Chapter 10 Flashcards
- What happened to American Journalist James Foley?
- What was the date of this crime?
- What was it titled?
- Who commited it?
- And why was it carried out?
- the horrific video of American journalist named James Foley being beheaded by a member of ISIS in Guantanamo Bay
- on August 19, 2014,
- with the title A Message to America -
- killed by Mohammed Emwazi, a 26-year-old Muslim from London, England, who traveled to Syria to join the group ISIS.
- it was carried out because Obama authorized military operations against the Islamic State, effectively placing America upon a slippery slope towards a new war against Muslims
A Message to America (the video) - signaled a new era of terrorism, how so? What did it also marked?
> It was an act which coupled brutal violence with the sophisticated use of social media platforms to promote extremist causes and recruit new members to these missions.
> The video also marked the arrival of ISIS on the world stage.
What is ISIS and how did it start?
> ISIS is a terrorist group that emerged out of Al Qaeda in Iraq and expanded into Syria in 2011 after the start of the Syrian civil war
> In 2010, protests broke out across North Africa and the Middle East in what became known as the “Arab Spring,”
> but in Syria, the government proved more resilient than the protestors and responded with extreme force.
> This revolution soon devolved into a civil war that pitted a number of opposition groups against the army supporting the regime of Bashar al-Assad. I
Who was the face of ISIS?
Was he considered the most wanted terrorrist?
When and how did he die?
> Emwazi, the masked man who conducted the beheadings in the james Foley video
became the face of ISIS and simultaneously the most wanted terrorist since Osama bin Laden.
> On November 12, 2015, he was identified leaving an apartment and getting into a car in Raqqa, Syria. As he got into the car, a British and U.S.–operated predator drone launched a missile strike that obliterated “Jihadi John,” along with another member of ISIS.
What ISIS attack occurred after Emwazi’s death?
> Paris attack on November 13, 2015, only one day after Emwazi was killed.
> In that attack, a number of coordinated assaults involving suicide bombers and shooters with assault weapons took place in locations around Paris and included the area around a soccer stadium, cafes, restaurants, and a theater.
> These attacks resulted in 130 fatalities and many hundreds of others wounded.
The rise of ISIS appeared to mark a new resurgent era of terrorism that utilized what? Was it the most deadly?
> that utilized social media to recruit disaffected young Muslims from Western countries and increased attacks on European targets.
> Despite the media attention given to ISIS, it might surprise you that in 2014, when ISIS was at its height, this group was not the deadliest terrorist organization.
What terrorist group was actually more deadly than ISIS when they were at their height?
BKOHAR is the group
> Boko Haram, an Islamic terrorist group that is largely based in the African country of Nigeria.
> The term loosely translates to Western education is forbidden. Boko Haram was inspired by ISIS and, in fact, had pledged allegiance to ISIS.
What is terrorism like in the modern age?
> global and multi-faceted?
How many definitions of terrorism were created between 1936 and 1983? Is the current number the same or higher?
> one writer identified over 100 different definitions of terrorism?
> current number is even greater
What are two reasons describing why terrorism is so hard to define? What is terrorism considered as a phenomenon?
- terrorism encompasses many different types of behavior perpetrated for many different reasons
- plus it has a complexity and variation in motive
> terrorism is a continuously evolving phenomenon
What behaviour can be perpetrated under terrorism? What must be noted about these behaviours (are they all acts of terrorism? what does it depend on?
INT, ASSA, BMBS, HJKS, TFT, MSA, KNPS, + OTHS
> Includes:
intimidation,
assassinations,
bombings,
hijackings,
theft,
military-style attacks,
kidnappings,
and any number of other violent or threatening acts.
> Yet, at the same time, not all bombings, killings, thefts, and kidnappings are acts of terrorism.
> depends in large part on your particular point of view - may be a matter of perception
- During the 19th and early 20th century, what was terrorism considered, what did it focus on, and what were the targets like?
- What is the character of terrorism in the 20th century changed to include?
- What are the targets like in the 20th century?
- terrorism was nationalistic,
- focused on helping a population group achieve political independence and sovereignty,
- targets of terrorism tended to be military and political leaders who represented the government system in power. - the character of terrorism changed and came to include a broader spectrum of organizations
- had a more indiscriminate in target selection.
Sometimes referred to as “leaderless Jihad,” this new model of terrorism is largely based on what?
> based on informal networks of friends who are inspired to commit acts of terrorism in support of a larger cause or organization to which they have no real connection or ties, except that they share a religious and/or political worldview.
- The word “Terrorist” is what kind of term?
- It has has tremendous power to remove to what
- Governments and politicians often use the word to do what?
- is an inherently a negative term
- to remove whatever legitimacy or moral authority an organization or movement may aspire to possess.
- to undermine the support a group may have among a larger population.
Bruce Hoffman points out that many terrorist groups try to avoid being labeled as terrorists and instead try to link themselves to what? What is a specific example?
> try to link themselves with the concepts and language of freedom and liberation, armies and military organizations, self-defense, and justified retribution
> Ramzi Yousef, for example, the mastermind of the first World Trade Center attack, asserted in a newspaper interview that he was a warrior.
What are the essential qualities of terrorism that most definitions share and overall that terrorism has?
TIAVA, TIITASG, TUTDV, TPOTITT, TIS.
- terrorism is a violent activity.
- At its core, terrorism is about destruction and harm, whether of people or property or both. (is the preferred method to achieve their agenda and goals) - terrorism is intended to achieve some goal
- the violence is instrumental + rational - for some goal. - terrorism usually targets defenseless victims.
- soft targets - not hard targets. - the purpose of terrorism is to terrorize.
- This is important because terrorist groups want to create a climate of fear within a society - terrorism is systematic.
- a recurring phenomenon.
What is a common victim of terrorism? What are the two most frequent focus of terrorist attacks in the world?
> In military terminology, they are soft targets, also called defenseless targets, as opposed to hard targets that are more difficult to assault because they are better protected. (though both are possible)
> Far more common are civilian and noncombatant targets who are placed in the crosshairs precisely because they are civilians
> private citizens and property are by far the most frequent focus of terrorist attacks around the world.
What is the difference in killing innocent noncombatants and combatants?
> When soldiers or police officers are killed, it is recognized as being a tragedy, but at some level, there is the sense that these victims are part of the sacrifice societies make in protecting its citizens.
> The killing of noncombatants, on the other hand, is often perceived as being more terrible because these victims did not choose to be in harm’s way but were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.
What was the single deadliest act of terrorism ever perpetrated and the deadliest single day for Americans since the Civil War?
> September 11, 2001, when the United States was the victim of a deadly series of terrorist attacks by Al Qaeda
Who established Al Qaeda?
> Among the international volunteers was a wealthy young Saudi named Osama bin Laden, who helped cofound an organization called the Maktab al-Khidmat, or the Afghan Services Bureau, which was based in neighboring Pakistan and helped recruit and train Muslim fighters for the war in Afghanistan.
> was a successful military leader
> Al Qaeda soon began providing resources, training, and financing to Muslim terrorist groups around the world.
What three things does Al Qaeda want to do?
1) help to create a unified Islamic world order under the rule of a caliph.
2) Second, the group intends to destroy the United States because it is seen as a foreign and corrupting influence and an impediment to the creation of an Islamic world order.
3) Third, Al Qaeda intends the destruction of Israel and its replacement with a Palestinian state
Al Qaeda issued a manifesto that stated one of its goals- what was it?
> To kill Americans and their allies—civilians and military—is an individual duty for every Muslim who can do it in any country in which it is possible to do it, in order to liberate the al Aqsa mosque and the Holy Mosque [in Mecca] and in order for their armies to move out of all the lands of Islam, defeated and unable to threaten any Muslim.
The definitions provided by the textbook also provide one weakness - what is it?
> They tend to ignore state-perpetrated terrorism.
Why do governments conduct terrorism? What is it referred to?
> Governments engage in terrorism in order to suppress dissent, quash a social or political movement, or intimidate a population.
> This is sometimes termed authorized terror, repressive terror, or even enforcement terror.
What is an example of a government form of terrorism? Who did they kill? What did their victims come to be known as? and What was a method of disposing their victims?
> During the 1970s, for example, the military junta that ruled Argentina engaged in what has been termed a dirty war against its own citizens.
> killed anyone who was even suspected of being a leftist sympathizer or of not supporting the state.
> Their victims became known as the desaparecidos, or “disappeared ones.”
> One method of disposing of victims involved drugging individuals, loading them on planes, stripping them, and then throwing them alive into the ocean.
What is the difference between terrorism and guerrilla warfare.
> terrorism and guerrilla warfare are not the same thing, even though there may be some overlap between their goals and methods.
> guerrilla warfare—which is also sometimes called low-intensity warfare or insurgency warfare—is usually different from terrorism because it involves larger, military-style forces that tend to attack the military forces of their enemy and often seek to hold and control territory.
> Terrorist organizations tend to be smaller, do not usually operate in the open, target primarily noncombatants, and generally do not hold territory and exercise sovereign political authority over the land and people they control or influence.
There is overlap between terrorism and guerrilla warfare- what is that overlap?
> guerrilla forces sometimes use terror tactics in their military campaigns, and terrorist groups may organize into military-style units and take land. Government forces may also resort to repressive terrorism to deprive guerrilla forces of support.
Government forces may also resort to repressive terrorism to deprive guerrilla forces of support. What are some examples?
> During Guatemala’s civil war of the 1970s and 1980s, when the government was fighting to wipe out a popular guerrilla movement, the state engaged in wholesale terrorism against the rural civilian population in an effort to destroy the popular support upon which the guerrillas depended
Can groups move between terrorism and guerrilla warfare? Who is a good example?
> Individuals and movements can also move from one type to the other; a good example of this is Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda.
> Osama bin Laden was a guerrilla leader turned to terror tactics as their goals shifted and evolved.
Can groups be terrorist / and guerrilla warfare? Provide an example:
HZBOHis the example - where ar they based +
> some organizations are large enough that they can encompass both terrorist and paramilitary wings of the organization.
> Hezbollah, for example, is an Islamic group based in Lebanon, and their organization engages in traditional-style terrorism + gurellia warfeare
What was the first recognizable terroist grouo?
> he first recognizable terrorist group was found in Roman-occupied Judea or Palestine—present-day Israel.
> Here, a group of Jewish rebels known as the Zealots used assassination and terror to fight the Roman occupation
When looking at the tactics of the Zealots, it is easy to see why their name has become synonymous with uncompromising extremism- explain what this means:
> Their favorite weapon was a short, curved knife known as a sica, from which they derived their other name, the Sicarii.
> They attacked Roman administrators and soldiers, Jewish collaborators, and priests and leaders who were seen as being supportive of or sympathetic to Roman rule.
Another example of early terrorism concerns an 11th century radical group known as?
> the Nizari Isma’ilis or more colloquially as the Assassins.
> Based in what is now Iran, Iraq, and Syria, the Assassins were dedicated to creating a pure Islamic state and used terrorism against Muslim officials and Christian crusaders alike.
Despite these early examples of terrorist groups, the first use of the word terrorism did not emerge until when?
> the late 1700s in France during the french Revolution where the revolutionaries increasingly relied on the Committee of Public Safety and the Revolutionary Tribunal.
What was the community of public safety in France?
1. How many memembers were there?
2. Who was the key member and what were the names for his fellow extremeistss?
3. how many people were beheaded and how many died in prisions around the country?
[Historical example of terrorism]
> Comprising 12 men, the Committee of Public Safety was invested with more and more dictatorial powers over time.
> Its most influential member was a man named Maximilien Robespierre, known to all as “the Incorruptible,” and his fellow extremists became known as the Jacobins.
> Some estimates suggest that up to 40,000 people were beheaded on the guillotine, and several hundred thousand more died in prisons around the country
Are our perceptions of terrorism accurate?
> Our perceptions are often not based on objective reality (out of proportion compared to the real risk)
After the September 11 attacks, many people stopped flying and began driving instead. As a result, what figure of people died during the three months following more than what the average figure have been if the usual patterns of travel had stayed in effect?
> According to one calculation, about a thousand more people died on our nation’s highways in the three months following the 9/11 attack
What is the actual number of attacks that the United States suffers from terrorism? Where does it occur and what was the percentage?
> in any given year tends to be rather limited, especially when compared with terrorist activities in other parts of the world.
> most terrorism attacks occur outside of the US.
> Less than 2% of terrorist attacks between 1970 and 2017 were perpetrated in the North America
What is North America considered in comparison to other parts of the world with respect to terrorism? What is important to note about this consideration?
> Contrary to our fears, North America is one of the safest parts of the world—at least regarding the risk of terrorism.
> It is, however, important to point out that these figures count only those attacks perpetrated in North America and excludes attacks against Americans in places such as Iraq and Afghanistan (if these were included it would be higher)
According to the Institute for Economics and Peace, an organization that compiles the Global Terrorism Index, how many terrorism deaths have occured in Western countries?
> less than 1% (.5%) of terrorism deaths since 2000 have occurred in western countries (United States, Canada, Australia, Europe)
Importantly, most of the terrorist attacks in Western countries since 2006 (about 70% of all such assaults) are what can be termed what kind of attack?
> lone wolf attacks.
What is a lone wolf attack?
> an attack in which the perpetrator is a single individual who is acting on his or her own.
- Although these individuals may be inspired by an organization or movement, they plan and execute their terrorism independently.
What are lone wolf attacks of terrorism not solely linked to? What 3 factors do they also reflect?
NATIO-, ANTI-GE, R+ESUP
> most of these acts of terrorism are not solely linked with militant Islam
but also reflect
1. nationalism,
2. anti-government extremism,
3. and racial and ethnic supremacism
In fact, most deaths (84%) due to terrorism in 2017 occurred in only ten countries- what were the 10 countries?
A,IRQ, NIG, SOM, SY, PKS, EYG, DROC, CAR, I
1) Afghanistan,
2) Iraq,
3) Nigeria,
4) Somalia,
5) Syria,
6) Pakistan,
7) Egypt,
8) Democratic Republic of the Congo,
9) Central African Republic, and
10) India
Every region of the world suffers from the problem of terrorism; but what varies in these regions?
> the local and regional dynamics that affect the specific intent and motivation.
While we often believe that most terrorists attacking the United States are foreign, the truth is that most of the attackers are considered what? What kind of terrorist are they considered?
> are Americans
> These “homegrown” terrorists come from a variety of backgrounds and belief systems, and they engage in their violence for diverse reasons.
What does the Oklahoma City bombing illustrate about “homegrown” terrorists?
> On April 19, 1995, a rental van blew up in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, killing 168 people and wounding another 850.
> The perpetrator of this bombing was not some foreign extremist but a decorated former soldier named Timothy McVeigh.
> Fueled by anti-government resentment and hatred, and with co-conspirator Terry Nichols, McVeigh planned and implemented the act of terrorism in Oklahoma City.
> These two terrorists felt justified in retaliating for the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s siege of the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas, and the siege of Randy Weaver’s cabin at Ruby Ridge, Idaho.
What are some examples of “homegrown” terrorist groups in the United states?
> the Ku Klux Klan (KKK)
Posse Comitatus,
Puerto Rican nationalist group the Macheteros
and the antiabortion group Army of God,
Jerrold Post suggests that there are three main types of terrorism: what are they?
pcp
> political, criminal, and pathological
What is the criminal typology for terrorism [Jerald Post] and what is an example?
> refers to terrorism committed to achieve some illicit goal or to protect an illegal operation.
> The best contemporary example of this involves the Medellin drug cartel of Pablo Escobar.
What groups would not be considered for the criminal typology of terrorism?
> terrorist groups that support their operations through crimes
would not be placed in this category unless their entire operation and goals were criminal in nature
What is the pathological terrorism typology [Jerald Post] and what is an example?
> Pathological terrorism, on the other hand, concerns acts that are perpetrated because of some sort of mental illness.
> A good example of this type of terrorism was committed by Ted Kaczynski, more infamously known as the Unabomber.
What are the three categories within the political terrorism typology suggested by Jerald Post?
sbst,st-s, r, s
> there are three subcategories: substate, state-supported, and regime or state.
What is the Regime or state terrorism category within the political terrorism typology as suggested by Jerald Post? Provide an example:
> refers to the actions of a government in using terror to intimidate and suppress dissent.
> the actions of the Argentinean government during its dirty war + the government of South Africa during the years of apartheid. Apartheid was a legal system developed to keep the races apart and maintain white privilege in a country where White Africans were outnumbered 4 to 1 by Black Africans.
In which place is state/regime terrorism predominant?
> State terrorism is still being waged across the globe but perhaps no place as horrific as in Syria.
- The Global Public Policy Institute (GPPI) estimated that how many chemical attacks have been made against Syrian civilians since 2012?
- What percentage of these attacks were from the Assad regime?
- The GPPI describes the hysteria that the gas attacks create in Syria?
> The Global Public Policy Institute (GPPI) estimated that at least 336 chemical weapons attacks were made against Syrian civilians since 2012,
> with over 98% of these attacks made by the Assad regime
> described as Silent and invisible, chemical attacks spread terror among defenseless civilians
What is the state-supported terrorism category within the political terrorism typology as suggested by Jerald Post? Provide an example:
> State-supported terrorism is terrorism that is assisted by a government.
> Historically, many nations have provided money, safe havens, training, and resources for terrorists and organizations.
> Iran, for example, provides financial and other support to Hezbollah, Hamas, and several other Middle Eastern terrorist groups
As of March 2019, the U.S. Department of State designated which 4 countries as state sponsors of terrorism?
IRN,NK, SYR, SUD
> Iran, North Korea, Syria, and Sudan.
What is the substate terrorism category within the political terrorism typology as suggested by Jerald Post? What are the five categories within this subtype?
SRT,RWT, N-ST, RET, SIT
> indicates terrorism perpetrated by nongovernmental groups
> it is further divided into five subtypes: social revolutionary terrorism, right-wing terrorism, nationalist-separatist terrorism, religious extremist terrorism, and single-issue terrorism.
What is social revolutionary terrorism under the substate terrorism category of Jerald Post’s typology? Provide an example:
> is the type of terrorism most people envision when they think about terrorism.
> involves groups trying to overthrow an established order.
> often considered “leftist” (many of these groups have espoused Marxist or socialist agendas)
Aside from the MRTA- what are some other social revolutionary terrorist organizations?
GRAF,IRB, MZA4NL
> Germany’s Red Army Faction, Italy’s Red Brigades, and Mexico’s Zapatista Army for National Liberation.
What is right-wing terrorism under the substate terrorism category of Jerald Post’s typology? Provide an example:
> right-wing terrorism refers to conservative organizations that seek to preserve a political system or to return society to some past mythic time of greatness.
> Example: KKK
What is the KKK and why are they considered a right-wing terrorist organization?
> Originally created at the end of the Civil War by Nathan Bedford Forrest a Confederate cavalry general from Mississippi
> the name Ku Klux Klan is derived from the Greek word for circle, kuklos.
> Founded to combat Reconstruction and protect Southern Whites from the transgressions they perceived would come from newly freed slaves + Northern carpetbaggers
> its members were hooded and dressed in robes to make African Americans think they were the ghosts of Confederate soldiers.
> They lynched, threatened, and otherwise intimidated those who tried to exercise their newfound rights.
> Soon disbanded because of political infighting, the KKK was reborn in 1915 when D. W. Griffith’s film The Birth of a Nation sparked a renewed interest in the organization.
> Still active today.
What is nationalist-sepratist terrorism under the substate terrorism category of Jerald Post’s typology? Provide an example:
> Nationalist-separatist terrorism is exemplified by groups that attempt to create a nation or achieve political autonomy and independence for their people.
> A good example of this involves the violence in Chechnya.
- In 1991, as the Soviet Union was disintegrating, the republic of Chechnya declared independence
What is the single-issue terrorism under the substate terrorism category of Jerald Post’s typology? Provide an example:
> Single-issue terrorism concerns groups that are focused on only one particular topic.
> Single-issue terrorism is not often concerned with overthrowing a government but rather with changing specific policies or laws.
> Earth First!, the Earth Liberation Front, and the Evan Mecham Eco-Terrorist International Conspiracy (EMETIC) are all radical environmental organizations that have engaged in what has been called ecoterrorism
What groups of terrorist are also included in the single-issue subcategory of single-issue terrorism? Provide an example:
> antiabortion terrorist groups within this category, although they are also often motivated by underlying religious convictions.
> example: The Army of God is one such group that has been implicated in the bombing of abortion clinics—“abortuaries” in the group’s parlance—and the murder of doctors who perform abortions.
What is ecoterrorism?
> involves acts of violence and sabotage in order to protect the environment.
Religious extremist terrorism under the substate terrorism typology by Jarold Post can further be broken down into what two categories?
FT or NRT
> can further be broken down into fundamentalist terrorism and new religions terrorism.
What terrorist organization best represents “new religious terrorism” under Jarold Post’s typology of substate religious extremist terrorism typology?
> the Japanese group Aum Shinrikyo, which means “Supreme Truth.” Led by Shoko Asahara, a former yoga teacher who preached that the end of the world was coming, this group came to believe that it needed to purify humanity for the coming apocalypse by killing those who were sinful and impure.
> In a perverse way, the killings the group performed were defined by the cult as being altruistic and even compassionate.
> Members who tried to leave were threatened and intimidated and, in more than a few cases, killed.
> used chemical and biological agents to kill innocent people (i.e. the 1995 release in Tokyo’s subway system)
What is the fundamentalist terrorism typology under Jarold Post’s typology of substate religious extremist terrorism?
> and it is this type that has come to dominate the attention of the world community because of Al Qaeda, ISIS, and Boko Haram.
> Fundamentalism is a belief in the literal and absolute truth of the sacred scriptures of a religion and typically involves attempts to return that faith to its founding beliefs and principles. (believe that religions do not evolve or change and that new change is associated with straying away from proper practices)
While fundamentalism is often linked with religious-inspired violence such as terrorism, it must be understood that not every fundamentalist organization is violent. According to Post, fundamentalists tend to be one of two traits:
> either quietist or activist.
Under fundamentalism, what are quietests vs activists?
Quietists are those who await the fulfillment of God’s word, while activists try to bring it about, often through violence.
The religious scholar Charles Kimball points out that claims of absolute truth, which fundamentalists tend to believe, are closely linked to what? Fundamentalists also divide the world into two camps - what are they?
> are closely linked with violent religious extremism.
> good and evil, right and wrong, light and dark.
All religions provide powerful justifications and legitimacy for violence, and history tells us that believers of virtually every religion have engaged in what?
> all have engaged in violence.
> In fact, even religions that are perceived as nonviolent are not immune to fundamentalist extremism.
What religions that are perceived as nonviolent have been violent?
> Extremist Burmese Buddhist monks, for example, are inciting violence toward an ethnic group called the Rohingya, who are believed to be among the most persecuted minorities on earth.
> Ashin Wirathu, a Buddhist monk, is the leader of a group he founded called the 969 movement.
> Time magazine called him “The Face of Buddhist Terror” and said he had “taken the title of Burmese bin Laden.”
> In 2013, thousands of Rohingya and Muslims were displaced, and many people were killed - the acts were a form of genocide.
Christianity also is not immune to fundamentalist violence. During the Crusades, Christian did what?
> Christian armies swept through the Byzantine Empire, leaving death and destruction in their wake.
> More recently, Christian fundamentalist terrorists have been involved in the killing of doctors and others at abortion clinics (the army of god terrorist organization)
Fundamentalist terrorism is also an issue within what religon?
> Islam.
> Most contemporary Islamic terrorism is connected, at least in part, to a larger Islamic Salafi Jihad, essentially a fundamentalist movement inspired by visions of a holy war in the name of Islam.
This revivalist movement has taken a number of different forms, depending on the country in which each was formed. What are some examples?
> On the Arabian Peninsula, it is known as Wahhabism after Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab
> In Egypt, the movement was heavily influenced by Sayyid Qutb (among others)
What was the egyptian terrorist Sayyid Qutb known for?
> believed that Islam and Western secularism could not coexist peacefully.
> continues to influence present-day Islamic fundamentalists and terrorists. The leader of a radical fundamentalist group known as the Muslim Brotherhood, Qutb believed that not only was violence justified against Western influences, but it was also justified against Muslims who did not abide by his strict interpretation of Islam.
- What does “ jihad” refer to?
- What does greater jihad refer to?
- What does lesser jihad refer to?
> jihad refers to a struggle or a striving, and one common view holds that there exists a greater and a lesser jihad.
> Greater jihad refers to an internal struggle that someone might go through in trying to become a better Muslim and live a life based on the five pillars of Islam
> But jihad can also refer to an armed struggle on behalf of Islam. (This is what terrorists use to justify their beliefs)
What motivated the two brothers to complete the bombing of the boston marathon bombing?
> a cryptic mix of national identity, ideology, religion, and personality.
> from Chechnya, and this region is a predominantly Muslim republic in Russia and has been mired in separatist battles for independence since the early 1990s, and many speculate that the elder brother became influenced by radicals there.
Although our gut reaction may often be to think that “they are crazy!” research indicates that the majority of terrorists are affected by mental illness?
> the majority of terrorists do not suffer from psychological problems such as schizophrenia.
Despite the absence of mental illness, a number of scholars have suggested that the roots of terrorist activity may lie what factor? What is one disorder that they may suffer from?
> may lie in the psychological makeup of certain individuals.
> Some believe, for example, that terrorists suffer from a narcissistic personality disorder that renders them somewhat sociopathic, arrogant, and without care or concern for others (personality traits that make it easier to engage in violence)
What is one psychological process that affects those who conduct terrorist activity? what brings on this process and as a result, what feelings do they feel?
> they tend to externalize the source of their difficulties in a process known as splitting.
> Because of difficulties suffered in childhood, these individuals feel inadequate, yet they project those inadequacies on others and make others the subject of their anger and blame.
Post’s analysis of German terrorists of the 1970s reveals what about them?
> reveals that many of them lost a parent at a young age, often clashed with authorities, and had many difficulties in school and work—all of which seems to anecdotally support this argument for at least some terrorists.
What researcher have a lot of scholars adopted ideas from about the negative identity of terrorists?
> Erikson’s ideas about the ways in which individual identity is created and suggest that terrorists adopt a negative identity.
> Because of disappointments and rejection, these individuals come to embrace destructive forces as a way to express their anger and frustration.
> Essentially, terrorism involves a rejection of the values and ideas that mainstream society holds as important.
Can social factors explain why people become terrorists?
> even social explanations only go so far in predicting who is and who is not vulnerable to being recruited. so no- not entirely.
One study of Islamic terrorists found that the majority of them did what and came from what kind of family? As a result, what is terrorism primarily motivated by?
> studied came from the upper and middle classes, which calls into question the belief that terrorism is primarily motivated by poverty
Looking at Islamic terrorist groups - many rank-and-file members join for a mixture of reasons - what is a main element to their reasoning?
> the most common element involves belief.
> Many of the individuals who join these groups are devout Muslims who see their participation as a duty to their faith
> —a duty that includes the anticipation of heavenly rewards if they are killed as well as monetary rewards for their families.(suicide bombers)
> For others, the desire for adventure and the prestige and status of belonging to a violent group are significant factors.
What terrorist group represents the “prestige and status element” for joining an organization?
> Among the Palestinians, for example, Yehiya Ayyash, better known as “The Engineer,” was a member of Hamas and a hero to many who idolized him for his ability to lead attacks against Israel.
Examining this socialization process allows us to understand how Mohamed Atta became the operational commander of the plot that would result in the attacks of September 11. What does this mean?
> Mohamed Atta was not a monster in the sense that he was psychologically different from other people.
> it was the transformation of a sheltered and somewhat socially awkward young man who was socialized to believe fervently in the notion of sacrificing himself and the lives of others in the cause of a holy war.
> It was a vision fostered by his exposure to a radicalized version of Islam preached and sustained in the mosque of Al Quds and given potency by the sense of isolation and estrangement he experienced in Germany.
What home-grown terrorist groups are rising?
> homegrown jihadists who have been largely or exclusively raised in the West yet still come to embrace violent Islamic extremism.
How does one become “radicalized” and specifically in muslim culture?
> The typical scenario often involves young Muslim males from secular or nonobservant middle class and educated families experiencing some type of crisis that makes them vulnerable
> then turn to a fundamentalist type of Islamic belief to cope
> Over time, they become increasingly politicized and radicalized
What appears to be the two key ingredients to form terrorist groups?
> socialization + indoctrination appear to be the key ingredients.
Terrorists employ a wide variety of tactics and weapons to perpetrate their brand of violence. Their tactics range from:
> nonlethal assaults and campaigns of intimidation to massively deadly attacks using bombs and firearms or, as we saw on 9/11, airplanes.
What are terrorism tactics dictated by?
> the tactics are largely dictated by the goals of the organization. Choices are made based on the impact that a particular weapon will be likely to have.
Of the most common methods used by terrorists in 2017, it reveals that the two most frequent tactics were what? What is the most favored weapon of a terrorist groups?
> were armed assaults and bombings.
Bombs, in particular, have long been a favored weapon of terrorist groups and can range from small pipe bombs to vehicular bombs.
One specific kind of bombing attack that has received a great deal of attention in recent years in terrorism is what?
> is the suicide bombing.
What is a suicide bomber?
> A suicide bomber is a terrorist who carries out an attack understanding that he or she will be killed in the explosion.
- According to the Combating Terrorism Center, how many suicide bombings took place worldwide from 1981 through 2008?
- What three countries did most of them take place and what had the most increased numbers?
- and how many were killed/seriously injured?
> 1,944
> majority of attacks occurred in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, with increasing numbers in the latter countries compared to Iraq.
> > In total, over 21,000 people have been killed by these attacks, and nearly 50,000 seriously injured, with these death tolls mounting daily.
Although suicide bombings generally represent less than 5% of all terrorist attacks, these attacks generally account for what percentage of fatatlies?
> account for nearly half of all fatalities.
> That is probably why the term suicide bomber has become synonymous with terrorism.
What is an infamous example of a suicide bomber?
> the kamikaze pilots of World War II.
When did the modern era of suicide bombing occur? What date did the most notable bombing take place?
> The modern era of suicide bombing began in the 1980s, when Hezbollah, a Lebanese group, began using suicide bombers against Israel and the United States.
> The most notable of Hezbollah’s many suicide bombings occurred on October 23, 1983, when a truck loaded with explosives was driven into the U.S. Marine barracks at the Beirut airport.
What group perpetrates suicide bombings the most? What is this group also known for?
> a Sri Lankan terrorist group known as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, better known as the Tamil Tigers
> this group was also known for issuing cyanide capsules to its fighters so that they could commit suicide if they were in danger of being captured.
There seem to be a number of reasons for the recent increase in the use of suicide bombers by terrorist groups around the world. What are some of the reasons:
1) it works
2) terrorist groups often learn from each other
3) suicide bombing is easy. All it takes is a willingness to die for a cause on the part of a young man or woman.
Robert Pape’s research indicates that out of 13 suicide bombing campaigns instituted by various terrorist groups, how many achieve political gains?
> roughly half resulted in significant political gains for their cause
Many terrorism experts fear terrorist organizations will acquire and use what kind of weapons?
> will acquire and use weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) with even more horrific results than those of the September 11 attacks of 2001.
What are WMDS?
> WMDs include nuclear, chemical, and biological agents, the scariest of which are usually considered to be nuclear weapons.
Terrorist groups can acquire a nuclear weapon in one of three ways: what are they and are they difficult? When has it been easier to procure them?
1) can build one
2) an organization can steal one
3) an organization can buy one
> All three of these scenarios offer difficulties, especially the first.
> since the fall of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, nuclear weapons are less well protected than in earlier eras, and the black market now contains experts, parts, and radioactive materials.
More likely, perhaps, is a situation in which a terrorist organization detonates what is known as what kind of bomb?
> a dirty bomb. This is a conventional type of explosive, but one that is laced with radioactive elements that would be dispersed by the blast. Radioactive material is much easier to acquire than a nuclear device.
What WMDS are easier to obtain? as a result, what are they referred to as?
> Chemical and biological weapons, on the other hand, are somewhat easier to obtain and produce, yet they could still have the same devastating effect as a nuclear device
> they tend to be easier to convey to a target and to use.
> referred to as the poor man’s nuclear weapons.
In comparison to chemical and biological weapons which has the “longer pedigree”
> Of the two, biological weapons have the longer pedigree, having been used as early as the Middle Ages, when attackers besieging a castle or city would sometimes hurl diseased livestock or people into the city in an effort to induce a plague.
> chemicals have also been used though i.e. mustard + chlorine gas in WWII
Chemical weapons generally fall into one of four categories of agents?
CA, BA, BLISA, NA
> choking agents, blood agents, blistering agents, and nerve agents
What are choking agents [chemical weapons]
> Choking agents, such as phosgene gas and chlorine gas—both of which were used during World War I—kill by damaging the lungs and causing them to fill with mucus.
What are blistering agents [chemical weapons]
> Blistering agents, such as mustard gas, on the other hand, kill by burning whatever parts of the body come into contact with them, such as the skin, eyes, and lungs.
What are blood agents? [Chemical weapons]
> prevent the body from utilizing the oxygen in the blood.
What are nerve agents? [Chemical weapons] Are they the most dangerous?
> Last are the nerve agents, such as tabun and VX, which kill by inhibiting the functioning of an important enzyme that regulates nerve functioning.
> These tend to be the most dangerous form of chemical weapons, because they are lethal even in extremely small doses.
What are some examples of some biological agents?
> Biological weapons such as anthrax, smallpox, plague, and the Ebola virus can also provide terrorists with extremely potent and deadly weapons
In 2006, the UN and its member states agreed to a strategic approach to combat terrorism- what were some key reccomendations?
> the first strategy in the UN’s plan is to address the conditions that are conducive to the spread of terrorism
> ensuring the promotion and protection of the human rights of all people,
> The other strategies include efforts to prevent and combat terrorism
After the 9/11 attacks in the United States, then–President George W. Bush declared what?
> declared a “War on Terror” that involved both overt and covert military operations along with other actions.
What did congress develop after the 9/11 attacks?
> Congress also combined 22 different federal departments and agencies into a unified agency called the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
What is the mission of the DHS?
> The mission of DHS includes preventing terrorism and enhancing security, managing U.S. borders, administering immigration laws, securing cyberspace, and ensuring disaster resilience.
The DHS website provides a list of strategies that have been initiated to prevent terrorism, including the following
1) Ensuring the safe manufacture, storage, and distribution of chemicals
2) Improving nuclear detection technologies and increasing the number of law enforcement personnel trained in the use of detection-related equipment
3) Providing strategic guidance to public and private partners to promote the security of the nation’s critical infrastructure
4) Working with federal, state, and local partners to assess bomb squads, explosive canine, special weapons and tactics (SWAT), and dive teams to mitigate capability gaps in IED detection
5) Preventing terrorists from obtaining state-issued identification documents such as driver’s licenses
6) Protecting our homeland through awareness building, which includes the public campaign of “If You See Something, Say Something”
What is the “last” strategy of the DHS?
> This last strategy is a multimedia campaign designed to encourage people to report suspicious activity to 911.
> This campaign utilizes many public officials as well as athletic celebrities to get the message out.
An empirical analysis by the Rand Corporation that examined how terrorist groups ended found that these groups were most often stopped by what?
> by transitioning them into the political process.
What is the most likely strategy in defeating terrorism?
> of ensuring the human rights of all people across the globe
> Giving hope and security to disenfranchised young people may do more to combat terrorism in the first place by preventing these youth from being recruited to groups such as ISIS
The difference between today’s terrorism and that of the past is that:
> the stakes are so high in the modern era.
> The WMDs that exist in such proliferation in so many troubled parts of the world mean that this ancient tactic of violence may likely exponentially increase the lethality and destructiveness of its attacks in the future.
