Rev SM 14: Terrorism

Internal
Links

Review Notes: Terrorism

External
Links

Overview of Terrorism

Terrorists & Freedom Fighters: Terrorism & War

History of Terrorism

Terrorist Attacks

1886, The Haymarket Square Bombing & Riots

1983, Beirut Marine Barracks Truck Bomb Attack

1988, Pan Am Flight 103 Bombing

1993, The WTC Bombing

1995, Oklahoma City Bombing

1996, Khobar Tower Bombing

2000, USS Cole Bombing

Link

2001, 9 / 11 Attack

Terrorist Organizations

The IRA

al Qaeda

The PLO, al Fatah, Hamas

Hezbollah

Left & Right Wing Extremism in the US

There are FOUR Types of Terrorism

a. Vigilante Terrorism

The KKK

b. Insurgent Terrorism

The Molly Maguires

c. Transnational Terrorism

d. State Terrorism

Govts & Terrorism

Causes of Terrorism -- Theories

a. Psychological Causes of Terrorism

b. Structural Causes of Terrorism

Other Topics on Terrorism

Media's Coverage of Terrorism

Gender & Terrorism

Countering Terrorism

Internal
Links

Outline on Terrorism

External
Links

Terrorism is the use of violence, usually against civilian targets, as a means of intimidation or social control

Terrorism is the use of violence usually by nongovt groups to achieve political ends

Terrorism is the use of terrorizing methods to produce a state of fear & submission

Terrorism is the use or threat of violence to create fear & alarm, & or to inflict harm

Terrorists murder and kidnap people, set off bombs, hijack airplanes, set fires, and commit other serious crimes

But the goals of terrorists differ from those of ordinary criminals in that most criminals want money or some other form of personal gain

But most terrorists commit crimes to support political causes

The word terrorism first appeared during the French Revolution (1789-1799)

The term terrorism came into use in the modern sense during the Reign of Terror in France & also in Russia to describe a political party who aimed at the demoralization of the govt by terror

Some of the revolutionaries who seized power in France adopted a policy of violence against their enemies

The period of the rule of Fr Revolutionaries became known as the Reign of Terror

See Also: The History of Terrorism

Terrorism can be committed either by clandestine orgs or by govts, or by the two in cooperation

Clandestine orgs that commit terrorism are usually associated w/ insurgent groups, militant & highly ideological protest groups that are generally revolutionary

See Also: Rationality & Collective Behavior

Clauswitz ( 1780-1831 ) held that war is "nothing but a continuation of political intercourse w/ an admixture of other means;" i.e. war is politics by other means, or war is an extension of politics

In the Clauswitzian sense, terrorism is war by other means; terrorism is politics by other means

While in many cases the line btwn behaviors that are labeled as terrorism or war is clearly understood by all, there are nearly as many cases where it is not

Often the labeling of a behavior as war or terrorism is drawn by the more powerful, the victor

For Clauswitz, "War is thus an act of force to compel our adversary to do our will." Force, "that is to say physical forces, [is the] means; to impose our will upon the enemy is the object."

The goals of war & terrorism are often the same, thus the causes of war are often similar in form to the causes of terrorism

The participants in war are often different than the participants in terrorism because war is by definition, conflict conducted by states, & while some terrorism is conducted by states, it is often conducted by nongovt orgs

Terrorism is often used as an alternative to war since terrorists have no state resources & few other resources w/ which to conduct war

States & terrorists sometimes use terrorist tactics when their primary objective is intimidation or fear because they believe war would be ineffective or possibly too costly

Terrorists:

International terrorists are generally well educated rebels, & not poor, who act on behalf of an ideology, are "true believers," are "ideological purists," & see their own view as "correct" & see those who disagree w/ them as being in need of "education"

Terrorists groups often form among ethnic or religious separatists or nationalists who seek to create their own state apart form the larger society in which they live

Osama Bin Laden's Al Queda network is based on fundamentalist Islamic nationalism

French speaking separatists in Quebec, Canada are united by their common heritage

Basque separatists in Spain are an ethnic group

Palestinians in the Mideast share a common religion & nationalistic group

In general, domestic terrorists in the US such as the Ku Klux Klan, various neo Nazi & "skinhead" groups, radical environmentalists groups such as the ELF, & radical animal rights groups are linked less by religion & ethnicity than by ideology

Domestic terrorists in the US tend to be poor & relatively uneducated although their leaders probably have more ed

Counter mvmt terrorists in the US include antiabortionists & the Ku Klux Klan

Terror Tactics:

Terrorists tend to specialize in one or a few types of violence such as bombings, assassinations, armed assaults, kidnapping, hostage taking, hijackings, etc., however, terrorists may also use crimes of opportunity such as bioterrorism, nuclear terrorism, chemical terrorism, using airliners as missiles, etc.

Internal
Links

Outline on Terrorists & Freedom Fighters: Terrorism & War

External
Links

Collective violence is any violence done by groups of people to advance or impede the goal of social change

The types of collective violence include: war, riots, revolution, terrorism, lynching, & vigilantism

Terrorism is the use of violence & threats to intimidate or coerce, especially for political purposes

Terrorism is the use of unexpected violence to intimidate or coerce people in the pursuit of political or social objectives (Ted Robert Gurr, 1989b, p. 201)

War is conflict carried on by force of arms, as btwn states or btwn parties w/in a state; war is a general conflict

Lao Tsu said that war is politics by other means

Terrorism is war by other means

War first developed as total war: a war among armies & the "innocent public," who was killed when possible

There were no "rules of war;" mass slaughter, rape, torture, burning towns to the ground, etc. was common

Over the ages, some rules of war developed among some nations or even for just one battle

War evolved into gentlemen's war in the Europe in the middle ages, where the major nations all followed strict codes of honor

Guerilla war evolved at the end of the middle ages & was seen as unhonorable

War evolved back into total war & included civilians in WW 2 in that both side relentlessly bombed & fire bombed civilian targets such as cities

The industrialization of war created the capacity for genocide against the Jews et al, & for the mass destruction of civilians, cities & countrysides

Today international law allows for warring parties to destroy each others civilian population

Many scholars & ethicists ask, "Is the bombing of Dresden or Hiroshima, Bosnia, N Vietnam, etc. terrorism?"

The concept of terrorism highlights the fact that anyone, including innocent people, are often the target of terrorists

Philosopher Loren E. Lomasky (1991, p. 107) observes that terrorists, unlike Robin Hood, typically don't distinguish btwn the guilty & the innocent; btwn justifiable victims & unjustifiable victims

Lomasky notes that, "The enemy is only incidentally particular individuals who cross the terrorist's path; more fundamentally it is the civil order."

One major reason for the confusion btwn terrorism & war is that the media often offers a simplistic or unexamined view of the nature of terrorism

Govts, the US govt & many other govts, often offer a simplistic definition or depiction of terrorism that serves their own political interests & denies the interests of other groups, & paints terrorism as being something other than war

Terrorism is often confused w/ "terror" & terrorize" which connote the threat of the violence & stems from the Latin "to frighten"

The term "terrorism" originated from the Reign of Terror that characterized the French Revolution

The origins of the concept of terrorism thus lie in the vicious acts of a common criminal against a terrorized victim:
- a violent street gang terrorized a whole neighborhood
- a stalker forces a woman to live in terror of attack

These acts involve the common, tragic acts that involve the fear that terror & terrorism connote, but they do not involve the essential political activity that lies at the heart of most definitions of terrorism

But some analysts would include terrorism as being political acts, but w/o a state

Terrorism often is synonymous w/ hideous, irrational acts of violence committed by slovenly, immoral individuals in an attempt to de-politicize it

The major difference btwn war & terrorism is that the latter focuses on killing civilians while the former focuses on killing military personnel & civilians

One persons terrorist is another's freedom fighter

Many people in Northern Ireland & many Irish American in the US view the IRA as heroes struggling against the British govt

Others see the IRA's bombings & other tactics as illegal, immoral terrorism

Many in the mid East view the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) & other groups as freedom fighters

The US & Israel as view the PLO as terrorists

Cheychnan rebels...

Sandanistas, contras, etc.

Grant Wardlaw (1989) summarizes these definitional problems by saying that terrorism is, at heart, a "moral problem"

By labeling certain behaviors as terrorism & the people who commit them as terrorist, we implicitly condemn both the acts & the actors

By not labeling certain, similar behaviors as terrorism / terrorists, we implicitly condone both the acts & the actors

Terrorism includes acts of violence that are more random than war, war is more systematic than terrorism

Jack P. Gibbs (1989, p. 329) holds that any definition of terrorism "may reflect ideological or political bias"

Terrorism encompasses the act or the threat of violence, fear & political change

The term political terrorism is redundant, but does emphasize the political nature of terrorism

Are workplace, school shootings, wilding, etc. political? Are they terrorism?

2001: President GW Bush denies the terrorist/freedom fighter dichotomy by saying that nations are either on the side of terrorism or on the side against terrorism

This "Bush Doctrine" has been criticized by Republicans in his own party in that Bush still negotiates w/ terrorists such as the PLO's Yasser Arafat

Terrorism is difficult to define because there are many types of terrorism

Internal
Links

Outline on the History of Terrorism

External
Links

What is now considered to be terrorist behavior is as old as humanity, though these acts were considered neither terrorist nor abnormal

Terrorist tactics have been used for millennia

In the early days, the customs of armies depended on might, rather than right & there were no laws of war as we know them today

Prisoners of war were slain or made slaves & captured towns & cities were sacked, ravished, & burned & the conqueror's will was supreme

Over the centuries, civilization brought ameliorating changes & proper treatment of prisoners, the sick & wounded, & the civil population became recognized sometimes by special agreement or conventions btwn belligerents or local commanders, sometimes because of a more civilized influence of the victory

Ancient Greek, Assyrian, & Roman soldiers used carcasses of animals that had died of anthrax to poison wells

Sparticus pillaged the Roman countryside & slaughtered 10's of thousands of solders who had surrendered & Rome responded in kind & then crucified over 6,000 of the insurgents

Atilla the Hun would command a city to surrender, & if they did not he would have everyone killed

When laying siege to a castle or city, attackers would catapult anthrax bearing animals, or diseased human over the walls to infect the population

Political assassination, ambushes, guerilla warfare, torture, mass murder, etc. all were common

It was not until the middle ages when some limited rules of war were developed that some behaviors became unacceptable

It was not until the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution, 1789, that the term terrorism came to have its modern meaning as a crime, a war crime

The US revolutionary army including the Minute Men all who utilized guerilla war tactics were considered terrorists by the British who preferred the "field of honor" battlefield

During the Indian wars, British & Am soldiers & intentionally infected Native Americans w/ measles

The Molly McGuires were inspired by a group of insurgent terrorists in Ireland in the 1840s who in the 1860s & later engaged in terrorism in the coal fields to win worker rights

The coal companies responded in kind & all the Mollies were killed or executed

See Also: Molly Maguires

An Am grp, the Ku Klux Klan, used violence to terrorize blacks & their sympathizers in the late 1800s & the 1900s

For many, slavery itself, as well as the methods used to maintain it are a form of terrorism

From 1885 to 1900, over 2,500 lynchings of blacks occurred

In 1886 the Haymarket Square riot was instigated by a terrorist bomb

The perpetrator of the Haymarket bombing will be forever one of history's mysteries but he/she was either a low level Labor advocate, an anarchist, or some official (of the police or govt) who wanted to instigate trouble in order to blame Labor or the anarchists

See Also: Haymarket Square

In 1910, union activists bombed the Los Angeles Times newspaper, killing 21

In 1914, a Serbian national assassinated the Archduke Ferdinand of Austria, providing the spark that started WW 1

In the 1930's, the dictators Adolf Hitler of Germany, BenitoMussolini of Italy, and Joseph Stalin of the Soviet Union used state terrorism to discourage opposition to their governments

After centuries of conflict w/ Britain, in 1920, Ireland was divided into Ireland & Northern Ireland, & guerilla war broke out

Terrorist bombing by Irish Catholics, & military domination by British soldiers continues today, but in the 2000s there has been a lengthy truce

Operations of war by civilized countries are governed by rules known as the Laws of War

Some of the Laws of War, like the British or Am common law, are unwritten, although generally recognized while others are set in treaties & conventions to which many nations are parties

The bases of the laws of war are military necessity, humanity, & chivalry

Many of the important written laws of war are contained in the Hague conventions of 1899 & 1907 which deal w/ the opening of hostilities, the laws & customs of war on land, the duties & rights of neutrals, submarine mines, bombardment by naval forces, & projectiles from balloons, & the Geneva conventions of 1929 on the treatment of prisoners

Violations of the Hague & Geneva conventions by sneak attacks & other terrorist methodologies are considered to be war crimes

During WW 2, the fire bombing of London, Dresden, Germany, Tokyo, etc. were considered by some to be terrorist acts since they were attacks on civilian centers, while others maintained that since civilians were now an integral part of the Military Industrial Congressional Complex, such attacks were justified

After WW 2, the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg was composed of one Am, Brit, Fr, & Russian judge

Nuremberg confirmed older policies that there is a distinction btwn just & unjust war in that the unjust war is a war of aggression or a war which violates a peace treaty while just war is one that defends or responds to an attack on an ally

Nuremberg also developed the concept of crimes against humanity which include murder, extermination, deportation, torture, & other mass atrocities, persecutions of entire racial, religious, & political groups provided such crimes are committed w/ crimes against peace, i.e. during a war of aggression

Nuremberg thus left open the question of whether the complicity of govt against entire groups of its own population constitutes a crime against humanity

Many terrorist acts can be considered war crimes as in crimes against peace & the more massive terrorist attacks could be considered as crimes against humanity

Before the independence of Israel in 1948, a Jewish group used terror to speed the end of British rule in Palestine and create a Jewish homeland

As recently as the 1950s, terrorism in the form of lynchings of Blacks continued in the US

Another wave of terrorism began in the 1960's which had operations in many western nations & was politically inspired

Terrorist groups included the Red Brigades in Italy, which was active until the late 1980's, and the Red Army Faction in West Germany, which was active until the early 1990's

Both the Italian Red Brigade & the German Red Army Faction sought the destruction of the political & econ systems in their home countries & the development of new systems

Since 1960, Palestinian groups, including Hamas & Hezbollah, have carried out campaigns of terrorism aimed at establishing an independent Palestinian state

In 1972, Palestinian terrorists murdered Israeli Olympians

Since the inception of Israel, terrorism has become a method of war of Arab groups against Israelis

In the 1970s, "DB Cooper" developed the innovation of airline hijacking & since then it has become an important terrorist weapon

Recent Terrorist Acts Against the US:

198?: Bomb in German nightclub kills Am servicemen

198?: Truck bomb in Lebanon against Am barracks

1993: Bombing of Airliner over Lockerbee, Scotland

1993: Truck Bomb attack on the WTC by Mideasterners. A bomb exploded in the parking garage of the World Trade Center in New York City. The next year, a federal court convicted four men, including two Palestinians, of planning the bombing

1995: Truck bomb attack on the Murrah Fed building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma by Am anti federalists, w/ 168 fatalities

1995: Members of Aum Shinrikyo kill 12 Japanese w/ a release of sarin gas on a subway

1996: Package bomb attack at Atlanta's Olympic Centennial Park by an Am

1996: Khonar Towers in Saudi Arabia are bombed, killing 19 US service members & 1 Saudi

1998: Bombing of a US embassy in Kenya & Tanzania, Africa, w/ 224 fatalities

2000: Small boat, suicide bomb on the USS Cole in Yemen by Mideasterners

2001: Airliner attacks succeed against the WTC & Pentagon, fail against the Capital Bldg, by Mideasterners, w/ over 3,000 fatalities

Khonar Towers in Saudi Arabia
the Sarin release in the Tokyo Subway

Internal
Links

Outline of Terrorist Attacks

External
Links

- Supplement: List of Terrorist Attach: Wikipedia

- Project: Terrorist Attacks, Types, & Counter Measures

TERRORIST ATTACKS AGAINST THE US OR US PERSONNEL

1886, The Haymarket Square Bombing & Riot killed 7 police & 4 workers & over 100 were injured

On April 18, 1983 a car bomb at the US Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, kills 17

On October 23, 1983 the bombing of the US Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, kills 241

On September 20, 1984 a bombing at the US Embassy annex in Beirut, Lebanon, kills 16 & injures the US ambassador

On June 14, 1985 Shiite Muslim gunmen hijack a TWA jet carrying 153 passengers & crew, mostly Americans, shortly after takeoff from Athens, Greece. A US serviceman, Robert Dean Stethem, 23, was killed & his body was thrown on the tarmac at the airport in Beirut, Lebanon & thirty nine others were held hostage for 17 days before being released

On September 5, 1986 hijackers take over a Pan Am jet at Karachi Airport in Pakistan where twenty people are killed when security forces storm the plane

On December 21, 1988: The bombing of Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, kills 270, mostly Americans

On February 26, 1993: Terrorist bombers strike the World Trade Center, killing six people and injuring more than 1,000 others

During 1993- 2007 there were more than 20 terrorist acts against abortion clinics, including murders, bombings, threats, etc.

On April 19, 1995 a truck bomb at the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, kills 168 & wounds more than 500 others

On November 13, 1995 a bomb at US military headquarters in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, kills five US service personnel

On 1996, a bomb at the Atlanta, Olympic Centential Park Bombing killed 2 & injured 111 to protest abortion

On June 1996 a bomb at the US barracks at the Khobar Tower Hotel in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, kills 19 Americans & injures 500 people

On August 7, 1998 the twin bombings at the US embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, & Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, kill 224 people & wound thousands of others

On October 12, 2000 a suicide bomb attack on the USS Cole in Yemen's Aden harbor kills 17 American sailors & wounds 39 others

On 2001, Sept 9, aka 9 / 11, airplanes flow by suicide attacker crash into the WTC in NYC & the Pentagon in Washington DC killing almost 3,000

CNN: America Under Attack: Recent terrorism attacks targeting the United States, Sept. 2001

OTHER TERRORIST ATTACKS

During the 1789 French Revolution thousands are executed during the Reign of Terror:

In 1972 during the Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany members of the Israeli Olympic team were taken hostage by the Palestinian militant group Black September, a group with ties to Yasser Arafat’s Fatah organization, killing 11 Israilis & 1 W German police officer & the attackers

In 1996 in Japan a subway is attacked w/ sarin gas killing 12 wounding 50

In 2004 in Madrid, Spain a train bombing killed 191 & wounded 2,050, aka Spains 3 - 11

In 2005 London train & buses are bombed

In 2007, in the UK, Glasgow Scotland, a car bomb kills no one but the bombers

Internal
Links

Outline on the Haymarket Square Bombing & Riot May 4th, 1886

External
Links

The strike that precipitated the Haymarket Square bombing & riot was at the McCormick Harvester plant strike which took place in Chicago, IL

The strike that precipitated the Haymarket Square bombing & riot was taking place w/in the militant Chicago movement for an 8 hour working day

The 8 Hour Movement was frequently accompanied by conflict btwn strikers & police

In protest against the shooting of several workmen, August Spies, editor of the semi anarchist Arbeiter Zeitung, issued circulars demanding revenge & announcing a mass meeting the Haymarket

The police expected trouble & so had a large presence

Mayor Harrison attended & found the Haymarket protest to be innocent enough

Despite his advice, 180 police advanced on the meeting at Haymarket Square & ordered the crowd to disperse

As the peaceful meeting dispersed, a bomb was thrown into the police

The Haymarket Square Riot involved a bombing for which no one was conclusively determined to be responsible

7 police & 4 workers were killed; over 100 were injured

The Knights of Labor (KOL) were blamed for the Haymarket Square bombing & ensuing riot, though history has since vindicated them

Fears of a general anarchist plot made an impartial investigation impossible

Many believe anarchists to be responsible

The investigation & trial ordered seven to be hanged, & one imprisoned, but only four were hanged, & historical review indicates they were all innocent of the bombing & drawn into the ensuing riot

Governor Altgeld pardoned the three surviving prisoners in 1893, declaring the trial a farce, charging the press w/ poisoning public opinion, praising organized Labor

The Haymarket Square bombing & riot still one of "history's mysteries" in that conclusive evidence as to the causes of the bombing are largely unknown, though it is clear that those convicted were innocent

The aftermath of the Haymarket Square decimated unions & the Labor Mvmt in general because the publicity had such an anti union bias

The 8 Hour Mvmt collapsed, & the KOL lost influence & also eventually failed

Internal
Links

Outline on the Beirut Marines Barracks Attack, 1983

External
Links

Lebanon was Phoenician, Assyrian, etc. until the rise of Christianity circa the 300s, AD

Muslims converted & conquered Christians circa 600 AD & today about 90% of the people are Arab, about 60 % are Muslim, about 40 % are Christian

The Muslims are Sunni or Shiah & the Christians are Maronite, which is an Eastern Catholic Church

In 1922, France took over Lebanon's political affairs & started to prepare Lebanon for independence

The French united the Christians in the Mount Lebanon & the Muslims along the coast under one govt & also helped write Lebanon's Constitution

Lebanon became completely independent in 1943 when Christian & Muslim leaders agreed to share power in the govt

Following independence, Lebanon prospered more than ever as a center of trade & finance & retained strong ties w/ the West

The country remained peaceful until 1958, when some Lebanese, largely Muslims, rebelled against the govt

In July 1958, the US sent thousands of marines to Lebanon at the request of the country's president helping restore peace, & leaving in October

In 1969, the activities of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) led to fighting in Lebanon

The PLO, whose chief goal is to establish a Palestinian state for the Arab people of Palestine, raided targets in Israel from bases in southern Lebanon. & the Israelis, in turn, attacked PLO forces in Lebanon

In the 1970s, conflict btwn Lebanese Christian & Muslim groups flared up because the Christians opposed, & the Muslims supported, the presence of armed PLO members in the country

In 1975, a civil war broke out btwn Christians & the Muslim-PLO alliance & full scale fighting in Lebanon ended in late 1976

The UN sent a peacekeeping force to Lebanon in 1978, but fighting continued to break out

However, periodic fighting took place btwn Christians & the Muslim-PLO alliance & also, both Christian groups & Muslim groups began fighting among themselves

Battles also broke out btwn Christians & Syrian troops in Lebanon

In 1979, large scale fighting broke out btwn Christians & Syrians in Beirut & resulted in extensive damage to the city.

In June 1982, a large Israeli force invaded Lebanon & drove the PLO forces out

Israeli forces were aware that members of the Lebanese Christian militia killed hundreds of unarmed Palestinian & Lebanese civilians in the Sabra & Shatila refugee camps in the Israeli occupied part of western Beirut & yet the Israelis chose not to intervene

The Israelis were positioned to totally wipe out the PLO & Arafat, but because such a much would have launched the entire middle east into war, the US, France, & Italy sent troops to Lebanon to help ensure that the PLO forces could leave the country safely

In late 1983, foreign troops in Lebanon became victims of terrorist bombings

On Oct 23, a suicide terrorist crashed a truck loaded w/ explosives into US Marine headquarters at the Beirut airport killing 241 US troops

At about the same time, a similar attack killed 54 French troops in a nearby building

On Nov 4, an attack at the Israeli military headquarters in Tyre killed 28 Israelis

In early Feb 1984, Druse forces & Shiite Muslims, members of the Shiah branch of Islam, took control of part of Beirut from the Lebanese govt

The US, the UK, France, & Italy removed their troops from Lebanon following this take over

In 1985, Israel withdrew its troops from all of Lebanon except a security zone along the country's Israeli border

Conflict, terrorism, war have continued in Lebanon, but today it is essentially so weak, & so isolated that it is not considered a threat to any nation, unless it becomes a haven for terrorists or a platform for launching terrorist attacks

The US & other nations attempted to retaliate, but had no clear course of action against the indigenous, terrorist groups who were fighting for their own national interests

The Marines barracks bombing was considered one of the great failures of the Reagan administration & it caused the US to w/draw its troops, making it appear as a victory to US foes throughout the Mideast

The bombing of the Marine barracks is an example of indigenous people responding to foreign forces in their country

Internal
Links

Outline on the Pan Am Flight 103 Bombing, 1988

External
Links

- Supplement: CIA Confident Iran Behind Jet Bombing. by David B. Ottaway & Laura Parker. Washington Post Staff Writers. Thursday, May 11, 1989; Page A01

Summary: In 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 was blown up over Lockerbie Scotland by Libyan intelligence operatives as retaliation for the US bombing of Libya

The Berbers are believed to be the earliest inhabitants of Libya. In the 600s BC, Greek colonists settled in the northeastern part of the region

The Romans destroyed Carthage in 146 BC, & Tripolitania became part of the Roman province of Africa Nova

A Germanic tribe called the Vandals captured the region in AD 431, but in the 500s, Byzantine forces conquered the region

Rebellions by Berber tribes created instability that aided Arab entry into the region in the 600s, spreading their new religion of Islam, entering Cyrenaica in 642 & occupying Tripoli in 643

In 1551, the Ottomans captured Tripoli & from the 1500s to the early 1800s, private ships commanded by Barbary corsairs (sea raiders) preyed on European & US shipping in the Mediterranean

The US fought a war against the corsairs in the early 1800s inspiring the founding of the US Marines

Italy invaded the coastal regions in 1911 & took control of the three provinces in 1912

During World War II, members of the Sanusi brotherhood cooperated w/ the British in Egypt against Italy, their common enemy

In 1942, the UK estbed a military administration in the north & the French forces took control of the Fezzan

In Dec 1951, the UN called for the independence of all of Libya

A federal state came into being, w/ Muhammad Idris al Mahdi as-Sanusi, leader of the Sanusi resistance, as king

The discovery of oil in Libya in 1959 transformed the country from a poverty stricken nation into one of the wealthiest in the world, but widespread discontent resulted, because the ruling class controlled the wealth

QADHAFI & CONFLICT W/ THE WEST

In Sept 1969, a group of officers known as the Revolutionary Command Council (RCC) overthrew King Idris & seized power

Colonel Muammar Muhammad al-Qadhafi, who led the revolution, became the head of Libya's govt & took control of most economic activities

Qadhafi tried to forge unions w/ a number of Arab states, but none of these efforts succeeded for more than a brief period

Libya supported a number of political mvmts throughout the world, particularly the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) & the Polisario Front, in W Sahara

Libya backed a rebellion in Chad & also supported Iran's declaration of an Islamic republic in 1979

The leaders of many nations have denounced Qadhafi for interfering in the affairs of other nations

During the 1980s, bitter antagonism surfaced btwn Libya & the US

The US accused Qadhafi of aiding terrorists & Libya, in turn, charged that the US was attempting to overthrow its govt

In Jan 1986, US Pres Reagan broke all economic ties w/ Libya & in March, Libya fired missiles on US military aircraft over the Gulf of Sidra

In 1986 it was suspected that Libyan operatives had bombed a Berlin night club, killing 2 US soldiers

Reagan claimed to have evidence that linked Libya to the bombing of a West Berlin nightclub, in which an Am serviceman was killed & many were injured

Pres Reagan ordered a bombing raid on Libya in response to the bombing of the Berlin night club

In April, Reagan ordered US planes to bomb military installations at Tripoli & Benghazi

The US bombing raid almost killed Kadafi, & did kill some of his children

Conflict again erupted in early 1989, when two Am aircraft downed two Libyan jets over the Mediterranean who the American airmen claimed were armed & aggressively heading toward them

THE PAN AM BOMBING

It is believed that the Pan Am Flight 103 was bombed over Lockerbee, Scotland in retaliation for Reagan bombing Libya

Flight 103 was a 747 flying from Europe to NYC

In December of 1988 Pan American Flight 103 was blown up over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 259 passengers, crew (189 Americans), & 11 people on the ground as it crashed into a school

Reagan was President & Bush Sr. was President Elect

A bomb was smuggled in by the girlfriend of a terrorist & authorities believe that she did not know she was carrying the bomb: blind mule

This is where the question at airports began "Have you had control of your bags at all times? Has anyone asked you to carry anything on the airplane for them?"

AFTERMATH

Libyan agents are also suspected of a 1989 bombing of a French plane over Niger, killing 171 people

The US & Britain accused to Libyan intelligence agents

In April 1992 & December 1993, the UN imposed sanctions on Libya for refusing to turn over Libyans suspected of placing bombs aboard an American civilian airliner that exploded over Scotland in 1988 & a French civilian airliner that blew up over West Africa in 1989

Sanctions included the cancellation of intl air service to Libya, the suspension of military sales, & the reduction of Libya's diplomatic corps abroad

In 1999, Libya turned over to UN officials two men suspected of planting the bomb on the Am airliner

The UN suspended its sanctions on Libya after the men were in custody

In May 2000, a special Scottish court set up in the Netherlands began its trial of the two suspects

The court announced its verdicts in Jan 2001, convicting one of the suspects, Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi, of murder & sentenced him to life imprisonment while acquitting the other suspect, Lamen Khalifa Fhimah

Internal
Links

Outline on the World Trade Center Bombing, 1993

External
Links

Summary: In 1993, radical Arab Muslims drove a truck bomb into the basement parking garage of the World Trade Center (WTC) in NYC killing 6, injuring 1,000 & destroying many floors

Ramzi Yousef, born in Kuwait, began in 1991 to plan a bombing attack w/in the US

Yousef entered the US w/ a false Iraqi passport in 1992 but since his travel partner had bomb making instructions in his luggage both were arrested; however Yousef was released because he claimed political asylum & the INS cells were full

Yousef set up residence in Jersey City, NJ, traveled around NYC & New Jersey & called Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman

When one of the Sheikh's confidants killed another, dozens of Arabic bomb making manuals & documents related to terrorist plots were found in his apartment, w/ manuals from Army Special Warfare Center at Fort Bragg, NC, secret memos linked to Joint Chiefs of Staff, & 1440 rounds of ammunition

In Feb, 1993, a propane truck bomb destroyed several of the basement floors of the WTC in NYC

6 people were killed & over 1,000 were injured & caused more than $300 million in damage to the WTC

The propane truck bomb was intended to devastate the foundation of the North Tower, causing it to collapse onto its twin

During the trial, the WTC's architect testified that if the van had been left closer to the poured concrete foundations, the plan would have succeeded & the tower would have toppled

The WTC bombing was the work of radical Arab, Muslims

It is believed that most of the perpetrators to the 1993 WTC bombing are now in custody

Four men, including Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, an Egyptian Muslim cleric, were convicted of the bombing & sent to prison

In Oct 1995, the militant Islamist & blind cleric Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman, was sentenced to life imprisonment for masterminding the bombing. .

In 1998, Ramzi Yousef was convicted of "seditious conspiracy" to bomb the towers

In all, ten militant Islamist conspirators were convicted for their part in the bombing, each receiving prison sentences of a maximum of 240 years

The WTC bombing & the terrorist acts planned for Oct were in retaliation against US policy in the Mid East

According to the journalist Steve Coll, Yousef mailed letters to various NYC newspapers in which he claimed he belonged to the 'Liberation Army, Fifth Battalion' which made 3 demands, including:

- an end to all US aid to Israel

- an end to US diplomatic relations w/ Israel

- a demand for a pledge by the US to end interference w/ any of the Middle East country's interior affairs

Yousef believed the WTC bombing was an act of terrorism, but that this was justified because of the terrorist act that Israel practices, which America supports

These groups had plotted to assassinate political leaders, bomb the UN, the GW Bridge, the Lincoln & Holland tunnels, & more

Internal
Links

Outline on the Oklahoma City Bombing, 1995

External
Links

Summary: In 1995 two white, Americans of European descent, who were anti federalist radicals, truck bombed the Murrah Federal Bldg in OK City because they feared the growing power of the Federal govt

On April 19, 1995 a rental truck was loaded w/ a home-made bomb, primarily w/ the fertilizer ammonium nitrate

One or more terrorists put a bomb in a truck in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in the downtown area & set it off

The bomb killed 168 people, including 19 children at the Murrah Federal Bldg in OK City & destroyed the building

Before 9 / 11, the OK City Bombing was by far the worst act of terrorism on US soil in US history

This was considered a terrorist act in that the perpetrators did not know the victims, they held no personal grudge against them

The Ok City Bombing is believed to be the work of radical White, American, anti federalist militia types: one, who was executed & the other, who is in prison

At first many American jumped to the conclusion that radical Muslims has perpetrated the act

Many people believe that the Fed Govt attack on the Branch Davidean Complex in Waco, TX on April 19, 1993 was a precipitating event for the two terrorists

Charges were made against the two men who made the bomb, & that one brought the truck to the building & set off the bomb

It was noted at the trial that the two men had expressed strong opposition to the fed govt

A third male American citizen was charged w/ aiding the first two

The third man plead guilty, agreed to be a witness in the trials of the two other men, & was sentenced to 23 years in prison

The first terrorist was convicted of murder & conspiracy & sentenced to death while the second was convicted of conspiracy & involuntary manslaughter, & he was sentenced to life in prison w/o parole

In 2004, because of the work of the Ok City Survivors Group, the second terrorist was being tried in state court w/ the chance that he might get the death penalty

The Oklahoma City National Memorial, on the site of the destroyed building, was dedicated in 2000

Internal
Links

Outline on the WTC 9-11-01 Attacks

External
Links

- Supplement: Time Magazine, For the Record

- Supplement: On the Road to 9-11

- Supplement: Time Magazine, Conspiracy Theory

- Supplement: Timeline

- Bibliography

FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO 9-11 BEGAN IN THE COLD WAR ERA, CIRCA 1970s, WHEN THE CIA & OTHER WESTERN GOVTS CHOOSE TO USE EXTREMISTS & CRIMINALS TO OPPOSE THE SOVIET UNION

In 1976 the CIA & other intelligence agencies use the Bank of Credit & Commerce Intl (BCCI) to control & manipulate criminals & terrorists worldwide

From 1977-1981 the Nationalities Working Group in the NSA advocates using militant Islam against the Soviet Union

In 1977 Zbigniew Brzezinski, as President Carter’s National Security Adviser, forms the Nationalities Working Group (NWG) dedicated to the idea of weakening the Soviet Union by inflaming its ethnic tensions

The CIA begins covert action against the Communist govt in Afghanistan in 1978

US BEGINS POLICY OF USING EXTREMISTS & CRIMINALS TO OPPOSE THE SOVIET UNION BY TRAINING SUCH ELEMENTS IN AFGHANISTAN IN THE 1980s

In 1980 Afghan fighters begin training in the US

From 1980 to 1989, $600 million for the Afghan war passes through Bin Laden charity fronts & the CIA & the British train the Mujaheddin in Afghanistan & help arm Bin Laden

In the 1980s much of the US & Saudi aid meant for Afghan fighters goes to the Pakistan secret service, ie the ISI & the AQ Khan network, ie the 'father' of the Paki atomic bomb

From 1982 to 1989 the US turns a blind eye to BCCI & Pakistani govt involvement in the heroin trade

On Feb 11, 1982 the CIA is given the green light to take part in illegal drug trade in Afghanistan

In Nov & Dec 1982 Rep. Charlie Wilson pushes for the expansion of US support for anti Soviet forces in Afghanistan

During 1984 &1985 the US & Pakistan begin training Afghans to attack inside the Soviet Union

“American emissaries are understood to have traveled to Pakistan for meetings w/ mujaheddin leaders… [A former CIA official] even suggests the US emissaries met directly w/ bin Laden, & that it was bin Laden, acting on advice from his friends in Saudi intelligence, who first suggested the mujaheddin should be given Stingers.” [Reeve, 1999, pp. 167, 176]

Radical Muslim leader Sheikh Omar Abdul-Rahman obtains his first US visa via the CIA & then begins the plot resulting in the 1993 bombing of the WTC

Khalid Shaikh Mohammed (KSM), the lead strategist behind the 9-11 attacks, fights & works in Afghanistan for a CIA favored warlord & gets to know bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri, & many other future al-Qaeda leaders

Near the end of the Soviet Afghan war in the late 1980s & into the early 1990s, the radical mujaheddin heavily funded by the CIA & Saudi Arabia kill moderate Afghans by the thousands

By the late 80s, the Taliban, w/ US support, have defeated the Russian advances in Afghanistan & they w/draw, some say setting the stage for the eventual breakup of the Soviet Union into Russia & other states

The Soviet w/draw the last of their soldiers on February 15, 1989

In March 13, 1994 a report indicates that violence, drugs, & militant training camps are rife in Afghanistan

The Taliban soon take over Afghanistan, establishing an extremist theocracy, oppressing human rights & allowing al Qaeda to estb training camps

IN 1998 US EMBASSIES IN AFRICA ARE BOMBED BY FACTIONS RELATED TO GROUPS TRAINED IN AFGHANISTAN IN THE 80s; US RESPONDS W/ CRUISE MISSILE ATTACKS ON AL QAEDA CAMPS IN AFGHANISTAN

On August 7, 1988 suicide bombers in trucks laden w/ explosives parked outside the embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania & Nairobi, Kenya & almost simultaneously detonated

In Nairobi, approximately 212 people were killed, & an estimated 4,000 wounded; in Dar es Salaam, the attack killed at least 11 & wounded 85

The bombings are widely believed to have been revenge for American involvement in the extradition, & alleged torture, of four members of Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ) who had been arrested in Albania in the two months prior to the explosions & extradited to Egypt

Bin Laden initially said that the sites had been targeted because of the 'invasion' of Somalia; then he described an American plan to partition Sudan, which he said was hatched in the embassy in Nairobi. He also told his followers that the genocide in Rwanda had been planned inside the two American embassies."

Wright concludes that bin Laden's actual goal was "to lure the US into Afghanistan, which had long been called 'The Graveyard of Empires."

In response to the bombings, U.S. President Bill Clinton ordered Operation Infinite Reach, a series of cruise missile strikes on targets in Sudan & Afghanistan on August 20, 1998, announcing the planned strike in a prime time address on American television.

In Sudan, the missiles destroyed the Al Shifa pharmaceutical factory, where 50% of Sudan's medications for both people & animals were manufactured

The Clinton Administration claimed that there was ample evidence to prove that the plant produced chem weapons, but a thorough investigation after the missile strikes revealed that the intelligence was unreliable

Ali Mohamed pleads guilty to five counts of conspiracy to kill nationals of the US in connection w/ the 1998 embassy bombings in Kenya & Tanzania

The neoconservative think tank Project for the New American Century writes a "blueprint" for the "creation of a 'global Pax Americana'" (see June 3, 1997).

The document, titled Rebuilding America's Defenses: Strategies, Forces & Resources for a New Century, was written for the George W. Bush team even before the 2000 presidential election

The plan for a global Pax Americana shows that the Bush team intends to take military control of Persian Gulf oil whether or not Saddam Hussein was in power & should retain control of the region even if there is no threat

Bush's plan for US dominion says: "The United States has for decades sought to play a more permanent role in Gulf regional security"

Bush's plan for US dominion says: "While the unresolved conflict w/ Iraq provides the immediate justification, the need for a substantial American force presence in the Gulf transcends the issue of the regime of Saddam Hussein"

IN 2000 THE USS COLE IN THE SO. ARABIAN PENINSULA IS BOMBED BY FACTIONS RELATED TO GROUPS TRAINED IN AFGHANISTAN IN THE 80s

Shortly after the USS Cole bombing (see October 12, 2000), the US supposedly obtains intelligence that prompts President Clinton to consider another missile strike on bin Laden

The US presidential election is in early November & later author Lawrence Wright will write, "Clinton maintains that, despite the awkward political timing, his administration came close to launching another missile attack… but at the last minute the CIA recommended calling it off because [bin Laden's] presence at the site was not completely certain" [Wright, 2006, pp. 244]

Fahad al-Quso, a Yemeni & known associate of Osama bin Laden, turns himself in to the Yemeni govt after some of his relatives are questioned in the wake of the USS Cole bombing (see October 12, 2000). [New Yorker, 7/10/2006 pdf file]

The associate of bin Laden admits that he & one of the two Cole suicide bombers went to Bangkok, Thailand, & gave several thousand dollars to a man known as Khallad, who is identified as one of the masterminds of the Cole bombing

In 1999, Kabir Mohabbat, an Afghan American businessman, had initiated conversations about bin Laden btwn the US govt & the Taliban

According to Mohabbat, the Taliban were ready to hand bin Laden over to a third country, or the International Court of Justice, in exchange for having the US led sanctions against Afghanistan lifted. (Elmar Brok, a German member of the European Parliament, later confirms that he helps Mohabbat make contact w/ the US govt in 1999.)

In Nov 7, 2000 plans to target Bin Laden delayed pending 2000 Election says a former senior Clinton aide, “If we had done anything, say, two weeks before the election, we'd be accused of helping [presidential candidate] Al Gore.”

Based on info from interviews of suspects detained during the USS Cole bombings (see Late October Late November 2000), the FBI finds that one of the lead bombers was Khallad bin Attash, an operative also involved in the 1998 East African embassy bombings

About late October Late November 2000, the FBI asks the CIA for info about al-Qaeda leader Khallad bin Attash & a possible al-Qaeda meeting in Southeast Asia in early 2000, but the CIA w/holds the info

BUSH ADMIN SUCCEEDS CLINTON ADMIN & ESTB POLICY TO DOMINATE MID EAST / GLOBE

CIA Director Tenet & other top CIA officials brief President elect Bush, Vice President elect Cheney, future National Security Adviser Rice, & other incoming national security officials on al Qaeda & covert action programs in Afghanistan

Deputy Director for Operations James Pavitt recalls conveying that bin Laden is one of the gravest threats to the country

Bush asks whether killing bin Laden would end the problem & Pavitt says he answers that killing bin Laden would have an impact but not stop the threat

The CIA recommends the most important action to combat al Qaeda is to arm the Predator drone & use it over Afghanistan. [9/11 Commission, 3/24/2004; Reuters, 3/24/2004]

However, while the drone is soon armed, Bush never gives the order to use it in Afghanistan until after 9/11 (see September 4, 2001)

A federal panel chaired by former Virginia Governor James Gilmore (R) warns President elect Bush that the US in vulnerable to terrorist attack & urges him to bolster US preparedness w/in one year

President Clinton & President Elect Bush meet for their "exit interview," & in a two hour meeting [CNN, 12/19/2000], Clinton gives Bush his list of his top five priorities. where at the top of the list is dealing w/ Osama bin Laden

Bush shakes Clinton's hand after Clinton wraps up his presentation, & says, "Thanks for your advice, Mr. President, but I think you've got your priorities wrong. I'm putting Saddam at the top of the list."

Al Qaeda has had pilots in training in the US & around the globe for a decade

The US intelligence community has been monitoring al-Qaeda telephone communications to & from a communications hub in Yemen since the late 1990s (see Late August 1998) & the CIA intercepts an al-Qaeda operative say in a monitored phone call that bin Laden is planning a “Hiroshima type event” against the US

The French intelligence agency, DGSE, publishes 9 intelligence reports btwn these dates on the subject of al Qaeda threats against the US

Over three hundred pages of classified DGSE reports on al Qaeda from July 2000 to October 2001 will be leaked to a French reporter in 2007

One of the 9 reports on attacks against the US, dated Jan 5, 2001, will be detailed in a 2007 French newspaper article (see January 5, 2001), but the contents of the other eight remain unknown

DGSE officials will later claim that such reports would have certainly been passed on to the CIA. None of the contents of any of these French reports will be mentioned in the 2004 9/11 Commission report

September 11, 2001 4 airliners are hijacked & 2 are crashed into each of the WTC towers, 1 hits the Pentagon, & 1 crashes in a field in PN

The US response is the "War on Terrorism," specifically via a clean up action in Afghanistan & the War in Iraq

An opportunity to capture or kill bin Laden in Afghanistan is missed early on in Afghanistan because US resources are transferred to the Iraq theater of war

Internal
Links

Outline on the IRA

External
Links

ENGL & IRELAND FOUGHT FOR CENTURIES & IN THE 1600s THE ENGL PROTESTANTS CONQUERED & COLONIZED CATHOLIC IRELAND

The history of Northern Ireland can be traced back to the 17th century, when the English subdued the island

The Protestants colonized & settled lands on the northern side of the island

Protestant colonization set Ulster somewhat apart from the rest of Ireland, which was predominantly Catholic

As industry rose in the north, this created a rift economically from the rest of Ireland

The Irish Catholics felt oppressed by the increasing ties to Britain

With the Act of Union passing in 1800, this created the union of Ireland & England, & later, an independent Irish govt was set up

By passing the Govt of Ireland Act 1920, the island of Ireland was separated, thus creating Ireland & Northern Ireland

The northern counties accepted the act, but factions in the south fought British troops (Spindlove & Simonsen, 2010)

The southern counties were composed primarily of Irish, who were called Republicans while the Protestants who were in the north of Northern Ireland were known as the Loyalists

Certain historical differences separated Northern Ireland from Ireland, esp the fact that Ireland is mainly Catholic while Northern Ireland is Protestant

Religion separates people today just as it did in the past in these two areas of Ireland & No Ireland

Some Northern Ireland Catholics identify only w/ each other & not Irish Catholics due to differences based on their rule of govt & social experiences through the years

The political landscape in Northern Ireland was set up to limit the power of the Catholic minority

While never legally segregating the Irish community, the power structure was set up in such a way as to keep the status quo, that being the Protestant majority in control

Laws were created from the beginning which would fight the emerging Republican paramilitary presence (Katz & Tushaus, 2008)

With Protestant control of the govt came the control of the court systems & the police

Jurors favored the Protestants & made up the voter lists & some of the greatest depravations of rights occurred during legislative acts

The Special Powers Act was passed to fight against the Republican para militaries, fighting to succeed from Britain (Kats & Tushaus, 2008)

This law gave great power to the Police to intern individuals w/o a trial for unspecified periods of time which included the broad powers of warrantless search & seizure & powers of censorship

The two peoples never integrated; the Catholics see themselves as native to Ireland & they view the Protestants as squatters & robbers of their lands

The Protestants viewed the Irish as uncivilized due to their different culture & language

As the two groups grew, the Protestants grew politically & economically

They were able to subdue the Irish politically & economically w/ England supporting them

THE IRA IS A PARA MILITARY TERRORIST GROUP WHO AIMS TO ELIMINATE UK & PROTESTANT RULE OF IRELAND

Sein Fein is the political arm of the IRA much like the PLO is the political arm of al Fatah & Hamas

The IRA was formed in 1919 as an unofficial military force that aimed to gain independence for Ireland.

At that time, present day Ireland & Northern Ireland made up a single country ruled by the British

The British govt had proposed that Ireland remain united w/ the UK but take control of its own domestic affairs.

Most of the Protestants in the northeastern province of Ulster opposed the plan for Irish rule because they did not want to be a minority in a Catholic nation

In 1919, the IRA began a guerrilla war for independence from British rule & harassed the police & military w/ ambushes & sudden raids

In 1920, the British govt passed the Govt of Ireland Act which divided Ireland into two states, each w/ limited powers of self govt

Under the Govt of Ireland Act, the six northeastern counties were separated from the rest of Ireland & became Northern Ireland while the southern Catholic majority rejected the act & demanded a single, united Irish republic

The guerrilla war continued until July 1921, when British & Irish leaders declared a truce & agreed to the Anglo Irish Treaty which was signed on Dec. 6, 1921, making southern Ireland a dominion, that is, a self governing country, called the Irish Free State, owing allegiance to the British Crown

THE IRA SPLINTERED INTO TWO GROUPS AS A RESULT OF DISAGREEMENT OVER LEVELS OF INDEPENDENCE & SELF GOVERNANCE FROM THE UK

The Anglo Irish treaty split the IRA wherein one group, led by Michael Collins, accepted the treaty & became part of the army of the Irish Free State while the other group, led by Eamon de Valera & called the Irregulars, rejected the treaty because it did not provide complete independence from the UK & union w/ Northern Ireland.

Early in 1922, civil war broke out & the Irregulars were defeated in 1923 but continued as an underground org

In 1937, the Irish Free State adopted a new constitution & changed its name to Eire

In 1949, Eire renounced its dominion status & declared itself an independent republic called Ireland

Northern Ireland remained united w/ the UK & from 1956 to 1962, the IRA periodically raided British installations in Northern Ireland, trying to reunite Ireland & Northern Ireland & embarrass both the British & the Irish govts

In the late 1960's, Catholics in Northern Ireland began to protest against discrimination by the Protestant govt & fighting broke out between Catholics & Protestants, & the IRA took up the cause of the Catholics

During the 60s Catholic Protestant skirmishes, the UK sent troops to restore order, & the IRA & British soldiers were soon fighting each other

THE IRA SPLINTERED OVER STRAT & TACTICS; W/ SOME FAVORING MORE VIOLENCE WHILE OTHERS FAVORED NEGOTIATIONS

During 1969 & 1970, another deep split developed w/in the IRA over strategy & tactics.

The dominant group was called the Provisional IRA while the other group became known as the Official IRA

The Provisional IRA has young, aggressive members. The Provisionals have carried out many bombings, ambushes, & assassinations in Ireland & the UK

The Official IRA consists of nonviolent older members chiefly committed to social change

PEACE BEGAN TO TAKE HOLD IN THE LATE 90s & CONTINUES TO THE PRESENT EXCEPT FOR SPORADIC VIOLENCE FROM SPLINTER GRPS

In July 1997, the IRA declared a cease-fire, & then in Sept of that year, peace talks on Northern Ireland began in which all parties were represented, including Sinn Fein

The 1967 talks concluded in an agreement that was approved by voters in Ireland & Northern Ireland

The agreement committed the parties to using peaceful means to resolve political differences

Implementation of the accord required many months of negotiations between the IRA & the Protestant Ulster Unionists

In 1998, following a ceasefire by the Provisional IRA and multi-party talks, the Belfast Agreement was concluded and ratified by referendum across the entire island.

Full implementation began at the end of 1999 & in early 2000, however, the agreement was suspended when the Protestants w/drew to protest a lack of disarmament by the IRA

Negotiations on the issues of self govt & disarmament continued & another peace accord was singed in 2005

The Agreement restored self government to Northern Ireland on the basis of power sharing between the two communities.

Violence decreased greatly after the signing of the accord and in 2005 the Provisional IRA announced the end of its armed campaign and an independent commission supervised its disarmament

The power sharing assembly was suspended several times but was restored again in 2007

In that year, the British government officially ended its military support of the police in Northern Ireland and began withdrawing troops

This peace agreement has largely held, but there have been sporadic bombings & attacks by splinters of the old IRA

The Irish British peace agreement indicates that in relation to war & terrorism:

a. European Westerners have fought each other for millennia just as people have across the globe

b. despite millennia of conflict, people can overcome ancient animosities & find peace

Internal
Links

Outline on the Types of Terrorism

External
Links

- Project: Types of Terrorism

Terrorist acts are committed for various reasons

Most terrorist grps are small & they believe the threat or use of violence to create fear is the best way to gain publicity & support for their causes

Common victims of terrorist linked kidnappings & assassinations include diplomats, business executives, political leaders, police, & judges

Terrorists also attack churches, mosques, & synagogues, as well as oil refineries & govt offices, or any public venue including transportation centers, significant bldgs, etc.

At other times, terrorists choose any target certain to attract media coverage

Some terrorists hijack airplanes & then they hold the passengers hostage & make demands to further their cause

They often threaten to kill the hostages if their demands are not met

Bombings make up about half of all terrorist acts

Most terrorist groups fail to achieve their long range political goals

Govts fight terrorism by refusing to accept terrorist demands & by increasing security at airports & other likely targets

Some countries train special military units to rescue hostages

Of all the purposes of terrorism & the various methods of terrorism, there are FOUR basic types, including vigilante, insurgent, transnational, & state terrorism

Generally, terrorists attack people who oppose their cause or objects that symbolize such opposition, & these may be any of the four types of terrorists

a. Vigilante Terrorism

Some terrorist groups seek to terrorize a group to keep them in submission

b. Insurgent Terrorism

Some individuals & groups that use terrorism support a particular political philosophy

Some individuals & groups represent minority groups seeking liberation from govts in power

c. Transnational Terrorism

Terrorism may cross national boundaries as a quarrel in one nation may produce terrorist attacks in several other countries

All terrorist acts are crimes under international law

d. State Terrorism

Some govts secretly support certain terrorist groups by providing weapons, training, & money for attacks in other countries

Dictators & totalitarian govts also use violence to frighten or eliminate their opponents thought many democratic states have also employed "surrogate" terrorist groups to achieve their states' goals

Example of US state supported terrorist include the death squads in El Salvador in the 1980s & al Qaeda who we supported in the fight against the Soviets in Afghanistan

Internal
Links

Outline on the Vigilante Terrorism

External
Links

Vigilante terrorism is committed by private citizens against other private citizens to express hatred or to resist social change

Vigilante terrorism is the most common form of terrorism in US history, but state terrorism has killed more people

Many of the ugliest moments in US history are incidents of vigilante terrorism

Vigilante terrorism has been systematically committed against native Americans, blacks, labor leaders, immigrants, religious leaders ethnic groups, gays, & others

VIGILANTE TERRORISM AGAINST NATIVE AMERICANS

Europeans terrorized native Americans shortly after they arrived in the New World in the 1600s, peaked during the Indian Wars which culminated w/ the infamous massacre of over 300 Sioux men, women, & children at Wounded Knee, SD, in 1890, & continues to today

Vigilante terrorism is often combined w/ state terrorism

For native Americans, vigilante terrorism was combined w/ state terrorism

Vigilante terrorism against native Americans was part of a larger pattern of broken treaties, unkept promises, & the slaughter of defenseless women & children

Vigilante terrorism & the state terrorism resulted in the 1 mm native Americans being reduced to 240,000 & losing all of their No American empire

LYNCHING

The Klu Klux Klan is perhaps the most notorious practitioner of vigilante terrorism in the US

Whether perpetrated by an organized group like the KKK or by an unruly mob, lynching was one of the most notorious & common methods of vigilante terrorism

Lynching usually means the killing, generally by hanging, of a person by a mob in defiance of law & order

Victims of a lynching do not have a chance to defend themselves because the mob assumes its victims are guilty, whether or not the victims have had a trial

Lynch mobs not only promote disrespect for law, order, & basic human rights, but they also encourage mass brutality

Most states have attempted to stop lynchings by laws

Some states prosecute under the laws against homicide, riot, & assault while other states have specific lynch laws but legal controls have not succeeded in preventing lynchings

One of the problems in getting a conviction against lynching is the difficulty in picking out the leaders of the mob

Another problem in getting a conviction against lynching is the lack of jury convictions, even w/ evidence

The decline in lynching in the US is due primarily to increased public opinion against mob violence

The term lynching probably originated w/ Charles Lynch, a planter who lived in VA during the 1700s

Lynch & his neighbors took the law into their own hands & punished the Tories (British sympathizers) & others who plundered their property

The term came to be applied to physical punishment, such as whipping, tarring, feathering, etc.

In pioneer communities on the far western frontier, many lynch mobs punished people for horse stealing, highway robbery, or murder

Lynchings began to take the form of hangings

People took the law into their own hands because there was no duly established legal authority

With the estb of law & order throughout the US, lynch mobs began to act in opposition to the law, instead of supporting it

INSTANCES OF VIGILANTE TERRORISM

Before 1890, most lynching victims were white; since then, most lynchings have occurred in the South, & most of the victims have been blacks

About 4,800 known lynchings occurred from 1882 to 1968, of those, about 25 percent were against whites & about 70 percent were against blacks

The peak year for these killings was 1892, w/ about 230 victims, but from 1957 to 1968, there were seven lynchings, & there have been few recorded lynchings since 1968

A gay man was beat to death in WY in the 90s by 3 white men, & a grp of white men in TX beat & drug a black man behind a pick up, which resulted in his death in the 90s, & there have been other cases

While much vigilante terrorism is done by mobs of citizens or orgs such as the KKK the state, esp local police & sheriffs are sometimes complicit in either their outright encouragement or their tolerance for such collective violence

Some law enforcement officers encouraged or participated in assaults on blacks, but lawless groups carried out most attacks

One of the largest vigilante grps, the Ku Klux Klan, was organized in 1865 or 1866 in Pulaski, TN

Bands of hooded Klansmen rode at night & beat & murdered many blacks & their white sympathizers

The Klan did much to deny blacks their civil & human rights throughout Reconstruction even while the fed govt tried to maintain the rights of African Americans

In 1870 & 1871, Congress passed laws authorizing the use of fed troops to enforce the voting rights of blacks

These laws were known as the Enforcement Acts or the Ku Klux Klan Acts

In addition, President Ulysses S. Grant signed a proclamation demanding respect for the civil rights of all Americans

The Ku Klux Klan also attempted to keep blacks from voting through an increased use of threats, beatings, & killings

More than 3,000 blacks had been lynched during the late 1800s, & the Klan & members of similar groups lynched hundreds more throughout the South during the early 1900s

POST WW 1 VIGILANTE TERRORISM

After World War I, race relations grew increasingly tense in the Northern cities

The hostility in the North partly reflected the growing competition for jobs & housing btwn blacks & whites

In addition, many African American veterans, after fighting for democracy, returned home w/ expectations of justice & equality

The mounting tension helped the Ku Klux Klan recruit thousands of members in the North

In the summer of 1918, 10 people were killed & 60 were injured in racial disturbances in Chester & Philadelphia, PA

A series of riots erupted in the summer of 1919 & by the end of the year, 25 race riots had broken out across the country where at least 100 people died & many more were injured in the riots

Internal
Links

Outline on the KKK

External
Links

The Klu Klux Klan (KKK) is perhaps the most notorious practitioner of vigilante terrorism in the US

The KKK was so integrated into the fabric of American life, that they may be considered as part of state terrorism

The KKK is a grp of white secret societies who oppose the advancement of blacks, Jews, & other minority groups

The KKK, also called the Klan, is active in the US & in Canada but has no real impact around the world

The KKK often uses violence to achieve its aims & Klan members wear robes & hoods, & burn crosses at their outdoor meetings & they also burn crosses to frighten nonmembers

There are FOUR major periods of Klan activity

1. THE RECONSTRUCTION ERA OF THE KKK

The 1st Era of the KKK was the Reconstruction Era, the mid 1860s to the early 1870s

The KKK was formed as a social club by a group of Confederate Army veterans in Pulaski, TN., in 1865 or 1866

The KKK was formed in 1865 by a small group of confederate Army officers in TN by a Colonel Nathaniel Bedford Forest who became the leader, the Grand Wizard

The KKK is named after the Greek word kyklos, or circle & the English word, clan

The KKK was powerful force in opposing Reconstruction, terrorizing blacks & whites w/ beatings, torture, lynchings, & murder

The early Klan under Forest was more concerned w/ preventing domination by the North, & opposing reconstruction & less focused on race based vigilante terrorism

After Forest the Klan became primarily an instrument of maintaining racial segregation & inequality

Klan members, who believed in the superiority of whites, soon began to terrorize blacks to keep them from voting or exercising the other rights they had gained during Reconstruction, the period following the end of the American Civil War in 1865

The Klan threatened, beat, & murdered many blacks & their white sympathizers in the So

The KKK spread rapidly throughout the So US & became known as the Invisible Empire & its attacks helped drive blacks out of So political life

Lynch mob violence became an integral part of the post Reconstruction system of So white supremacy

But from 1882 to 1930 there were over 3,000 lynchings of So blacks

In 1871, Congress passed the Force Bill, which gave the President the authority to use fed troops against the Klan

The KKK was weakened when fed troops arrested hundreds of members, & the KKK nearly disappeared

2. THE ANTI IMMIGRATION ERA OF THE KKK

The 2nd Era of the KKK was the Anti Immigration Era, 1915 to 1944

In 1915, William J. Simmons, a former Methodist clergyman, organized a new Klan in Atlanta, GA, as a patriotic, Protestant fraternal society

The KKK was revived in 1915 & grew in response to growing anti immigration sentiment & the mvmt of rural Southern blacks to Northern cities

The KKK's anti immigration violence during the 1920 reflected a trend of anti immigration or Nativist mvmt in the US

The Klan targeted its activities against grps it considered un-American, including blacks, immigrants, Jews, & particularly Roman Catholics

A great wave of immigration began in the 1820s when over 3 mm immigrants, mostly Catholic, came to the US

The American Party formed into a strong nativist Party

The KKK grew rapidly & by the mid 1920s had more than 2 million members throughout the country

Mob violence occurred against Roman Catholics & other immigrants btwn 1850 & 1880

American Party members frequently answered "I don't know" when asked about nativist policies & attacks & thus became known as "The Know Nothing Party"

Some Klan members burned crosses & whipped, tortured, & murdered people whose activities angered them, but most relied on peaceful means

By electing public officials, the Klan became a powerful political force throughout the South & also in many No & Western states, including CO, IN, Kansas, ME, OH, & OR

However, public criticism of Klan violence & quarrels among Klan leaders weakened the organization

By the 1930s, only local Klan grps in the So remained strong & the org died out again in 1944

3. THE DESEGREGATION / CIVIL RIGHTS ERA OF THE KKK

The 3rd Era of the KKK was the Desegregation / Civil Rights Era, the late 1940s to the early 1970s

Samuel Green, an Atlanta physician, revived the Klan in 1946

Green died in 1949, & the Klan then split into many competing groups; however, all of the groups opposed racial integration

The KKK faded in the 1930s but revived after the Brown v. Board of Ed Decision, 1954, banned school segregation

For the next decade the KKK attacked many So blacks & civil rights activists

Increased civil rights activities during the 1960s brought a new wave of Klan violence

Klan members were involved in many terrorist attacks, including the killing of three civil rights workers in Mississippi, & the bombing of a Birmingham, AL, church in which four black girls were killed

President Lyndon B. Johnson used the FBI to probe the Klan

Some members were sent to prison, & membership fell to about 5,000 by the early 1970s

4. THE POST CIVIL RIGHTS ERA OF THE KKK

The 4th Era of the KKK is the Post Civil Rights Era, since the mid 1970s

Beginning in the mid 1970s, new leaders tried to give a more respectable image to competing Klan grps

Some accepted women as members & set up youth grps

The KKK especially appealed to whites who resented both special programs designed to help blacks & job competition from blacks & recent immigrants

Also in the 1970s, it largely abandoned its opposition to Roman Catholics

In 1979, Klan members & their supporters killed five anti Klan demonstrators in Greensboro, North Carolina

The KKK had somewhat of a revival w/ the deindustrialization of the 80s

Klan membership rose to about 10,000 by 1980

The KKK still attracted people w/ extreme views who often used violence

Klan members murdered a black youth in Mobile, AL, in 1981

The militia mvmt grew ( not all are racist ) & found common interest w/ the KKK

Since then, declining interest in the Klan & some prosecutions for illegal activities have reduced KKK membership to about 6,000 & most of these members live in the So

Today, vigilantism takes the form of hate crime

Over 100 people died of hate crimes from 1990 to 1995

Modern vigilantism focuses on blacks, other people of color, Jews, gays, freedom of choice advocates, anti-gun advocates, govt officials, etc.

Internal
Links

Outline on Insurgent Terrorism

External
Links

Insurgent terrorism is private citizens committing terrorism against their govt to win political goals

Single issue terrorism is committed by an individual or small group to pressure the govt to change a specific policy

Separatist terrorism aims to help an ethnic group secede from a state

Social revolutionary terrorism aims to overthrow the govt & bring about dramatic economic, political, & social change

Examples of insurgent terrorism include US colonists, racist groups, labor strife, revolutionary groups, etc.

There have been many groups who committed insurgent terrorism including the KKK, the Black Panthers, the SLA, the IRA, etc.

The US colonies' revolt against Britain was insurgent terrorism

Colonists would tar & feather Tories, i.e. British sympathizers & many tories were also lynched

Lynching got its name from Colonel Charles Lynch who presided over illegal trials of the Tories

Labor strife can also take the form of insurgent terrorism

Labor committed acts of violence against company property, personnel & scabs (company sympathizers) & tried to get govt to recognize labor rights

Companies committed acts of violence against company property, (to frame Labor) personnel & scabs (company sympathizers) & tried to prevent the govt from recognizing labor rights

Often the workers were no more violent than were the companies themselves

The US has had the bloodiest & most violent labor history of any industrial nation in the world

The Molly Maguires were a secret organization of Irish American miners

THe AFL blew up the LA Times building w/ dynamite in 1910

10 yrs later another bomb ripped apart a Wall Street bank owned by financier JP Morgan, killing more than 30 & injuring more than 200

In the 1960s & the 1970s Black Militants, White Revolutionaries, & Puerto Rican nationalists have been active

Black Militant violence peaked from 1968 to 1974 after a decade of civil rights activism reached its peak

The Black Power Mvmt rejected the nonviolent tactics of MLK

The FBI, the police & other social control agents often fomented violence w/ black militants & other radical groups

The Black Liberation Army (BLA) formed in NYC in 1971 by former Panthers & ex-convicts

They targeted police & banks, killing about 26 police from 1970 - 1974

The Weather Underground carried out a series of bombings beginning in 1970

The New World Liberation Front bombed large corporations beginning in the mid 1970s

The Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA) murdered a school superintendent in 1972, kidnapped Patty Hearst in 1974, & robbed banks

Puerto Rican Nationalists tried to kill Truman in 1950 & they shot 5 members of Congress in 1954

From 1970 - 1980s Puerto Rican Nationalists are thought to have committed over 300 bombings & other acts

In the last 15 yrs, insurgent terrorism has taken on a more right wing philosophy as compared to many earlier left wing philosophies

These groups are often white militias & white supremacist groups

An example of the rise of white, right wind insurgency is the 1995 OK City bombing

Right wing terrorism now poses the most serious internal threat in the US while radical mid easterners pose the greatest external terrorist threat

In Europe, the best known terrorist groups are the Irish Republican Army IRA & its affiliates, though Europe has had many more instances of terrorism than the US

In August of 1969, they split into the Provisional IRA & the Official IRA

Protestant terrorist groups were established to fight the IRA

Since 1960 more than 3,000 have died in terrorist acts & violent clashes among the IRA, the Protestant groups & British troops

The Red Army was formed by student activists in W. Germany in 1968 & has committed numerous bombing, assassination attempts & bank robberies

The Red Army has attacked US military personnel in Germany

The Red Brigades began in 1970 in Italy, setting off bombs & murdering the Italian prime minister

They have waned under the efforts of the Italian police

The PLO & its affiliates have been active in the Mideast for decades

Their purpose is to gain a Palestinian nation & to destroy Israel, though at various times they have renounced the latter goal

In 1972 Black September killed 2 Israeli athletes & took nine other hostage during the Munich Olympics

In South America most govts have been repressive, right wing dictatorships supported by the US

Most of the So American terrorism there has been state terrorism

Rebel groups have often used terrorism in response

The People's Revolutionary Army in El Salvador formed in the 1970s

In Japan in 1995 the Om Shinricoio cult launched a poison gas attack in a subway in Tokyo that kill 12 & made 5,500 ill

Internal
Links

Outline on the Molly Maguires circa 1865 to 1877

External
Links

blank

Molly Maguires aka the Buckshots, White Boys, Sleepers circa 1865 to 1877

blank

blank

The Molly Maguires took their name from a group of anti landlord agitators in 1840s in Ireland led by a widow named Molly Maguire

blank

blank

During the potato famine, the Molly Maguires & other groups fought against established interests

blank

blank

The Molly Maguires were a secret organization of Irish American miners

blank

blank

The Molly Maguires, circa 1865 to 1877, were a union of coal miners in PN who used terrorist tactics to win concessions

blank

blank

Most members were Irish

blank

blank

They formed to deal w/ intolerable working conditions in PN coal mines

blank

blank

The working conditions for miners were such that they were typically overworked, underpaid, & unsafe

blank

blank

Coal mining conditions were intolerable

blank

blank

Wages often did not cover expenses, as charged by the company: "Workin' in the coal mine & what do you get? Another day older & deeper in debt."

blank

blank

The Molly Maguires used terrorist tactics

blank

blank

The Molly Maguires assassinated company officials & committed other acts of terrorism

blank

blank

The Molly Maguires were chastised by Church, owners, govt, media, but respected by miners

blank

blank

The Molly Maguires used their power for the benefit of members & intimidated or murdered recalcitrant mine bosses & colliery superintendents

blank

blank

1874, at height of their power, Franklin B. Gowen, President of the Philadelphia Coal & Iron Co. & Reading Railroad hired the Pinkerton Detective Agency

blank

blank

The Molly Maguires were infiltrated by James McParlan, a Pinkerton, who was is some sense sympathetic, but wanted a better life

blank

blank

After a particularly outrageous murder in 1875, one assassin was condemned to death

blank

blank

This was the first capital conviction of a Molly

blank

blank

McParlan was suspected by the Mollies

blank

blank

McParlan evaded one plot to murder him, then w/drew

blank

blank

1877 trial based on McParlan's testimony crushed the Molly Maguires forever & as a result 10 hung & 14 were jailed

blank

Internal
Links

Outline on Transnational Terrorism

External
Links

Transnational terrorism (TT) is perpetrated by terrorists living in one nation against the people, govt or general society of another nation

TT may also include terrorism that occurs in one's own country against foreign targets or against domestic targets but in the name of an intl cause or on behalf of a foreign govt (Gurr, 1989b)

Transnational terrorism is aka international terrorism, hence GW Bushes International War on Terrorism

Transnational terrorism is relatively uncommon in the US compared to other nations

For example, Mid Eastern related terrorism was spread into Europe: "The battle over the Palestinian question & other Mid Eastern issues had moved beyond the Mid East"

Most terrorism on mid eastern issues are directed against other mid east people, groups, govts, & general society

A key feature of terrorism today is it's transnational character in that many of the most active & notorious terrorists today are transnational, & perhaps more importantly, one of the characteristics that makes them unique is that they are mvmts w/o a country

Transnational terrorists today often have no allegiance to their country of origin, no single country from which they draw their resources, & no single nation as a target

An example the true transnational character of terrorism today can be seen in Osama bin Laden & al Qaeda who originate in many nations around the world, who draw resources from many people around the world, & who target nations in the 1st, 2nd, & even 3rd worlds

The transnationality of terrorism today makes it extremely difficult to combat or guard against

It is in the nature of modernity itself that makes transnational terrorism possible

Characteristics of modernity that enhance the operation of transnational terrorism include the world transportation system, the global communication system, the increased porosity of borders, the increased immigration & emigration & movement of people, etc.

From 1980 to 1985, 233 Mid East terrorist acts occurred in Europe, where
- 60 % of the targets were Arab
- 17 % were Israeli
- 16 % were European
- 5 % were American

A terrorist group, Abu Nidal, targets moderate Arabs & Israelis

Abu Nidal has attacked officials in Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait & Syria & in
- 1985 they hijacked an Egyptian plane, killing 59
- 1985 they shot airport passengers in Rome & Vienna
- 1986 they bombed a synagogue in Turkey, killing 21

Hizbollah is centered in Iran & Lebanon & controls an Islamic Jihad, which is based in Lebanon

Both Abu Nida & Hizbollah have engaged in suicide bombing

Islamic Jihad has killed more than 20 people from Europe & the US, & hundreds of mid easterners

In the 1970s & 80s Omega 7, an anti Castro group is suspected of 50 bombings & assassinations

Most major terrorist events are transnational in character including:

- in 1988, the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing over Scotland

- in 1993, the WTC bombing

- in 2000, the USS Cole Bombing

- in 2001, the 9/11 Attack

Internal
Links

Outline on State Terrorism

External
Links

State terrorism (ST) is terrorism perpetrated by a govt against its own people, other parts of the govt, general society, or against another nation

State terrorism is aka repressive terrorism

The concept of state terrorism underlines the point that govts often use random violence to terrorize its own citizens in order to stifle dissent

ST can include mass murder, individual assassination, execution, beatings, torture, etc.

ST has killed & injured more people than any other kind of collective violence except war

In the 1900s & continuing into the 2000s, more people are killed & injured by state terrorism than by all the other types of terrorism combined

Genocide is the killing of a people because of their race, religion, ethnicity, gender, or national origin

Genocide is the most extreme type of state terrorism

The US has supported state terrorism around the globe to align & support allies in pursuit of its imperialist interests & especially during the Cold War

The US has been involved in right wing terrorism in Central & So America: Argentina, Guatemala, Colombia, & other nations

The US has wanted to control these countries & forestall the development of communist or anti US regimes

State terrorism is unique & important because of the number of people affected but more importantly because it is perpetrated by the govt of a nation

ST is important because it demystifies the line btwn terrorism as viewed as an illegal, immoral activity, that lies outside of the realm of war & the legal & hence moral acts of govts that are often carried out under the same auspices as war

ST is legal.... in the technical sense that the state is empowered by its citizens to establish & maintain social stability

ST is carried out to maintain order

A war may be a war perpetrated against citizens & armies, war among armies, war against citizens & armies & ST may also be perpetrated against citizens, armies, or other grps

ST is hidden from view while other types of terrorism are held up as immoral

State permissiveness is the willingness of state officials to look the other way when violence is committed or even to encourage its use such as the terrorism perpetrated by the KKK

See Also: Structural Causes of Terrorism

In the 1800s the US govt & people's genocide against 750, 0000 Native Americans was ST that was both legal & encouraged

In the 1800s & 1900s, the US fed, state & local govts attacked Labor

In 1897, at a PN coal strike, deputies shot peaceful miners, killing 18, & wounding 40

In 1914, in Ludlow, CO, the CO Fuel & Iron Company guards & Nat Guard troops machine gunned mining families in their tent city & set it afire killing 19 including 13 children

In 1915, in Turkey, 1 mm Armenians were forced into the desert where they died from thirst, starvation, etc.

The Holocaust during WW2 killed over 6 mm Jews, gypsies, homosexuals, & others

The Stalinist purges & consolidations before & after WW2: 10 mm peasants, intelligentsia, & opposition

In the 1940s, 50s, & 60s, local police & state troops murdered or beat hundreds of black ( & some white ) civil rights activists in the South

In Birmingham, AL, police clubbed nonviolent demonstrators, sprayed them w/ fire hoses, & attacked them w/ dogs

The Black Panthers were targeted by police w/ lethal violence & Fred Hampton was shot in bed in Dec, 1969

In the 60s & 70s, the US War against Vietnam killed 2 mm Vietnamese soldiers & civilians

In the 1970s, the Cambodian govt slaughtered hundreds of thousand of Cambodians to solidify the rule of Pol Pot

In 1989, June, Chinese troops gunned down several thousand unarmed protesters at Tiananmen Square in Beijing

In 1994, in Rwandan the govt troops & Hutus slaughtered 1 mm Tutsis

Internal
Links

Outline on Govts & Terrorism

External
Links

While terrorism is often associated w/ non govt orgs, govts also commit terrorism

Often govt sponsored terrorism takes the form of counter mvmt terrorism which aims to intimidate its opponents

Govt sponsored counter mvmt terrorism is most common in authoritarian & totalitarian govts though some democratic govts also engage is terrorism

Govts engage in terrorism through their police, intelligence, & military, as well as through shadow, non govt groups which they sponsor, encourage, or simply allow to operate w/ impunity

The US supported El Salvador w/ millions of dollars of aid, & extensive military training when it was known that the govt had conducted 37,000 political murders from 1979 to `1984

The most common forms of govt sponsored terrorism are political executions, death squads, torture, imprisonment w/o trial, & military attacks against civilian targets

Govt also assist insurgent groups in other countries as Iran has in Lebanon, Libya & the US have in Afghanistan w/ the Taliban regime, the US in Nicaragua, the US in Cuba, etc.

Govts do not usually participate directly in insurgent terrorism; rather, they assist underground terrorist orgs who carry out the actual attacks

Govts also engage in terrorism when the attempt to intimidate military opponents by bombing entirely civilian targets

Attacks on civilians by govts were common early in history as is documented by Roman attacks against Europeans, Atilla the Hun's decimation of cities, etc.

In the middle ages, war came to be fought almost exclusively btwn armies

During WW2, Germany fire bombed London & the US fire bombed Dresden, Germany, Tokyo, Japan, & more

The US dropped nuclear bombs on the cities of Hiroshima & Nagasaki

Many critics of war believe massive, overwhelming attacks on civilians are terrorism, while other note that civilians today are an integral part of the Military Industrial Congressional Complex

The labeling of who is a terrorist & who is a solder is often done by the more powerful, the victor

Both govts & advocacy groups characterized their opponents as "terrorists" & their supporters as "freedom fighters"

For Farley, it should be behavior & not ideology which defines a terrorist act

For Farley, attacks on civilians are terrorism no matter who commits them

For Farley, Palestinian bombing attacks by undercover, men, women & children on Israeli civilians & Israeli military attacks on Palestinian refugee camps are properly classified as terrorism

Internal
Links

Outline on the Causes of Terrorism -- Theories

External
Links

- Project: The Causes of Terrorism

The causes of terrorism parallel those of war, & thus are similar but not the same as the causes of war

Theories of terrorism must be tailored to account for the different groups that practice terrorism, ranging from anarchists to traditional religious groups, as well as the aims they hope to achieve, including revenge, publicity, organizing, social change, etc.

Whatever the causes of war, the aim is to intimidate the enemy & force them to submit to your will, as is the aim of terrorism

If one follows Clauswitzian theory in that 'war is politics by other means,' & build on him to say that 'terrorism is war by other means,' & extending further, that 'terrorism is politics by other means,' then the aim of terrorism is political in nature usually attempting to bend the will of a larger or more powerful force

Terrorism occurs when war is considered to be ineffective because the enemy is superior in size, strength, etc.

The most widely accepted view of terrorism is that it is caused by socio political econ factors in that one party desires to force its society, its way of life on another group

Early theories of war, which may be applied to terrorism, are social psychological in nature as seen in McDougall's (1871-1938) view that tendency to war can be traced to an "instinct of pugnacity," an instinct not triggered by specific stimuli but by the blocking of other instincts

The theory that humanity is inherently aggressive is difficult to prove or disprove & it is not even clear if more or less people are engaged in war & war related activities & it is not clear whether the number of people killed in war as a percentage of the population is going up or down

War & terrorism are influenced by many of the same principles that influence other forms of collective action

Terrorists, people engaged in war, & people engaged in collective action generally have grievances; however, only terrorists & people engaged in war use violence

While the frequency & pervaisiveness of war is not clear, terrorism, social mvmts, & collective action in general are increasing

Terrorism, & social mvmts in general, can more easily occur in democratic, modern, industrial, global societies because freedom allows one to take advantage of the system

Post modernists note that as society has become more fragmented, soc mvmts have become less coherent & structured, thus becoming more expressive & less instrumental or effective

W/ the fragmentation of society, comes the fragmentation of systems of knowledge resulting in people having fundamentally different ways of knowing, ways of interpreting & acting in the world

Terrorism grows when diverse groups hold radically different views of the world

However, it must be noted that it is only in the modern age that humanity has had the hubris to posit one, or even a few ways of knowing, i.e. rationalism, & that historically the fragmentation of systems of knowing is much more common than the harmony of systems of knowing

The causes of terrorism can be understood in light of political economics in that if a system functions to keep particular classes, ethnic groups, religious groups oppressed economically, socially, politically, etc., then it is likely that they will try to change their system

If an oppressive group perceives that there is no legitimate route to change w/in the system, & if they perceive that war is not an option, then the opportunities offered by democratic, modern, industrial society offer the avenue of terrorism through which to pursue social change

Globalization itself is often seen as so oppressive to traditional, or tribalist groups, that it fosters hate toward the engines of globalization, i.e. the core nations & the multinational corps, & the ensuring terrorism

Some terrorists seek equal opportunity in the global competitive system, others are counter mvmts who seek to establish theocracies, still others want one particular govt brought down, others want one policy changed

Political economic solutions are seen as addressing all of these grievances in that equal opportunity allows for the growth of a middle class who to date has always preferred democracy, the separation of church & state, equality for all parties & other core values of the modern system

Political economic solutions create the moderate middle class who can serve as a bulwark against radical tribalists, religious mvmts, and so on

Internal
Links

Outline on the Psychological & Social Psychological Causes of Terrorism

External
Links

Most explanations of terrorism focus on insurgent, transnational, & sometimes vigilante terrorism, & usually ignore state terrorism

Most Americans favor a psychological approach instead of a structural one, as they do for most political & ideological explanations because this is a strongly individualist country & because elites & the media seek to mystify real relationships

Some approaches point out the extent to which terrorists suffer from psychological abnormalities that lead to a sadistic &/or paranoid personality, i.e. a "terrorist personality"

An example of psychological / lifestyle profiling as an explanation of a terrorist is the "Shoe Bomber" who was a male, white, a loner, broke, an outcast, scruffy looking, & was a Brit w/ radical sentiments

The traditional profile of a terrorist is one who is male, poor, isolated, lives in or has suffered intolerable social conditions, but it is not known what % of terrorists do or do not fit this profile

The problems w/ the psycho pathological view are that:

a. the vast majority of people & terrorists do not suffer from a psycho pathology

History has repeatedly shown that normal people are capable of committing terrorist acts

We like to think that we are not violent, but history, anthropology, sociology, & other social sciences suggest otherwise, though we are quite capable of peaceful existence

Violence does not prevent peacefulness from occurring & vice versa

b. a social psychological theory can give us important understanding of why people turn to violence, but it cannot explain why people turn to terrorist violence

When we look at psychological & structural factors together, we can begin to understand their relationship is constructing causal understandings mirroring the classic dilemma btwn micro & macro explanations, btwn visible & hidden causes of behavior

c. the psychological approach mystifies & otherwise obscures the religious, historical, political, sociological, economic & other structural conditions that underlie terrorism & suggests that terrorism is abnormal rather than normal

"Indeed, under certain conditions, such as those of the [Nazi] death camps, terrorist acts may become the norm, & the deviant personality may be the one who resists committing acts of terrorism" Peter C. Sederberg, 1998, p. 25 in Barkan & Snowden

This is the case in Palestine: at 1st it was the classic profile of the terrorist who committed a suicide bombing, but in 2000 & 2001, it has become the mid class male & female Palestinians who are volunteering

Under the social psychological explanations, terrorism is considered as one of many possible relationships to discontent

It is then left to the social & political scientist to determine the structural causes, but it is left to the social psychologists to determine how people will react to them based on alienation, relative deprivation & rising expectations

Terrorism is unlikely to occur unless individuals adopt ideologies that justify the use of extreme violence to achieve political goals

Ideologies that justify violence & terrorism, or any ideology for that matter, expand through friendship networks & by other means

Soc psyc explanations that take ideologies into acct have been used to explain Nazi state terrorism which developed an ideology, based on social Darwinism, which held that Aryan superiority & the structural conditions after WW1 lead to the rise of Hitler & his political party

Soc psyc explanations that take ideologies into acct can explain vigilante terrorism wherein a southern racist ideology is combined w/ poor structural conditions

Internal
Links

Outline on the Structural Causes of Terrorism

External
Links

Structural explanations of terrorism see terrorist activity as rational (if desperate) responses to structural conditions, especially economic, political, & social conditions

Collective violence, terrorism, protests, etc. are simply "politics by other means" (Gamson, 1990) that are invoked when the affected group perceives threats & sees violence as the optimal alternative

Thus much insurgent & transnational terrorism is a response to govtl, etc. oppression, just as the colonialists revolted against England because of "a long train of abuses & usurpations" as written in the US Declaration of Independence

Thus the difference btwn the IRA, the PLO & the Am colonists is one of methods while they are similar in the fact that they are responding to, in their view, oppression

The primary difference in the social labeling of an act as terrorism or not is whether it can be justified or not on the basis of oppression & inequality

Afghanis fighting the Russians, Afghanis fighting Americans, Afghanis fighting Afghanis are all examples of people engaging in collective violence, whether it is called war or terrorism, to, in their view, escape oppression & inequality

Note that the structural explanations can also explain state terrorism

Southern lynchings increases when the economy worsened, when the price of cotton was falling & inflation was rising

Lynchings decreased when the economy improved

Another factor in collective violence is population destiny as seen in the social fact that there were less lynchings in counties w/ a majority of blacks

State permissiveness is the willingness of state official to look the other way when violence is committed or even to encourage its use

The amt of state permissiveness is a structural factor that impacts the type & amt of col violence such as terrorism in general & / or state terrorism

See Also: State Terrorism

Structural causes represent long term causes of terrorism in that they take a long time, even centuries, to develop, & just as long a time to dissipate

Threshold events are often an immediate cause, & are aka as a precipitating event in the study of collective behavior

The general public tends to focus on the threshold events of a terrorist act & is often ignorant of, or confused about structural causes

In fact many people will go so far as to deny the validity of a structural cause & instead believe the event is caused by individualistic factors including threshold events, psychological causes, religion, or even individualistic or personal factors such as meanness or evilness

Terrorism often does not need a threshold event, since the accumulation of structural causes create deprivation, hence frustration, hence aggression

A threshold event, real or imagined, provides the immediate justification for violent action directed at a target group

Internal
Links

Outline on the Media's Coverage of Terrorism

External
Links

- Project: The Media's Dilemma & Terrorism

In most nations in which state terrorism exists, the govt largely or totally controls the media

In countries like the US, while the media is widely attacked as being liberal, most news is infotainment, & uniform, & middle of the road

Nonstate terrorists do not control the media to the extent that the state may, but they count on the media coverage to spread fear & their goals

Today terrorist events are designed to get maximum media exposure

The media plays an unwitting role in facilitating terrorism & in helping it to succeed

The "media provides the 'oxygen of publicity' on which terrorism thrives" Kidder, 1998, p. 149

In 1985 during a TWA hijacking in Beirut, Lebanon, terrorists offered TV networks interviews for $12,500 each

The British media refused to cover the TWA hijacking in Beirut, Lebanon while the Am media covered it non-stop

There is concrete evidence that media coverage of any violent event increases worry, fear, even panic: i.e. the UFO sightings reported in newspapers, the War of the Worlds, anthrax poisoning, etc.

There is little evidence that media coverage increases the wider public's support for terrorists' goal, & more likely it decrease such support

However, media publicity does "energize the base;" i.e. publicizing terrorist acts & airing their goals & ideologies does win approval & supporters from those who are sympathetic to the group or their general ideology to begin w/

Thus in many ways terrorist acts are designed to "preach to the choir"

Another effect of media coverage is that it serves to intimidate or instill fear in those who are attacked or may be attacked

A terrorist act which is widely publicized has a much larger effect than one which is not publicized in both rallying the faithful & threatening the general populace

Thus media terrorists today seek to design their actions to gain as much publicity as possible

Terrorist use or manipulate the general media such as TV news, but they also have become adept at employing the new, alternate media, esp the internet to broadcast their activities & ideologies, & of course the mainstream media does cover terrorist & other 'media events' that occur on the internet

The media generally ignores the structural reasons for terrorist violence & depict it negatively

The media today recognizes the dilemma they are in in that on the one hand they believe that it is their role in society to publish the news whether it be terrorist acts, publicity seeking murderers, or those that break the law in order to have their "15 seconds of fame'" etc. & on the other hand they recognize that such publicity aids

The other side of the media's dilemma is that when they are simply doing their job of reporting the news, they recognize that they are aiding those who perpetrate violence

Internal
Links

Outline on Gender & Terrorism

External
Links

Terrorism has generally been a male activity though women have always been an integral part of the process

For the first time in history, a woman carried out a suicide bombing in Spring of 2002

The first suicide attack by a woman was against Israel, & it has since been followed by another

Early studies in gender differences focused on biological explanations

Socialization & opportunity are thought to be more important in establishing gender roles

American women have been involved in terrorism since the 1960s in groups such as the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA)

Women have historically committed less crime & much less violent crime than men, though the growth rate of female perpetrated crime is much greater than it is for males

Women have become soldiers in significant numbers only in the past few decades, reversing a millennial old tradition

However, in general women are as hawkish & support war as much as men do

Women's motivation for suicide bombing is believed to be less nationalistic & more familialistic as it is for many men

In the month & yrs after the 9 - 11 attacks women were more hawkish on security than were men & thus pollsters re - nicknamed this segment of women from soccer moms to security moms

In patriarchal societies the motivation for male suicide bombers is to sacrifice less for the nationalistic cause & more to support their wives, mothers, & families

The male role to sacrifice for the female & the family is one that is socialized in by culture & social structure & is even seen in the animal kingdom & thus is believed to have some roots in both social & natural factors

Sociologists have recognized the social fact that for decades one of the major categories of male suicides includes those men who obtain an insurance policy, & then kill themselves leaving the money to their wife & / or family

The econ structure around the world creates the situation where the family is often better off when the male head of household is a dead soldier, dead suicide bomber, or even a dead insurance holder

Patriarchal societies augment the male sense of sacrifice for the family while non patriarchal societies do not

Terrorists & those who recruit men & boys for the military tap into patriarchal / familial sentiments to motivate suicide bombers & soldiers to join up by offering:
a. money
b. support for the family
c. respect in the community

Thus even in the western industrialized nations the role of male sacrifice can be seen in the fact that soldiers are more likely to come from the lower classes, who can significantly benefit their families by joining up

Upper class males are less likely to join up to the military because they have less need to sacrifice in this form for the family benefit because they already have secured econ wellbeing for the family

The money for suicide bombers is often not great by western standards but is essentially a lifetime stipend for a family in the 3rd world

Support for the the family of a suicide bomber, in addition to the money, is realized in the form of the nearest male taking the important role of head of the family, since a family w/o a male head, even if they have money, is often severely weakened & at a social disadvantage

Conversely if the suicide bomber somehow botches or does not go through w/ the attack, the entire family is ostracized

Respect in the community raises the status of every family member making the marriageable women & men more appealing & making the women & men more generally respected

As societies around the world become less patriarchal & as women become more involved in the econ sector & in supporting the family economically, women are becoming more likely to make the ultimate sacrifice as a soldier, suicide bomber, or even an insurance holder

However, today boys as young as 10 are still much more likely to take on roles in collective violence activities than women

Boy suicide bombers are much more common than women bombers & boy soldiers are common in some third world country where entire units of boys headed by a man operate

Internal
Links

Outline on Countering Terrorism

External
Links

- Project: Counter Measures to Terrorism

MILITARY SOLUTIONS

Almost all of the work on counter terrorism focuses on insurgent & transnational terrorism & typically ignores vigilante & state terrorism

There cannot be an all purpose solution to terrorism because there is no unified terrorist thereat & because of the diversity of objectives (short & long term)

Law enforcement & military approaches discourage attacks, stop attacks, & respond to attacks & while their actions are important, we must look to other sources for a more comprehensive view

Target hardening includes making targets more secure & safe

The law & the legal system may discourage attacks, but more importantly, it has the ability to defuse the structural causes of terrorism

The effectiveness of pre emptive strikes is in doubt since they often cause more animosity

The Israeli invasion of the West Bank in 2002 destroyed some bomb factories & capturing some leaders, but history will tell whether it is radicalizing an entire generation of Arabs

Is the American attack against Afghanistan in 2001-2002 effective?

The US bombings in Afghanistan & Africa in retaliation to the bombing of the USS Cole are generally thought to be counter effective

The US bombing of Libya in response to the Berlin attacks is thought to have caused the Flight 103 bombing

Counter terrorism poses a threat to our civil liberties though the implementation of such policy options as
- the universal ID
- video surveillance
- treasury surveillance of all of our financial transactions ( begun in 2004 )
- lax restrictions of wire tapes, surveillance, incarceration, etc. in the name of national security

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL SOLUTIONS

If inequality, oppression, & other social problems lie at the heart of terrorism, then this is where the solution lies

Rubenstein argues that terrorism derives from US imperialism & that an end to US involvement in other nations would do much to end terrorism

Most experts on globalization agree that economic & social conditions around the world are worsening

Amnesty International documents the worst examples of govt violence

There is always the question of whether terrorists can be assuaged or where they desire the downfall of western society

Many social analysts including significant actors in the political & military sectors of western society recognize that law enforcement & military solutions to terrorism, war & other forms of collective violence are merely addressing symptoms of collective violence

Reducing poverty, exploitation, & oppression is the ultimate solution to terrorism & war

However, law enforcement & military solutions are easier in that social solutions are less developed & much more complex

Social solutions to poverty, exploitation, & oppression on a global scale have only been developed in the last few decades through orgs such as the UN, the Peace Corp, & other such efforts as the program to establish free nations in the Balkans after the Balkan war of the 1990s, & Iraq in the 2000s

And nation building in Iraq certainly focused more on a military solution than a nation building solution, at least in the beginning

It is not clear how to establish a nation in Iraq at this time

Perhaps when nations spend as much money on their equivalent of the State Department, focusing on diplomatic & economic development, as on the Department of Defense, nation building will be as viable & effective a solution as military domination & war

It is important to note that in general the economic elite of the world both benefit from war because supplying the military industrial complex is highly profitable, & because they have a secured grip on the wider economy

Because the world elite classes would lose their advantages of the profitability of the military industrial complex & the wider economy if solutions to poverty, if exploitation, & oppression were to be eliminated, some social analysts view the elite as actively working to preserve their interests & inflame war & conflict, while other social analysts disagree

RELIGIOUS SOLUTIONS

While some maintain that religious radicalism is also a root cause to terrorism, war & other forms of collective violence, this has not been conclusively demonstrated

Throughout history, in nations throughout the world, radical, violent religious sentiments have lessened as economic & social justice have expanded

An example of the lessening of radical & violent tendencies of religion can be seen in the development of Christianity which in the Middle Ages & the Early Industrial Era was a factor in centuries of warfare around the world but now is not generally seen as an important factor

Radical, violent religious sentiments increase under conditions of social & economic oppression & lessen under favorable social & economic conditions

The role of religion in collective violence is often confused because religious, race, & ethnic lines often parallel class lines

The parallel of religious, race, & ethnic lines w/ class lines can be seen in the situation of Northern Ireland where the Protestant British upper class exploited & militarily dominated the Catholic Irish in their own nation of Ireland

This Protestant - Catholic war which has raged & cooled over centuries has on the surface appeared as a religious war when it has as much to do w/ economic & social exploitation of a poor nation by a powerful one in order to be able to economically exploit the conflicted territory

The Arab - Israeli conflict in the middle east appears as a Islamic - Jewish religious war when it has has as much to do w/ economic & social exploitation

While there is no doubt that ideologies of religious & moral tolerance are an important part of ending collective violence, most social analysts believe that these messages must be combined w/ economic & social solutions

The End

Top