Analysis from STRATFOR on the attack in Norway:
” . . . the lone wolf operational model presents a number of challenges for law enforcement, intelligence and security officers. The primary challenge is that, by definition, lone wolves are solitary actors and it can be very difficult to determine their intentions before they act because they do not work with anyone else. . . . This ability to fly solo and under the radar of law enforcement has meant that some lone- wolf militants such as Joseph Paul Franklin, Theodore Kaczynski and Eric Rudolph were able to operate for years before being identified and captured. Indeed, from Breivik’s diary, we know he took several years to plan and execute his attack without detection.”
” . . . the concept of a self-identified Justiciar Knight is quite similar to the idea of a “Phineas Priest†in the leaderless resistance model propagated by some white supremacists in the United States who adhere to “Christian Identity†ideology. In this model, Phineas Priests see themselves as lone wolf militants chosen by God and set apart to be his “agents of vengeance†upon the earth. Phineas Priests also believe that their attacks will serve to ignite a wider “racial holy war†that will ultimately lead to the salvation of the white race. Leaderless resistance has also been advocated by militant anarchists as well as animal rights and environmentalist activists who belong to such groups as the Animal Liberation Front and the Earth Liberation Front. So it is not correct to think of leaderless resistance merely as a jihadist construct — it has long been used by a variety of militant actors.”
Read more: Norway: Lessons from a Successful Lone Wolf Attacker | STRATFOR
[Republished with permission of STRATFOR.]