TRANSNATIONAL TERRORISMTRANSNATIONAL TERRORISM

Chapter 1Chapter 1

Managing Peace And Security:Managing Peace And Security:

Regional And International ConflictRegional And International Conflict

How can transnational terrorism be managed?

What are the impacts of terrorism?

Terrorism is a threat to all states,to all people,

which can strike anytime, anywhere.

Quote by UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan in 2003.

Transnational TerrorismTransnational Terrorism 1111What is it?

Transnational =

Terrorism =

therefore, Transnational Terrorism = (refer to TB pp 29)

going beyond national boundaries or interests

the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, esp. for political purposes

Terrorists Or Freedom Fighters?Terrorists Or Freedom Fighters? 1111Recall the e.g.s of terrorist groups learnt in Sec 3…

What are the main goals of these terrorist groups?

fight authority (govt)

fight stability (create fear in people)

In the case of a conflict involving nationalism issues, why do you think it matters when it comes to being labelled as the terrorists?

Can the cause (objectives, goals) of any terrorist group be ever justified?

Terrorist attacks in London in 2005 .

Terrorist attacks in Madrid in 2004.

THE DAY THAT

SHOOK THE

WORLD

People in New York after the attacks on the World Trade Centre.

Terrorism – A New Phenomenon?Terrorism – A New Phenomenon? 11.111.1

Is the concept of terrorism new in today’s modern context?

Terrorism agents

state agents state terror against other states

non-state agents terror against state

Changes in terrorism attacks over the years

scale (magnitude)

scope (targets)

The history of Terrorism.

Research on any 1 terrorist group in the world which

fights for a religious cause.

STUDENT SLIDE PRESENTATION

Research on any 1 terrorist group in the world which

fights for a nationalist cause.

STUDENT SLIDE PRESENTATION

September 11September 11 1212Where, Who, Whom, What?

Where (location)

Who (victims) Whom (culprit) What (impacts)

New York World Trade Centre

office workers from more than 30 countries perished

Al-Qaeda

Al-QaedaAl-Qaeda 12.112.1

History

created in 1989 by Osama bin Laden

members include Arab volunteers who had gone to Afghanistan to fight Soviet troops in the 1980s

Osama bin Laden’s involvement

Al-Qaeda’s goals to use terrorism to

– remove Western influence from Muslim countries

– create global Islamic calliphate

Significance Of Al-QaedaSignificance Of Al-Qaeda 12.212.2

Why is AQ significant?

1) Membership

multi-national network of members

AQ sought refuge with Taliban govt (AQ as state agent?)

comprehensive training @ terrorist training camps

Some of the known terrorist groups with links to Al-Qaeda.

Al-QaedaAl-Qaeda 12.212.2

2) Operations

attacks across the continents

sharing of expertise, transferring of resources, conducting joint operations

increasing soft targets in operations

3) Ideology

deliberately & effectively spread in anti-West. ctys

justification of violence for their cause

misuse and misinterpretation of religious concepts

ideology rejected by major Islamic groups

Map showing some of the places where attacks were carried out

by groups associated with Al-Qaeda

We fear flying, we fear travelling, we fear certain countries, we fear certain religions, we fear certain people, we fear the shoes they wear, we fear cargo ships, imported goods, letters and parcels – in fact we fear everything around us… we are going to feel this fear and the consequences for a very long time.

Malaysian Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad, speaking at the 11th Annual Meeting of the Asia Pacific Parliamentary Forum in 2003.

Impact Of TerrorismImpact Of Terrorism 1313Terrorism seeks to…

bring about economic and social disruption

gain media prominence/ coverage for their cause

destroy key properties and lives to “hurt” the govt

3 impacts

economic impact

social impact

political impact

Refer to TB pp 35. How does terrorism provoke economic, social and political “fall-out”?

Economic ImpactEconomic Impact 13.113.1

1) Economic impact

loss of life and property

high insurance costs incurred ≈ US $40 billion

decline in airline businesses/ tourism

people afraid of flying

e.g. in US, govt had to provide economic aid to help airlines

tourist arrivals fell drastically

e.g. in Bali, after 2002 bomb blast, Indo govt had to provide assistance to Balinese who had lost their livelihood

Tourists waiting to get flights out of Bali after the 2002 attack.

Economic ImpactEconomic Impact 13.113.1 increase in govt spendings

to cater for increased security

spendings in securing key installations and holding emergency exercises

e.g. in Singapore, SCDF held Exercise Northstar V, involving 2000 personnel from 22 agencies

British police and military patrolling the airports after terrorist attacks in London.

Members of the Singapore Civil Defence Force during Exercise Northstar V.

Social ImpactSocial Impact 13.213.2

2) Social impact

terrorism cause psychological stress on people

home-grown terrorists a greater area of concern

terrorism may strain racial ties and create knee-jerk reactions

After the London incidents in July 2005, we asked ourselves whether we should do more. The threat of extremist terrorism was not going away and increasingly, we see involvement by home-grown elements. We asked ourselves, ‘How would our people react after a terrorist attack in Singapore, especially if the perpetrators were home-grown?’ While we think that our good communal relations built up over the years would stand us in good stead, we also realised that this not to be taken for granted.

… We know that it could be difficult for communities to remain calm and avoid knee-jerk reactions after a crisis has happened.Extremist rhetoric and sensitive political developments around the world can have a bearing on our people over time. We must prepare our people to be psychologically and socially resilient.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs Wong Kan Seng on the Community Engagement Programme January 2007.

Political ImpactPolitical Impact 13.313.3

3) Political impact

govt has a duty to keep citizens safe from terrorism

govt to introduce intrusive legislation aimed at countering terrorism

security vs individual freedom & privacy where’s the balance?

Managing Transnational TerrorismManaging Transnational Terrorism 14.114.1

Efforts to curb threat of transnational terrorism

1) ASEAN effort

ASEAN govts pledged themselves to cooperate against transnational terrorists

through information and intelligence exchange disrupt terrorist activities

e.g. Convention on Counter-terrorism signed by ASEAN govts at annual summit in Philippines

case study: in 2002, Philippine authorities arrested JI bomb-maker based on info provided by S’pore

Participants at the 12th ASEAN Summit where an anti-terrorism accord was signed.

Managing Transnational TerrorismManaging Transnational Terrorism 14.214.2

2) International effort

UN passed resolutions to stop terrorism

the resolutions all member states are to:

– freeze the financial assets of terrorists and their supporters

– deny them travel and safe haven

– prevent terrorist recruitment and weapons supply

– share info and criminal prosecution

Managing Transnational TerrorismManaging Transnational Terrorism 14.214.2 UN also set up a Counter-Terrorism Committee for?

results:

– more than US $200 million terrorist funding seized

– more than 4000 terrorist suspects arrested

limitations:

– terrorist able to evade security restrictions imposed by govts

– terrorists continue to recruit and influence people to their cause through widespread use of media (e.g. Internet)

Managing Transnational TerrorismManaging Transnational Terrorism 14.314.3

3) Individual effort

everyone has a role to play to counter threat of terrorism to deny terrorist space in society

people must be clear and firm in their stand against ideas that fuel terrorism

people are to actively reject ideas of propagated by terrorists

Terrorism At A Glance…Terrorism At A Glance… 1515

The nature of terrorism today…

active in an increasingly connected world

not bounded by specific contexts (for e.g. religion, ethnic origin, nationality or geographical location)

tends to associate faith with terrorism

wide terrorist operatives and active recruitment via communication media

ctys will have to play a more active role to counter radical and extremist influences

What are the consequences of terrorist acts on people?

What are the consequences of terrorist acts on people?

Terrorism causes people to feel unsafe when carrying out their daily activities.

It may also lead to a worsening of relations between different ethnic and religious groups as some groups are perceived to sympathise with the terrorists’ cause.

There are adverse economic consequences arising from terrorist acts. Besides the damage to property and the cost of rebuilding, there would also be loss of revenue due to a decline in tourism and investment.

Terrorist acts can also cause political problems as they can lead to a loss of confidence in the leaders’ ability to rule the country properly.

Terrorist acts lead to loss of innocent lives.