestic-actions-provoke-terrorism-if-it-were-a-goal/789939/3 "2017-06-26T22:00:28Z")
That is a very good point: the difference between domestic and foreign terrorists being those responsible in the hypothetical. Feel free to work it in. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2017, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-could-current-reasonable-domestic-actions-provoke-terrorism-if-it-were-a-goal/789939/4 "2017-06-26T22:02:04Z")
I assume we’re talking about Islam-inspired terrorism, and not another Scalise-style political assassination attempt, right? I’m not sure what current domestic actions have really varied much from Obama-era activities. The now-partially-enforceable travel ban is the only concrete example I can think of, and even that may not count as “domestic” since it’s dealing with foreigners … He’s continued to bomb ISIS, but Obama was already doing lots of that, and again, that’s foreign, not domestic. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2017, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-could-current-reasonable-domestic-actions-provoke-terrorism-if-it-were-a-goal/789939/5 "2017-06-26T22:13:56Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > I assume we’re talking about Islam-inspired terrorism, and not another Scalise-style political assassination attempt, right? Given the purported purpose of such acts, I’m going to say yes, although if someone wants to argue that the latter would accomplish the same hypothetical goal, they’re free to do so. ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2017, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-could-current-reasonable-domestic-actions-provoke-terrorism-if-it-were-a-goal/789939/6 "2017-06-27T17:02:05Z")
Gut welfare and government expenditures in Dixie, crack down on minority communities, cut healthcare, and let Wall St. do whatever and keep bailing them out when they crash the economy. The American internal security state is formidable, but I’d figure at some point the guillotines would come out. I’m a little surprised one of the many tens of thousands who’ve had their lives ruined by America’s so-called healthcare system hasn’t grabbed a rifle and taken their anger out on those they deem responsible. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2017, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-could-current-reasonable-domestic-actions-provoke-terrorism-if-it-were-a-goal/789939/7 "2017-06-27T17:53:43Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > So there are plenty of liberals… Who are these liberal, if I may ask? ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2017, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-could-current-reasonable-domestic-actions-provoke-terrorism-if-it-were-a-goal/789939/8 "2017-06-27T22:27:29Z")
> [@Fiddle\_Peghead](#): > > Who are these liberal, if I may ask? I found an example, right here on the Dope. Oddly enough, it was in Leaper’s “companion” thread. > [@What factors would be needed to turn the United States into a dictatorship?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-factors-would-be-needed-to-turn-the-united-states-into-a-dictatorship/789941/28): > > … > > Now all that is lacking is: > > 1. Orchestrate an act of violence (to blame on one of the demonized “others”) to convince the people that their lives are in danger and that it is the democratic process that allows these things to happen and it must be abandoned “temporarily” for the sake of public safety. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2017, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-could-current-reasonable-domestic-actions-provoke-terrorism-if-it-were-a-goal/789939/9 "2017-06-27T22:31:55Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > I found an example, right here on the Dope. Oddly enough, it was in Leaper’s “companion” thread. Thanks, but “one” does not equal “plenty”. But I retract my question. I don’t want to hijack the thread. Sorry for the post. ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2017, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-could-current-reasonable-domestic-actions-provoke-terrorism-if-it-were-a-goal/789939/10 "2017-06-28T01:51:32Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > What I want to debate is whether and how much the current administration’s actions will or would actually increase the chances of a terrorist attack on American soil, Since it’s an increase you are interested in and a lot of the current background “noise” gets ignored, it may be useful for some to consider what the current threat is. Using the Global Terror Database maintained by the University of Maryland’s START (a tortured acronym for the national consortium for the Study of Terrorism And Responses to Terrorism) and hosted on their website it looks like 151 terror attacks in the US in the ten year period 2006-2015 inclusive. That’s with the [advanced search criteria](http://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/Results.aspx?expanded=no&casualties_type=b&casualties_max=&start_yearonly=2006&end_yearonly=2015&criterion1=yes&criterion2=yes&criterion3=yes&dtp2=all&success=yes&country=217&ob=GTDID&od=desc&page=1&count=20#results-table) set to include ambiguous cases and unsuccessful attacks but requiring that all of their three criteria for terror attacks are met. Those criteria are: [quote] Criterion I: The act must be aimed at attaining a political, economic, religious, or social goal. Criterion II: There must be evidence of an intention to coerce, intimidate, or convey some other message to a larger audience (or audiences) than the immediate victims. Criterion III: The action must be outside the context of legitimate warfare activities, i.e. the act must be outside the parameters permitted by international humanitarian law (particularly the admonition against deliberately targeting civilians or non-combatants). If we exclude ambiguous cases and unsuccessful attacks it’s still at 117 across the decade. If you check the graph there’s an upswing at the end of that period (2013-2015). Excluding ambiguous cases and unsuccessful attacks 2015 had 29 incidents for the peak year of that decade. Just shy of one succesful terror attack a month is the US average across the decade. The peak year in the decade was the most recent with more than two attacks per month. November 2015 was the peak month of that peak year with seven successfully executed attacks. That’s the baseline. 1-2 terror attacks a month is the recent norm in the US.