PSYCHO-POLITICAL ANALYSIS OF TERRORIST LEADERS AND FOLLOWERS
"There are two kinds of men, the kind that is corrupt and the kind that is virtuous" (Robespierre)

    The phrase "psycho-political profiling" is usually associated with the approach developed by Jerrold Post (2004), former CIA profiler and now Director of the Political Psychology Program at George Washington University, although the father of political psychology is usually recognized as Lasswell (1930).  Prof. Post is the leading advocate of what may be called the psychological drive approach or, in more controversial terms, the terrorist-as-mentally-ill approach.  In all fairness, it's not that Prof. Post sees all terrorists as mentally ill; it's that he recognizes there are many different types of terrorists, and rightly assumes they are not all mentally ill since this just goes against the law of averages.  In fact, some types of terrorists, particularly nonstate actors, may have asymmetrical motivations which run contrary to any norm of normality.  There is also the possibility that only a small degree of mental illness may be apparent in most terrorists, this being likely because any good terrorist group would probably expel a member who is too mentally disturbed.  Nonetheless, there are theories (see Lecture on Theories of Terrorism) which postulate that nearly all terrorists are mentally ill in varying degrees.

    However, in this discussion, we are more concerned with the hypnosis-like psychodynamics between terrorist leaders and followers.  Leaders tend to be power wielders with varying degrees of grandiosity, an extreme example being Idi Amin of Uganda who proclaimed for himself the full title of "His Excellency President for Life Field Marshal Dr. Lord of the Beasts of the Earth and Fishes of the Sea Conqueror."  For example, we would like to know the answers to questions like:  Why do terrorist leaders seem to have so much charisma?  What gives them the ability to convince followers to follow them, and often to die for them?  It may very well be that the followers are the mentally ill ones, or that something about the leader-follower relationship is pathological.  We shall see that there are indeed relationship theories along these lines, and that Post (2004) has one, along with others who have studied dictators and great men.  A preliminary exposition of the approach taken is in order first, beginning with an overview of the least detectable mental disorder -- narcissism.

THE NARCISSISTIC PERSONALITY DISORDER

    There are ten different personality disorders, and the spectrum approach (followed here) allows for mixed types, but it should be noted the spectrum approach is controversial and not the way most clinical psychologists are trained.  The spectrum approach to classification transcends the DSM (Diagnostic Statistical Manual) method, and is essentially a heuristic approach designed for theory development, not validation. No single set of symptoms are required for inclusion in a spectrum. Rather, the sameness or similarity of comorbidity characteristics and the underlying causal processes are looked at. Spectra can be constructed that link Axis I and Axis II disorders, psychotic disorders and personality disorders, affective disorders and sexual disorders, and so on. In most cases, the subject's personality has not disintegrated to the point where there is any one identifiable clinical syndrome. A spectrum disorder may exist in muted form or as a mirror-image of a diagnosed or undiagnosed mental illness.  Narcissism is one such disorder, and it is most frequently mixed with some degree of paranoia.

    Paranoia occurs in two forms: (1) the "bad me" paranoid; and (2) the "poor me" paranoid. Paranoia affects .5 to 2.5% of the population. The "bad me" type tends to be more rueful and sadistic than the other type. Paranoia in all its forms tends to be organized around aggression, from sadomasochistic violence to lingering hostile mood. Paranoia is an insidious disease which develops slowly as a secondary personality characteristic, fuses into a more or less dysfunctional coping style, and may or may not become the dominant pattern. Psychologists suspect that the cause of paranoia is found in the mothering experience, in particular, the breast-feeding experience. Successfully breast-fed infants develop the capacity to feel supported and a tolerance for frustration. Unsuccessfully breast-fed infants (those who viewed the experience as "bad" in some way) develop a distinct inability to experience self-satisfaction, tolerance, and positive relationships. Internalization of the bad experience leads to the initiation of provocative and confirmatory interactions with others, mostly through splitting (seeing things as black-white, good-bad, weak-strong) and projection (accusing others of having the disowned aspects of your self). A full-blown "bad me" paranoid perceives threats in everything other people do, often exploding in manic, counterphobic episodes. A full-blown "poor me" type views the world as basically unfair and persecutory, countering their anticipation of discomfort with either antisocial behavior or grandiosity.

    Narcissism is a less severe form of psychopathic disorder. It manifests aggressive, paranoid, and borderline characteristics, but more commonly appears in the form of envy, greed, power lust, an extensively rationalized sense of entitlement, and a pathological grandiose self. Unlike psychopaths, narcissists can experience loyalty and guilt; but like psychopaths, narcissists lack empathy or caring for others, viewing people as "playthings" to be used. Female narcissists tend to be the kind that "sleep" their way to the top; male narcissists tend to get ahead by becoming involved in massive power struggles. Psychologists suspect that the cause of narcissism is severe mental or physical pain in childhood at the hands of a powerful, idealized mother-father figure.  Inconsistent parental attitudes on aggression and self-assertion as well as childhood experiences of being valued for specific, precocious talents seem to be the prime determinants. They never learned who to identify with -- the aggressor or victim, and they developed a pragmatic philosophy of siding with winners, regardless of who was in the right or wrong. In fact, they believe that the "good" is usually changeable and fickle while "bad" is stable and predictable. They live life by idealizing those who satisfy their narcissistic needs and systematically devaluing and denigrating those who do not. Underneath their superficial charm, they feel they have a right to control, manipulate, exploit, and be cruel to others.

    Narcissism is a relative newcomer to the list of mental disorders. It was not fully defined until the late 80s. There's not much research proving narcissists are more prone to violence than any other group, and no one has a clue as to how widespread this particular personality disorder is - estimates range between 3 and 15% of the population, with 5-7% being a fair estimate. Being a narcissist is close to being an alcoholic but MUCH more so. Alcoholism is impulsive behavior. Narcissists have this plus hundreds of other problems. Narcissists frequently have uncontrollable behaviors, like rage which is an outcome of their grandiosity. Narcissists can rarely be cured, but side effects, associated disorders (such as OCD), pathological lying, and the paranoiac dimensions CAN be modified.

ANGER, WORRY, RAGE

    Most Personality Disordered people are prone to anger. Their bottled-up anger is always sudden, raging, frightening and without apparent provocation by an outside agent. It would seem that people suffering from personality disorders are in a CONSTANT state of anger, which is effectively suppressed most of the time. It manifests itself only when the person's defenses are down, incapacitated, or adversely affected by circumstances, inner or external. In a nutshell, such people were usually unable to express anger at "forbidden" targets in their early, formative years (parents, in most cases). The anger, however, was a justified reaction to very real abuse or mistreatment. The patient was, therefore, left to nurture a sense of profound injustice and frustrated rage. Healthy people experience anger, but as a transitory state. Personality disordered anger is always acute and permanently present. Healthy anger has an external inducing agent (a reason), and is directed at another (coherence). Pathological anger is neither coherent, nor externally induced. It emanates from the inside and is diffuse, directed at the "world" or "injustice" in general. 

    The Personality Disordered are afraid to show that they are angry to meaningful others because they are afraid to lose them. The Borderline Personality Disordered is terrified of being abandoned, the Narcissist needs his Narcissistic supply sources, the Paranoid – his persecutors and so on. These people prefer to direct their anger at people who are meaningless to them, people whose withdrawal will not constitute a threat to their precariously balanced personality. They will yell at a waitress, shout at a taxi driver, or explode at an underling. Alternatively, they will sulk, feel bored, drink or do drugs – all forms of self-directed aggression. From time to time, no longer able to pretend and to suppress, they will have it out with the real source of their anger. They will rage and, generally, behave like lunatics. They will shout incoherently, make absurd accusations, distort facts, pronounce allegations and suspicions. These episodes will be followed by periods of sentimental sweetness and excessive flattering and submissiveness towards the victim of the latest rage attack. Motivated by the mortal fear of being abandoned or ignored, the Personality Disordered will debase and demean himself to the point of provoking repulsion in the beholder. These pendulum-like emotional swings are common. Anger is the reaction to injustice (perceived injustice, it does not have to be real), to disagreements, to inconvenience. 

    Hostile expressions by the Personality Disordered are not constructive – they are destructive because they are diffuse, excessive, and unclear. They do not lash out at people in order to restore self-esteem, prestige, or a sense of power and control, but because they cannot help it and are in a self destructive and self-loathing mode. Their angry episodes contain few signals or warning signs. Their anger is primitive, maladaptive, and pent up.

    The Personality Disordered also suffer from a cognitive deficit. They are unable to conceptualize, to design effective strategies and to execute them. They dedicate all their attention to the immediate and ignore the future consequences of their actions. In other words, their attention and information processing faculties are distorted, skewed in favor of the here and now, biased on both the intake and the output. Time is dilated for them – the present feels more protracted, "longer" than any future. Immediate facts and actions are judged more relevant and weighted more heavily than any remote aversive conditions. Anger impairs cognition. The angry person is a worried person. 

    The Personality Disordered is also excessively preoccupied with himself (solipsism). Worry and anger are the cornerstones of anxiety. The striking similarity between anger and personality disorders is the deterioration of the faculty of empathy. Angry people cannot empathize. Actually, "counter-empathy" develops. Recent provocative acts by others are judged to be more serious – just by "virtue" of their chronological position. This is what distinguishes rage from anger. Rage attacks in personality disorders are always incommensurate with the magnitude of the source. Anger is usually a reaction to an ACCUMULATION of aversive experiences, all enhancing each other in vicious feedback loops, many of them not directly related to the cause of the specific anger. The angry person may be reacting to stress, agitation, disturbance, drugs, violence or aggression witnessed by him, to social or to national conflict, to elation and even to sexual excitation.

EVIL, DESTRUCTIVENESS, ADDICTION

    The psychopathic argument with reality that is present in all personality disorders is a narcissistic pleasure of lying and deception. They don't lie to everybody, only those people (good-bad, strong-weak, females, strangers, authority figures) that they have differentiated as worthwhile or not. Each dichotomous split and pattern of lying is indicative of a different personality disorder, but the most common pattern is a desire to dupe or deceive those perceived as "good" people, to rob them of their "goodness", as it were, and to further deprive them of any moral right to feel victimized. Identification is always with the aggressor or with evil -- as powerful, bad, and ideal. In many cases, there are fantasies or interests about animal predators or archetypal evil demigods. 

    An inverted conscience means that the superego idealizes evil. Things that would normally produce guilt, insecurity, and anticipation of punishment in ordinary people produce feelings of self-esteem, security, and self-cohesion in the personality disordered. They only experience a sense of being true to their real self when they are persecuting others, inducing pain and suffering, and further experiencing feedback about how much malicious destruction they have done. Full-blown psychopaths have the highest degree of inverted conscience, and sadists have the highest degree of need for feedback.

    However, it's extremely rare to find a perfectly intact inverted conscience. Most of the personality disordered live with fragments of a normal superego. These guilt fragments are expressed in occasional self-defeating behaviors. Their self-destructiveness will probably never take the form of suicide or any devaluing of the importance of winning through aggression, but they may change their split between strong-weak attributions, present themselves for therapy, or seek out religious mysticism. More frequently, however, when confronted with a self-crisis, they will adopt new names (aliases) for themselves, thus making themselves their own parents.

    Drugs and alcohol are used to repair their personalities especially when there is a problematic representation of self to others. The personality disordered are commonly addicted persons because the "cycle of addiction" perpetuates the extreme self-state needed to shore up their self-cohesion while at the same time undermining any adaptive integration of self with experience. All addicted persons experience cycles of self-state extremes. One of the extreme self-states will be the dominant organizer of experience. An alcohol-induced self-state, for example, will assist in lowering inhibitions and facilitating aggressive tendencies. A psychoactive drug-induced self-state may assist in fostering paranoid delusions. The most serious and sadistic crimes committed by such individuals will be when they are at the peak of their dominant extreme self-state. This means that they commit crime while intoxicated or shortly thereafter. Since they only "need" to drink or drug when there is a need for personality repair, it's unclear if they have a substance addition, a violence addiction, or a state of mind addiction.

PERSONALITY DISORDERS IN THIS SPECTRUM

    Like all people, the personality disordered are motivated to seek the approval of others. For various reasons, however, they experience feelings of frustration at finding ways to conceptualize how they would go about obtaining this approval from others. They actually anticipate failure without even trying. This is because they perceive the original person who humiliated them as superior or more "powerful" than they are.  They then seek out vulnerable and less threatening persons as victims, who become scapegoats for the person who initially thwarted their needs for approval.

    The diagnosis of "malignant narcissism" may be more apt for serial killers than "antisocial personality disorder" because it better exemplifies the connotation of evil that hangs over this domain of personality. A malignant narcissist is someone who exhibits antisocial personality traits combined with unrestrained aggression, a more pathological than deviant conscience, a strong need for power and recognition, distrust of others, and certain elements of sadism. Kernberg (1992) says that malignant narcissism develops as a defense against feeling of inferiority and rejection. 

    All criminals tend to have problems understanding social norms. They are more self pre-occupied than concerned with obeying the law.  Many criminals are driven more by the expression of their internal needs than a rejection of external forces. To maintain this schedule of "conditioning one's conscience," two things are necessary: alienation and isolation. Fromm (1973) said that alienation can be handled by ritualized behavior.  Isolation simply limits exposure to societal sources of social control.  Many criminals often engage in ritualistic behavior as a substitute for socialization. They are socializing themselves, and providing their own sense of security, predictability, and order. In this sense, they are acting volitionally and learning to attend to their own needs in the only way they know how.

    NARCISSISM AND THE LEADER-FOLLOWER RELATIONSHIP

    Some general comments about leaders and followers are in order before examining Post's (2004) theory of the leader-follower relationship.  First, it is important to note the dangers of using a "military metaphor" such as when analysts sometimes refer to terrorist leaders as "bin Laden and his lieutenants."  Such metaphors are understandable given that many intelligence workers come from a military or law enforcement background, but these matters represent a case where NOT having a military or law enforcement background is more helpful since terrorist relationships often present distinctively unconventional non-military characteristics which would be missed by mirror-imaging analysis.  The second thing to note is that terrorist organizational structures vary widely, and that existing models may fall somewhere in-between the most frequently observed patterns of the commander-cadre model and the leaderless resistance model.  In fact, about the only thing certain about terrorist organizational structure is that it will take on whatever form is most suited for reducing its Achilles heel. 

    Leadership of a criminal organization is challenging.  The first problem a leader faces is how to articulate the diffuse alienation, anger, and frustration into a coherent message that resonates with some radical, new idea.  Actually, criminal leaders have it easier than terrorist leaders because the latter have to deal with more of a "swamp" of oppressive conditions.  The leader not only has to give "voice" to the people's frustration (in a charismatic fashion), but has to be able to verbalize a plan for doing something about the people's frustration (in a persuasive fashion).  The second problem a leader faces is recruitment, which goes on continually and with terrorism, usually draws upon a wider variety of backgrounds among followers, some of which are already self-indoctrinated (or self-radicalized), but many more who are in need of indoctrination along the lines of "psychological doubling" -- the division of the self into two functioning wholes, so that a part-self acts as an entire self [and the person can still live comfortably with themselves while being a stone-cold, remorseless killer] (Lifton 1986).  The third problem a leader faces is maintenance of the organization, as this involves esprit-de-corps and morale, and is not an easy task since terrorist followers tend to be a whiny bunch.  The fourth problem a leader faces is planning, as this involves plotting and commissioning the actual attacks.  Most terrorist leaders tend to commission two or three attack teams for the same plot, not because they are devious but because of the ineptitude of their followers.                        

    Post's (2004) theory of leaders-followers rests upon an understanding of the adult life cycle.  Although childhood influences are important, less is understood about later stages in life.  There are three stages:  young adulthood (20-43); middle adulthood (44-63); and late adulthood (64+); with the so-called "midlife crisis" occurring around age 43.  In young adulthood, political identification usually takes place, with a person's political preferences usually lasting a lifetime.  The degree of anger carried over from childhood usually is a factor in the selection of political preference.  Interestingly, Post (2004) reports that around age 32 during this stage is when most military leaders launch a coup or make some other upward move.  Middle adulthood involves further psychological pushes toward action.  While historically, there have been very few 44-year old terrorists, it is during this stage when a person develops an expertise at something, perhaps as a technical expert or in some area of financing.  It is also a stressful stage where some sort of "late-age alcoholism" or drug addiction can occur.  Marriages often deteriorate, and financial stability is sometimes threatened.  Late adulthood involves a period of increasing rigidity (rigidity also increases in times of crisis) and a marked exaggeration of earlier personality quirks.  Some ideologies, like Communism, tend to worship this stage.  However, it often is characterized by a tendency to make bad decisions out of a sense of urgency to make their mark.  The impact of aging is particularly stressful for narcissists, and it may very well be that the dictates of a ruler at this age are driven more by the medicines they are on than by their own judgment.  In rare cases, a country may still be effectively ruled by a terminal or near-comatose leader.  In general, leaders don't tend to mellow with age, although a deathbed (religious) conversion is not uncommon.  Also in general, as a leader ages, the more likely it is that they will have sycophantic (yes men) followers around them.

    A full-blown narcissistic disorder would be inconsistent with sustainable leadership, so effective leaders can only be expected to have a touch or hint of it.  Some of the more "minor" psychological characteristics associated with a touch of narcissism include the mechanisms of externalization and splitting.  Externalization is reliance on finding an outside enemy to blame; e.g., "It's not us; it's them....They are the cause of our problems."  Splitting is the process that a damaged self-concept engages in when they are particularly ashamed of something in their background; e.g., coming from a broken home, having had a good deal go wrong in their lives.  A personality who engages in splitting tends to see other people as all good or as all bad.  Such individuals will have a hard time exiting the groups they join, and likewise, in ever forgiving their enemies. 

    According to Post's (2004) theory, both terrorist leaders and terrorist followers can be narcissistic.  Leaders are called "mirror-hungry" personalities and followers are called "ideal-hungry" personalities.  To understand the leader, the first thing to consider is the grandiose self.  The narcissistic leader is essentially "mirroring" the unconditional love and admiration their mother had (or should have had) toward them.  They are kind of like being their own mother to themselves, in a way.  This is usually accompanied by "splitting" where any bad aspects of the self are just wished out of acknowledgement.  Grandiosity requires removing any self-images which do not fit the fantasized, grandiose image of self.  Such individuals are constantly compelled to display themselves, and to evoke the attention of others.

    The "ideal-hungry" follower usually suffers from a similar "injured self-image" but decides to resolve this problem by attaching themselves to an ideal object, typically a father figure, or anyone all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-giving.  This is not just a matter of political convenience; it is more like "puppy love" or the sensation of being in a relationship with someone perfect.  To the follower, it helps if the leader is a little bit paranoid, because to not be a little bit paranoid is to be less than perfect.  Likewise with any other idiosyncrasy the leader might have -- as this, too, is part of the perfection.  The dependency relationship is so strong that even the follower's flight or fight reactions are trained to support the leader in all things.

PROFILE OF OSAMA BIN LADEN   

    No really good psychopolitical analysis exists of Osama bin Laden, but Robinson's (2002) biography is a possible exception because it gives more detail than many other books.  Robinson (2002) discusses family background, particularly the details of Osama's well-known father, Mohammed Bin Laden, a rags-to-riches story of a man who makes himself indispensable to Saudi royalty, accumulating many wives and fifty children, Osama being the seventeenth child.  Osama's Syrian mother, Hamida, is banished early on because she was deemed too assertive by her husband.  For all practical purposes, Osama did not know his mother.  Osama grows up sad about this, is constantly ridiculed by his other siblings, and tries hard to gain his father's attention by excelling in Islamic teachings.  At age ten, his father is killed in a helicopter accident while visiting Texas.  He becomes suddenly wealthy by inheritance, and by age sixteen, is worth an estimated $57 million.  Osama then attends a Lebanese university, becoming a heavy drinker, gambler, and womanizer.  This behavior causes his family to pull him out of school there where he shifts attendance to King Abdulaziz University in Saudi Arabia.  He graduates from there in civil engineering, but eventually his half-brother takes him on a pilgrimage to Mecca, where Osama sees the light, along with previous light obtained by studying under Abdullah Azzam, a radical lecturer and friend of Sheik Rahman, Dr. Zawahiri, and follower of Sayyed Qutb.  With Azzam's help, Osama decides to join the Afghani mujahedeen fight against the Soviets, and the two of them recruit over 10,000 "Afghan Arabs" from around the Middle East.  Little is known about Osama's actual fighting ability, and it is most likely he obtained the praise of the mujahedeen by providing financial support and generously using his funds.  Robinson (2002) concludes that Osama is basically an attention-seeker, a person constantly posturing for attention. 

    Something like a psychotic break occurs when Osama offers to help protect the Saudi kingdom from Saddam's army during the invasion of Kuwait.  Osama becomes outraged that the Saudis and the Kuwaitis invited the infidel Americans and rejected his offer of help.  The Saudis revoked his citizenship in 1994. It is at this point that Osama decides to unite various Islamic fundamentalist groups under one umbrella, and launch a global terrorist campaign.  Osama teams up with Mullah Omar of Afghanistan and Dr. Ayman Zawahiri from Egypt.  Dr. Zawahiri is glad to join Osama because as Robinson (2002) puts it, the two have a "homoerotic" relationship of some kind.  Robinson (2002) further states that Dr. Zawahiri wished to escape pedophile charges against him in Egypt.  Initially, Osama only wanted to expel the American military from Arab lands, but in 1998, he and Zawahiri signed a "fatwa" in the name of the World Islamic Front for Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders, declaring:

    “the ruling to kill the Americans and their allies civilians and military is an individual duty for every Muslim who can do it in any country in which it is possible to do it, in order to liberate the al-Aqsa Mosque (in Jerusalem) and the holy mosque (in Makka) from their grip, and in order for their armies to move out of all the lands of Islam, defeated and unable to threaten any Muslim. This is in accordance with the words of Almighty Allah, 'and fight the pagans all together as they fight you all together,' and 'fight them until there is no more tumult or oppression, and there prevail justice and faith in Allah.'"

    The 1998 fatwa led directly to the U.S. Embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania, as well as a U.S. attempted cruise missile strike on Osama that same year.  Osama himself doesn't have religious credentials to issue a fatwa, but a group of compliant imams gave their approval.  Since then, there has not been any action or decree from Osama that is not couched in the language of the Koran.  His group, al Qaeda racked up a series of triumphs during the late nineties, culminating in the 9/11 attacks in 2001 and the establishment of al Qaeda cells in at least 68 countries.  According to Post (2004), Osama suffers from an ever-expanding sense of messianic grandiosity.  Concessions and negotiations won't work with Osama, as he needs a constant enemy and threats against him to maintain this stature.

PROFILE OF SADDAM HUSSEIN

    As they used to say, Saddam is Iraq and Iraq is Saddam.  Saddam Hussein, if nothing else, was an event-making leader who lived for the "big event."  For 34 years, he ruled the nation of Iraq as a judicious, political calculator.  He devised a partially true myth about himself and his humble origins which identified with heroic relatives and heroes of the radical Arab world.  In particular, he identified himself with Nebuchadnezzar, Saladin, and Nasser.  Part of the myth involved him fleeing across the desert on horseback and then swimming a river during an exile period.  During this period, he was really studying law in Egypt and participating in machinations within the Ba'ath party, where he stirred up rivalries which still exist to this day with other Ba'ath parties, such as the Assad regime in Syria.  An unusual narcissist, Post (2004) says that Saddam is capable of changing his course of action once he decides on something.  Unfortunately, this appears as displaced and unexpected cruelty toward someone other than his original target.  Displacement as a defense mechanism is more characteristic of an antisocial than a narcissist.  However, Saddam was unfortunately out of touch with world opinion.  He would regularly miscalculate because he had hardly ever been out of Iraq very much and took no interest in worldly affairs.  Saddam patented the typical Arab use of "time as a weapon" which means that he was extremely patient, especially in ruthlessly targeting his rivals for elimination.  He had a strong paranoid characteristic, seeing himself always surrounded by enemies, and to cover for these own false insecurities he had, he would devise elaborate conspiracies for consumption around the Arab world.  The most summary thing which could be said about Saddam is that the only thing he ever understood was the language of power.          

PROFILE OF FIDEL CASTRO

    Leader of Cuba since 1959, Fidel Castro is one of the world's oldest dictators, and in many ways is the prototypical narcissistic leader.  His customary response to any domestic problem is to engage in revolutionary action abroad.  He has always been surrounded by sycophantic followers, but some of these (his "inner circle") are allowed to criticize him.  In fact, Castro institutionalized precisely this, in order that he himself be kept in line -- a surprising degree of self-awareness from a narcissist, but maybe not unexpected since antisocial personality traits are at a minimum.  Castro is known for several statements, like "Socialism or Death" or "Revolutionaries do not retire" which are typical narcissistic leader statements.  Castro is also known for sudden crackdowns on dissent.  In 1990, he rounded up, without charges, a number of leaders of human rights groups, declaring that "counterrevolutionaries have no rights."        

PROFILE OF KIM JONG IL

    North Korea has only known two leaders, Kim Il Sung and his son, Kim Jong Il.  Kim Jong-il developed extensive myths about himself, his birth, and his role in fighting Japanese forces while most of the time, he was under Soviet protection.  In fact, Kim Jong-il sees himself as the re-embodiment of his hero, Stalin.  Standing only five foot two inches, Kim Jong-il "Shorty" (as he hates to be called) is very insecure about his personal appearance.  He has three sons, all by different women, and his eldest son is reportedly a crack computer expert.  He occasionally disappears from public view for periods of time, and speculation has it that alcoholism is involved, or possibly ill health.  He likes fine things such as the best cognac and cigarettes.  He is reportedly generous with friends, throwing wild parties and giving away expensive gifts.  His favorite movie is The Godfather (reportedly Saddam Hussein's favorite movie also).  He thinks of himself as highly creative and gifted, and has written a book.  He is very nocturnal, a night owl who rises around noon and works until about 5 a.m.  It is unknown if he is even aware of his country's economic problems.       

INTERNET RESOURCES
Borderline Personality Disorder Central (BPD-Central)
Dr. Sam Vaknin's Narcissism and Personality Disorders Site & sample chapter from his book
Go.com's Personality Disorders Links
Mental Health.com's List of Mental Disorder sites
Mental Help Net's Personality Disorders Site
Narcissistic Personality Disorder Central (NPD-Central)
Yahoo's Personality Disorders Links

PRINTED RESOURCES
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Last updated: May 06, 2008
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