List the countries in decreasing order of terrorist incidents.

What is Terrorism?

A Working Definition

“Terrorism is the use of violence by individuals or sub-state actors primarily against non combatants in pursuit of political or social objectives.”

How does Terrorism differ from conventional conflict?

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History

Found as early as biblical times • Jewish and Palestinian groups opposed Roman rule in 66-73 A.D.

Word terrorism has roots in French “ Reign of Terror ” • 1773-1794, Jacobins under leadership of Maximilien Robespierre Huge explosion in incidents of terrorism in latter part of 20 th century

People’s War?

Tom Barry

“It would be wrong to suggest that at the beginning of the Anglo-Irish War a majority of the people supported armed action against the British. They did not, mainly because they considered such a campaign as hopeless and suicidal…[T]he savagery of the British and the deaths of their neighbours’ children for the peoples’ freedom roused them, and from the middle of 1920 they loyally supported the IRA.” Tom Barry

Membership as Audience and Target

“For myself, my conscience is clear. There is no crime in detecting and destroying in wartime the spy and the informer. They have destroyed without trial. I have paid them back in their own coin.” Michael Collins

Constituent Public Opinion

“We want a kind of spiritual dynamite to blow sky-high the claims of England on our minds and hearts.” Tomas Clarke, President of the Irish Republican Brotherhood (and leader of the Easter Rising)

The Rise of Terrorism- war against colonialism

Menachim Begin British detaining Mau Mau French troops fire on Algerians

The Policy and Strategy of Terrorism

Objectives

I.

Limited. Either to force a government to change a policy or rescind a law or to coerce individuals into ceasing behavior deemed objectionable. II. Limited but more ambitious. To drive an "occupier" or an "imperialist power" out of a country or a region. III. Unlimited. To completely destroy a government or governments in the interests of making revolution whether inspired by secular ideology or religion.

The Five Audiences for Terrorism:

I.

The Incumbent Government II. Members of One's Own Terrorist Organization III. Constituent Public Support IV. Non-constituent Public Opinion V. International Public Opinion Terrorist strategy is a matter of planning and executing attacks that are supposed to elicit the desired responses from each targeted audience and this fact is quite frequently central to understanding the difference between successful and unsuccessful terrorist strategies.

Terrorist Tactics

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Assassination

. A term generally applied to the killing of prominent persons and symbolic enemies as well as traitors who defect from the group.

•On October 6, 1981,

President Anwar al-Sadat was assassinated

during an annual military parade celebrating the "successful" campaigns during the 1973 Egypt Israeli war.

• • •

Arson

Less dramatic than most tactics Has the advantage of low risk to the perpetrator and requires only a low level of technical knowledge. Arson is often associated with environmental terrorists.

• The improvised explosive device (IED) or terrorist ’ s weapon of choice.

Bomb

• • • is the Inexpensive to produce Various detonation techniques available, may be a low risk to the perpetrator.

Suicidal bombing cannot be overlooked.

• Other advantages include their attention-getting capacity-ability to control casualties through time of detonation and placement of the device. • • Easily deniable should the action produce undesirable results. From 1983 through 1996, approximately half of all recorded terrorist incidents involved explosives.

Suicide Bombing

• • • Usually Second Stage Rational Tactic • Author – instrumental rationality • Perpetrator – value rationality Used in conjunction with other terror tactics

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Hostage

Taking.

This usually is an overt seizure of one or more individuals with the intent of gaining publicity or other concessions in return for release of the hostage.

• • • • Usually Second Stage Rational Tactic • Author – instrumental rationality • Perpetrator – value rationality Used in conjunction with other terror tactics On November 4, 1979, student militants stormed the US Embassy grounds in Teheran, Iran and held 52 American diplomats and Marines hostage for 444 days.

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Hijacking or Skyjacking

Sometimes employed as a means for escape, hijacking is normally carried out to produce a spectacular hostage situation. • Although trains, buses, and ships have been hijacked, aircraft are the preferred target because of their greater mobility and vulnerability.

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2001 World Trade Center Attack Hijackings First time hijacked aircraft used as weapons

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Seizure

Seizure usually involves a building or object that has value in the eyes of the audience. • Some risk to the terrorist because security forces have time to react and may opt to use force to resolve the incident.

• In March1977, several Hanafi Muslim members seized three buildings in Washington, D.C., the District Building (City Hall), the B'nai B'rith Building and the Islamic Center. • They took several hostages. Several were injured (Marion Barry shot) and one was killed.

Sabotage

• The objective in most sabotage incidents is to demonstrate how vulnerable society is to terrorist actions. • Industrialized societies are more vulnerable to sabotage than less highly developed societies.

• Eco-Terrorists have long used sabotage as a form of attack.

• • Spiking trees (the process of placing a spike in a tree so that a logger will hit it when downing the tree) Burning buildings under construction, such as the Vail, Colorado attack

Use of Special Weapons

• • • Terrorists to date have used chemical weapons and there is potential for the use of both chemical and biological weapons in the future. • Relatively cheap and easy to make, could be used in place of conventional explosives in many situations . Sarin gas attack in March 1995 in the Tokyo subway 2001 Anthrax attacks

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Use of Technology

Infrastructure technologies provide attractive targets for terrorists who can apply a range of rudimentary and advanced attack techniques to disrupt or undermine confidence in a range of systems. • National infrastructure, transportation, telecommunications, energy, banking, public health, and water supply are becoming increasingly dependent on computerized systems and linkages

Suicide bombing

• “ In the terrorists ’ society, a necessary precondition for suicide terror is the existence of a population that believes in violence or thinks that the other (more peaceful) strategies have failed.

” --Mia Bloom, Dying to Kill: the Global Phenomenon of Suicide Terror (New York: Columbia University Press, forthcoming March 2004) p. 131.

Describe the trend in the number of terrorist attacks up till 2001?

Explain the increasing casualty rate in Nth America?

Terrorist Organization Profiles

www.ict.org.il/inter_ter/org.cfm

• • • • • • • • Choose 3 of the following and research their aims and methods.

AL-Qa’ida in Afghanistan Hamas in Pakistan IRA in Ireland Jihad group in Egypt Mujahedin-eKhalq in Iran National Liberation Army in Colombia Palestine Liberation Front

What sanctions could be imposed on countries that support terrorism?

What deterrent measures exist in dealing with Terrorism?

What role does the media play in assisting the terrorist strategy?

What is the Role of the United Nations?