Global Jihadism and Homeland Security: Origins, Evolution, and Future of the Threat

This monograph outlines the emergence of global jihadism, the role of al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden in facilitating this ideology, and the evolution of jihadist terrorism targeting the United States (before and after 9/11). It presents an assessment of the continuing threat jihadist terrorism poses to American homeland security, including a comparison with non-jihadist terrorism and prospects for high-impact terrorist attacks following the Boston Marathon bombing. The appendix describes more than 70 known jihadist plots to strike targets in the United States, from the 1993 armed assault outside CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia to the attempted bombing of Mid-Continental Airport in Wichita, Kansas at the end of 2013. (Monograph: 18,000 words, not including endnotes.)

Jeffrey Thomas is a policy analyst and author specializing in homeland security, counterterrorism, and religiously motivated violence. He is currently writing a book (forthcoming from Praeger in 2015) on the rise of the homeland security enterprise in the United States and its impact on Muslim Americans. Previously, he served as Senior Fellow for Homeland Security at the Center for the Study of the Presidency & Congress (CSPC) and as Research Associate for the Islam Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). He is a contributing author to the book "Islam in Russia: The Politics of Identity and Security" (M.E. Sharpe).