International Terrorism

1. International Terrorism

2. History of Terrorism • Terrorism has been used since the days of the Roman Empire • Jews response to the destruction of Jerusalem and their expulsion from Judea in the 1st century CE • The word terror comes from the Latin word “terrere ” meaning “to frighten” • The term terrorism was first used during the FRENCH REVOLUTION • During the “Reign of Terror” in 1793-94 by the Jacobins; they called themselves “terrorists”

3. Defining Terrorism • The US State Department’s definition • . …activities that involve violent or life-threatening acts that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State and appear to be intended to: • intimidate or coerce a civilian population • influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion • affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping • There is no agreed upon definition by UN member states

4. Reasons for Terror: • Revolution/Subversion • replace with a friendly regime • National liberation/separation • gain independence • Anti-imperialism • get rid of colonial power or any state that may have political or economic influences in the region • Repressing political opponents • Use intimidation to get rid of opposition or dissidents; regime terrorism

5. Reasons for Terror cont. • Radical Reform or Revolution • Remove or change policies of hated domestic political authority • Ethnic Rights • Protect/establish rights of specific ethnic groups often over-looked/oppressed by a government • Territorial expansion • Imperialism

6. Ways to Reduce Terrorism • Avoid wars – avoid making enemies • Free colonies/end imperialism – political or economic • Don’t oppress your own people • Avoid creating hated governments and destroying popular governments • Avoid using extreme measures to solve problems – excessive use of force will cause more terror

7. US Counterterrorism Policy • Make no concessions to terrorists and strike no deals (This changed under the Bush Admin) • Bring terrorists to justice for their crimes • Isolate and apply pressure on states that sponsor terrorism to force them to change their behavior • Bolster the counterterrorism capabilities of those countries that work with the U.S. and require assistance (what the US is focusing on)

8. States that sponsor terror(according to the US Dept. of State) • Iran (since 1984) • Sudan (since 1993) • Syria (since 1979) • Cuba (since 1982) • North Korea – taken of list in ‘08 • Libya – taken of list in ‘06 • Iraq – taken of list in ‘03

9. Main weapon against terrorists? • INTELLIGENCE • Isolation (political & economic) of states that sponsor them • If they are not sponsored by a state, then freezing assets of those who are connected Identify the following: FBI CIA NSA

10. Sanctions • What are sanctions? • Why are sanctions not effective tool in the fight against terrorism? • Sanctions can only be applied to states not to terrorist organizations • Sanctions that are put on states • very rarely have the desired outcome – weaken the terror sponsoring government • often result in worse conditions for the civilians

11. Why is there so little terrorism in the US? • Open political system (courts) reduces injustices • Intelligence agencies (FBI, NSA, CIA) are very active • Difficult for identified terrorist to enter or leave our country • Targets (nuke facilities, gov’t buildings, dams) are well protected – target hardening • Lack of sanctuary given by friendly ethnic or religious groups • Public opinion strongly opposes use of terrorism as a political instrument

12. International terror declining … • Growing world democratization • Stronger, interdependent international economic system • End of Cold War – countries no longer have Soviet or US aid/funding to carry out terror • Increased collaboration of world governments (IGOs)

13. Terror in the 21st Century • Radical Islamic actors - wahhabist, jihadists • Target western interests – government offices/embassies, icons of capitalism, militaries • Recruit in the poorest areas of the Muslim world – madrasahs • Use of internet to spread their ideas – starting to recruit in western countries • American Jihadists • American al Qaeda

14. Infamous Islamic Jihadists • Ramzi Youseff – Responsible for the 1993 WTC bombing; extradited from Pakistan and convicted in NYC in 1997 • Ayman al Zawahiri – al Qaeda’s “brains”; second in command under bin Laden; Egyptian born – founder of al-Jihad • Khalid Sheik Mohammed – mastermind of 9/11; being held in Guantanamo Bay • Zacarias Moussaoui – 9/11 plot’s 20th hijacker; imprisoned in 2002 • Richard Reid – Shoe Bomber – imprisoned in 2002 after he attempted to set off an explosive embedded in his shoe • Abu Musab al Zarqawi – former head of al-Qaeda in Iraq; led the counterinsurgency in Iraq; killed by US forces in 2006 • Anwar al Awalaki – radical US-born sheik living in Yemen – “bin Laden of the Internet” • Umar Farouk Abdilmutallab – Underwear Bomber -Nigerian born, al Qaeda trained, attempted to blow up a US airplane on Dec 25, 2009 • Faisal Shahzad – Times Square Bomber – arrested in 2010 for his attempted car bomb plot in one of the most populated place in the US

15. Conventional Bombs Vehicles/transportation Suicide Buildings/markets/schools Armed Combat Shootings/assassinations Stabbings Kidnappings torture Unconventional Biological smallpox Chemical anthrax Nuclear Missiles; tractor trailers Cyber ID theft Shut down power grids How terrorism is carried out…

16. Terrorism & the Nuclear Threat • US Gov’t identifies Al –Qaeda as the biggest terrorist threat to the modern world • Biggest fear is that they will acquire nuclear weapons either from a rogue state or on the black market How can the world prevent this from happening? • See reading “Countering the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction” and summary questions.