Terrorism

Terrorism

Terrorism: Defined• Terrorism has existed for almost as long

as humans have existed. Terrorism is defined as the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce someone or a group for political reasons.

• Historically terrorism has been used by groups that did not have the traditional resources to achieve their political goals. Terrorists will secretly attack either a government institution or civilian target that they feel will cause pain for their enemy. The attacks that bring the most attention to their cause are viewed as the most successful.

• While they are viewed as terrorists to most, others may view them as freedom fighters.

The Zealots were terrorists of the Roman empire in 100 AD. They attacked Roman government buildings to try to force the Romans out of Judea. The term “Zealot” today is applied to any religious extremist.

Causes for Terrorism• Typically those that

resort to terrorism are those who are facing inequities economically, socially or culturally.

• A major cause of terrorism over time and today is religious extremism. These are people that have extreme views on religion and are not tolerant to other faiths.

The “intifada” was an uprising by mainly poor and young Palestinians living in Israel. They lead riots against Israel’s occupation of the West Bank.

Examples of Terrorism: Munich Olympic kidnapping

• During the 1972 Olympics in Munich Germany, Islamic religious extremists kidnapped and held 11 hostages from the Israeli Olympic team as a protest against Israel.

• An attempt was made to rescue the hostages, but it was unsuccessful and all 11 were murdered. This was the earliest high profile example of Islamic terrorism.

• Israel’s government under Golda Meir would later respond with Operation Wrath of God, creating an assassination squad that hunted down and killed anyone responsible for planning the attack.

Airline Hijackings

• A common recent use of terrorism has been hijacking or attacking airlines, as they leave many civilians vulnerable to be used as hostages.

• This method was extremely common in the 1960s-1980s.

• This has caused many countries to institute strict security measures to protect airports and airlines.

Car Bombings• Car bombings are another

commonly used tactic by terrorists. Since it is easy to conceal a bomb inside of a car, they are often unexpected attacks.

• In 1993 the US World Trade Center in NYC was attacked by a car bomb.

• In 1995 the Federal building in Oklahoma City was destroyed by a car bomb made by American anti-government terrorists.

168 people (including 20 small children) were killed in the Oklahoma City Bombing

Suicide Attacks

• Another common tactic of terrorists is the use of suicide bombings. In these attacks a terrorist conceals a bomb under his clothing and explodes it, usually in a crowded area, killing himself in the process.

• These are extremely hard to guard against and are commonly used against civilians.

Afghanistan and the Taliban• In 1979 the USSR invaded Afghanistan.

Keeping with the Cold War policy of containment the US and CIA helped supply the Mujahideen, a group of Muslims that the US viewed then as freedom fighters resisting the communists.

• However after the fall of the USSR, the Mujahideen helped the Taliban, a group of extreme Muslims take control of Afghanistan and institute law based on the Qu’ran.

• The Taliban created a safe haven for terrorists in Afghanistan to train terrorists and plan attacks.

Muhajideen in Afghanistan 1984. They helped drive USSR forces our of Afghanistan

Osama Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda• Osama Bin Laden, a wealthy heir of

a Saudi Arabian businessman helped the Mujahideen in Afghanistan. He organized the Al Qaeda (“the base”) terrorist organization which has called for a “jihad” (holy war, struggle) against the world. Afghanistan under the Taliban was a major base for his organization.

• Al Qaeda views the US, Europe and Israel as trying to eliminate Islam, and often targets these areas.

• Al Qaeda first garnered attention in the 1990s leading attacks against the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania and the USS Cole.

September 11, 2001• On September 11, 2001, Al

Qaeda initiated a major terrorist attack against the US by hijacking 4 airliners and crashing them into the World Trade center in NY, the Pentagon in Washington DC, and an empty field in Pennsylvania.

• The US responded the next month by invading Afghanistan to disrupt Al Qaeda’s activities and declaring to work against any country that harbored terrorists.

The War on Terror in Afghanistan and Iraq• The Taliban was removed

from holding official power in Afghanistan but continues to operate and attacks the US troops that remain in the country today.

• In 2003, the US also invaded Iraq, and removed Saddam Hussein from power to prevent him from sponsoring future terrorist attacks.

• Osama bin Laden was eventually killed by a Navy Seal team on May 2, 2011.

Security measures• Countries have responded to

terrorism in a number of ways trying to protect their citizens.

• The US has increased its surveillance to try to combat terrorism, but this has left many concerned over their privacy rights being violated.

• Extra security measures have been taken at ports and airports like full body scanners.

• Travel and access to certain locations now often require photo identification.