LECTURE: TERRORISM DEFINING TERRORISM

Transcription

1 DEFINING TERRORISM I) What is terrorism? a. According to Joseph Nye, Harvard professor, it is a method of violence with roots that stretch far back in history. i. Terrorism reaches back to Greece and Rome 1. Assassination of tyrants ii. Gavrilo Princip assassinating Franz Ferdinand b. Terrorism used to be violence by the state against the aristocracy or enemies of the state c. Terrorism is now considered to be anti-state, anti-government violence d. There is no consensus definition of terrorism i. United Nations has no official definition II) Official definitions of terrorism a. Title 22 of the U.S. Legal Code: Terrorism is i. premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against non-combatant targets by sub-national groups or clandestine agents... b. According to the FBI, terrorism is i. The unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives. c. According to the Department of Defense, terrorism is i. the calculated use of unlawful violence or threat of unlawful violence to inculate fear; intended to coerce or to intimidate governments or societies in the pursuit of goals that are generally political, religious, or ideological. III) Simple definition a. Terrorism is the use of violence or fear against a population to further a political, ideological or religious agenda.

2 ORIGINS OF TERRORISM I) Motivations (and reasons for terror against the U.S.) a. Psychological i. Engage in terrorism for personal reasons based upon their state of mind 1. People view themselves as victims or targets of the U.S. gov t the man a. The Unabomber i. Attacked those associated with the technological age b. Ideological i. Principles, values or beliefs that guide a groups goals 1. People attack the U.S. for religious reasons (U.S. alliance with Israel, or to defend the umma [Global Muslim community]) a. Al Qaeda 9/11, U.S.S. Cole i. Attempt to kill infidels c. Strategic i. Terrorists use violence to achieve political objectives 1. People believe political solutions have failed and violence must be carried out a. The Weathermen (The Weather Underground) i. Students that sought to overthrow the U.S. gov t and establish a dictatorship of the Proletariat

3 TYPES OF TERRORISM I) Nationalist a. Freedom fighters Want a separate state from the current state, looks for international support. i. Irish Republican Army (IRA); Basque Fatherland and Liberty II) Religious a. Their terrorist actions are supported by their religious beliefs i. Al Qaeda Muslims carrying out jihad holy war on infidels III) State Sponsored terrorism a. Terrorism used by a state as a foreign policy tool. Usually covertly i. Serbia sponsored the Black Hand (Gavrilo Princip) to assassinate Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary ii. The U.S. sponsored the Contras, rebels groups that committed acts of terror attempting to damage the Nicaraguan Sandinista government s legitimacy IV) Left Wing a. Objective is to destroy capitalism and, sometimes, replace with communism i. Japanese Red Army and Red Brigade V) Right Wing a. Generally involves racially charged attacks, seeks a fascist state i. Neo-Nazis VI) Anarchists a. Want no government i. Leon Czolgosz assassinates President McKinley

4 TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS I) Al Qaeda a. Founded and led by Osama bin Laden ( ); Led by Ayman Al- Zawahiri since bin Laden s death b. Objective is to remove Western presence from Islamic nations c. Operates using covert, independent, underground cells. Sleeper cells exist in western nations II) Al Qaeda s actions a. U.S. Embassy Bombing 1998 i. Truck bombing of U.S. embassy in Tanzania and Kenya resulted in hundreds dead ii. Bin Laden becomes a wanted public figure b. U.S.S. Cole 2000 i. Yemen. Small boat armed with explosives rammed the U.S.S. Cole while it was refueling c. The September 11 attacks i. Nineteen al-qaeda terrorists hijacked four airliners. Two planes were flown into the World Trade Center s Twin Towers. A third plane was flown into the Pentagon. Flight 93 was crashed into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania d. The July 7 London Bombing 2005 i. Four al-qaeda committed suicide bombing attacks on the London subway and on a double-decker bus III) ISIS a. Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS); Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) b. Formed in 1999; 2004 declared itself a worldwide caliphate i. Claims religious, political and military authority over all muslims c. Controls a third of Iraq and Syria

5 IV) ISIS actions a. Uses social media to publically display beheadings of enemies of ISIS b. Destroys cultural heritage sites c. Human trafficking and sex slavery V) Irish Republican Army (IRA) a. Any number of various organizations that seek Irish republicanism and unification. They seek removal of British influence from Northern Ireland. VI) IRA activities a. Bloody Friday 1972 i. Twenty-two bombings carried out in Northern Ireland b. Assassination of Lord Mountbatten i. IRA detonated a bomb on his fishing boat VII) Hamas a. Led by Sheik Hussan b. Commits suicide and mortar attacks to cripple Israel VIII) Hezbollah a. Group created in response to Israel s invasion of Lebanon b. Seen to the Arab world as a resistance force c. Has been added, removed, added again to U.S. State Dept s Terrorist List d. Ties to Iran IX) Hezbollah s actions a. Bombing U.S. Marine Barracks i. 300 French and American soldiers killed by truck bombs b. TWA Flight i. Taken hostage for two weeks and released when demands were met

6 X) Chechen terrorists a. Fighting for sovereignty of Chechnya from Russia i. Fought two wars with Russia in the 1990s b. Ties to Al Qaeda XI) Chechen terrorist actions a. Moscow Theatre Attacks i. Chechen Islamic Rebels took 850 hostages and demanded withdrawl of Russian forces from Chechnya. Russia troops raided the theatre, killed 39 terrorists. 170 dead total XII) Domestic terrorist attacks in the United States a. Generally radical, right wing extremists; sometimes militias b. From , over 300 incidents c. Oklahoma City Bombing 1995 i. Most destructive domestic terrorist act. ii. Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols, American militia sympathizers iii. Bombed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown OKC 168 killed d. Olympic Park Bombing 1996 i. Eric Rudolph, in protest to abortion law, bombs the Olympic Village in Atlanta. Two dead e. Beltway sniper attacks i. John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo killed 17 and injured ten, driving a car and shooting from the trunk

7 RESPONSES TO TERRORISM I) United States domestic responses a. Homeland Security Department i. Formed after 9/11 ii. Coordinate information between agencies to stop terrorism 1. Customs Service, Border Patrol, Immigration and Naturalization Services, Secret Service, Transportation Security Administration, Coast Guard iii. Homeland Security Advisory System 1. Color-coded terror alert system a. Severe Red b. High Orange c. Elevated Yellow d. Guarded Blue e. Low Green 2. Deemed ineffective and replaced in 2011 iv. National Terrorism Advisory System 1. Two tiers a. Elevated b. Imminent 2. As of June 2015, has not issued an alert b. USA PATRIOT ACT i. Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 ii. Passed in October 2001 iii. Surveillance and roving wiretaps to investigate suspected terrorists. Indefinite holding of suspected terrorists. Expanded definition of terrorism related crimes and increased penalties.

8 II) U.S. Military operations a. Afghanistan i. U.S. invades Taliban controlled Afghanistan in Oct 2001, Taliban defeated by Nov. ii. Combat operations still continue iii. Coalition military fatalities (2015) 3,500 iv. Democratic Afghanistan 1. Hamid Karzaj, president Parliament elections started in 2005 b. Iraq i. Iraq part of Axis of Evil Iraq, Iran, North Korea (GW Bush) ii. U.S. invades in March, Baghdad falls in April, major operations over in May. Fighting continues 1. Saddam Hussein capture in Dec 2003, executed Dec 30, 2006 c. Abbottabad, Pakistan i. Osama bin Laden killed by a U.S. raid on May 2, 2011 d. Operation Inherent Resolve i. U.S. operations (airstrikes) against ISIL in Iraq and Syria 1. Airstrike totals as of Sept 8, 2015 a. Iraq: 2, 858 b. Syria: 2, Airstrike totals as of August 22, 2016 a. Iraq: 6,543 b. Syria: 4,696

9 THREATS TODAY I) Al Qaeda a. Active sleeper cells in U.S. Al-Qaeda leaders routinely call for attacks on U.S. More organized and supportive than ISIL II) ISIL a. Relies on social media propaganda. Kills civilians for effect. Does not have the network to support operatives as effectively as Al Qaeda. Western attackers not supported by ISIL III) Domestic Terrorism a. Jihadi related terrorism i. Fort Hood shooting 1. Nidal Hasan ii. Boston Marathon bombing 1. Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev iii. San Bernardino shooting iv. Pulse Orlando Nightclub shooting b. Homegrown terrorism i. AME church shooting 1. Dylann Roof ii. Sikh Temple of Wisconsin shooting 1. 7 dead, including shooter c. Homegrown terrorism related deaths outnumber jihadi related terrorism deaths since 9/11