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Terrorism in the 21 st Century: An Introduction

Terrorism in the 21 st Century: An Introduction. DoD Disclaimer. Notes: - The views expressed herein are those of the author and do not purport to reflect the position of the United States Military Academy, the Department of the Army, or the Department of Defense.

Jimmy
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Terrorism in the 21 st Century: An Introduction

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  1. Terrorism in the 21st Century: An Introduction

  2. DoD Disclaimer Notes: - The views expressed herein are those of the author and do not purport to reflect the position of the United States Military Academy, the Department of the Army, or the Department of Defense.

  3. Understanding the Strategy • NATO definition of terrorism: The unlawful use or threatened use of force or violence against individuals or property in an attempt to coerce or intimidate governments or societies to achieve political, religious or ideological objectives • Sun Tzu • Know yourself • Know your allies • Know your enemy

  4. Sun Tzu: Know Your Enemy • What motivates terrorists? • How does someone become a suicide bomber? • What do these people want? • What are they capable of? • How do they view this struggle? “You have to be lucky everyday – We only have to be lucky once” - IRA Bomber

  5. Key Terms • Vision • Power • Belief • Strategy • Tactic • Duty • Shame • Freedom fighter • Self-sacrifice AB95-5.PPT // ##

  6. Key Terms • Vision – “Shape the future” • Power to achieve the vision • Belief in a higher cause • Strategy – to compel, coerce, etc. • Tactic – bombing, assassination, etc. • Duty to the cause, to family, to God • Shame upon you for not doing seeking justice • Freedom fighter – must kill to secure freedom (?) • Self-sacrifice – to be killed in the service of a higher cause is “heroic” AB95-5.PPT // ##

  7. Defining Terrorism Primary Types • Left-wing • Right-wing • Ethno-nationalist (separatist) • Religious • State • State-Sponsored AB95-5.PPT // ##

  8. Left-wing Terrorists • Driven by liberal or idealist political concepts • Prefer revolutionary anti-authoritarian anti-materialist agendas • Typically target elites that symbolize authority • Examples: • Anarchists, Earth First, Animal Liberation Front

  9. Right-wing Terrorists • Often target race and ethnicity • Examples: • Aryan Brotherhood, the Order, White Aryan Nation

  10. Ethno-nationalist/Separatists • Usually have clear territorial objectives • Liberation/separation • Popular support usually along ethnic/racial lines. • Examples: • Tamil Tigers, Chechens, ETA, IRA, PKK

  11. Religious terrorists • Belief in a struggle of good vs evil • Acting along desires of a diety – target is thus not necessarily human • Feel unconstrained by law – higher calling • Complete alienation from existing socio/political order • Support may be diffuse • Examples: • al Qaeda, Hizballah, Hamas, Jemaah Islamiyah, Christian Militia, Aum Shinrikyo, Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, Amal, Lehi, Irgun

  12. State Terrorism • Governments can engage in acts of terrorism • Examples: • Iraq, Saddam Hussein deployed chemical weapons in Kurdish villages, killing thousands • Intent was to frighten other villages into stopping their political revolt • It worked

  13. State-Sponsored Terrorism • Governments can also support terrorist groups that do their bidding • Examples: • Iran, which supports Hizballah • Before 9/11, Hizballah had killed more Americans than any other terror group • Embassy bombings, kidnappings, targeted assassinations, suicide attack on Marine barracks at Beirut airport

  14. Marine Barracks Beirut, Lebanon23 October 1983 • 241 Dead • 105 Injured

  15. A Brief History of Modern Terrorism • Roughly 130-year history • 4 Waves, each roughly 40-45 years • Anarchist Wave • Anti-Colonial/Decolonization Wave • New Left Wave/Leftist anti-Western sentiment • Religious Inspiration Wave • Issue to consider for each wave: • Doctrines of terror • Technology (especially for communication/propoganda) • Avenues of funding and support

  16. Terrorism as Strategy • Terrorism as means to achieve goals and objectives • Strategic goals include: • Political change (e.g., overthrow govt., drive out occupiers, etc.) • Social change (e.g., France headscarf ban) • Economic change (e.g., stop resource export) • Religious change (e.g., fundamentalism) • Overall goal: create a “better” world

  17. Some Strategic Objectives of Terrorism • Recognition: Gaining national or international recognition for their cause; recruiting new personnel; raising funds; demonstrating their strength • Coercion: Force a desired behavior of an individual or government • Intimidation: Prevent individuals, groups, or governments from acting • Provocation: Provoking overreaction by a government to the attack on symbolic targets or personnel, thereby gaining sympathy for their cause. • Insurgency support: Forcing the government to overextend itself in dealing with the threat, thereby allowing the insurgency to gain support and commit further attacks against the government.

  18. New York, World Trade CenterFebruary 26, 19936 Dead, 1,042 Injured Oklahoma CityMurrah Federal Building,19 April 1995168 Dead, 490 Injured

  19. Aum Shinrikyo and the Sarin Gas AttacksJapan, 1994 & 1995 Matsumoto, JapanMarch, 1994 7 Dead, 34 Injured Tokyo, JapanTeito Rapid Transit Authority (Subway System)March 20, 199512 Dead, 5,000 Injured Sarin gas kills by paralyzing muscles so that a person cannot breathe. Sarin enters the body by inhalation, ingestion, and through the eyes and skin. Symptoms begin with watery eyes, drooling, and excessive sweating, and then rapidly progress to difficulty in breathing, dimness of vision, nausea, vomiting, twitching, and headache. Ultimately the victim will become comatose and suffocate as a consequence of convulsive spasms.

  20. Khobar Towers - Dhahran, Saudi Arabia25 June 1996 • 19 Dead • 240 Injured

  21. American Embassy Bombings, Kenya and TanzaniaAugust 1998 200 Americans, Kenyans, and Tanzanians deadOver 5,000 injured

  22. 1999 LAX Attack Plan

  23. The Strategy of Terrorism • Increasing interest in “soft targets” (economically strategic impact, and less protected) such as: • pubs in Northern Ireland & London UK • openmarkets & cafes in Israel • international airport, Sri Lanka • bus in Manila, the Philippines • shopping mall in southern Philippines • nightclub in Bali, Indonesia • banks in Istanbul, Turkey • hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia • nightclub in Berlin, Germany • and, of course . . .

  24. New York City & Washington, DCSeptember 11, 2001 2,973 Dead, and 10,000+ Injured

  25. Modern Trends in Global Terrorism • More violent attacks (increasing lethality) • Increasing use of suicide bombers (the ultimate smart bomb)

  26. Karachi, PakistanMay 8, 2002 June 14, 2002 Attack on U.S. Consulate Bus attack 14 Dead, including11 French engineers 12 Dead50 Injured

  27. Bali, IndonesiaOctober 12, 2002 202 Dead350 Injured Citizens from 21 countries, mostly Western tourists, were killed in the blasts

  28. Casablanca, MoroccoMay 17, 2003 44 Dead107 Injured

  29. Jakarta, IndonesiaAugust 5, 2003 12 Dead60 Injured J.W. Marriott Hotel, Jakarta

  30. Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaNovember 8, 2003 April 21, 2004 Attack on Security Services Headquarters 3 simultaneous suicide car bomb attacks on Al-Muhayaapartment complex 4 Dead148 Injured 17 Dead122 Injured

  31. Istanbul, TurkeyNovember 20, 2003 27 Dead400 Injured Primary Targets: British consulate and the HSBC bank headquarters

  32. Madrid, SpainMarch 11, 2004 191 Dead1,035 Injured

  33. Jakarta, IndonesiaSeptember 9, 2004 9 Dead173 Injured Australian Embassy was primary target

  34. London, UKJuly 7, 2005 54 Dead716 Injured

  35. Strategy and Recruitment • Terrorism is an individual’s strategic choice most often driven by a combination of: • Intense grievances • Sense of crisis • Address a power imbalance - empower the disenfranchised • The ties that bind: training camps, extended family, social networks; trusted networks = key • Combination of ideology and psychology • No constraints re: geography, organizational affiliation, etc.

  36. Modern Terrorism and Recruitment • Overall goal: create a “better” world • Powerful message for recruitment . . . • Video 1 • Video 2 • Video 3 • Video 4 • Video 5 Jihad

  37. Strategy and Training

  38. Strategy and Training • Establish training camps – developing the will to kill and the skill to kill • Operational space: Geographic isolation • Teachers: Experts in relevant knowledge, e.g., military combat experience • Committed learners • Time, money, and basic necessities • Afghanistan • Algeria • Bosnia • Chechnya • Colombia • Egypt • Indonesia • Japan • Kashmir • Lebanon • Libya • Northern Ireland • Peru • The Philippines • Somalia • Spain • Sri Lanka • Sudan • Syria • Turkey • United States • Uzbekistan

  39. Strategy and Training • Psychological dimensions • Moral disengagement • Displacement of responsibility • Disregard for/distortion of consequences • Dehumanization • Moral justification • Group power over behavior, personal decisions • Preparation for martyrdom

  40. Suicide Terrorism as Logical Strategy

  41. Definition of Suicide Terrorism To be distinguished from: Intentionally killing oneself for the purpose of killing others, in the service of a political or ideological goal • High-risk missions w/out suicide as main intent • Fooled couriers • Suicide – without homicide – for a political cause

  42. Suicide Terrorism: Who? Reality • The “profile” is wrong • Suicide terrorists are: • Preteen - mid-sixties • Both single and married with families • Both male and female • Both educated and uneducated • Not motivated by religious fanaticism • World’s leader in suicide terror are Hindu; Tamil Tigers who are conducting insurgency against Sri Lanka Perception: • Generalized profile of suicide terrorists, including: • Young • Single • Male • Uneducated • Religious fanatics

  43. Trends: Most deadly form of terrorism (so far) • Israel: 0.5% of attacks, 56% of fatalities. • U.S.: 9/11 – 10 times more deadly than any previous terrorist attack in history. • Hizballah, Lebanon • 1981 attack on the Iraqi Embassy in Beirut • 1983 – attack on the U.S. Embassy in Beirut • 1983 – attack on the Marines sleeping in barracks at the Beirut airport (241 killed) • Also, suicide attacks typically get more media coverage; more “strategic communications” effect

  44. - Lebanon - Kuwait - Sri Lanka Trends: 1980s

  45. - Israel - India - Pakistan - Yemen - Algeria - Chechnya - Kenya - Tanzania - Panama - Argentina - Croatia - Australia - Turkey - Russia - Morocco - Indonesia - Saudi Arabia - Afghanistan - Indonesia - Spain - U.K. - U.S. Trends: 1990-2005

  46. Because it works . . . Suicide Terrorism: Why?

  47. Marine Barracks Beirut, Lebanon23 October 1983 “We couldn’t stay there and run the risk of another suicide attack on the Marines.” -- Ronald Reagan, An American Life • 241 Dead • 105 Injured

  48. Baghdad -- 14 Oct 03 Why Are Suicide Attacks Effective? • Suicide attacks work because they have a different structure • With suicide terrorism model the weakeracts as coercer and the stronger actor is the target • Key difference • Target of suicide campaign cannot easily adjust to minimize future damage

  49. Questions?

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