Lone Wolf Packs And Grapevines...

Written by David DiCrescenzo on . Posted in Op-Ed

It seems like every other day some jihad driven Muslim “lone wolf” commits some sort of attack somewhere on the planet and we are told not to jump to conclusions by all of the talking heads, only to find out in the ensuing hours how the perpetrator was a “home grown” this, or someone that was “on the radar” that.  And of course, whether they are directly involved or not, the good folks over at ISIS rarely miss the opportunity to take the credit. 

Of late, the UK and France seem to be the preferred targets.  Part of me thinks that those areas are targeted due to the inability of the citizens of those countries to arm and defend themselves; and while we certainly see such attacks occurring more and more in America, there are fewer due to the fact that said “lone wolves” know that the guy or gal standing next to them might very well be armed and ready to drop them before they can finish their chant and say “ackbar.”  However, another part of me thinks that given the huge Muslim populations of those nations, a point is being made that they are strong and in control; points strengthened by the limp, placid responses issued by those governments.

My point today really has nothing to do with the place or the reasons for the attacks; what I really don’t understand is the whole “lone wolf” terminology regarding the offenders.  It is almost as if the government/media complex is trying to somehow convince the masses that the problem isn’t as big as it is, giving people some sort of a false sense of security. 

In the animal kingdom, there are lone wolves that for one reason or another are not part of a pack.  Maybe they got forced out by a stronger male, maybe they got sick or lost their mother and somehow survived.  In any case, those four legged lone wolves lead their dangerous solitary existence fending for themselves by foraging and killing without contact with other wolves until the day they finally succumb to illness or other predators.

Are there loners in the world we live in..?  There absolutely are; there are those who for various reasons have chosen to isolate themselves from society and keep to themselves even as they live among us.  Certainly there are others who take isolation to the extreme and escape to the wilderness, live far off the grid, and fend for themselves come what may.

However, the idea that any jihadi ever acts as a “lone wolf” is preposterous.  They learn what to do and how to do it via their networks.  Even when they strike “alone,” they are still doing so as part of a vast connected group, which is why I refer to them as a worldwide “lone wolf pack.”

It is only after the fact, we check to see where they’ve visited and who they might have been in contact with; we check their social media profiles, their homes, and their computers.  Too often we find they are or recently were in contact with and/or followed the teachings of some very sinister individuals.

I liken their closeness to a bunch of grapes on a vine; while each grape is a separate fruit by itself, they all cluster very closely and draw their nourishment from the same source.

If we in the West don’t get serious and chop down the “lone wolf grapevine” and destroy its roots very soon, the consequences are very easy to predict.