Winter Week 5 - Ch.23 Terrorism and globalization (textbook notes)

What does 'jihad' translate to?

The struggle (it can refer to a purely internal struggle to be a better Muslim, a struggle to make society more closely align with the teachings of the Koran, or a call to arms to wage war in self-defence of an Islamic community under attack z

What is an example of an terrorist activist motto?

'Think globally, act locally'

What categories do those of "non-believers" of Islam fall into?

1. Infidels (those of a different religion) 2. Apostates (those Muslims who do not share their extremist interpretation of the Koran)

What are Audrey Cronin's four types of terrorist organizations?

1. Left-wing (Communist movement) 2. Right-wing (inspired by Fascism) 3. Ethno-nationalist/separatist (wage of decolonization post-WW2) 4. Religious or 'sacred' (most prominent currently)

What were the three factors that led to the birth of transnational terrorism in 1968?

1. The expansion of commercial air travel 2. The availability of televised news coverage 3. The broad political and ideological interests among extremists that intersected around a common cause

When was the decade of terrorism and what trends emerged from it?

1980-1990 witnessed fewer attacks than in previous years, however they were more deadly and indiscriminate; an increased sophistication of terrorist attacks; and a greater willingness to perform suicide attacks

When did transnational Marxist-Leninist groups begin to discover that their source of support disappeared?

At the end of the cold war

Who is Mustafa Setmariam Nasar?

Better known as 'Abu Musab al-Suri' or 'The Syrian,' he fought the Soviets in Afghanistan and supported local jihadist groups in Spain, Algeria, and elsewhere. What set him apart was the he foresaw the effectiveness of US and partner nation efforts against the traditional hierarchical organization of Al-Qaeda, and decried the 'Tora Bora mentality' of fighting fixed battles against forces that dominate air and space

What do terrorism and globalization share in common?

Both are complex phenomena open to subjective interpretation

How has the security of terrorist organizations been preserved historically?

By limiting communication and information exchanges between cells; this ensures that if one cell is compromised, its members only know each other's identities and not those of other cells

What did Mustafa Setmariam Nasar system of jihad entail?

Compromising 'a method os secret guerilla war consisting of unconnected cells, numerous and different types of cells' rather than a first-generation organization; Nasar would transfer his knowledge and skills to next-generation militant Islamic terrorists virtually

What does the Al-Qaeda plan code-named zabadi translate to?

Curdled milk

What do many militant Islamic terrorists in Europe have?

Employment rates and salaries that are close to EU averages for their age group

Which terrorist group does ETA stand for?

Euzkadi Ta Askatasuna

What did a number of the first generation of militant Islamic terrorists do?

Fought in Afghanistan against the Soviet Union and aligned with Osama bin Laden over disagreements in 1994 about who to fight next

What does GCTN stand for?

Global Counter-Terrorism Network

What has transnational Marxist-Leninist terrorist groups been replaced by?

Global militant Islamic terrorist groups

Al Qaeda is less of a set terrorist group but more of a what?

Global movement that markets and exploits its own form of militant Islam in a loose network of 'franchised' cells and groups

What is postmodern or 'new' terrorism defined as?

Groups and individuals with millennial and apocalyptic ideologies with system-level goals. Most value destruction for its own sake, unlike most terrorists in the past who had specific goals usually tied to a territory

When do terrorist groups risk fading into obscurity?

If they do not cow the public or conduct newsworthy attacks (though if the attacks are too horrific it puts support for terrorists causes at risk)

What do realists suggest that the political violence used by terrorist groups is?

Illegitimate on the basis that states alone have a monopoly on the legitimate use of physical force

In relation to terrorism, what does IEDs stand for?

Improvised explosive devices

How does terrorism differ from criminal violence?

In its degree of political legitimacy

What is the virtual global militant Islamic 'community of practice' characterized by?

Individuals exchanging information and discussing the best ways to coordinate and conduct attacks

What was the title of the electronic public produced by Al Qaeda?

Inspire

What does ICAO stand for?

International Civil Aviation Organization

Which terrorist group does IRA stand for?

Irish Republican Army

What has globalization changed in terms of terrorism?

Its scope but not its nature

Who is Younis Tsouli?

Known largely through is virtual persona of 'Irhabi 007' ('Terrorist 007'), he represents the new generation of militant Islamic terrorism in that he propagates the extremist beliefs in chat rooms and other forms of social media

What were most of the initiatives and response to tackling terrorism?

Largely unilateral, regional, or ad hoc in nature

In what areas have technologies improved the capability of terrorist groups and cells?

Proselytizing, coordination, security, mobility, and lethality

What does the current wave of terrorism predominantly use?

Religion as a motivator and to provide the justification for killing non-combatants

What motivates some terrorist to kill as many of the non-believers and unfaithful as possible?

Religious reasons such as the promises of rewards in the afterlife

What do religious terrorists seek to do?

Replace, rather than simply modify, the normative structure of society

What does the Human Rights Watch do?

Routinely provide monitoring and online reporting of suspected government human rights and civil liberties abuses; one example is the persistent attention paid to the status of terrorist detainees held in US custody at Guantanamo Bay

What are electronic 'dead letters'?

Saving draft messages in shared third-party email accounts, such as Gmail, without sending anything that could be intercepted

What do Western government officials fear terrorists will use as a convenient and cheap means to ship WMD?

Shipping containers

What is it called when a terrorist hijacks a plane?

Skyjacking

What did the word 'terrorism' historically describe?

State violence against citizens during the French Revolution

What must the law enforcement approach to terrorism balance?

Taking enough measures against terrorist groups without crossing over into the realm of "political justice," where the rules and rights enshrined in the principle of due process are either wilfully misinterpreted or completely disregarded

What is the Arabic word for a first-generation terrorist organization?

Tanzim

What was the relationship between terrorists and WMD in the transnational era?

Terrorist could often acquire them but chose not to use them for reasons that are unclear

What did Ted Robert Gurr hypothesize in 1970?

That if an individuals expectations are unrealized they can turn to extreme political views and action against 'the system' that denies them the opportunity to realize their ambitions; one study suggests that a sense of alienation and lack of opporunity among some Muslim makes is a contributing factor in their decision to turn to violence globally

What is the view of believers in the global jihad?

That the rulers of 'Islamic' countries such as Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, or Iraq are apostates who have compromised their values in the pursuit and maintenance of secular, state-based power

In relation to terrorism, what does GSM stand for?

The Global System for Mobile Communications

Who was responsible for the November 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai?

The Pakistani terrorist group Laskar-e-Taiba

What does 'Al Qaeda' translate to?

The base

What does Samuel Huntington suggest a major fault-line exists between?

The liberal Western civilization and an Islamic one 'humiliated and resentful of the West's military presence in the Persian Gulf, the West's overwhelming military dominance, and being unable to shape their own destiny'

What is the crucial advantage that religion provides terrorists with?

The mandate and sanction of the divine to commit otherwise illegal or immoral acts

What is new terrorism a reaction to?

The perceived oppression of Muslims worldwide and the spiritual bankruptcy of the West

What is a common theme among jihadi statements?

The political purpose of overthrowing apostate regimes and assuming political power; political power, in turn, is necessary to impose the militant Islamic form of Sharia law in a state and restore the just and pure society of the caliphate

What do the revolutionary writings of Franz Fanon provide insight to?

The use of political violence to right economic wrongs; that terrorist violence is motivated by inequalities of the global economy

What is terrorism defined as?

The use of violence by sub-state groups to inspire fear, by attacking civilians and/or symbolic targets, for purposes such as drawing widespread attention to a grievance, provoking a server response, or wearing down their opponent's moral resolve, to effect political change

What is an example of a fault-line within the Islamic world that critiques Samuel Huntington's idea that there is a degree of homogeneity in the Islamic world?

The violent relationship between the Sunni and the Shi'a in Iraq

What is terrorism in relation to irregular warfare?

The weakest form because terrorist groups rarely possess the broader support of the population that characterizes insurgency and revolution

What is a hallmark of militant Islamic groups?

Their ability to conduct multiple attacks in different locations

What do militant Islamic leaders often have in common?

They attended graduate schools around the globe in fields as diverse as engineering and theology, and were neither poor nor downtrodden like some of the followers

What does it entail when a state deals with terrorism as a 'police problem'?

They uphold the rule of law, maintain the moral high ground, preserve democratic principles, and prevent the establishment of martial law

Where do efforts to explain the vitality of global terrorism focus on?

Three areas linked to aspects of globalization: culture, economics, and religion

How are terrorist finances and organizations evaluated?

Through link analysis to construct a more comprehensive picture of how the terrorist elements interact

What is terrorism designed for?

To achieve political change for the purposes of obtaining power in order to right a perceived wrong

What is the ultimate purpose for modern militant Islamic violence?

To obtain political power in order to conduct political, social, economic, and religious reform according to Sharia law

Who provides a good example of a globally mobile citizen who turned terrorist?

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a 23 year old Nigerian citizen and the privilege son of a wealthy and successful African banker; despite having every advantage growing up he blogged about his sense of loneliness and isolation; at some point he received a two-stage bomb manufactured in Yemen sewn into an undergarment. He tried unsuccessfully to detonate the device on Northwest Flight 253 after purchasing a ticket in Ghana and travelling from Lagos to Amsterdam to Detroit in 2009

What does WMD stand for?

Weapons of mass destruction

What is Al Qaeda?

While there is no set definition, it can be viewed as a global terrorist group that threatens Western civilization and values, a sub-state financial and resource provider to like-minded terrorist groups, or merely the purveyor of an extremist set of beliefs that justifies political violence to fulfil militant Islamic myths