Countering Female Terrorism

This analysis examines female terrorist activity in three cases (the United States, Israel, and Russia) and identifies six counterterrorism deficiencies (exploitation, organizational, technological, denial and deception, tactical, and cultural/ideological) that help to explain why observers failed to anticipate the emergence and scope of female militancy. Drawing from these lessons, two potential scenarios for significant and/or surprising female terrorism are examined with respect to left-wing terrorism in the United States and global Islamism.