Unit VI project domestic terrorism - Research Paper Example

The Unabomber of Affiliation The Unabomber United s of America has been on both defensive and offensive missions against terrorism. The most recent one being the September 11 attacks that targeted World Trade Centre and Pennsylvania. This activity has been blown out of proportion to the extent that terrorism has almost acquired a whole new meaning. In other words, most people have come to believe that terrorism is always from foreign forces. However, the bitter reality is that American is more vulnerable to domestic terrorism as compared to even the international terrorist organizations.

In this paper, I explore the life, activities and sentence of the Unabomber- Theodore John Kaczynski.For a period spanning to almost two decades, Theodore John Kaczynski waged a solitary terrorist war in United States of America. He is a former professor of mathematics in Harvard and Berkeley. According to reflections of his childhood as presented by his family, the Unabomber preferred solitude. Nonetheless, his IQ was regarded above genius, a condition that presumably led him to win a scholarship to study at Harvard when he was aged 16 years.

His solitary preference became evident at age 26 when he relinquished his teaching duties at Berkeley University. He suddenly isolated himself from the society (McCann, 2006). Kaczynski rolled out his first attack three days immediately after his 36th birthday. He used letter bombs to target university professors in the field of computer science, engineering and biology. He also targeted the owners and managers of airlines. In a given case, Ted aimed at hitting a businessman who ran a small computer store.

To scare away investigators, he used pieces of small of his bombs marked with the initials FC. FC is the initial for Freedom Club, which is the infamous terrorist group objecting all forms of scientific and technological advancements (McCann, 2006). Essentially, Kaczynski wanted to pass a message that he was opposed to technological advancements. According to the tip received from his brother, David, Ted’s Manifesto was entitles Industrial Society and its Future. It claimed strong attachment with anarchists and the environmentalists who objected the application of technology in the production processes.

His specific targets were businessmen, scientists as well as innocent people. Several accounts of terrorist charges were leveled against him following his arrest in 1996 including 16 letter bombs that ended up killing three people and injuring 29 more. A massive manhunt was set-up in pursuit of the Unabomber. It is estimated the Federal Bureau of investigators spent over $50 million in his search. It took them 17 years before finally catching up with the terrorist in 1996. He was found hiding in a single room shack constructed with plywood in the mountainous region of western Montana.

His trial officially kicked off one year later after his arrest. According to provisional results from medical check-up, the Unabomber was diagnosed with paranoid schizophreni though it was highly disputed by other professionals (Oswell, 2007). Kaczynski was charged on several accounts, key of which being murders, illegal transportation, and mailing and in possession of bombs. The prosecution team aimed at having the courts sentence him to death penalty. Fortunately, the Unabomber evaded death penalty by this by pleading guilty.

He was sentenced to four life terms that did not include any provision for a parole. At the moment, he is confined within the walls of “Supermax” prison in Colorado. It is also here where several other domestic terrorists are held (Oswell, 2007). ReferencesMcCann, J. (2006). Terrorism on American soil. Boulder, CO: Sentient Publications.Oswell, D.E. (2007). The Unabomber and the Zodiac. New York, NY: Lulu.com.