Week 3 PPOL 650 Reflective Comments 3

Chapter 5 Global Terrorism

NONSTATE ADVERSARIES, FUNDAMENTALIST RELIGIOUS EXTREMISM, AND WEAPONS ARE THREE FORCES OF GLOBAL TERRORISM, ALL REPRESENTED BY TALIBAN FIGHTERS IN AFGHANISTAN.

Learning Objectives

1. 5.1Recognize that terrorism is a contentious issue that becomes hopelessly muddled by political and military considerations

2. 5.2Review the factors that are conducive to terrorism

3. 5.3Identify the goals, strategies, and weapons of terrorism

4. 5.4Identify the sources of funds that are used for financing terrorism

5. 5.5Review how terrorism adversely affects individuals, nations, and other groups

6. 5.6Summarize five kinds of terrorism

7. 5.7Examine the different ways of combating terrorism

8. 5.8Analyze the fundamental question about the balance between fighting terrorism and protecting democracy within the United States

The Boston Marathon bombing in April 2013 and the grisly murder of an off-duty British soldier in public in London in May 2013 that was filmed on mobile phones as the terrorist waited for police demonstrate a further shift away from centralized terrorist organizations to lone wolf terrorism. This kind of terrorism is conducted by self-motivated independent individuals. The attacks in Boston and London show how difficult it is to prevent lone wolf terrorism.

Successful U.S. counterterrorism measures against al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and in Pakistan, combined with failed democratic transitions in the Middle East and North Africa, have contributed to the shift of global terrorism to Africa. Domestic terrorist groups such as  Boko Haram , which means “Western education is sacrilege,” in northern Nigeria, collaborate with al-Qaeda. The Syrian civil war, chaos in Iraq following the U.S. withdrawal, and the disintegration of law and order in Libya have strengthened terrorism, most notably the group called the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), which claimed credit for the November 13, 2015 terrorist massacre in Paris.

The growing use of armed drones for targeted killings of suspected terrorists in Yemen, Pakistan, Somalia, Niger, and elsewhere raises many controversial issues. Drones are effective weapons against terrorists. Even though they kill fewer civilians than alternative methods, the loss of innocent civilian lives undermines their use.

Edward Snowden’s leaking of documents showing extensive spying on Americans as well as people and governments around the world by the National Security Agency (NSA) as part of America’s counterterrorism strategy raised global concerns about the basic right to privacy. It also has far-reaching consequences for U.S. security and foreign policy.

Osama bin Laden, widely viewed as the embodiment of global terrorism, was killed by U.S. Special Forces on May 1, 2011, in Pakistan. Despite this significant development, the war on terrorism continues. Think about how the escalation of global terrorism affects our daily lives. This global problem is now virtually inseparable from personal concerns. Even traveling by plane from one city to another within the United States and Canada, which was once largely uneventful, has become much more complicated and stressful due to increased airport security. National and global institutions have also been profoundly affected by this problem. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security was created in 2003 as a direct response to the terrorist attacks in September 2001. It brought together twenty-two government agencies with 180,000 workers, making it the largest government reorganization in forty years. Domestic security has been strengthened, especially around bridges, water supplies, government offices, nuclear power plants, scientific laboratories, food supplies, and industrial factories.

This chapter emphasizes the growing importance of  asymmetrical power  in global affairs. When relatively weak groups use low-tech tools to inflict significant damage on very powerful countries that have the most advanced military technologies, they are using asymmetrical power.

While states are generally impeded by national boundaries, their nonstate adversaries routinely disregard national borders. This chapter discusses difficulties involved in defining terrorism; factors conducive to the rise of terrorism; and goals, strategies, and weapons of terrorist groups. After examining specific cases of terrorism, we will discuss various responses to terrorism and the dilemmas democracies face in attempting to eliminate or reduce this threat. This chapter concludes with a case study of terrorism in Pakistan.

5.1: Defining Terrorism

1. 5.1 Recognize that terrorism is a contentious issue that becomes hopelessly muddled by political and military considerations

Proudly proclaiming their commitment to liberty, equality, and fraternity, the architects of the French Revolution instituted a  Reign of Terror  (1793–1794) to preserve the radical changes. Headed by Maximilien Robespierre, the Committee of Public Safety embraced terrorism in its effort to rule France during a period that was regarded as a national emergency. The French zeal for the Terror, the period of widespread violence, public executions, and intimidation of civilians, was strongly rejected by Edmund Burke, the British conservative philosopher who regarded French terrorists as hellhounds. Although there is no universally accepted definition of terrorism, the standard view that one person’s terrorist is another person’s freedom fighter fails to distinguish among the various kinds and levels of terrorism and fails to acknowledge that freedom fighters’ actions are not necessarily justified. What is clear is that terrorism is a contentious issue that becomes hopelessly muddled by political and military considerations. 1

All acts of terrorism are designed to create fear, to cause people to tremble. By using the most advanced technologies of global communication, terrorists seek to frighten people in distant places in order to exert pressure on governments. Terrorism is essentially a form of psychological warfare. Unlike most conventional wars, terrorism lasts for generations, as we will see in our discussions of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), the Basques in Spain, and the Palestinians. Terrorism is also indiscriminate. Most terrorist activities aim to create uncertainty and general fear by communicating that anyone can be a target. In many ways, terrorism is closely associated with ideology. This is clearly the case with al-Qaeda: It is less an organization than an ideology that inspires groups and people worldwide to engage in terrorist acts.

Distinguishing terrorism from guerrilla warfare and insurgency is often challenging.  Guerrilla warfare , which means “little war,” is the use of selective violence against military targets. But when societies experience extensive violence, distinctions between guerrilla warfare and terrorism tend to blur. Following the attacks in the United States, many governments applied the label of terrorism to very old conflicts of their own that were previously regarded as insurgencies. For example, China annexed what is now Xinjiang in 1759. The inhabitants, known as  Uighurs , practice Sufi Islam and speak a Turkic language. They resisted China’s rule and launched their first uprising in 1865. The disintegration of the Soviet Union and the independence gained by some Muslim communities in Central Asia inspired the Uighurs to renew their struggle to establish a separate state. China was quick to label the Uighurs as terrorists. The military-led government that overthrew the Egyptian government controlled by the Muslim Brotherhood called the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization despite the fact it was elected by millions of Egyptians and had long rejected using violence. This raises the question: Who gets to define terrorism, and why? Complicating definitions of terrorism is the general acceptance of war as a legitimate instrument of governments. Paul Wilkinson argues that “terrorist campaigns inherently involve deliberate attacks on civilian targets and are therefore analogous to war crimes.” 2  But who decides which military actions are war crimes?

5.2: Factors Conducive to Terrorism

1. 5.2 Review the factors that are conducive to terrorism

Examining the factors that make terrorism a useful tool to accomplish certain objectives is essential to any pragmatic effort to eliminate or diminish terrorist threats. Terrorism has many interrelated causes.

Poverty is widely perceived as the root of terrorism. Poverty is closely linked to economic and political isolation, feelings of hopelessness, violations of human rights, and the lack of democracy, which all provide a fertile breeding ground for terrorism. In Pakistan, students enroll in religious seminaries, called  madrassas . Supported by Muslim charities worldwide—especially those in Saudi Arabia—they feed, shelter, clothe, and educate students from poverty-stricken families. In addition to receiving training in the Koran, these students are indoctrinated to hate the West, especially the United States. Many terrorists graduate from madrassas. 3  However, terrorists who attacked the United States, Spain, and Britain were not poor. Many of them came from the middle class.

Globalization is a major factor in global terrorism. In many ways, terrorism is a product of resistance to change brought about by cultural, economic, political, military, and even environmental globalization. Individuals in distant places communicate instantaneously and are able to coordinate their activities on a global scale. Global transportation enables them to move easily from one country to another. Global cities provide an environment in which it is easy for people to be anonymous.

Legitimate grievances and the failure of governments to adequately address these problems often foment terrorism. In fact, most terrorist organizations trace their origins to political, religious, social, economic, and ethnic problems that were ignored, downplayed, or dismissed by those in power and by society in general. Why did the African National Congress (ANC) in South Africa, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), and the IRA become terrorist organizations? Specific grievances motivated individuals to form these groups and to use terrorism to achieve their objectives. Violence by governments also causes terrorism. Governments routinely abuse their monopoly on legitimate violence regarding specific minority groups or majority groups that lack significant political, economic, and social power. The efficacy of official violence influences individuals and groups that want to change their circumstances to resort to violence.

Humiliation is another factor conducive to the use of terrorism. Terrorism, which was not a problem in Iraq before the U.S. invasion, became widespread there. Many Iraqis felt humiliated by intrusive American searches, by being occupied, and by being mistreated. Thomas L. Friedman, an influential journalist with the New York Times, stated: “If I’ve learned one thing covering world affairs, it is this: The single most under-appreciated force in international relations is humiliation.” 4

The lack of democracy, and widespread and systematic violations of human rights, contributes to the rise of terrorism. The September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States drew attention to Saudi Arabia and Egypt, countries to which most of the terrorists belonged. Dissidents such as Osama bin Laden (from Saudi Arabia) and Mohammed Atta (the Egyptian-born leader of the terrorist attacks) were unable to express dissent at home, so they went to Afghanistan to organize al-Qaeda, a global terrorist network.

Foreign policies contribute to terrorism. Roman occupation of Israel generated strong resistance by the Jews, and some Jews adopted terrorism in a futile effort to end Roman oppression. European expansion and colonization laid the foundation for the emergence of national liberation movements that used terrorism to achieve independence. Many foreign policy and terrorism analysts view U.S. foreign policies in the Middle East—especially those involving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt—as being conducive to terrorism. For example, Osama bin Laden strongly opposed the stationing of American troops in Saudi Arabia during the 1991 Gulf War. The U.S. policies are widely seen in the Middle East and elsewhere as contributing to the oppression of the Palestinians by Israel. Finally, failed states provide an environment conducive to terrorism. Failed states generally abuse human rights; are undemocratic; are intolerant of ethnic, political, and religious diversity; and have weak economies. State failure is often accompanied by an increase in bureaucratic corruption and cooperation among government officials and criminals. In essence, state authority and civil society are severely undermined, and many regions within a country are lawless. The most obvious example of how state failure breeds terrorism is al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. Under the leadership of the  Taliban  (i.e., a group of extreme Islamic fundamentalists), Afghanistan provided bin Laden with an ideal environment in which terrorism could grow and from which terrorist activities could be organized.

5.3: Goals, Strategies, and Weapons of Terrorism

1. 5.3 Identify the goals, strategies, and weapons of terrorism

The goals of terrorism include the following:

1. Social and political justice, Terrorism has been used to achieve concrete political and social changes, including overthrowing repressive regimes.

2. Self-determination, Many terrorist organizations emerged as part of the struggle to gain national independence.

3. Racial superiority, Many white supremacist groups attempt to preserve racial segregation and social, economic, and political power based on skin color.

4. Foreign policies, Terrorism is often used to influence governments to take or refrain from taking certain actions.

5. Publicity, A central goal of most terrorist groups is to draw public attention to their cause.

6. Demoralized governments, By making governments appear weak and incompetent, terrorists believe they can undermine their legitimacy and policies.

Terrorist organizations adopt several strategies to achieve their objectives. Creating a climate of fear and insecurity, partly to undermine people’s confidence in their government, is an integral component of terrorists’ strategies. But terrorism also depends on cultivating popular support. Terrorists are generally effective when they operate in an environment that enables them to hide, obtain resources (including weapons), gather information about government operations and plans, and communicate with each other. However, telecommunications and computer technologies have reduced the need for popular support as a component of strategy. Terrorists rely on  virtual networks , a style of organization that is essentially leaderless and is facilitated by the Internet. American right-wing extremists developed this strategy to counteract the effectiveness of U.S. law enforcement agencies. 5

Some terrorist groups reject the terrorist label to gain greater legitimacy or acceptance in society. Governments, on the other hand, refuse to confer any kind of legitimacy on terrorist groups and reject defining terrorism as warfare. These terrorist groups are likely to select government targets, including embassies, military personnel and bases, and government officials. In Colombia, for example, terrorist groups launched a campaign of assassinations to get the attention of the government and its supporters. Judges, prosecutors, and elected officials were the main targets. This strategy attempts to undermine assumptions that government policies can ensure personal safety. 6  Selective kidnappings are also used by terrorists to achieve their goals. By taking government officials, soldiers, businesspeople, and prominent citizens hostage, the terrorists force the government to either take military action against them or bargain with them.

Weapons used by terrorists vary according to their goals, available technology, and resources at their disposal. Sarin gas, anthrax, and various poisons have been used in Japan and the United States. Motor vehicles packed with ammonium nitrate and fuel oil were used as bombs in Oklahoma City in 1995 and in Bali, Indonesia, in 2002. Suicide bombers are lethal weapons in many parts of the world, including Israel, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iraq. The use of airliners fully loaded with fuel as missiles to destroy the World Trade Center and damage the Pentagon focused global attention on a new terrorist weapon. Terrorists also put bombs in the mail and on cargo planes. As terrorists use the Internet to spread their message and organize their activities, there is growing awareness of cyberspace warfare as a weapon in the terrorists’ arsenal. Although few terrorists are capable of using weapons of mass destruction on a large scale, chemical and biological weapons in the possession of terrorists are a global concern. Syria’s civil war exposed that country’s vast stockpiles of chemical weapons to terrorists, which prompted the global community to pressure Syria to give them up to be destroyed.

5.4: Financing Terrorism

1. 5.4 Identify the sources of funds that are used for financing terrorism

Many terrorist cells are self-supporting, and many terrorists do not engage in financial activities that immediately draw attention. This makes it extremely difficult for governments to gather financial information. Furthermore, many terrorists use  hawalas  (i.e., an informal system of transferring money that is based primarily on trust and interpersonal relations). Developed in India before the arrival of Western banking, hawalas frustrate efforts to trace money because they leave no electronic and virtually no paper trail. 7

Contributions from individuals and groups are a major source of money for terrorism. In the case of al-Qaeda, bin Laden used his considerable wealth to finance global terrorism. Many individuals make charitable contributions to organizations that are principally concerned with assisting the poor. However, some of this money is also used to support terrorism. Governments finance terrorism, both directly and inadvertently. The most obvious way is by sponsoring their activities. For many years, Libya’s leader,  Muammar Qaddafi , openly financed and trained terrorist groups in the Middle East and Africa.

Diamonds, oil, and other natural resources provide revenues for terrorism. Terrorists often prefer diamonds because they are easily transported, easily hidden, and easily converted into cash. Failed states in Africa often provide opportunities for rebel groups to cooperate with terrorist groups. One of the best examples is Sierra Leone in West Africa. Sierra Leone has some of the richest diamond fields in the world. It has also been plagued by political instability. The diamond trade helped fund both Sierra Leone’s civil wars and al-Qaeda. Senior members of Sierra Leone’s  Revolutionary United Front (RUF) , a rebel group that challenged the government and engaged in horrific acts of violence and terrorism, took diamonds, often wrapped in rags, across the border into Liberia and exchanged them for cash from al-Qaeda and  Hezbollah , a Shiite terrorist group in Lebanon. With the cooperation of corrupt customs and immigration officials, the diamonds, which were bought at below-market prices, were then taken to Europe by terrorist organizations and sold at much higher prices. 8  These diamonds are widely known as conflict diamonds because of their inextricable links with brutal civil wars and terrorism.

Criminal activities are a major source of funding for terrorism. Terrorists are often involved in armed robbery, credit card fraud, identity theft, kidnapping, extortion, and other crimes. In the Philippines, for example, the terrorist group  Abu Sayyaf  routinely kidnaps people, including tourists, to finance its activities. Kidnappings have proliferated in Africa, the new front of global terrorism. The  Tamil Tigers  in Sri Lanka controlled and operated boats that smuggled contraband in the Indian Ocean region. Often, terrorist groups coerce civilians into paying protection money, sometimes called a revolutionary tax. The IRA is a group that used this method to finance terrorism. Other groups, such as the Taliban in Afghanistan, use money obtained from the sale of illegal drugs. Terrorists in Africa are also involved in poaching endangered species such as elephants and rhinos to finance their operations.

5.5: The Costs of Terrorism

1. 5.5 Review how terrorism adversely affects individuals, nations, and other groups

Costs associated with terrorism are so widespread, complex, and intangible that they are virtually impossible to measure. Individuals, families, governments, companies, and nonstate actors worldwide bear the costs of terrorism to varying degrees. Time, money, and other resources are diverted from other problems. Migration, trade, travel, and interpersonal relations are affected. In September 2001, a very small group of individuals, nineteen of them, caused incalculable damage to the United States as well as the global community. Almost three thousand people from roughly fifty countries were killed. It is generally believed that the financial crisis and the global recession were caused in part by policies adopted by the Bush administration to fight global terrorism, including wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Domestic terrorists, using anthrax, also damaged U.S. government offices, businesses, and individuals.

5.5.1: Costs to Individuals

Individuals usually suffer the most from terrorist acts in terms of loss of lives and social, psychological, and physical problems. Many citizens are made ill by fear and a sudden loss of personal freedom. They restrict their activities, limit their travel, and often distrust their neighbors, thereby weakening community bonds and support. For example, the 2001 attacks undermined trust between most non-Muslim Americans and Muslims in general, especially Arabs. Relations between non-Muslim Americans and Muslims remain problematic. President Barack Obama made a concerted effort to improve relations with the Muslim world.

5.5.2: Economic Costs

Calculating the economic costs of terrorism and the responses to it is virtually impossible because they are so complex and far-reaching. For example, after the 2001 attacks, airlines suffered major financial losses and continue to feel the impact of terrorism. It is estimated that the global airline industry lost $18 billion in 2001 and $13 billion in 2002 following the attacks. Combined, these losses were more than the total profit of all the airlines since 1945. 9  High oil prices and continuing fears about terrorism continued to create severe financial problems, including bankruptcy for some airlines.

5.5.3: Costs to Governments

Governments generally increase resources to fight terrorism and to provide their citizens with a heightened sense of

WHAT DOES THIS PHOTO CONVEY ABOUT THE COSTS OF FIGHTING TERRORISM? A Transportation Security Administration (TSA) official instructs a passenger at a full-body scan at Washington Dulles International Airport.

security. For example, as you prepare to board an airline, the costs become obvious. There are more security guards, bags are carefully checked, and individuals are often searched. While airlines pay some of these costs, the U.S. federal government is primarily responsible for airport security. The federal, state, and local governments in the United States also spend money to guard bridges, nuclear power plants, train stations, and so on. The most obvious costs are associated with military actions against terrorists. The invasion of Afghanistan to destroy al-Qaeda and the Taliban, as well as the invasion, occupation, and rebuilding of Iraq, has cost many lives and more than a trillion dollars. 10

5.5.4: Foreign Policy Costs

Several times following the 2001 attacks, the United States closed its embassies in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere. These shutdowns meant that America was paying a price for not being able to conduct normal diplomatic relations. Furthermore, heightened security for embassies creates additional expenses.

5.5.5: Costs to Democracy

People who are afraid, as Thomas Hobbes observed, are willing to turn to all-powerful rulers who promise to provide security. But part of the price for that security is less freedom. In a climate of fear, governments often justify violating individuals’ rights on the grounds of national security. Torturing terrorist suspects and denying them the fundamental right to habeas corpus continues to be debated in the United States.

5.6: Kinds of Terrorism

1. 5.6 Summarize five kinds of terrorism

Although the types of terrorism tend to overlap, they vary in their implications and affect us in different ways. For example, the indiscriminate nature of global terrorism contrasts sharply with domestic terrorism aimed at specific groups or governments. In this section, we will discuss six kinds of terrorism:

1. Domestic terrorism  occurs within the borders of a particular country and is associated with extremist groups.

2. Nationalist terrorism  is closely associated with struggles for political autonomy and independence.

3. Religious terrorism  grows out of extreme fundamentalist religious groups that believe that God is on their side and that their violence is divinely inspired and approved.

4. State terrorism  is a cold, calculated, efficient, and extremely destructive form of terrorism, partly because of the overwhelming power at the disposal of governments.

5. Global terrorism  is partly an outgrowth of the forces of globalization, which enable the different kinds of terrorism to spread worldwide.

6. Lone wolf terrorism  is conducted by independent individuals who act without the help of a terrorist organization. Often the line is blurred because of the terrorists’ connections with terrorist organizations. Sometimes those organizations claim credit, saying they trained the terrorists and ordered the attacks.

LONE WOLF TERRORISM CAUSED HORROR AND DAMAGE NEAR THE FINISH LINE OF THE BOSTON MARATHON IN 2013. Three people were killed and more than 250 were injured or maimed when two brothers set off pressure cooker bombs concealed in backpacks.

5.6.1: Domestic Terrorism

The emergence of terrorism as a major global issue has focused increased attention on domestic terrorism in the United States, Europe, and elsewhere. The murder of thirteen soldiers at Fort Hood by Major Nidal Malik Hasan, a Palestinian American, in 2009 and numerous connections between homegrown terrorists and al-Qaeda have underscored America’s vulnerability to internal threats from nonstate actors. In June 2009 a doctor who performed abortions in Kansas was killed in a church by a gunman who opposed abortion. Later in June a white supremacist and neo-Nazi attacked the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, killing a security guard. On April 19, 1995, Americans watched with incredulity as bloodied bodies were pulled from the federal building in Oklahoma City. Most Americans quickly blamed Middle Eastern terrorists for the Oklahoma City bombing, which killed 168 people. But the leader of this terrorist act was Timothy McVeigh, an American and a decorated Gulf War veteran. In April 2013, the United States and the world were horrified by the Boston Marathon bombings by two Boston-area residents that killed three people and wounded more than 170. Domestic terrorism has existed in the United States and other countries for hundreds of years. Unlike most countries, where terrorist activities have been carried out primarily against governments, terrorism in America has been used mostly against racial, ethnic, or religious minorities. American terrorists are predominantly right-wing extremists who embrace white supremacist, anti-Jewish, antiforeign, and antigovernment philosophies based on a religious doctrine known as Christian identity. This doctrine essentially holds that white people are chosen by God, whereas Jews, Americans with African ancestry, Asians, and other racial minorities are “mud people.” These terrorists generally believe that the U.S. government is dominated by Jews and is an occupying power and that the United States should not participate in the United Nations and other international organizations. Based on these beliefs, they have formed heavily armed militias, strongly oppose gun control, and refuse to pay taxes. Domestic terrorist groups include the National Alliance, the Ku Klux Klan, the Aryan Nation, Posse Comitatus, and the Confederate Hammerskins. The United States has made fighting domestic terrorism a national priority in the wake of ending wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the escalation of lone wolf terrorism in America, which are discussed later in this chapter.

Domestic terrorism has long been a significant problem in several European countries. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the  Red Brigades , an Italian terrorist group, launched a campaign of bombings and assassinations of government officials. Germany, France, and Greece have also been plagued by domestic terrorism. In Greece, for example, the Marxist-Leninist terrorist group Revolutionary Organization 17 November (or  November 17 ) has been involved in terrorist activities since 1975. November 17 took its name from the date of a student protest in 1973 that was violently crushed by Greece’s military government. Embracing strong anti-American and anti-imperialist views, November 17 is believed to have killed several American and British citizens. Many of the terrorist groups in Germany hold white supremacist, anti-Jewish, and antiforeigner views that are similar to those of their American counterparts. Bombings of trains in Spain and in Britain by Muslims, many of whom were born in these countries, underscored growing concerns about domestic terrorism. In July 2011, a Norwegian gunman dressed as a police officer killed sixty-nine Norwegians at a youth summer camp on an island, plus eight more in the bombing of a government building in Oslo.

Latin America has spawned many domestic terrorist organizations. Growing violence and terrorist activities by groups such as the Montoneros and the Ejercitos Revolucionares del Pueblo were met with extreme violence from right-wing groups and the Peronist regime. Argentina’s military dictatorship launched what became known as the  dirty war , in which thousands of people disappeared or were killed. Sendero Luminoso ( Shining Path ) in Peru and the  Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)  are other examples of domestic terrorist groups in Latin America. Shining Path was formed by university students and professors who subscribed to the philosophy of Mao Zedong (Mao Tse-Tung). They sought to weaken the government’s authority by inspiring Indians and others to rebel. Violence by Shining Path and the Peruvian government resulted in more than thirty thousand deaths.

The Muslim extremist group in Northern Nigeria Boko Haram is engaged in a campaign of terror against Christians and government officials. Boko Haram began as a nonpolitical religious group of fishermen in 2002 in Borno, one of Nigeria’s poorest regions that has a literacy rate two-thirds lower than that of Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city. Fewer than 5 percent of the women can read or write. Boko Haram was strongly influenced by Muhammad Yusuf, a nonviolent imam who supported sharia law, demanded rigid practice of the Koran, rejected evolution theories, and taught his followers that the world is flat. He focused on providing basic human security.

Fearing the rise of the Islamic movement, the government, based in Christian and Westernized southern Nigeria, responded to the perceived threat with excessive violence. This had the unintended but predictable consequence of consolidating popular support for Boko Haram and further radicalizing the movement. Some followers fled abroad and collaborated with terrorists in Algeria, Mali, and Niger who had links to al-Qaeda. In May 2013, the government declared a state of emergency. The indiscriminate use of force, including the destruction of around two thousand homes, was counterproductive. The terrorists grew increasingly brutal. They burned a boarding school, killing thirty people, mostly students. They abducted more than three hundred schoolgirls and sold them into slavery. Boko Haram has killed thousands of Nigerians in massacres and bombings of public transportation. In its deadliest massacre to that time, Boko Haram killed more than two thousand unarmed civilians and razed the town in Baga, in northeastern Nigeria. Economic inequality, government corruption, and widespread humiliation of civilians fuel terrorism by Boko Haram. Boko Haram increased its terrorist activities in Cameroon, Chad, and Niger and pledged allegiance to the terrorist organization Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

5.6.2: Nationalist Terrorism

Many nationalist groups attempted to achieve nonviolent political change but were often brutally suppressed by governments. Often, nationalist terrorism is accompanied by peaceful, legitimate political activities designed to achieve autonomy, political freedom and equality, or independence. Nationalist groups are routinely labeled terrorists by the governments they oppose and labeled national liberation movements or freedom fighters by their supporters, including other governments. In this section, we will discuss nationalist terrorism in the Middle East (focusing on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict), Northern Ireland, and Spain.

The Middle East

 The Palestinian-Israeli conflict stands out as the most prominent contemporary example of nationalist terrorism. This conflict has plunged the Middle East into four major wars and fuels ongoing violence in the region. Failure to resolve this conflict has global implications, largely because of the world’s dependence on petroleum imports from the Middle East. Furthermore, global terrorists, such as al-Qaeda, use this conflict to justify their activities and to recruit members throughout the Islamic world. The spiritual and emotional components of this conflict, combined with the sufferings of both Jews and Palestinians, make any discussion of it highly controversial and often subjective. In many ways, the pain and humiliation of both Jews and Palestinians often prevent both sides from empathizing with each other and reaching mutually beneficial solutions to their problems. Instead, both sides have been locked in an increasingly deadly embrace from which neither side is capable of extricating itself. To a large extent, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is an outgrowth of virulent anti-Jewish practices in Europe that culminated in the  Holocaust .

Nationalist terrorism, one could argue, began when Jews attempted to end Roman occupation of Israel by killing Roman soldiers and officials. The modern period of nationalist terrorism has its origin in the British efforts to establish a national homeland for Jews in Palestine under the Balfour Declaration. Palestine was controlled by the Ottoman Turks. However, after the Ottoman Empire disintegrated following Turkey’s defeat in World War I, Palestine became a British mandate under the League of Nations in 1922. Britain’s responsibility was to prepare Palestinians for independence. The persecution of Jews in Europe, especially in Nazi Germany, complicated the situation in Palestine and set the stage for conflict. Led by  Menachem Begin , who later became Israel’s prime minister and a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, some Jews formed a terrorist organization, known as the  Irgun , to drive the British out of Palestine and to establish a Jewish state. The Irgun and other groups created a climate of fear in Palestine that ultimately undermined the public’s confidence in Britain’s ability to maintain order and to protect civilians. The most significant terrorist act against the British was the 1946 bombing of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, the headquarters of British military forces in Palestine. Ninety-one persons were killed, and forty-five others were injured. 11  This act was condemned by many Jews and Jewish organizations. The division of Palestine into a Jewish and a Palestinian state by the United Nations in 1947 ended Jewish terrorism but set the stage for Palestinian terrorism.

The creation of Israel was accompanied by a large Palestinian refugee problem, discussed in  Chapter 10 . Palestinian terrorists began to organize in the refugee camps and to form small groups of  fedayeen  (i.e., commandos). With military and financial assistance from Egypt’s leader, Gamal Abdel Nasser, they began to conduct hit-and-run attacks inside Israel. Palestinian terrorism escalated following the defeat of Arab armies that had attempted to regain Palestinian land in the  Six-Day War  with Israel in June 1967. Instead of pushing Israel out, the conflict left Israel with the Sinai, the West Bank, Gaza, Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights. Palestinian terrorists, concluding that they could achieve their objectives only by attacking Israel and Jews, initiated a violent wave of bombings, hijacking airlines, and killing civilians. In 1968, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine—one of the groups belonging to the umbrella Palestinian terrorist group the  PLO , led by Yasser Arafat and his Fatah movement—hijacked an Israeli El Al commercial flight and held the passengers and crew hostage. Israel was forced to negotiate with the terrorists to secure their release. 12  One of the most serious terrorist attacks was launched by the  Black September Organization  (part of the PLO) in 1972 during which eleven Israeli athletes were seized and killed at the Olympic Games in Munich. This terrorist attack, together with the hijacking of airplanes, drew international attention to Palestinian nationalism and laid the foundation for increasing violence.

Despite numerous efforts to achieve a diplomatic settlement to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, violence escalated. Israeli occupation of Palestinian areas and many counterterrorist activities contributed to the demise of many attempts to reach a peace agreement. Feeling abandoned by Arab states, Palestinians initiated a popular uprising, or  intifada , in the late 1980s. During the second intifada, which began in September 2000, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict became even more violent as Palestinian terrorists from groups such as Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Fatah, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine decided to conduct devastating suicide bombings against innocent civilians and the government in Israel. 13  There were more than fifty suicide bombings in 2002, the height of this new wave of terrorism, which killed and wounded hundreds of Israelis. To prevent these attacks, Israel constructed a barrier or wall, much of which was built in disputed territory. From the Palestinian perspective, the barrier was essentially designed to seize their territory and make their lives even more difficult. In April 2004, Israel, under the leadership of Ariel Sharon, escalated its attacks on Palestinian terrorist leaders, killing Sheikh Ahmed Yasin, the founder of Hamas, and Abdel Aziz Rantisi, who replaced Yasin as the leader of Hamas, with rockets launched from helicopters. Kidnappings of Israeli soldiers by Hamas and Hezbollah in July 2006 led to Israel’s invasion of Lebanon and the escalation of violence in the Palestinian territories. Conflict between Palestinians, especially those in Gaza, and Israelis continues.

Northern Ireland

 Terrorism in Northern Ireland (also known as Ulster) was rooted in Ireland’s resistance to English control, exploitation, and widespread violence that began in the twelfth century. Catholic Ireland, colonized by Protestants from Scotland and England, became engulfed in religious wars that characterized Europe for much of its recent history. Nationalist terrorism in Northern Ireland was essentially a struggle by Catholics to end Protestant political, economic, and social domination. Following numerous attempts to solve the “Irish problem,” the Anglo-Irish Treaty was signed in 1921. It divided Ireland into the Republic of Ireland (an independent country) and Northern Ireland (which remained part of Britain). While the Republic of Ireland is predominantly Catholic, Northern Ireland has a Protestant majority. Catholics on both sides of this artificial border refused to accept the division of Ireland and maintained a strong sense of nationalism. Catholics in Northern Ireland, known as Republicans, remained committed to ending the British presence and reunifying the two parts of Ireland. The Protestants, known as  Loyalists, or Unionists , were determined to retain Northern Ireland’s ties with Britain and to perpetuate their economic and political power. Both Catholics and Protestants used terrorism to achieve their respective objectives.

Although terrorism in Northern Ireland was deeply rooted in Ireland’s long struggle to resist British domination, the contemporary problems began in 1922 when the Unionist government implemented the Special Powers Act to suppress opposition to its control. The  IRA , founded by Michael Collins and composed of rebel units that had launched the  Easter Rebellion  in 1916 against British rule, became the military wing.  Sinn Fein , a political party that represented Catholics in Ireland, was widely regarded as the political wing of the terrorist movement. Opposed to the division of Ireland and committed to reunifying it, the IRA engaged in terrorism in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland and was outlawed by the governments of both places. Terrorist attacks against the British in Northern Ireland continued, escalating between 1956 and 1962. 14  However, many Catholics in Northern Ireland were strongly influenced by the nonviolent civil rights movement in the United States under the leadership of Dr. Martin Luther King, a development that weakened the militant IRA. But the use of excessive violence against Catholic civil rights marchers and demonstrators in 1968 by the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) and growing anti-Catholic hatred—inspired to a large degree by Reverend Ian Paisley, leader of the hard-line Protestant Democratic Unionists—rejuvenated the IRA and laid the foundation for terrorism that plagued Northern Ireland, London, and elsewhere in Britain. The IRA, widely perceived as ineffective in protecting Catholics, was challenged by the even more militant  Provisional IRA (PIRA) , which was formed in 1970. As is often the case in conflicts, the most extreme groups gain the most support. Catholics in Northern Ireland rallied around the PIRA. 15  Protestants formed their own terrorist groups.

Similar to the Palestinians and Israelis, Catholics and Protestants seemed hopelessly locked in a cycle of deadly violence. Both the Republic of Ireland and Britain are strong democracies. Britain’s use of violence against the IRA was checked by democratic processes and strong support for peacefully resolving the conflict. Close political, economic, and cultural links between Britain and Ireland also helped. Equally important was support among Irish Americans for a negotiated settlement, despite the fact that the IRA received significant economic and military assistance from some of them. Another important factor was the growing unification of Europe and the declining nationalism that accompanied the process. The activities of the IRA were receiving less and less public support. Furthermore, European integration brought many economic opportunities, recognition, and responsibilities to Ireland, which influenced it to reduce its support for the IRA.

A major step toward ending sectarian violence was the 1985  Anglo-Irish Agreement , which gave Ireland increased responsibilities in Northern Ireland and provided greater security for the Unionists by requiring an electoral majority to change Northern Ireland’s political status. The major breakthrough came with the signing of the  Good Friday Agreement  in 1998. U.S. president Bill Clinton, British prime minister Tony Blair, Irish prime minister Bertie Ahern, Gerry Adams (head of Sinn Fein), and David Trimble (head of the Ulster Unionists) cooperated to achieve this agreement. While Britain will control Northern Ireland as long as that is the wish of the majority, Ireland is more involved in the affairs of Northern Ireland. Ireland had to terminate its territorial claim on Northern Ireland in exchange for an institutionalized voice in its government. 16  Sinn Fein and the IRA were persuaded to support the Good Friday Agreement by President Clinton and by British promises to reduce its troop presence in Northern Ireland and to support reforms of the police force to enable more Catholics to join. The terrorist attacks in the United States reinforced the peace process in Northern Ireland as many Americans pressured the IRA to abandon terrorism and disarm. For the first time, Sinn Fein supported disarming the IRA. The Independent Monitoring Commission was established to disarm it. Although this international panel concluded in April 2004 that Northern Irish paramilitaries continued to carry out violent attacks and were engaged in various criminal activities, the destruction of weapons, ammunition, and explosives underscored progress toward disarmament and ending terrorism in Northern Ireland. In 2005, the IRA renounced the armed struggle and committed itself to peaceful change. By 2006, terrorism in Northern Ireland essentially had ceased. However, sporadic violence continues.

Spain

 In sharp contrast with nationalist terrorism in the Middle East and Northern Ireland, Basque separatists in Spain attracted relatively little attention beyond Europe. However, massive bombings of trains in Madrid in early 2004—in which ninety-one people died and seventeen hundred were wounded—focused the spotlight on Basque terrorism, despite the fact that terrorists linked to al-Qaeda were responsible for the bombings. The 2.5 million Basques, who are concentrated in mountainous northern Spain on the Bay of Biscay and across the border into southern France, are one of the most ancient peoples in Europe. They speak a distinct language, Euskera, and have their own culture. Basques resisted Roman occupiers to maintain their independence. Spanish rulers, unable to exercise effective control over the Basque region and other parts of Spain, recognized the political, cultural, and economic autonomy of the Basques as early as the Middle Ages. This independence laid the foundation for the emergence of the  Basque Homeland and Freedom (ETA) .  Figure 5.1  shows the Basque region of Spain.

Determined to maintain their autonomy, the Basques participated in Spain’s larger political and military struggle in the nineteenth century against the centralization of power in Madrid. Having joined the losing side in these conflicts, the Basques lost their autonomy and believed that their sense of identity was threatened. Between 1842 and 1868, the Basque provinces of Vizcaya and Guipuzcoa experienced rapid industrialization, urbanization, and significant population growth. While many Basques, especially the growing middle class and business leaders, strongly supported integrating the Basque region into Spain, resistance to these changes grew among the working class and others who wanted to preserve the status quo. Prior to the Spanish Civil War

Figure 5.1 Basque Region of Spain

(1936–1939), the government recognized the political and cultural autonomy of the Basque region. In return, Basques supported the government against insurgents led by Generalissimo  Francisco Franco . Once again on the losing side in Spain’s bloody struggle, the Basques were regarded as traitors by Franco, who centralized political power and abolished Basque autonomy. Any effort to maintain a separate Basque identity was severely repressed. Franco’s authoritarianism, discussed in  Chapter  4 , fueled radicalization among the Basques. In 1959, a coalition of extremist youth groups separated from the more moderate Basque Nationalist Party to form ETA. Their principal objectives were achieving Basque independence from Spain and restoring Basque culture and language. ETA embraced a strategy of armed struggle against the Franco regime in 1962 but refrained from engaging in major acts of terrorism until 1968.

Following Franco’s death in 1975 and Spain’s transition to democracy, the Basques regained a significant degree of autonomy. They gained control over the police force, schools, and social welfare agencies. ETA continued to demand independence for the Basque region. But only about 30 percent of the Basques believed that independence was a viable option for them, compared with 60 percent who claimed both Spanish and Basque identities and preferred to maintain the status quo. 17  In fact, ETA’s political wing, Euskal Herritarrok, is relatively weak and has never received more than 18 percent of the Basques’ votes. These realities influenced Euskal Herritarrok to work out an agreement in 1998 with more moderate Basque nationalist parties. Known as the  Lizarra Agreement , it committed ETA to a cease-fire and the moderates to achieving independence through the democratic process.

Intransigence and political maneuvering by the government under Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar and ETA contributed to the demise of the cease-fire in December 1999. The government continued to maintain its hard-line policy toward ETA during the cease-fire, refusing to negotiate with it, ignoring its demands to bring ETA prisoners from the Canary Islands so that their relatives could visit them, and continuing to arrest and detain suspected ETA members. ETA became impatient with peace initiatives and escalated its terrorist activities. In a major departure from its practice of primarily targeting government officials, police officers, and members of the military, ETA became more indiscriminate in its use of violence, targeting anyone who opposed its demands for an independent Basque state. Following the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, Aznar equated ETA with al-Qaeda and intensified Spain’s fight against the Basque separatists. However, when Aznar quickly blamed the 2004 train bombings on ETA instead of al-Qaeda (the real terrorists), he lost the election that was held shortly thereafter, partly because the vast majority of Spaniards blamed his strong support for the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq for contributing to an escalation of terrorism in Europe. But the massive bombing in Madrid, Spain’s consolidation of democracy and its integration into the European Union, and the sharp decline of terrorism in Northern Ireland weakened public support for Basque terrorism and prompted the new government, led by Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, to aggressively pursue Basque terrorists. The arrests of many of ETA’s leaders significantly weakened the terrorist group. In 2006, ETA announced a permanent cease-fire. But in June 2007, ETA renounced the cease-fire and continued to engage in violent activities. In April 2009, French officials arrested Jurdan Martitegi Lizaso, the leader and military chief of ETA. Faced with declining support, ETA called a truce in 2010. 18  In 2014, ETA decided to disarm itself.

5.6.3: Religious Terrorism

Throughout history, religion has been used to justify committing acts of extreme cruelty and violence against human beings. Religious terrorism, especially that of al-Qaeda and other Islamic extremists, is widely perceived to be the most dangerous kind of terrorism, one that results in more destructive acts of indiscriminate violence. There are four basic reasons for the extreme violence of religious terrorism:

1. Violence is believed to be a sacramental act or divine duty in accordance with theology.

2. Religious terrorists view large-scale and indiscriminate violence as necessary for achieving their goals.

3. Religious terrorists do not feel constrained by public opinion or a need to gain popular support because they are engaged in a total war.

4. Religious terrorists generally believe that modifying the system is insufficient; they seek fundamental changes in the existing order.

In the shadow of Mount Fuji, members of the Japanese terrorist group  Aum Supreme Truth  developed and practiced to implement their deadly attacks on innocent Japanese in 1995 under the watchful eyes of Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction and rebirth. If you have visited Tokyo, you know how crowded the trains are that converge on Kasumigaseki, the center of power in Japan. Imagine the death and injury an attack on the subway system would cause. This is precisely why Aum Supreme Truth selected it to launch a preemptive attack on the Japanese government to implement its mission of world domination. Armed with bags containing a chemical solution that was about 30 percent sarin gas (i.e., a colorless, odorless, and deadly gas invented by the Nazis), the terrorists boarded the trains, determined to inflict catastrophic damage. Twelve people were killed and more than 5,500 were injured in the sarin gas attack. 19

In the heart of America, terrorist groups also believe that they are on a mission from God to destroy the U.S. government, create a racially pure society for whites only, and redeem the United States. The white supremacist Christian Identity movement and the Ku Klux Klan, among others, base their terrorist acts on Christianity. Their leaders often call themselves ministers. Muslim extremists also justify launching  jihads  (i.e., holy wars) on the basis of their religion. Many Islamic terrorists, including al-Qaeda, draw on medieval religious authorities to argue that killing innocents or even fellow Muslims is permitted if it serves the cause of jihad against the West. Some Islamic terrorist organizations are closely tied to specific political and military developments in the Middle East. However, a common influence on the emergence of Islamic terrorism was the Iranian Islamic revolution, led by Ayatollah Khomeini, which overthrew the shah in 1979.

Conflicts in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Libya, the Central African Republic, Nigeria, Myanmar, and elsewhere are intertwined with horrific acts of religious terrorism. The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), discussed in  Chapters 11  and  14 , is the most notorious for its gruesome terrorist acts, including mass executions and ethnic and religious cleansing in the name of religion. ISIS claimed credit for the November 13, 2015 terrorist attack on Paris that killed and wounded hundreds, making it the worst attack on Paris since World War II.

5.6.4: State Terrorism

Our definition of terrorism as the use of violence to coerce or intimidate and to generally create widespread fear among the population clearly covers many states, both historically and now. Governments have relied on torture, both physical and psychological, as their ultimate instrument of terror to control the population. Nazi Germany, Stalinist Russia, Iraq under Saddam Hussein, China, North Korea, Argentina, Chile, Guatemala, Uganda, and many other countries have used terrorism, especially torture, to repress the population and stifle dissent.

Three levels of internal state terrorism are as follows:

1. Intimidation: The state uses its overwhelming power to discourage opposition and dissent, usually through excessive force by the police and paramilitary organizations.

2. Coerced conversion: This involves forcing the population to completely change its behavior, usually after a revolution. The Soviet Union, China, and Iran are examples.

3. Genocide: This is the deliberate and systematic killing of an ethnic, religious, economic, intellectual, or any other group of people. Nazi Germany, Stalinist Russia, Cambodia under Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge party, Uganda under Idi Amin, Bosnia, Sudan, and Rwanda are examples of internal state genocide.

States also use terrorism against other states or nationalist groups to secure foreign policy objectives. A distinction is often made between state-sponsored terrorism and state-supported terrorism. Both types of state terrorism are usually clandestine. In state-sponsored terrorism, states are more directly involved in the terrorist activities of the groups they support. States act through client groups and proxies. Sometimes they send terrorists to assassinate dissidents and opposition leaders who live abroad. In state-supported terrorism, states have less influence over the terrorist group.

5.6.5: Global Terrorism

Global terrorism encompasses activities by domestic, nationalist, religious, and state terrorists. It is characterized by its significant implications for a large number of major countries, nonstate actors, and individuals on several continents. Global terrorism is facilitated by various aspects of globalization. Terrorists take advantage of porous borders and their ability to blend into almost any major city in most parts of the world. Following al-Qaeda’s 2001 attacks in the United States, it became increasingly obvious that global terrorists belonged to  sleeper cells . Reminiscent of the Cold War, during which the Soviet Union relied heavily on sleeper agents to spy on the United States, global terrorists become part of a particular society, live what appear to be normal lives, and participate in terrorist activities against that society when instructed to do so. Sleeper terrorist cells have been found in the United States, Britain, Spain, Germany, Turkey, Belgium, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Italy, Pakistan, Morocco, the Philippines, and elsewhere. The Internet, inexpensive transportation, and the global media contribute to global cooperation among terrorists.

Global terrorism is most often identified with Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda. Al-Qaeda made a strong commitment to jihad as its principal objective. This struggle began in Afghanistan. Bin Laden and other holy warriors (or  mujahedeen ) were trained and supported by America’s Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to resist Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. However, this struggle evolved into a global jihad against the West, particularly the United States. By focusing on the United States as the country primarily responsible for creating problems for Muslims and as the common enemy of Muslims everywhere, leaders of al-Qaeda and other Islamic terrorist groups recruit and unite Islamic terrorists worldwide. Al-Qaeda evolved into an organization that is loosely hierarchical and very decentralized. Al-Qaeda, the organization, is based on an ideology articulated by Abdullah Azzam in 1987, which called for al-qaeda al-sulbah (i.e., a vanguard of the strong). He envisioned Sunni Muslim radical activists who, through independent actions, would mobilize the umma (i.e., a global community of believers) to act against oppressors. The word qaeda is generally understood by Islamic militants as a precept or a method, as opposed to an organization. Al-Qaedism is essentially a worldview.

America’s successful counterterrorism strategy, including drone strikes and killing bin Laden, destroyed al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). Failed democratic transitions in the Middle East and North Africa along with the Syrian civil war helped rejuvenate al-Qaeda in Africa, Syria, and Iraq. State failure and civil war in Somalia provided a fertile breeding ground for the emergence of al-Shabab, which is loyal to al-Qaeda and is supported by individuals in the Somali diaspora that stretches from London to Minneapolis. Al-Shabab has been involved in several terrorist attacks, including the seizure of Kenya’s Westgate Mall in which more than one hundred people were killed. Al-Shabab intensified its attacks in Kenya and in 2015, they targeted Christian students at Garissa University in Kenya, killing 147 and wounding many more. Religious violence is also discussed in  Chapter 14 .

Terrorists attacked the U.S. consulate in Libya in 2012, killing U.S. ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans. In January 2013, Islamic terrorists took control of a natural gas plant in Algeria. In the fight with Algerian special forces, the terrorists and thirty-seven hostages were killed. Islamic fighters from Libya, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), and the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO) joined the Tauregs in northern Mali to seize control of the area. French and African troops pushed them out.

Several factors make Africa the new front in global terrorism. These include:

1. Porous borders

2. Weak and corrupt governments

3. Poorly trained and underequipped militaries

4. A lucrative illegal drugs trade that provides financing

5. Vast areas that impair effective counterterrorism efforts

Global terrorism is directed primarily against the United States and its close allies. There are several reasons America is the target:

1. The United States is the dominant global power. From the Roman Empire to the United States, leading countries have been targets.

2. America is widely regarded as the leader of globalization. Groups opposed to globalization target the United States.

3. Close ties between the United States and repressive governments—such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Pakistan—motivate terrorists to attack it.

4. Establishing U.S. military bases on Muslim holy lands makes America a target of al-Qaeda.

5. Many American foreign policies are regarded by terrorists as hostile to Muslims.

5.6.6: Lone Wolf Terrorism

Terrorist networks, finding it increasingly difficult to communicate without being detected and avoid drone strikes, encourage individuals through jihadist websites and other propaganda to conduct small-scale attacks independently in their own countries. Lone wolf terrorism is often fueled by anger over the one-sided advantage of drone strikes. This type of terrorism is more difficult to monitor and prevent. It achieves two main objectives of terrorism, namely, embarrassing the target country and gaining maximum publicity at a very low cost.

Bombs used by Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, two brothers who migrated from Chechnya and lived in the Boston area, were made from inexpensive ordinary materials. These included pressure cookers, nails, egg timers, ball bearings, and gunpowder from fireworks. Information on how to build bombs was obtained from jihadist websites. The bombs were hidden in backpacks and left at the finish line of the marathon. It was virtually impossible to secure the marathon route, making it a soft target. Lone wolf terrorism demonstrates the vulnerability of even the most vigilant society.

Deadly shootings at two Jewish institutions in the Kansas City area the week before Passover by an elderly white supremacist, Frazier Glenn Cross Jr., a former Ku Klux Klan leader, provide another example of lone wolf terrorism.

In the case of the gruesome murder of an off-duty British soldier on a quiet suburban street in London by two men, the goal was to gain maximum attention for their cause. Shouting “Allahu akbar! (God is great!)” as they viciously hacked the soldier to death, the terrorists waited for the police, waving their bloody hands in front of spectators who caught the shocking murder on their phones.

In October 2014, a lone wolf terrorist knocked down two Canadian soldiers with a car, killing one, near Montreal. Two days later another lone wolf terrorist fatally shot a soldier guarding the National War Monument in Ottawa before going on to attack the Canadian parliament. Both terrorists were killed.

A lone wolf terrorist with political motivation but also mental health problems, Man Haron Monis carried out a deadly hostage-taking at a Sydney, Australia, café. Soon after that incident, a lone wolf terrorist incident by Islamic extremists in France left nearly twenty dead, including staff of Charlie Hebdo, a satirical newspaper, and people at a printing plant and kosher supermarket.

5.7: Responding to Terrorism

1. 5.7 Examine the different ways of combating terrorism

The complexity of terrorism requires employing a wide variety of instruments to combat it. In addition to military, traditional law enforcement, and intelligence responses, there is growing support for the view that increased attention must also be given to the underlying causes of terrorism. The importance of global cooperation as a component of any counterterrorism policy became increasingly obvious in the wake of al-Qaeda’s attacks on the United States and other countries.

The most prevalent response to terrorism is the use of force, both domestically and internationally. Britain in Northern Ireland, Israel in the Palestinian territories, and the United States globally have relied on force, to varying degrees, to eliminate terrorism. Following the attacks on the United States, military action was taken in October 2001 against the Taliban regime and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, a decision that was widely supported. President George W. Bush declared “war against terrorism” and stressed that America was engaged in a war of indefinite duration against a nonstate enemy that had no territory. As stated in the National Security Strategy of the United States, the priority of the United States was to disrupt and destroy terrorist organizations of global reach and attack their leadership; command, control, and communications; material support; and finances. 20  Global support of military action was underscored by the response of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). A day following the attacks on the United States, NATO’s secretary general,  Lord Robertson , promised military assistance for America’s campaign against terrorism. For the first time, NATO invoked the mutual defense clause in its treaty, which states that “any armed attack against allies in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all.” 21

An essential aspect of combating terrorism is gathering intelligence and using it. The purpose of acquiring information and analyzing it is to learn about impending threats and to develop strategies to counteract them. Many U.S. agencies are involved in gathering intelligence related to terrorism and other threats to national security. Governments worldwide also engage in similar activities. There are essentially four ways to acquire intelligence: (1) take aerial and satellite photographs and conduct general photo reconnaissance; (2) use a wide variety of listening devices to record conversations, intercept radio and other signals, and monitor computer activities; (3) use spies and informants; and (4) collaborate with intelligence agencies from other countries and nonstate organizations. The first two ways are referred to as technical intelligence methods, and the last two are called human intelligence methods.

Simply acquiring information is insufficient to counteract terrorism. That information must be utilized, and ways of thinking about threats to national security must be critically examined.  Richard A. Clarke , chief of counterterrorism in both the Clinton and Bush administrations, argued in his book Against All Enemies that the Bush administration essentially ignored the threat from al-Qaeda prior to the attacks on September 11, 2001. A major impediment to using intelligence effectively was inadequate communication between the FBI and the CIA. In an increasingly global society, distinctions between internal and external are becoming less relevant. In light of this reality, experts stressed the need to remove the barriers that divide domestic and foreign intelligence gathering. 22  Threats from global terrorism have influenced governments to strengthen their domestic security and to pay closer attention to how globalization and global terrorism intertwine. For example, water is the major link that countries have to the global economy. Almost all exports and imports are carried by ships. It is estimated that 95 percent of what comes into and goes out of America is carried by ships. Consequently, the global community, led by the United States, adopted a global code that requires the world’s ships and ports to create counterterrorism systems, such as computers, communications gear, surveillance cameras, and security patrols. Ships that do not meet these standards or that have visited ports that do not meet these standards can be turned away from American waters. Countering terrorism in this way could seriously undermine global trade. A major domestic step toward protecting the United States against terrorism was the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. Its functions include controlling immigration and U.S. borders, monitoring foreign students, enhancing airport security, inspecting foreign ports, examining cargo containers, and cooperating with state and local governments to prevent terrorist attacks. The United States and Turkey created the  Global Fund for Community Engagement and Resilience  to combat terrorism by undercutting the ability of jihadists to recruit vulnerable individuals. Grants from the fund provide vocational training, new school curriculums that teach tolerance and problem solving, and websites and social networks that stress the dangers of violent ideologies.

Drones , also known as unmanned aerial vehicles, are widely used as the centerpiece of U.S. counterterrorism strategy. Throughout history, humans have taken advantage of superior technology, as David did in his encounter with Goliath. Drones are remotely piloted by individuals in front of a computer screens thousands of miles away, thereby avoiding risking American lives. They are relatively inexpensive to operate and provide constant surveillance. They can watch a target for hours or weeks and then strike with great precision. Drones have the advantage of significantly limiting the loss of civilian lives, especially when compared with other methods of combat. They have forced terrorists to alter their behavior by reducing their ability to communicate effectively, to train recruits, to move around, and to conduct attacks. 23  As drone strikes forced terrorists to shift their operations to Africa, the United States established a drone base in Niger in February 2013.

Drones generate fear among civilians, especially men who believe they are vulnerable to being targeted if they are in large groups. Many civilians also believe that drones spy on them and invade their privacy. The power disparity provided by drones reinforces perceptions of the United States as arrogant and untouchable. The global community opposes the U.S. drone campaign. Terrorist groups attract lone wolf terrorists by showing destruction caused by drone strikes, portraying them as indiscriminate violence against Muslims. Despite their effectiveness, relying on drones is unlikely to end terrorist attacks. A strategy that stresses working with allies, mobilizing public support, and using drones rarely and selectively against those who can realistically threaten America is likely to be more effective and sustainable.

5.8: Fighting Terrorism and Protecting Democracy

1. 5.8 Analyze the fundamental question about the balance between fighting terrorism and protecting democracy within the United States

During the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, approximately 650 persons were arrested, transported to the U.S. naval base at  Guantanamo Bay  in Cuba, and imprisoned by the U.S. military without access to lawyers or visits from family members. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against President Bush and strongly supported an individual’s right to due process of law. The U.S. Justice Department released classified memos describing harsh interrogation techniques, including torture, used by the CIA against terrorist suspects. Many of these techniques were also used by Communist China. One prisoner was waterboarded 183 times. The United States, a leading advocate of individual rights, prosecuted some Japanese interrogators at the War Crimes trials in Tokyo after World War II for waterboarding and other techniques. President Obama said America would close Guantanamo. However, he later decided that Guantanamo trials would continue. Obama issued an executive order requiring a review of the status of prisoners and U.S. compliance with Geneva Conventions and international law banning torture and inhumane treatment.

Immediately following the terrorist attacks in September 2001, the U.S. Congress enacted the  USA Patriot Act  to protect the country from terrorist attacks. This law gave the federal government the power to conduct wiretaps, monitor books borrowed from libraries, demand access to financial records, and employ a wide range of investigative tools against people suspected of terrorism. All of these cases raise fundamental questions about finding a balance between fighting terrorism and protecting democracy within the United States. With key provisions of the Patriot Act about to expire in May 2011, Congress passed a four-year extension of those post–September 11 powers. Those include laws giving federal investigators access to a suspect’s materials and allowing them to conduct roving wiretaps of terrorist suspects as they change phones or locations, and laws enabling government officials to conduct surveillance on foreign terrorism suspects who do not appear to be connected to known terrorist groups. Documents leaked by Edward Snowden showed that the National Security Agency (NSA) conducted extensive surveillance of Americans and people and governments around the world. This invasion of privacy helped create a shift among Americans from focusing excessively on national security to a greater concern with individual rights and freedoms. The USA Freedom Act of 2014, a reaction to the revelations about NSA surveillance of Americans, tightened safeguards on individuals’ privacy.

Case Study Terrorism in Pakistan

Endemic terrorism in Pakistan, a country with nuclear weapons and an ongoing rivalry with India, which also has nuclear weapons, undermines America’s struggle against both the Taliban and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Terrorism also complicates U.S. relations with India, a country that America perceives as an important economic and strategic partner to balance China’s rising power and weaken its threat to America’s global leadership. Furthermore, Pakistan is widely perceived as a failing state that poses significant security problems. Internal rivalries among government agencies responsible for fighting terrorism, political instability and government corruption, ethnic and regional fragmentation, and government incompetence complicate America’s war on terrorism and make winning it highly unlikely. The rapid spread of Islamic fundamentalism, increasing religious intolerance, widespread poverty, and economic and social problems caused by devastating floods provide an environment conducive to continuing violence by the Taliban, al-Qaeda, and other militant groups. Lack of trust between Pakistan and the United States, as manifested in the aftermath of the secret unilateral U.S. operation that killed bin Laden at his compound in Pakistan, erodes the effectiveness of efforts to combat terrorism. Mistrust is reinforced by Pakistan’s duplicity and America’s proclivity to act independently to find terrorists and its escalation of drone attacks on suspected terrorist targets. Many civilians have been killed, which engenders strong anti-American sentiments.

American and Saudi Arabian support of Afghan resistance to Soviet occupation eventually fostered the emergence of the Taliban and al-Qaeda. Saudi Arabia’s hard-line Wahhabism undermined Pakistan’s more tolerant Sufi-based version of Islam, especially through Saudi funding of madrassas (Islamic schools) in Pakistan. In its conflict with India, Pakistan used its Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI) to provide support for the Taliban and other militants in both Indian-controlled Kashmir and Afghanistan. Ethnic divisions in Pakistan and the remoteness of many parts of the country helped al-Qaeda establish safe havens in Pakistan, with bin Laden as an example of that. As the army made progress against terrorists operating in these remote areas, the Taliban began targeting urban areas. The Taliban also cooperated with Pakistani fundamentalists who target both Christians and Muslims for violations of blasphemy laws. In early 2011, both Salman Taseer, the governor of Punjab, and Shahbaz Bhatti, a cabinet minister, were assassinated because of their support of religious tolerance and human rights. Their opposition to the blasphemy laws was widely perceived by many Pakistanis as part of a Western, primarily American, campaign against Islam.

The complicated nature of politics in Pakistan, ongoing tensions with India, and America’s broader foreign policy objectives to restrain China’s rise make it extremely difficult to significantly weaken the Taliban and other terrorist groups. As more Pakistanis experience the costs of terrorism, it is likely that they will strengthen efforts to defeat the Taliban. The government responded after several attacks by the Pakistani Taliban, including the attack on Pakistan’s busiest civilian airport, in Karachi, the murder of 145 in an attack on a school in Peshawar, and the murder and wounding of many people in suicide bombings in a Christian colony in Lahore. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif launched a military offensive against the Taliban in North Waziristan and reinstated the death penalty. However, a military operation is unlikely to end terrorism in Pakistan. Longer-term solutions include reducing poverty, improving education, promoting economic development, restoring religious and political tolerance, and diminishing tensions with India.

Summary

This chapter addressed the problem of global terrorism. Since the attacks in the United States, the assumption that superior state military power ensures a high degree of national security has been seriously challenged. Specifically, we have seen a rise in what has become known as asymmetrical warfare, in which smaller, weaker groups—such as al-Qaeda—can inflict significant harm and damage against more powerful states, such as the United States. Increased globalization has created a global environment more conducive to international terrorism. Increased global migration, the growth of global cities, relatively inexpensive global and regional travel options, revolutions in communication technologies, and the explosion in global trade have all helped to create an environment in which global terrorism has gained prominence.

In this chapter, we discussed the difficulties involved in accurately defining terrorism. As acts of terrorism incite emotional responses, it becomes increasingly difficult to agree on an objective definition of terrorism. Terrorist acts are designed to achieve specific, concrete goals. Often terrorists commit acts of violence against civilians to create fear and confusion. Terrorist acts are usually intended to be indiscriminate, to arouse a more fearful response from a population that does not know which public targets may be attacked next. In effect, terrorists are waging a form of psychological warfare against civilian populations. Another goal of terrorist acts is to humiliate governments. In addition to the goals of terrorists, we also addressed the reasons and motivations for committing terrorist acts. We also discussed various forms of terrorism, including domestic terrorism, nationalist terrorism, religious terrorism, state terrorism, global terrorism, and lone wolf terrorism. Following the forms of terrorism, we examined some of the methods of financing terrorism, as well as various responses to terrorist acts, including the use of drones.

Discussion Questions

1. What is asymmetrical power? How does it relate to the war on terror? Give examples.

2. Discuss the arguments for and against the use of drones in the fight against terrorism.

3. What are some of the goals of and reasons for terrorism discussed in this chapter?

4. Discuss the different kinds of terrorism. Give examples.

5. Discuss the reasons for and implications of the shift of global terrorism to Africa.