Third Edition Understanding Terrorism Challenges, Perspectives, and Issues

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Third EditionUnderstanding TerrorismChallenges,
Perspectives, and Issues
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Part I

• Terrorism
• A Conceptual Review

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Chapter 1

• Terrorism
• First Impressions

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First Considerations

• Overview of Extremism and Terrorism
• Terrorism at First Glance
• Sources of Extremism and Terrorism

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First Considerations(continued)

• Overview of Extremism and Terrorism
• Extremism A quality that is radical in opinion,
  especially in political matters ultra
  advanced.
• Terrorism Politically motivated violence usually
  directed against soft targets with an intention
  to affect (terrorize) a target audience.

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First Considerations(continued)

• Terrorism at First Glance
• Perpetrators always claim to champion noble
  causes and values.
• Advocates always cite righteous goals to justify
  their behavior.
• Perpetrators uniformly maintain that they are
  freedom fighters or champions of law and social
  order.

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First Considerations(continued)

• Sources of Extremism and Terrorism
• Terrorist acts are grounded in extremist beliefs
  arising from group identity, intergroup conflict,
  and a chosen strategy.
• A subject of extensive discussion, debate, and
  research.
• Involves many disciplines Sociology, psychology,
  criminology, political science.

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Understanding Political Violence

• Political Violence Mala Prohibita or Mala in Se?
• The Just War Doctrine

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Understanding Political Violence(continued)

• Political Violence Mala Prohibita or Mala in Se?
• Mala Prohibita Acts that are crimes that are
  made illegal by legislation.
• Not inherently immoral, wicked, or evil.
• Cases Gambling, prostitution, and so forth.
• Mala in Se Acts that are immoral or wrong in
  themselves.
• Cannot be justified in civilized society and have
  no acceptable qualities.
• Cases Murder, rape, and so forth.

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Understanding Political Violence(continued)

• The Just War Doctrine
• An ideal and moralistic philosophy.
• Jus in Bello Correct behavior while waging war.
• Jus ad Bellum Correct conditions for waging war
  in the first place.
• Often used conceptually by extremists to justify
  violence.

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Recent Attacks in the United StatesSymbolism and
Aftermath

• The Significance of Symbolism
• The Oklahoma City Bombing
• September 11, 2001
• Reorganization of Homeland Security and
  Intelligence

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Recent Attacks in the United StatesSymbolism and
Aftermath(continued)

• The Significance of Symbolism
• A central feature of terrorism.
• Central to terrorists public relations and
  propaganda campaigns.
• Targets symbolize the righteousness of the
  terrorists cause and the evil of their opponent.
• Cases Oklahoma City Bombing. 9/11.

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Recent Attacks in the United StatesSymbolism and
Aftermath(continued)

• The Oklahoma City Bombing
• An act of war by Timothy McVeigh.
• A devotee of the extremist Patriot movement.
• A believer in New World Order conspiracies.
• Symbolism of April 19, 1995.
• 220th anniversary of the American Revolution
  battles of Lexington and Concord.
• Second anniversary of the assault on the Branch
  Davidian cults compound in Waco, Texas.

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Recent Attacks in the United StatesSymbolism and
Aftermath(continued)

• September 11, 2001
• World Trade Center and Pentagon symbolized
  American and Western power.
• Carried out by 19 Al Qaeda terrorists on a
  suicidal martyrdom mission.
• Done in response to perceived domination and
  exploitation of Muslim countries.

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Recent Attacks in the United StatesSymbolism and
Aftermath(continued)

• Reorganization of Homeland Security and
  Intelligence in the United States
• An attempt to unify the U.S. domestic security
  community.
• A perceived failure to connect the dots to the
  9/11 attacks.
• Massive reorganization of law enforcement and
  services agencies into a single Department of
  Homeland Security.

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Organizational Chart of the U.S. Department of
Homeland Security
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Terrorism and Criminal SkillThree Cases in Point

• Richard Baumhammers
• Low degree of criminal sophistication.
• Neo-Nazi.
• April 2000 lone wolf killing spree near
  Pittsburgh.
• Theodore Ted Kaczynski
• Medium degree of criminal sophistication.
• Anarchist war against technology.
• 18-year bombing spree, labeled by FBI as Unabom.

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Terrorism and Criminal SkillThree Cases in
Point(continued)

• Ramzi Yousef
• High degree of criminal sophistication.
• Islamist jihadi.
• February 26, 1993 bombing of World Trade Center.

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The Past as PrologueHistorical Perspectives on
Terrorism

• Antiquity
• Tyrannicide.
• Mass exile.
• Suppression of dangerous ideas.
• The Roman Age
• Crucifixion.
• Extermination and slavery.
• Regicide.

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The Past as PrologueHistorical Perspectives on
Terrorism(continued)

• The Ancient and Medieval Middle East
• Zealots and sicarii.
• Assassins.
• The French Revolution
• Coined the word terrorism.
• Reign of Terror.
• Revolutionary Tribunal and mass executions.

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The Past as PrologueHistorical Perspectives on
Terrorism(continued)

• Nineteenth Century Europe
• 19th Century revolutionary ideologies Anarchism
  and Marxism.
• Luddites.
• Peoples Will (Narodnaya Volya).
• The Modern Era
• The New Terrorism.
• Cell-based, WMDs, politically vague or religious.
  asymmetrical, use of modern technologies.