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What is terrorism? Terrorism is not new.
“What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.” Ecclesiastes 1:9, ESV
Definition: The use of violence against people or property to force changes in societies or governments by striking fear in the heart of people. It is used by individuals, groups or governments to achieve political or social goals.
Modern Terrorism
More than 14,000 terrorist attacks in the world since the 1960s.
International terrorists have carried out increasingly destructive high profile attacks to gain attention and media coverage.
Domestic terrorists use terror to oppose their own governments policies or promote special interests.
Reasons
Traditional motivesGaining independenceExpelling foreignersChanging society
Radical Religious terroristsDestruction of what they consider the forces
of evil.Readiness to use any weapon available.Willingness to die to ensure the success of
the attack.
Terrorist Methods Weapons
Usually the bomb or the bullet Targets
Crowded places where people normally should feel safe○ Subway stations○ Bus stops○ Restaurants○ Shopping malls
Important symbols of what they oppose○ World Trade Center○ Pentagon○ Embassies of the United States○ Military installations or ships○ Murrah Federal Building
Recent Innovations in Terrorism
The sarin gas attack in the Tokyo subway in 1995 is the most notorious act of biochemical terrorism.
Biological or chemical agents Involve the release of
bacteria, viruses, or poisonous gases
Inflict terrible casualties and great fear
Biochemical agents relatively easy to acquire
Recent Innovations in Terrorism
Cyber terrorism Politically motivated attacks
on information systems. Large-scale disruption of
computer systems by means of computer viruses.
Threat has increased since the computerization of business and government information.
Some, however, doubt the impact this form of terrorism can make.
Responding to Terrorism
Responses are variousTracking down and punishing terrorist
groups○ Infiltration○ Assassination of terrorists
Eliminating sources of fundingPersuading foreign governments not to
protect or supportTightened security measures to reduce
targets vulnerable to attack
1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany• Members of Black September, a
Palestinian terrorist group, initially kill two Israeli athletes and took nine more hostage.
• By the end of the ordeal 11Israeli athletes and coaches were killed along with one West German police officer.
• 5 of the 8 terrorists were killed by the West Germans in a failed rescue attempt. The three captured terrorists were released by West Germany when Black September hijacked a Lufthansa airliner.
• Israel responded with Operation Wrath of God which included assassinations of Palestinian terrorists who planned the Munich Massacre. This operation is depicted in Steven Spielberg’s 2005 film Munich.
The Middle East Many terrorist groups have
roots in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Groups include: Islamic Jihad Hamas Hezbollah
They demand a Palestinian homeland on their own terms. Some want Israel to cease to exist.
Cycle of violence: Israelis usually retaliate after each terrorist attack.
Emblems of Islamic
Jihad Hamas Hezbollah
United Kingdom and Ireland For decades the PIRA (Provisional Irish
Republican Army) have engaged in terrorist attacks against the British over control of Northern Ireland. This time dated from the late 1960s to 1998 is called “The Troubles.”
In 1998 The Belfast Agreement or Good Friday Agreement was signed between the U.K. and Republic of Ireland and endorsed by most political parties in Northern Ireland.
The agreement renounces violence, and states that Northern Ireland will be transferred from the United Kingdom to the Republic of Ireland only if the MAJORITY of the population of Northern Ireland votes for such a transfer.
Afghanistan Taliban came to
power in most Afghanistan by 1996.
Osama bin Laden moved his terrorist activities there.
Used mountain hideouts as a base of operations for his terrorist network called al-Qaeda.
Map of Afghanistan in 1996 showing the amount of Taliban territory captured at that time (yellow). The Afghan Civil War commenced between 1996-2001 before coalition forces headed by the United States began air strikes against the Taliban.
Treatment of Women in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan
Taliban rules: WomenMust always be escorted in public
by male relative and wearing burqa.
Must not wear high heeled shoes (sound of women’s footsteps excite men).
Cannot speak in publicWomen cannot be seen from
street—all ground and first floor windows must be painted over.
No photography of womenPlace names not to be women’sMay not appear on balconiesMay not appear in the media
Above, a Taliban religious policeman beats a woman in for being in public without a male relative. Left, Afghan women are dressed in the burqa
Japan Aum Shinrikyo
(“Supreme Truth”) is a religious cult wanting control of Japan.
1995, cult members released sarin, a deadly nerve gas, into the Tokyo subway.
12 people were killed and more than 5,700 injured by this attack.
A wanted poster in Japan. As of February 2010, three people are still wanted in connection with the sarin attack on the Tokyo subway: (left to right) Shin Hirata, Katsuya Takahashi, and Naoko Kikuchi
Africa Al-Qaeda cells operate
in African countries as well. 1998 bombings occurred
at the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania leaving 200 dead and more than 5,000 people injured.
The U.S. responded with missile strikes against terrorist facilities in Afghanistan and Sudan. Bin Laden was based in Sudan from 1991-1996.
Predator drones used to attack terrorist bases in Sudan and Afghanistan.
Latin America Narcoterrorism—terrorism
linked to drug trafficking has been a major problem in Latin America, particularly in Columbia, but also now Mexico with the drug cartel wars there.
FARC—Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia—are linked to drug traffickers, attacking Columbian politicians, military, and economic targets.
December 2, 1993, the war with Columbian Medellin cartel head Pablo Escobar ended with his death when he was tracked using his cell phone using radio triangulation technology. He was gunned down trying to escape from law enforcement.
International Terrorist Attacks
Attack on the United States The Destruction:
Fuel—The flights were near their start, therefore the tanks were full. Explosions and fires weakened the skyscrapers, and both towers fell within two hours.
Pentagon damage confined to only one section of the building.
Human Death Toll: about 3,000○ All passengers○ WTC workers/visitors○ 340 NYC firefighters○ 60 NYC police officers
American Airlines Flight 11
Scheduled route: Boston to LA
Aircraft: Boeing 767 Building Hit: North Tower
(WTC 1) at 8:46 AM. 92 on board
The hijackers
United Airlines Flight 175
Scheduled route: Boston to LA
Aircraft: Boeing 767 Building Hit: South
Tower (WTC 2) at 9:03 AM.
65 on board
The hijackers
United Airlines Flight 175 crashes into the south tower
Map showing the attacks on the World Trade Center (the planes are not drawn to scale).
Diagram of how parts of the airplanes fell to the ground.
View of the World Trade Center shortly after both towers fell (the original 7 World Trade Center can be seen still standing).
American Airlines Flight 77
Route: Washington, D.C. (Dulles) to L.A.
Aircraft: Boeing 757 Building Hit:
Pentagon, Arlington, VA
58 on board
The hijackers
Aerial view of the Pentagon during rescue operations post-September 11 attack
United Airlines Flight 93: “Let’s Roll”
Scheduled Route: Newark, NJ to San Francisco
Aircraft: Boeing 575 Terrorists Target: Speculated to
be Washington, D.C. Crash Site: Somerset, County,
PA 44 on board The passengers revolted
against the hijackers, and the aircraft crashed before reaching its intended target.
The hijackers
Social Impact
Created a sense of vulnerability that the United States could now be hit by international terrorism.
The Murrah Building bombing in OKC by Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols showed that the U.S. was vulnerable to domestic terrorism 6 years earlier in 1995.
2001 Anthrax Attacks 5 deaths (including 2 postal workers) 17 infections Suspected perpetrator: Bruce Edward Irvins (died
July 29, 2008 of suicide after he was informed he would be prosecuted for murder), a microbiologist and vaccinologist who was supposed to develop vaccines against anthrax.
However, many people doubt the government’s conclusions about Irvins. Some coworkers said they would have noticed him develop the anthrax that was used.
One historian believes the anthrax Irvins developed was stolen by an al-Qaida sympathizer at George Mason University because of lax security.
We will probably never know. The cost of the cleanup to decontaminate buildings
where anthrax was found was about $1 billion.
A letter sent to Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle containing anthrax powder killed two postal workers
Targets: ABC NewsCBS NewsNBC NewsNew York PostNational EnquirerSenatorsTom DaschlePatrick Leahy
The United States Responds Department of Homeland
Security—created to coordinate efforts against terrorism.
Racial profiling and searching for “sleeper cells” of al-Qaida terrorists. Arabs and Muslims with suspicious
behavior detained and questioned. Critics charged civil rights were
being violated. Government argued civil rights
have often been limited during wartime for national security.
This color coded system was developed to make the public aware of the threat of terrorist attacks.
Military Tribunals and Guantanamo Bay The Military Commissions Act of 2006 allows
the military to set up tribunals to try “unlawful enemy combatants” for terrorist activity against the United States.
Suspected terrorists fighting for the Taliban or al-Qaida are deemed “unlawful enemy combatants.”
The law is criticized by defense attorneys and human rights advocates because it denies habeas corpus protections to these combatants.
However, even American citizens have been deemed “enemy combatants” rather than criminal suspects to be tried by an American civilian court.
The naval base at Guantanamo Bay is used as a detention camp. President Obama promised to close this camp during his presidential campaign, however, the camp has not yet been closed as of May 2011.
Jose Padilla is an American citizen convicted for conspiracy to commit terrorist acts against the United States. However, he was held as an “enemy combatant” for 3 ½ years before his case was transferred to a civilian court.
The USA Patriot Act Acronym for “Uniting and Strengthening America by
Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001”
This legislation allowed the government to: detain foreigners suspected of terrorism for seven days without
charging them with a crime tap all phones used by suspects and monitor their e-mail and
internet use make search warrants valid across all states order U.S. banks to investigate sources of large foreign
accounts. prosecute terrorist crimes without any time restrictions or
limitations. Critics allege these measures violate civil rights.
Aviation Security
FAA orders airlines to install bars on cockpit doors
Plain clothed sky marshals assigned to fly on plains
National Guard patrolled airports Aviation and Transportation Act (2001)—
airport security became the responsibility of the federal government. ALL baggage (even checked baggage) is screened.
Hiding Out
Osama bin Laden evaded capture for almost 10 years.
In the mean time the United States had engaged in wars in Iraq (looking for weapons of mass destruction) and in Afghanistan (against the Taliban who supported terrorism).
bin Laden was suspected of hiding out in the mountainous regions of Afghanistan.
Tracking Bin Laden: 1
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed
Early on the CIA sought to identify al-Qaeda couriers (messengers who pass information) who might have contact with bin Laden.
Detainees in the CIA’s secret prison system revealed the name of an al-Qaeda courier with the pseudonym Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti.
When No. 3 al-Qaeda leader Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was captured by the CIA he admitted knowing al-Kuwaiti, but said he was not operating in al-Qaeda. The CIA believed he was protecting the courier.
Tracking Bin Laden: 2 In 2004, a top operative for al-Qaeda was
captured in Iraq named Hassan Ghul. Ghul revealed to the CIA that al-Kuwaiti was
indeed a key courier in the al-Qaida organization close to operational commander Faraj al-Libi.
In May 2005 Faraj al-Libi was captured by the CIA, but he adamantly denied that al-Kuwaiti was the secret courier. This convinced the CIA that he, as well as Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was protecting the identity of the courier.
Tracking Bin Laden: 3 After years, detainees revealed the real name of the
courier al-Kuwaiti as Sheikh Abu Ahmed, a Pakistani born in Kuwait.
One detainee gave false information that Abu Ahmed was wounded fleeing U.S. forces and died in his arms.
But in the middle of 2010 Abu Ahmed used the telephone and his conversation was monitored by U.S. officials.
In August 2010 Abu Ahmed was tracked to the mysterious compound in Abbottabad. It had unusually high walls. No one came or went. There was no telephone or internet. U.S. authorities became convinced that a high level terrorist was living there.
CIA aerial view of the bin Laden compound
Operation Geronimo (sorry to Native Americans who were offended by this name) An air strike in a residential neighborhood was ruled out
because it would be a bad diplomatic move and identifying bin Laden would be impossible.
President Obama wanted to act by mid-February 2011. Seal Team Six practiced the raid in a mock up of the
compound, and went in on May 1, 2011. Bin Laden was shot and killed, but it was later revealed
he was unarmed, but possibly going for a gun. His body was buried at sea in accordance with Islamic
practice so that his grave site would not become a shrine. President Obama decided that no pictures of the body
would be released.
Osama bin Laden’s hideout in Abbottābad, Pakistan
NewspaperHeadlines: 2 May 2011
