Exam 1 Flashcards
Prep for the exam
What does Matthew 24:3-8 describe?
- don’t be deceived
- don’t be led astray
- don’t be alarmed when we hear of wars & rumors of wars
- understand that nation will rise against nation-peace isn’t here yet
- birth pains-expect more frequency/higher frequency
What is the U.S. dep’t of State’s definition of terrorism?
- Premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents
- have political objectives
What is the FBI (website) definition of International Terrorism?
- Violent, criminal acts committed by individuals and/or groups who are inspired by, or associated with designated foreign terrorist organizations or nations (state-sponsored).
What is the FBI definition of Domestic Terrorism?
- Violent, criminal acts committed by individuals/groups to further ideological goals
What is true about the U.S. and its’ military relations with Yemen between 2009-2023?
- the U.S. has consistently hit Yemen with air strikes during this time period
What is true about the Houthis and relations with nearby countries?
- the Houthis have been fighting with the U.A.E. and Saudi Arabia more recently
- Ultimately the Houthis are more interested in destabilization than pure terrorism
What is considered the “dawn of a new era”?
- the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks marked a change in terrorism and types used for different goals
– new international terrorist environment
— new terrorist & asymmetrical methods
What are some first considerations of terrorism?
- terrorism is really: a criminal use of force (ie. violence)
- extremism is a precursor to terrorism
What’s the book definition of terrorism?
- the use of politically motivated violence usually directed against soft targets to communicate a message to a larger audience with an intent to affect (terrorize) a target audience
What is insurgent terrorism?
- terrorism of the weak
What is true of the Houthis and their associations?
- they’re not symbolically associated–they’re a proxy group specifically focused
What is Mala Prohibita?
- crimes that are made illegal by legislation
What is Mala in Se?
- crimes that are immoral by themselves
What is Jus ad bellum?
- justice of war
- “just war doctrine” (Augustine)
- President, State dept. explains jus ad bellum
What is Jus in bello?
- justice in war
- “methods are right”
- how one handles war
What is true of Mala in Se?
- it’s closer to God’s teaching, societal norms
– mala in se acts are wrong but in some places where its legal
– ex. rape, 9/11
What is true about heads of state and responses to terrorism?
- heads of state can reason self defense using UN 2.4
- ex. the President can violate a state’s sovereignty but through right reasoning
– though if a leader is a sovereign leader of a sovereign state the U.S. is less likely to assassinate/take them out
What is true of the Roman Age?
- violent demonstrations of power
- crucifixion used as a means of public execution
- hard manner of warfare
- regicide: killing of kings
What is true about the French revolution?
- the term “terrorism” was first coined after the French revolution
- reign of terror (La regime de terreur)
What is geurilla warfare?
- guerilla: “little war”
guerilla fighters: larger groups of armed individuals
– it is NOT TERRORISM
What does Ezekiel 37 talk about?
- the dry bones coming back to life-the nation of Israel being reborn
What are 4 quotes on terrorism?
- one person’s terrorist is another persons freedom fighter
- one man willing to throw away his life is enough to terrorize a thousand
- extremism in defense of liberty is no vice
- it becomes necessary to destroy the town to save it
What is one true thing about terrorism and messaging?
- No such thing as effective terrorism without effective propaganda
What are examples of acts of political will?
- perfectly acceptable assassinations
- need for cooperation of civillan populations
- mao’s contribution to modern warfare and political will
- adoption of military-political strategy (China)
What is representative of intergroup conflict and collective violence?
- structural theory
- state as the key actor
- relative deprivation theory
- absolute deprivation
What are some examples of nationalism and terrorism intermingling?
- Basque nationalism in Spain
- Irish Catholic nationalism in Northern Ireland
- Palestinian Nationalism
- French Canadian nationalism
What is Stockholm syndrome?
- feelings of trust or affection felt in many cases of kidnapping or hostage-taking by a victim toward a captor.
What is Iran’s goal with the middle east?
- get U.S. out of the region
- and wipe Israel off the face of the earth
What is true about nation-states, and individual lone actors?
- nation-states, and lone actors are the 2 hardest ways to connect to terrorist attacks; sponsoring attacks is stronger, when groups/nations sponsor it then not sponsored attacks
What is the IRA?
- the Irish Republican Army
- paramilitary organization supports Irish nationalism and independence for Northern Ireland
- founded in 1919; 2005 they stopped armed resistance
What are some key dates for the IRA, and what happened?
- the Troubles (1968-1998)
- Bloody Sunday (January 1972)
- Omagh Bombing (August 1998)
- 29 killed, over 200 injured
What is true about the Mountbatten assassination?
- occurred on August 27, 1979
- a 50lb bomb was exploded killing Lord Loui Mountbatten-second cousin of Queen Elizabeth
- Thomas Mcmahon of the IRA-responsible-was released during Good Friday agreement
What is true about the Munich Olympics Massacre?
- 11 Israeli teammates taken hostage and then killed by Black September (faction of the PLO)
- this attack saw a shift in coverage of terrorism, the hostage situation became televised alongside the olympic games
What is the Wrath of God operation?
- a reaction to the Munich Olympics massacre; strong response by Israeli–assassinating those responsible for the attack
What is true about the Pan AM Flight #103 attack?
- on December 21, 1988 Pan Am Flight #103 exploded over Lockebie Scotland
- around 200 people were killed
- barometric pressure bomb
- falling debris killed 11 residents of Lockebie
- the UN responded imposing sanctions on Libya
What does Hamas mean in Hebrew?
- “violence”
What is true about Hamas (generally)?
- Islamic fundamentalist Palestinian nationalist group
- target: anyone who opposes their goal of eradicating Israel off the Earth
- a Sunni group
- founded in 1987 following first intifada
- 1997 the U.S. acknowledged them as a FTO
- 1991 first attack against an Israeli citizen
Who supports Hamas (those mentioned in the presentation?
- Turkey, Iran, and Qatar
What is true about Hezbollah?
- founded in 1982 by Imad Mughniyah
- October 1983, a car bomb attack on the U.S. marine battalion headquarters in Beirut
- fueled by Iranian and Syrian support
- form of soft power: adopted into the Lebanese gov’t and won seats in Lebanon’s parliamentary elections
What is true about the Houthis?
- Shi’a muslim group
- originated in the 1990’s
- 2014 took over capital of Yemen; 370,000 deaths from 2014-2022
- they’re at odds with Saudi Arabia
- located on west side of Yemen near Red Sea
- main acts are firing upon shipping vessels that pass by the horn of Africa, disrupting shipping
- will be designated a global terrorist organization on 2/16/24
What is true about the October 7th 2023 attacks?
- 6:30 am 10/7/24 Hamas fighters broke through border barriers separating Gaza and Israel, firing rockets into Israel
- ~1,200 deaths, and ~250 hostages on day of the attack
- the attacks took place during Sukhot-Jewish holiday
- Hamas attacked in response to atrocities Palestinians have faced
- October 7th, Netanyahu declared war on Hamas-full scale response
What is true about the USS Cole bombing attacks?
- October 12th 2000
- a boat rigged with C4 explosive exploded killing 17, injuring 37
- Al-Qaeda responsible-claimed Osama Bin Laden through a video released
- After the attack stricter responses to approaching boats were taken–the ability to warn and fire upon the boats if risk is noticed
What is true about Boko Haram?
- “Westernization is sacrilege”
- founded in 2002 by Muhammad Yusuf
- end goal: Islamic state; implementation of Sharia law
- Northeast Nigeria
- Sunni group for proslytization and jihad
- over 14 year period ~52,000 Christians have been killed
- use kidnappings, assassinations, bombings, and torture as means of acting
What is true about the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK)?
- founded in early 1970’s by Marxist Lennist students
- mainly Abdullah Ocalan
- 1990’s designated as a terrorist organization by EU and NATO
- Goals: independent and free Kurdistan-region near Turkey, Iraq
- used a lot of bombings/attacks in 1990’s in Turkey
- notably Turkey hates the PKK
What is true about the Lashkar-e Taiba group?
- Sunni Muslim insurgent group in Pakistan
- “Army of the righteous/Pure”
- (LT) began attacks in 1993-originally targeting Indian military
- November 26-28 2008 bombings in a railway station, cafe, 2 hospitals, and a theater killing 174, injuring over 300
– the group still exists but as a social welfare organization
What is true about recent U.S. strikes with Hezbollah?
- Hezbollah Qattib leader killed–was located in Iraq
What is true about ISIS?
- became an offshoot of Al-Qaeda in 2003
- goal: to control land and have a Sunni caliphate
- used targeted killings
- IED attacks
- ambushes
- suicide bombings
- obsessed with image of indestructability
- religious movement with political goals (Caliphate)
What are targets of ISIS?
- military targets, civilian targets, foreign aid workers
What is true about the Oklahoma city bombings?
- occurred on April 19, 1995
- 1/3 of the U.S. federal building in OKC was destroyed
- Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols
- reasons: frustration with FBI and ATF
- 168 were killed and 680 injured
- self made bomb place in a Ryder truck
- White supremacy motives–Turner diaries as propaganda
- Waco siege of Texas 1993 inspired McVeigh
What is one result of the OKC bombings?
- the Brady Bill
What is true about the Boston Marathon Bombings?
- April 2013
- 2 Tsarnaev brothers detonated 2 pressure cookers at 2:40 pm
- 3 killed, and ~264 injured
- after the bombings, an MIT police officer was killed, the Watertown shootout-death of Tamerlan Tsarnaev
- Manhunt and arrest of other Tsarnaev brother
– Motivation: the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; retribution for the U.S. involvement in both countries
What was discovered under the UNRWA building in GAZA?
- tunnel network assumed to enable Hamas fighters in their existence and actions
What is true about State sponsored terrorism?
- logically developed model, state level participants in a security environment
– Sponsor examples: Iran, Qatar
– Enabler examples: Pakistan
What is the scale of violence in state sponsored terrorism?
- warfare: conventional
- genocide
- assassinations
- torture
What is the overt or covert dilemma of state sponsored terrorism?
- state patronage, and assisstance
examples:- Patrice Lumumba People’s Friendship university
- Confucius institute
- state patronage–keeping actors safe from retribution
What is dissident terrorism?
- non-state movements, ethnonational groups, or national groups taking part in terrorist acts
- they acknowledge state repression, and exploitation as grievances
What is revolutionary terrorism?
- the threat or use of political violence aimed at effecting complete revolutionary change
What is sub revolutionary terrorism?
- the threat or use of political violence aimed at affecting various changes in a political system (not aimed at abolishing)
What is establishment terrorism?
- the threat/use of political violence by an established political system against internal or external opposition
What is insurgent terrorism?
- violence directed by private groups against public authorities–aims: radical political change
What is nonstate domestic terrorism?
- described as illegal violence/threatened violence directed against human or non-human objects
What is revolutionary dissident terrorism?
- a clear world vision; goal: destroy existing order and build new society; regressive, corrupt, and oppressive existing order
- example: Mao, ISIS
What is Nihilist dissident terrorism?
- “Revolution for the sake of revolution”
- Nihilism: Russian Philosophical movement
- scientific truth could end ignorance
– no clear post revolution societal design
- scientific truth could end ignorance
What is nationalist dissident terrorism?
- the aspirations of a people
- champions national aspirations of groups
- distinguished by cultural, religious, ethnic, or racial heritage
- goal: mobilize particular group against another group
- motivation: desire for degree of national autonomy
- democratic political integration, regional self governance, ethnic and cultural identifiers
What is the antistate nature of terrorism from below?
- goal: defeat state and its institutions
- clear vision of a new society (revolutionary dissidents)
- vague vision of a new society (nihilist)
What is true about narco-terrorists?
- only care about money
What is true about lone wolf terrorism?
- one individual isn’t connected with sponsors (ie. orgs, groups, or states)
– mainly ideology and race fueled
What is true about the U.S. embassy bombing in Kenya & Tanzania?
- August 7th 1998
- two pickup trucks outside both embassies exploded
- 223 killed, 56 Americans
- Al-Qaeda took credit for the attacks
- shift of focus on rooting out Al-Qaeda-killing leaders
What is true about the Beirut Bombings-1993?
- two trucks blew up the Marine barracks & French paratrooper barracks
- overall death toll 307
- 241 U.S. troops
- 58 French
- Islamic Jihad took responsibility–but Hezbollah was behind it
What is true about the Tokyo subway Sarin gas attack?
- March 20th 1995
- Aum Shinrikyo cult members
- sarin gas was left in five subway cars
- a religious cult centered on Hindu, Buddhist, and Christian beliefs was behind it–the leader claimed to be Christ and the apocalypse
- 12 killed-thousands injured
- act of domestic religious terrorism
- claimed only members of the group would survive the end times
What is true about FARC?
- Revolutionary armed forces of Columbia
- wanted to take back control of the government
- cocaine and kidnapping
- 1985–made their way to the Columbian gov’t but then got sunuffed out(?)
- the group came to an end when Aldaro Vribe the president of the group said he would end FARC-no more political status
- 2010-they disbanded for guaranteed seats in gov’t
