Brief History of Terrorism
Early Years
Sicarri:
Latin word for dagger sica, and means assassins or murderers.
Carried out murders and assassinations with short daggers.
Sicarii terrorism began as Jewish resistance to Roman rule in Judea
Thugee:
Means deceivers
Traveled across the country. Offering protection or company, they
would befriend fellow travelers and slowly build their confidence along
the road.
Patiently waiting for an opportunity to strike.
A way of life and a religious duty.
They believed their killings were a means of worshiping the Hindu
goddess Kali.
The Reign of Terror
It was designed to fight the enemies of the revolution, to prevent
counter-revolution.
Terror was the order of the day. In the words of Maximilien
Robespierre, the mastermind, "Softness to traitors will destroy us all."
Post-1945 Terrorism
Nationalist orientation and Anti-Colonial ideals
The rise of nationalist movements in the old empires of the European
powers.
These early anti-colonial movements recognized the ability of
terrorism to both generate publicity for the cause and influence global
policy.
Palestine Liberation Organization
Goal: "liberation of Palestine" through armed struggle
In a nutshell, eliminating the state of Israel and offering the Jews
religious minority status.
Black September Organization
was a Palestinian terrorist organization founded in 1970.
Post 9/11
The worst international terrorist attack ever involving four separate
but coordinated aircraft hijackingsoccurred in the United States.
4 targets: World Trade Center (AA11 and UA 175) (North and South
Tower); The Pentagon (AA77); White House or U.S. Capitol (UA 93;
failed)
Reborn of Terrorism
o Bush said in a 20 September 2001 address to a joint session of
Congress: Our war on terror begins with al-Qaida, but it does
not end there. It will not end until every terrorist group of global
reach has been found, stopped, and defeated.
Threat to International Peace and Security
What is Terrorism?
o Political violence that aims to achieve its objective through creating a
climate of fear and apprehension
o The effectiveness of the terrorist act lies not in the act itself, but
in the publics or governments reaction to the act.
o To create unease and anxiety
o An element of surprise
o Due to the secretive nature and small size of terrorist
organizations.
o The attacks are unknown.
o A weapon of the weak
o An asymmetric form of conflict
o It uses coercive power with many of the advantages of military
force.
o Used as a political tool
o The terrorists plan their attack to obtain the greatest publicity,
choosing targets that symbolize what they oppose.
o Essentializing terrorism
o Stereotyping (based on IDENTITY or NATIONALITY)
Basis on which terrorism should be defined:
Terrorism from above: involves the overt and covert use of political
violence conducted from a position of established authority in order to
maintain and defend positions of power against actual or perceived
enemies of the state.
Terrorism from below: involves the use of political violence by people who
wish to challenge or overthrow official state power.
II. Terrorism and Guerilla Warfare
TERRORISM
GUERILLA WARFARE
An example of Asymmetrical
Warfare
An example of Asymmetrical
Warfare
Drawing into a protracted armed
struggle
Drawing into a protracted armed
struggle
A special kind of new war
A special kind of new war
Highly publicized
A small attack
Restricts engagement in popular
activism
Rely on popular support
IV. Four types of Terrorism:
Insurrectionary Terrorism
o Revolutionary overthrow of a state.
o Anarchism
Loner or issue Terrorism
o Special-interest terrorism and single-issue terrorism.
o Promotion of a single cause.
Nationalist Terrorism
o Overthrow colonial rule or occupation.
o motivated by nationalism.
o establishing a completely independent, sovereign state (separatism)
Global Terrorism
o Inflicting damage on a global power
o Transforming global civilizational relations
V.
New Terrorism
Changes on:
Motivations
By 1995 almost half the 56 terrorist groups believed to be in operation
could be classified as religious
Terrorism became sacred duty and altered the moral context in
which violence was used
Terrorist groups and Function of Political Violence
Satisfaction
More likely to embrace indiscriminate and lethal violence
WMD and suicide attacks
Organizational Character
Loose cells and networks
V.
Significance of Terrorism
Terrorism Going Global
International, transnational, and global dimension
A child of globalization
Increased cross border flows of people, goods, money, technology,
and ideas (porous borders)
Increased international migration flows (undocumented and
unauthorized migrants)
Globalization has generated pressures
Islamist or Jihadist terrorism
Al Qaeda transnational goals:
o To purify and regenerate Muslim society
o Overthrowing apostate leaders
o Expelling Western (particularly US) influence
o Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Kenya, USA, Spain, UK Appears to
have massively increased its potential targets
VI.
Catastrophic Terrorism
Three Reasons:
Difficult to defend against.
o Indistinguishable from the civilian population
Scope and scale of terrorism has increased
o Chemical and biological weapons
Access to WMD
o Less constrained by moral or humanitarian principles.
VII.
Countering Terrorism
Strengthening State Security
Increased presence of police officers and/or security guards
Use of surveillance (human or video)
Use of certain instruments, like metal detectors or X-ray scanners
Banning items seen as a potential hazard in a secured area
Increased enforcement of existing rules and regulations that were
previously overlooked
Military Repression
Act of using force or violence to counter terrorism
Political Deals
Negotiate