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CRIM B55 – Terrorism Motivations for Terrorism. Delano Campus Wednesday, September 16, 2009. Bakersfield College. Terrorism Defined-previous class. Common Elements of Terrorism: Violent Illegal Act Socially or Politically Motivated Targets Civilians Intended to Coerce a Govt.
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CRIM B55 – TerrorismMotivations for Terrorism Delano Campus Wednesday, September 16, 2009 Bakersfield College
Terrorism Defined-previous class • Common Elements of Terrorism: • Violent Illegal Act • Socially or Politically Motivated • Targets Civilians • Intended to Coerce a Govt.
Government Response TODAY • Vigilance
Government Response TODAY Response – Counter Terrorism Operators
The Nature of Terrorism • Traditionally, terrorists have come from • The weak • The minority • The oppressed
The Nature of Terrorism (continued) • Modernly, they were thought to be: • Young, unmarried, middle-class, male with some college • An understanding of Left-Wing politics. • Today, anyone with a complaint can engage in terrorism, even if their cause is a popular one! • There is no true profile of a terrorist / extremist.
A Sad Truth . . . For the first time in the history of the human race, the past few decades have seen the capability develop for a small group of dedicated people to perpetrate a catastrophic attack, killing thousands and causing multimillions of dollars in damages
Conceptualizing Terrorism • Social Process • Psychological Process • Political Process • Religious Process
Motivations • A unique or different view of the world • Unhappy about it
Motivations Conflict Theory • “Haves” versus the “Have Not’s” World is divided in three economic groupings (upper class, middle class, lower class) Conflict is based on the distribution of Wealth.
Motivations • Ideological desire for social change • Little Guy vs. Big Guy (inferior power moves against a superior power).
Motivations My God is bigger than your God Religious Beliefs Moral Justification – God is on “our” side. Religious Mandate brings “God’s Will”
Example of Religious Belief • “Jihad” One of faith struggling with doing right. • Return to the Caliphate Spiritual Ruler of Islam • Expel the Infidels (Westerners) from the Holy Land. • Expel the Israelis from “Palestine” (Israel) • War in Iraq & Afghanistan • Eliminate corrupt secular Muslim regimes • Eliminate Western influence in Muslim lands - Arabian Peninsula (Mecha & Medina) Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Yemen and Saudi Arabia. • Eliminate and cleanse the evils of the Western World.
Distinctive Characteristics • Dedication to the “cause” • Uncompromising • Willing to give their lives to the cause • Allowing their logic and sense of right and wrong to be clouded by the cause • Not allowing adversity, arrest, or incarceration to dampen their objectives • Willing to work with like-minded, but possibly diverse, people (organization).
Terrorist vs. Ordinary Criminals Text page 32
Reality • It is not about what they believe, • It is what they hate! • Belief is the Vehicle • Hate is the Fuel. • Anger is the Driving Force. • Anger often is the result when actions differ from expectations. • Most Religious Wars are of Religious Control not Religious Freedom.
