History Main / WesternTerrorists

Another good source of Euro-villainy is the post-Soviet weaponmonger. This person may be a fascist, but usually they [[TerroristsWithoutACause serve no cause other than the creation of chaos]], a [[WarForFunAndProfit self-sustaining market]] for their endless supplies of nukes, viruses, and other deadly toys for their more ideologically minded customers to use on each other. In series where such black-market dealers and {{Corrupt Corporate Executive}}s exist, they inevitably prove to be ''more'' dangerous than the Islamists/neo-Nazis/''revolucionistas''/etc. to whom they're selling weaponry. Newer ones however prefer to [[MakeTheBearAngryAgain reinstall the old Soviet Regime]] without the communist ideals and instead aim for a rule resembling more that of Ivan the Terrible.

Basically, a group of terrorists who are mostly from the West (Europe or North America, although groups from South America, Australia, or even Oceania could qualify), and who are mainly influenced by cultural, political or religious ideas of Western origin. The trope may also cover a single individual. What makes someone "Western" can be rather hazy and difficult to define, since it's not simply a matter of where the person was born or grew up (many Islamic terrorists, generally regarded as non-Western, lived the majority of their lives in the West, and for that matter many elements of Islamic culture - coffee-drinking, for instance - have profoundly influenced Western society, making it tough to ascertain who's "Western" and who's not). Generally, a "Western terrorist" is a terrorist fighting for something that has been an issue in the West for a long time - like anarchism, communism, Christian religion, environmentalism, nationalism, or racism - as opposed to an issue most strongly associated with another culture (like non-Christian religion). Bear in mind that an apparently non-Western terrorist group may be secretly led by Western terrorists acting as TheManBehindTheMan. For example, this would be the case if an apparent Islamic terrorist group turned out to be part of a secret neo-Nazi plot to provoke World War III.

Basically, a group of terrorists who are mostly from the West (Europe or North America, although groups from South America, Australia, or even Oceania could qualify), and who are mainly influenced by cultural, political or religious ideas of Western origin. The trope may also cover a single individual. What makes someone "Western" can be rather hazy and difficult to define, since it's not simply a matter of where the person was born or grew up (many Islamic terrorists, generally regarded as non-Western, lived the majority of their lives in the West). Generally, a "Western terrorist" is a terrorist fighting for something that has been an issue in the West for a long time - like anarchism, communism, Christian religion, environmentalism, nationalism, or racism - as opposed to an issue most strongly associated with another culture (like non-Christian religion). Bear in mind that an apparently non-Western terrorist group may be secretly led by Western terrorists acting as TheManBehindTheMan. For example, this would be the case if an apparent Islamic terrorist group turned out to be part of a secret neo-Nazi plot to provoke World War III.

Basically, a group of terrorists who are mostly from the West (Europe or North America), and who are mainly influenced by cultural, political or religious ideas of Western origin. The trope may also cover a single individual. What makes someone "Western" can be rather hazy and difficult to define, since it's not simply a matter of where the person was born or grew up (many Islamic terrorists, generally regarded as non-Western, lived the majority of their lives in the West). Generally, a "Western terrorist" is a terrorist fighting for something that has been an issue in the West for a long time - like anarchism, communism, Christian religion, environmentalism, nationalism, or racism - as opposed to an issue most strongly associated with another culture (like non-Christian religion). Bear in mind that an apparently non-Western terrorist group may be secretly led by Western terrorists acting as TheManBehindTheMan. For example, this would be the case if an apparent Islamic terrorist group turned out to be part of a secret neo-Nazi plot to provoke World War III.

Some groups of WesternTerrorists that have appeared in media and news are various AnimalWrongsGroup, whose actions have been dubbed eco-terrorism. There are also [[RightWingMilitiaFanatic militia groups]]. Other examples include extreme Nationalists and radical extremists. UsefulNotes/TheTroubles in Northern Ireland is also notable - a definitely European dispute, with white Christians involved in sectarian violence which included riots and violence.

Some Western Terrorists are also TerroristsWithoutACause. Often overlaps with YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters, especially when the WesternTerrorists are portrayed as Irish or white supremacist. See also WhiteGangBangers.

* The villains of most episodes of the short lived television show ''Threat Matrix'' were WesternTerrorists.

!!Includes Western TerroristsWithoutACause, and {{Corrupt Corporate Executive}}s.

* Though not the main villain, the very Middle Eastern character The Hassassin of ''AngelsAndDemons'' is replaced in the movie by a generic (though very creepy) Caucasian villain for hire in the movie version.

* Spoofed in the ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' episode "The Snuke", a parody of ''[[Series/TwentyFour 24]]'' where Cartman (playing the role of Jack Bauer) is convinced the new Muslim kid in school is a terrorist, and tips off the government. Turns out there ''is'' a terrorist plot going on in South Park, but it involves Russian mercenaries trying to distract the government with a nuclear device planted in Hillary Clinton's crotch while America's oldest enemies (the ''British'') stage a naval assault.
* In ''GIJoe'', COBRA was always referred to as a "terrorist" organization, even though it was closer in every way to James Bond's SPECTRE or Nick Fury's HYDRA than anything resembling modern terrorism (western or otherwise). The comic version of the franchise portrayed COBRA as tapping into the frustrations of lower to middle-class white Americans, even making Cobra Commander into a former used car salesman. COBRA also tended to use [[TownWithADarkSecret ordinary, all-American small towns named Springfield]] as secret headquarters.

* The Eco-Villains of ''CaptainPlanet'' are this. One, such as Looten Plunder, crossing over into the realm of WhiteCollarCrime. Three--Plunder, Greedly and Sly Sludge--are just rich, myopic pricks who only really care about money (though they occasionally make quips about loving to pollute.) and Dr. Blight was out-and-out insane and wanted to cash in on dangerous, experimental technology. Exceptions were Verminous Skumm and Duke Nukem, and Zarm. [[CrapsackWorld Verminous Skumm wants humanity to live in miserable and chaotic conditions]], [[ILoveNuclearPower Duke Nukem wants humanity to be mutated like himself]], and [[ForTheEvulz Zarm wants to destroy the world]].

* ''EndWar'' has Russian forces disguising themselves as "The Forgotten Army", who "are" a band of soldiers from various nations misused by the US and Europe.
* In the movie ''Film/IronMan'', Tony Stark is imprisoned by Afghan terrorists hiding in caves inspired by Al Qaeda, but not explicitly Islamic or even entirely Middle Eastern (the terrorist group actually has different cells of different races). It turns out that [[spoiler:his capture was orchestrated by his white business partner Obadiah Stane, who later has the Afghan terrorists brutally murdered.]]
** In ''Film/IronMan3'', [[spoiler: Ben Kingsley's "Mandarin" turns out to be a totally stoned stage actor playing an in-universe caricature. The real mastermind is the (white) Aldrich Killian, who wants to run both sides of the War on Terror from behind the scenes. It's suggested he might have been behind Tony's abduction in the first place.]]
* Kyle Hobbes in [[{{V-2009}} the remake of V]].
* CaptainAmerica deals with a lot of these groups. The most prominent was ComicBook/{{HYDRA}}, led by Cap's ArchEnemy, the [[ThoseWackyNazis Red Skull]], which was bent on tyrannical world domination. He also tangled with the likes of AIM (dedicated to establishing a global technocracy), ULTIMATUM (dedicated on establishing a world without national borders of any kind), and the Secret Empire (modern-day fascists revealed to be led by none other than [[spoiler:RichardNixon]] though this was later retconned).
* The movie versions of ''Film/ResidentEvil'' has the Umbrella Corp. dedicated to causing a massive zombie epidemic for no particular reason.
* ''CharliesAngels'': The Patriots for a Free Society in the "Terror on Skis" episode seem to fit this trope. Their motivations seem to be muddled.

* The John Brown Army, headed by Emile Dufraisne, from ''Creator/TomClancy's VideoGame/SplinterCell: Double Agent''.

* MECH from ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime''.
* The Anarchiste Libertaire Armee in ''SyphonFilter: The Omega Strain''.
* La Eden of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam00'', a ultra-conservative political group within the AEU. They attempt to stop Celestial Being through random public attacks. One of the few groups in season one to be considered outright evil.
* The villains of ''ArlingtonRoad'' are implied to be this.

!!Includes [[ThoseWackyNazis Neo-Nazis]] and white, ethnic, or Anti-fantastic supremacists.

* In a ''Series/DoctorWho'' spin-off audio adventure, the villain (who desires to remove non-British from Britain) uses mind control to get people to blow themselves up shouting "THIS IS FOR MY PEOPLE!" Regardless of the nationality, he gets the press to cover it as a Muslim extremist (In the first instance, a Scot blew himself up, and was said on the news to be a Muslim student) or other non-British to cause riots and swell public support for his anti-foreigner agenda.
* A bunch of skinheads came damn close to assassinating the president in ''TheWestWing''. Although they weren't actually trying to assassinate President Bartlett, but rather his bodyman, Charlie Young. Though technically they were trying to kill him for political reasons (he was black and was dating [[ThePresidentsDaughter the president's white daughter]]).

* The NicolasCage movie ''Film/{{Next}}'' did this, with the bad guys being a group of apparently Francophone Europeans.

* Richard Thompson's song about terrorism, "Guns are the Tongues," seems to be about the IRA (he's said the organization is meant to be generic, but the checkpoint they blow up is in Glengary and there are other hints). Who the terrorists are, though, is really incidental - the point of the song is that there are other reasons besides ideological fervor one might become a terrorist (in this case, being seduced and rather mentally unbalanced to begin with) and that the [[YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters freedom fighter/ brutal terrorist line is really very subjective if it exists at all]].
** However, he does have a song sung from the perspective of a Muslim extremist suicide bomber, "Outside of the Inside".
* An episode of ''CrossingJordan'' had a terrorist bombing committed by a Westerner upset that the U.S. was not "protecting against terrorism enough" and wanted to prove it.
** There's an element of RippedFromTheHeadlines to this: the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001_anthrax_attacks anthrax case]] shortly after 9/11 remains unsolved, but the only major suspect has been an American virologist who would have had similar motives.
* The Drazens, the employers of [[TheDragon Ira Gaines]] in [[Series/TwentyFour 24]]'s Day 1, consisted of [[spoiler:Slobodan Milosevic's lieutenant Victor Drazen and his two sons]].
* The Order in the first ''VideoGame/SoldierOfFortune'' game.
* Most of CaptainAmerica's terrorist enemies are Conspiracy-type organizations, but the Sons of the Serpent fit more into this category. Think [[AllInTheFamily Archie Bunker]] if he were a murderous and genuinely bigoted psychopath, and you have a good idea of what the organization stands for.
* In the UK, Channel 4 aired an original drama called ''Gas Attack'' about a Neo-Nazi organizing an anthrax attack on a council estate full of Kurdish asylum seekers, as part of the Neo-Nazis plan to force the government to deport all immigrants, homosexuals and non-white British people from the country.
* ''VideoGame/RainbowSix 3: Raven Shield'' had neo-Nazis as bad guys.

* Any comic by FrankMiller will inevitably have Nazi henchmen. Oddly enough, they rarely, if ever, make racist remarks. In fact, a Neo-Nazi in SinCity is shown working for BigScaryBlackman Manute with no trouble.

* ''MobileSuitGundamSEED'' and ''MobileSuitGundamSEEDDestiny'' have Blue Cosmos, a radical anti-[[GattacaBabies Coordinator]] group with some serious funding and political backing. They're one of the factions that end up escalating the war into outright genocide.

* An episode of ''[[LawAndOrder Law And Order: Criminal Intent]]'' dealt with two Western, non-Arab converts to Islam who decided to become suicide bombers. Which may, in turn, have been inspired by the RealLife case of John Walker Lindh, the "American Taliban".
* Also a plot point in episodes of {{NCIS}} and ''Series/CriminalMinds'', where an Arab-born leader recruits Americans to carry out suicide missions.
* A recent ''EleventhHour'' had a group attacking the Philadelphia transit system. In this case our bad guys are... ''Belgian''? Though in this case, they are Islamic converts after the pattern of Lindh, mentioned above.
* Played with in Robert Zubrin's ''The Holy Land''. The terrorists are explicitly American, [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything but given that they act out of religious fanaticism manipulated by greedy politicians, use student visas to infiltrate the Western Galactic Empire, and sabotage passenger spacecraft to kill huge numbers of innocent civilians]], the readers are probably meant to view them otherwise.
** Used in a more meta- way later on. Even though all of the terrorists are Americans, the Western Galactic Empire is afraid of accusations of discrimination, and its own (Western) people are accused of terrorism by government and media at least as often as the Americans are.
* An episode of [[SeasonalRot the fifth series]] of ''{{Spooks}}'' featured the Sons of Phineas; former drug addicts who have been turned into fanatical assassins by a fundamentalist Anglican priest -which is arguably an oxymoron- during his rehab programmes. They might have been an interesting collection of enemies if the writers hadn't made them carbon copies of Islamic extremists with the terminology switched around (seriously, the first one who appears even yells, "Death to the enemies of Christ!" before he shoots a radical Muslim cleric). Furthermore, the minister who organised them seemed to honestly believe that this little band (which has about nine or ten guys at most) could eventually bring about the EndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt. Maybe it was supposed to be some sort of StealthParody?

* Season [[spoiler: 2]] of ''[[Series/TwentyFour 24]]'' used this for an actual, solid twist. The sister of a woman marrying a Muslim boy she met at college in London starts to suspect that he may have ties to a terrorist group. [[spoiler: Turns out he's innocent; it's her sister the ''bride'' who's been converted and embraced radical Islam.]]

!!Typically
* A recent episode of the U.S. version of ''Series/{{Life On Mars|2008}}'' featured the 1970s student-radical group the Weathermen claiming responsibility for (fictional) bomb attacks on former colleagues of Gene Hunt. Though they were a real left-wing terrorist group, they never attacked New York police in this manner.
* A bonus comic (''[[{{Pun}} Cross Fire]]'') in ''{{Hellsing}}'' features a communist group (hinted to consist of former Soviet officials), having brutally attacked a Catholic meeting and stolen millions from the Vatican, trying to buy weapons in a Berlin hotel (presumably to continue their anticlerical campaign). They are [[ChurchMilitant dealt with efficiently]].

* The fictional Citizen's Liberation Order for a Democratic Society (CLODS) in ''Magazine/{{MAD}}'' magazine. The CLODS' leader, Field Marshall Arnold Marighella was named ''MAD'''s "Underground Revolutionary" of The Year.

* In ''VideoGame/RainbowSix: Patriots'', the antagonists are a terrorist group called "True Patriots", who judging by their methods and motivations are a militarized, fanatic version of Occupy Wall Street.
* A Dutch fireworks safety campaign portrayed a stereotypical, ostensibly Islamist terrorist group who commit atrocities with the use of fireworks as explosives. Because of concerns over racism and offense, the campaign was re-branded to make the characters extremist Flemish separatists who now operate in Belgium where they can easily obtain illegal fireworks.

!!Also includes {{Animal Wrongs Group}}s.
* As an excuse to quit the SceneryCensor around Mariska Hargitay's pregnancy, an episode of ''LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'' had Benson going undercover with eco-terrorists for an off-screen arc.
* An episode of the British medical drama ''{{Casualty}}'' which would have begun with a Muslim carrying out a suicide bombing was rewritten so that the bombing was committed by [[AnimalWrongsGroup animal rights extremists]].

* The ''Series/CriminalMinds'' episode "Empty Planet" has an anti-technology bomber who believes that the world is going to be overtaken by robots if we don't do something about it. [[spoiler: Really, though, he was just trying to live out the plot of a novel because he believed the book's author was his mother and that somehow his crimes would serve to unite them.]]

* The NewsPaperComic MinimumSecurity has the main characters committing acts of eco-terrorism but it is treated in a heroic manner.
* A superpowered eco-terrorist group fought the NewWarriors a lot in the early days of their original series.
* A save-the-whales extremist tried to destroy a submarine on ''NCIS'', believing that naval sonar and other signaling was disrupting whales' migration and breeding.

* While the specific nationalities of the members of Danya's terrorists in ''SurvivalOfTheFittest'' has so far remained unknown (though judging by the names, at least one is Swedish), most of the terrorists look distinctly Western and have Western names. So far we've only seen one Asian terrorist, a Vietnamese woman.
* The ''ActOfWar'' series uses a Russian with a vendetta and various groups of Marxist/eco-terrorist groups out of Latin America and Mexico. Ironically, they're used by a bunch of Oil Corporations to take over the Earth. There also appear to be corporate security and Islamic terrorists among them, too.

* The BigBad in some of the ''RogueWarrior'' books (Marcinko claims they are based on real life but one novel has Portland torn apart, so it's safely fictional) has ''ties'' to Muslim terrorists (allowing for a scene in which Dick Marcinko blows away Arabs) but completely unrelated goals. Red Cell and Task Force Blue was domestic traitors, SEAL Team Alpha was government insiders for the Chinese, Violence of Action was Neo-Nazis, Vengeance were the children of a soldier who died under Marcinko in Vietnam. Green Team was global terrorism with the BigBad an Islamist sympathizer, and Designation Gold was the Russian mafiya and American traitors in a plot to boost the Russians in Israel and Syria.
* Various episodes of ''Criminal Minds'':

* In the ''CommandAndConquerTiberium'' series, most of the characters of the Brotherhood of Nod, a mysterious terrorist organization, are Westerners. Their only Middle Eastern character, Hassan, turns out to be a double agent working for the GDI, and is later defeated and executed by the Brotherhood. They combine Radical, Religious, and arguably Ecological terrorism.\\
\\
The second and third give most of them Eastern European or Oriental names: Anton Slavik, Oxana Cristos, Killian Quatar, Ajay, Marcion, etc. The Eastern overtones are quite obvious in their peculiar brand of architecture (a sort of uber-modernist meld of Islamic and Orthodox Christian), their religious views, and the fact that they're most active in Eastern Europe (Kane has a thing for Sarajevo).
* ''The Trigger'' by ArthurCClarke and Michael Kube-[=McDowell=] uses fictional examples of Conspiracy [=/=] Terrorists Without a Cause and Reactionary Militas, and an apparently real-life but rather obscure one, Los Macheteros (terrorists for Puerto Rican independence.) Wouldn't be so noticeable if Eastern and Middle Eastern terrorists weren't absent.
* The first ''DarwinsSoldiers'' RP features homegrown terrorists who invade Pelvanida with the express goal of stealing some supplies to build an [[CoolGate Einstein-Rosen Bridge]].
* The ''ComicStrip/ModestyBlaise'' story "The Vampire of Malvescu" featured Europe's Fist, a terrorist group dedicated to striking back by committing a retaliatory act of terrorism for every act of Middle Eastern terrorism committed against Europe.
* The titular character of ''ComicBook/VForVendetta'', a {{Deconstruction}} of the BombThrowingAnarchist, qualifies. Whether he is simply an AntiHero, a WellIntentionedExtremist, or a villain is likely to depend to a large extent on the reader's political views (V expresses that he considers himself the Monster); WordOfGod indicates that this is intentional. However, given that, typical of Moore's BlackAndGreyMorality, he is the opposition to the openly fascist Norsefire régime, which crosses the MoralEventHorizon several times, he is likely to be viewed significantly more sympathetically than a large number of other examples on this list.
* Cordis Die, Raul Menendez's terrorist organization from ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps2'' is rather difficult to classify. On the surface, they make themselves out to be a populist faction that seeks justice for the oppressed 99%, taking several cues from the Occupy Wall Street movement, but in reality, they serve simply as a means for their Nicaraguan narco-terrorist leader to take revenge on the West for the devastation of his country and the death of his sister. It has members all around the world, and they do indeed include insurgent groups in Yemen and Afghanistan, but the vast majority of their armed forces consist of Cuban mercenaries, who are, in turn, commanded by a white British guy.
* Several of the disruptive events of the Pattern, on ''{{Fringe}}'' would technically rank as state-sponsored terrorism against the United States ''by the alternate United States''.
* The [[spoiler: three Titan Shifter [[TheMole spies]]]] from ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'' are definitely terrorists from a pseudo-Germanic nation, engaging in organized attacks to destabilize their enemy while [[spoiler: infiltrating the ranks of the military]]. However, the exact nature of their motivations and cause remain unknown other than the fact it went from a campaign of extermination to attempting to kidnap the LivingMacGuffin once they learned of his existence.

* The NicolasCage movie ''Next'' did this, with the bad guys being a group of apparently Francophone Europeans.

* In the movie ''Film/IronMan'', Tony Stark is imprisoned by Afghan terrorists hiding in caves inspired by Al Qaeda, but not explicitly Islamic or even entirely Middle Eastern (the terrorist group actually has different cells of different races). It turns out that his capture was orchestrated by his white business partner Obadiah Stane, who later has the Afghan terrorists brutally murdered.

* The Big Bads in the sadly Vin Diesel-less ''{{xXx}}: State of the Union'' were of the right-wing military splinter ideology type.

** Doubly subverted in "''Rogue''" where the RogueWarrior {{Expy}} and his men, not only captures a nuclear attack submarine (SSN), as per orders, but also takes it to sea and threatens to attack NewYork unless a ransom is paid. Turns at that the end that the intentions were honorable: a wakeup call to make officials aware of the threats posed by terrorists such as OsamaBinLaden...

** In ''Film/IronMan3'', [[spoiler: Ben Kingsley's "Mandarin" turns out to be a totally stoned stage actor playing an in-universe caricature. The real mastermind is the (white) Aldrich Killian, who wants to run both sides of the War on Terror from behind the scenes.]]

Some groups of WesternTerrorists that have appeared in media and news are various AnimalWrongsGroup, whose actions have been dubbed eco-terrorism. There are also [[RightWingMilitiaFanatic militia groups]]. Other examples include extreme Nationalists and radical extremists. UsefulNotes/TheTroubles in Northern Ireland is also notable - a definitely European dispute, with white Christians involved in sectarian violence which included riots and violence. Naturally some writers still managed to get it wrong.

[[folder: Radical Terrorism]]

* In "The Big Explosion" episode of ''Radio/{{Dragnet}}'', a white supremacist steals dynamite from a construction site and plans to use it to blow up an integrated elementary school during school hours. Sgt. Friday and Officer Gannon must use trickery to find the TNT.

* The [[spoiler: three Titan Shifter [[TheMole spies]]]] from ''ShingekiNoKyojin'' are definitely terrorists from a pseudo-Germanic nation, engaging in organized attacks to destabilize their enemy while [[spoiler: infiltrating the ranks of the military]]. However, the exact nature of their motivations and cause remain unknown other than the fact it went from a campaign of extermination to attempting to kidnap the LivingMacGuffin once they learned of his existence.

* The villains of [[Series/TwentyFour 24]]'s Day [[spoiler:2 were [[spoiler:a conglomerate of {{Corrupt Corporate Executive}}s in the oil business, as well as a German arms dealer called Max, all of whom hired Peter Kingsley to give a nuclear device to Islamic terrorists and frame three Middle Eastern countries for the act so the United States could invade these countries and secure a steady supply of oil in the Caspian Sea.]]

Basically, a group of terrorists who are mostly from the West. Their reasons and goals may vary, but such groups exist to cause violence and death to coerce others. The trope may also cover an individual. An apparently Extremist Islamic Terrorist group may really be Westerners being TheManBehindTheMan.

{{Creators}} may opt to draw from RealLife terrorism cases from Anders Breivek to Germany's National Socialist Underground to the civilian mass-murders orchestrated in Northern Ireland, instead of the arguably more topical example of Middle Eastern terrorists. They may find Western terrorism more interesting than its counterparts in the rest of the world.

Basically, a group of terrorists who are mostly from the West. Their reasons and goals may very, but such groups exist to cause violence and death to coerce others. The trope may also cover an individual. An apparently Extremist Islamic Terrorist group may really be Westerners being TheManBehindTheMan.

* The [[spoiler: three Titan Shifter [[TheMole spies]]]] from ''ShingekiNoKyojin'' are definitely terrorists, engaging in organized attacks to destabilize their enemy while [[spoiler: infiltrating the ranks of the military]]. However, the exact nature of their motivations and cause remain unknown other than the fact it went from a campaign of extermination to attempting to kidnap the LivingMacGuffin once they learned of his existence.

* The titular character of ''VForVendetta'', a {{Deconstruction}} of the BombThrowingAnarchist, qualifies. Whether he is simply an AntiHero, a WellIntentionedExtremist, or a villain is likely to depend to a large extent on the reader's political views (V expresses that he considers himself the Monster); WordOfGod indicates that this is intentional. However, given that, typical of Moore's BlackAndGreyMorality, he is the opposition to the openly fascist Norsefire régime, which crosses the MoralEventHorizon several times, he is likely to be viewed significantly more sympathetically than a large number of other examples on this list.

This trope should not be confused with ''Partisans'' - resistance groups who fight regular military forces. Unlike Terrorists, Partisans are perfectly legal under international law - if ''and only if'' they have a chain of command, some means of identification from a distance, and carry their weapons openly. Otherwise, they are unlawful combatants. Note, this doesn't prevent characters from calling their attacks ''terrorism'' despite their legal legitimacy.

Basically, a group of terrorists who are mostly from the West. Their reasons and goals may very, but such groups exist to cause violence and death to coerce others. The trope may also cover an individual. There is often a tendency for an apparently Extremist Islamic Terrorist group to really be Westerners being TheManBehindTheMan.

Creators may opt to draw from RealLife terrorism cases from Anders Breivek to the civilian mass-murders orchestrated in Northern Ireland, instead of the arguably more topical example of Middle Eastern terrorists. The latter might be avoided for various reasons:
* It may seem too uncomfortable for entertainment. They are afraid that people will accuse Muslims in general of terrorism; or else actual Islamic terrorists will threaten to kill them. (Look at Salman Rushdie.)
* It may seem too stereotypical and racist.
* The creator may simply find Western terrorism more interesting.
* The creator may have used Middle Eastern terrorists in another story, and want to try something different.

Some groups of WesternTerrorists that have appeared in media and news are various AnimalWrongsGroup, whose actions have been dubbed eco-terrorism. There are also [[RightWingMilitiaFanatic militia groups]], though they have committed far more heinous crimes in fiction than in RealLife. Other examples include extreme Nationalists and radical extremists. UsefulNotes/TheTroubles in Northern Ireland is also notable - a definitely European dispute, with white Christians involved in sectarian violence which included riots and violence. Naturally some writers still managed to get it wrong.

Basically, a group of terrorists who are mostly from the West. Their reasons and goals may very, but such groups exist to cause violence and death to coerce others. The trope may also cover an individual.

* It may seem too uncomfortable for entertainment.