The Domestic Terrorist Threat - Essay Example

The number of hate groups and anti-government extremists in the United States has been on the rise. For instance, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) reported that as of 2010, there were more than 1000 hate groups in America (Bjelopera, 2013). Furthermore, political polarization in the US has been intense in recent years, and there has been widespread distrust in the government. These are some of the factors further contributing to the growth of domestic terrorists in the US.

            Although domestic terrorism is a threat, international terrorism is more dangerous to the general American public. This is because most domestic terrorists use non-violent approaches that do not directly cause harm to the American public. For instance, animal rights extremists use what they call ‘direct action’ which mainly involves protests and other resistance activities. In addition, non-violent criminal activities involving fraud and cyber-terrorism are also used by domestic terrorists, and these do not necessarily cause direct harm to the public (Bjelopera, 2013). However, international terrorists, their main aim is usually to kill and cause maximum damage. For example, the 911 attack left more than 3000 dead and property worth billions of dollars destroyed. No domestic terrorist activity can ever get close to this.