News Analysis: Attacks in U.S., Canada underscore danger of home-grown terror

by Matthew Rusling

A spate of recent terror attacks in the United States and Canada underscore the danger of so-called "lone wolf" terror attacks that appear to be on the rise in the West.

A gunman stormed Canada's parliament in Ottawa on Oct. 22 after killing an unarmed ceremonial guard outside the building and was later shot dead by security. The incident followed a recent attack whereby a man purposely rammed his car into two Canadian soldiers near Montreal, killing one of them.

Also this month four New York City police officers were attacked in broad daylight by a hatchet-wielding assailant. And last month a man in the U.S. State of Oklahoma beheaded a coworker.

In all these cases, the attackers were allegedly recent converts to Islam. While information is still trickling out, the attacks appear to be acts of terror, highlighting the danger the West and North America are facing from "lone wolves" with radical ideology.

From a law enforcement standpoint, "lone wolves" are nearly impossible to preempt. They do not belong to terror cells, which precludes the possibility of law enforcement infiltrating the groups or monitoring their movements. Attacks can usually be stopped only when they are already in progress, experts say.

Rather than taking orders from superiors, home-grown radicals are influenced by the hateful ideology spewed by terror groups including the al-Qaida and the Islamic State (IS), the latter having in recent months overrun vast swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria.

In his book entitled "A Battle for the Soul of Islam," author Zuhdi Jasser noted that several U.S.-born Muslims or naturalized U.S. citizens have plotted to attack the United States.

Other American radicals have traveled overseas to link up with groups such as the IS, part of a trend of Western nations' citizens joining up with terror groups abroad.

Jasser told Xinhua that it is Islamist supremacist ideology, rather than political events and grievances, that drives Islamist terrorism.

In a recent speech, U.S. President Barack Obama said the White House aims to tackle the extremist ideology that has inspired so much violence, although some are skeptical over whether the U.S. can have an impact.

Wayne White, former deputy director of the U.S. State Department's Middle East Intelligence Office, told Xinhua it would be difficult for Washington to battle the spread of such ideology, as the U.S. is perceived by many in the Muslim world as a "Christian" country.

Moreover, the invasion of Iraq, U.S. support for Israel and ongoing drone strikes in Muslim countries are widely unpopular in the Islamic world.

"Washington's ability to address the overarching issue of Islamic radicalism is extremely limited," White said.