Terrorism Test
Boko Haram
"Western Education is forbidden". Originally in Al Qaeda, pledge allegiance to ISIS in 2015. More coverage on ISIS even though Boko Haram killed more bc they are local while ISIS is international
Paris 15-16
1) Charlie Hebdo: Jan 2015, ISIS attacks magazine HQ MOTIVE: magazine publish satirical and critical descriptions of ISlam. Freedom of speech vs freedom of offense 2)November 2015: ISIS affiliated gunmen and bombers coordinate string of attacks on restaurants, soccer stadium, concert. (3 teams of 3 Belgian, French Iraqi citizens). MOTIVE: Claimed Paris was the capital of abomination and perversion/ retaliation for airstrikes on ISIS in Syria and Iraq 3)Bastille Day Truck in Nice: July 2016, French citizen/extremist drove a truck into a crowd celebrating Bastille day MOTIVE:response to ISIS's call to attack citizens of nations fighting them (no preventing it, lone wolf)
England 2017
1) Westminster Attack, London: British Citizen driver ran through crowd on Westminster Bridge. Crashed car and stabbed pedestrians. Was shot by police and died at scene MOTIVE: Claimed he was on a jihad against western intervention in Middle East 2) Manchester arena bombing: British citizen detonated bomb as concertgoers exited an Ariana Grande concert MOTIVE: lone wolf ISIS inspired attack, retaliation for western involvement in Middle East
How has the US military become involved in the fight against ISIS?
2003-2011= US defeats insurgents and started to hand the govt back to the stable Iraqi government. AQI went into aggressive hibernation in Anbar Provence, Syria. In chaos of the civil war, Arab spring, AQI renames itself ISIS, fight to take back land in Iraq. 2014 Obama sends limited troops to fight ISIS with airstrikes and support the Iraqi army (So Iraqi's are leading operations)(advisors, train military) and rebels fighting Assad and ISIS. This policy is followed by Trump (limited to containing ISIS)
Chibok Nigeria 2014
275 girls kidnapped from all girls public school by Boko Haram. Some escape, most sold into slavery. MOTIVE: Boko Haram is against the education of women and equates it to westernization. Spurred "bring back out girls"
NY NJ 2016
3 bomb attempts over 2 days in Seaside park, Manhattan, and Elizabeth. Sep 17= bomb explode in trash can by Marine Corps run. Later that night, a bomb explodes in Manhattan, 2nd found nearby. Next day, bombs found and destroyed by police at train station in Elizabeth. FBI shot and captured suspect, he is awaiting trial. MOTIVE: unclear but probably lone wolf inspired by ISIS, revenge for US-led war on islam
Mumbai 2008
3 days of firearm attacks on a train station, hospitals, and hotels MOTIVE: Pakistani Islamic militant group wanted to fight against India's control over disputed territory of Kashmir. India has accused Pakistan of being a state sponsor of the attack.
London 2007
4 coordinated Al Qaeda suicide bombs in 3 subway stations and 1 double decker bus. MOTIVE: retaliation for British involvement in ME (Iraq war) and seen as a threat to Islam. "London's 9/11"
Visitors and immigration
75 million people visit each year. very difficult to keep track of all once here. 16/19 hijackers were in US on visas legally. Most illegal immigration is people overstaying visas
What is the difference between a crazy person and a terrorist?
A terrorist has a goal.
What is terrorism?
A tool of the weak against the strong. They are used to motivate somebody to change politics by instilling fear. Prey upon fear and uncertainty. OFFICIAL DEFINITION: politically motivate violence used to achieve a goal against civilians perpetrated by non-state actors.
Madrid 2004
Al Qaeda blew up a commuter train during rush hour. MOTIVE: retaliation for Spain's involvement in 2003 Iraq War. Spain soon elected a new prez and pulled out of Iraq (so terrorists were successful)
Afghanistan war: Operation enduring freedom
Al Qaeda was based in Afghanistan, supported by the Taliban (like the Nazis, they are the govt group but everyone hates them). After 9/11, US demands the Taliban hand over Bin Laden, and dismantle Al Qaeda- they refuse. US invaded to overthrow Taliban govt. Many Al Qaeda, Taliban, Bin Laden, escape through mountainous region to Pakistan.(who we were kinda allies with). Since 2001 we have stayed to fight the Taliban, insurgent Al Qaeda members, and try to install a democratic government, but there are remote locations all around Pakistan that the Taliban control and if the US leaves, the Pakistanis won't be able to hold.
State
An entity that has a defined territory and a population under the control of its own government. A state governs its territory and people. States can enter into international agreements, join international organizations, and pursue and be subject to international agreements. Somalia and Afghanistan are complicated bc they have borders by the government doesn't control the whole thing. Still a state bc other countries recognize and negotiate with them. TL;DR: defined borders, control w/in borders
Baruch Goldstein 1994
Attacked a Palestinian mosque with a rifle during the holy month of Ramadan. Motivation: Jewish terror group called Kach felt betrayed by the government in Israel-Palestine peace talks. Felt that Israeli PM was giving away land and compromising land given to them by God. Therefore compromise in these peace talks was equal to betraying god. Militant Orthodox Jew saw him as a martyr--> inspired another militant Orthodox Jew to assassinate the Israeli PM. There are extremists on both sides (Israeli and Palestinian).
How did the Munich 1972 Olympics impact the World's view of terrorism?
Beginning of Modern Terrorism. Palestinian terror group Black September took the Israeli Olympic team hostage to protest against Israel. It made people realize that if you choose the right targets, your actions can capture world wide attention. It is a way to make your position known. Less concerned with number of casualties, more concerned with how many people saw it.
Why did Al Qaeda wage a terror campaign against the US
Bin Laden was Saudi born rich kid that fought in Afghanistan to rid of the USSR (western influence). Wanted to rid muslim majority countries of international influence (esp USA). (political goal, religiously motivated). Followed an extremist form of Sunni islam. HIs self proclaimed justification was that he rejected US troops in Mecca, US support of Israel, object US policy toward Iraq in 90s (contain Hussein), Us actions amounted to a self-proclaimed war on Muslims. 1980s had many smallish scale attacks vs US (1993 wtc, blackhawk down)
What did Edward Snowden reveal about US surveillance practices?
Computer dude for CIA, release NSA documents that they were collecting data on email, phone, internet data on ALL us citizens (not just on list). Fled from country bc scared of retribution.
OKC bombing 1980s/1995
Dude named Snell- murdered a pawn shop owner and a cop and had a bigger plan to blow up an OKC administration building. Motivation: CSA (covenant, sword, arm of the lord)- right wing militant group wanting to overthrow the gov and replace it with a Christian religious laws. Sentenced to death Timothy McVeigh- part of same group, blew up OKC building on the day of Snell's death (symbolically ) that building was a federal building (represented government he wanted to overthrow)
War in Iraq: Operation Iraqi Freedom
Fear Hussein was making WMD's, and would give to Al Qaeda to use on the USA. US went to the UN with evidence, but the UN said that evidence was inconclusive (maybe they had weapons, maybe they didn't). We chose to preemptively strike to prevent another 9/11. 2003 invade and topple Hussein's government. Insurgency formed by Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) to fight US troops in 2010-2011. they never had a large presence in Iraq until they fought the USA. Evidence was faulty, no usable WMDs found.
Orlando 2016
Florida resident attacked gay nightclub in terror act/hate crime. Deadliest attack since 9/11. MOTIVE: Coworkers said he had a lot of hatred toward blacks, women, jews, hispanics, and homosexuals, talked about killing them. Swore allegiance to ISIS on Facebook hours before attack, writing messages critical of US airstrikes in Iraq and Syria. Unconfirmed report said he actually had attended the club and had relations with a man he met there
How is terrorism a global problem?
Hotbeds in Syria, Yemen, Nigeria, Somalia, Afghanistan, Pakistan. Attacks on an almost daily basis. Most people attack those of the same religion as them
San Bernardino 2015
Husband and wife attack office holiday party with rifles. Both killed in shootout with cops. MOTIVE: not members of group, but became radicalized by online Al Qaeda and Isis propaganda. ISIS leader later said that shooter pledged allegiance to him before the shooting
Shootoffs of Wahabbism
ISIS- more global geo-religious caliphate Al Qaeda- political, rid west from ME Boko Haram
What are some ways that the US responded to state-sponsored terrorism?
If it was proven to be state-sponsored: should retaliate against the state. Using embargoes and sanctions, he could hurt the economy so that others can't trade with them. However, there is some concern. about how to respond militarily bc you can't just attack the country bc their army didn't do the attack. They may bomb people, but then civilians lose loved ones, become angry, and then they become angry as well.
How has US military action in GWOT changed since 2001?
In beginning: large scale military invasions (to topple government). This gets expensive. Shift to special forces and drone strikes. Extraordinary rendition, enhanced interrogation techniques
Dept of homeland security
New cabinet level agency formed after 9/11. Didn't do much new stuff, just combine old stuff. Secret service, coast guard etc
why is there concern about the rise of religiously motivated terrorism?
More than half of the international terror groups are religiously motivated. Secular governments= separation of church and state. Some radicals think that they were going to hell because they had a secular government (wanted the government to be more in line with religion). Building on this, if a society is secular, then they are turning from religion, which causes bad in the world. Religiously motivated terrorism was a threat because it is not based on content or analysis, but based on the belief that they are acting unequivocally for their God. There is no compromise because they believe they are 100% right, and anything is justifiable to meet their cause. This is why the founding fathers wanted the separation of church and state.
Oslo 2011
Norwegian man sets off car bomb in front of govt building, then attack summer camp for children of govt officials by systematically hunting and shooting Staff and kids MOTIVE: right-wing political extremist believed his government's multicultural policies were destroying Norway and were causing a Muslim takeover of Europe
How did 9/11 affect balance between liberty and security?
Oct 2001= USA PATRIOT act. made it easier to catch and ID terrorists. allowed secret searches of property, phone calls, email, and detainment w/o warrant if put on a watch list. Violates 4th amendment, overturns presumption of innocence. Citizens have this happening to them, not bc of due process, but bc they were put on a list. Led to racial profiling (esp toward muslims). Guilty until proven innocent
ISIS
Originally Al Qaeda in Iraq. supported insurgency vs US. Became too extreme for al Qaeda (kill indiscriminately). 2010- largely beaten 2011- Arab Spring crisis- gain land, rename themselves ISIS Goal= carve out new country run by strict Islamic law (caliphate), enslave, murder, genocide, etc anyone who does not subscribe to their version of ISlam. Plan and inspire attacks vs enemies of islam across the globe, make it impossible for muslims and non muslims to live peacefully, want to convince rest of world to come to holy land and fight in an apocalyptic end-of-world fight that they would theoretically win.
Times Square attempt 2010
Pakistani American planned to detonate car bomb in NYC. Failed to detonate, defused after street vendor noticed smoke coming from the vehicle. Captured at JFK attempting to flee country MOTIVE:saw US in Afghanistan and Pakistan as war against islam
WTC Bombing 1993
Religiously motivated. Motivation: Terror group (Al-Qaeda affiliated Lebanese?) was angry at the US for its support of Israel and its support of the secular government of Egypt (Hosni Mubarak). Saw the US as a secular culture that was threatening to the religious lifestyle in the Middle East. Why WTC?: The center of US globalism (symbol), quintessential US city, economic power,culture center.
Mogadishu 2017
Somali army veteran detonated truck bomb in its capital. Deadliest bombing in country's history with 750 killed/wounded MOTIVE: unknown. No group has claimed responsibility. It may have been for a botched raid in his hometown by US forces and Somali troops that killed 10 civilians
Aum Shinrikyo (group) 1995
Traditional Japanese Buddhist group release Sarin nerve fas in 5 subway trains. (Sarin gas causes severe muscle spasms that can break bones and interfere with brain and blood). 1st use of chemical weapons in a terror attack. Motivation: felt modern society was dehumanized by technology and that it would kill itself with nuclear and chemical weapons. (Used chemical weapons to show their bad effects). Believed only true Buddhists (those believing in simplicity) would survive.
Why is the US a target?
US is the most powerful nation in the world so they are also the most visible. Since WWII the US takes on the role of the police--> catch some criticism. Accidental deaths in drone strikes have led more people to hate us.
Social Media
Used to inspire lone wolf attacks. Good at propaganda to spread hate, piss people off. Make many straw-man arguments. ppl get angry when argument is made against other side's argument. Ppl ignorant about the world, have thought germs that will spread
Why did state-sponsored terrorism increase in the 1980s?
Weaker groups use terrorism to attack larder states or more powerful countries. The government sponsors the terror group so the country doesn't have to go to war. EX: Afghanistan doesn't have the military capability to strike or threaten the US bit by sponsoring terror, they can still strike the US
trade
dept of homeland security. Globalization--> more porous borders, it is impossible to inspect every crate.
FEMA
dept. homeland security. originally to prep for nuclear war, w/ soviets. since 9/11 they have stockpiled vaccines, meds plans for WMD attacks, and now focus a lot on natural disaster relief. Really just do any large scale civilian movement stuff. 2005- realize how inefficient they were (govt, bureaucracy). Your first responders to terror are now cops and firemen, not SWAT or army.
What does it take for someone to commit an evil act?
feel that they have been wronged, must be convinced that they are 100% right.
enhanced interrogation techniques
forms of torture that don't leave physical damage, but psychological damage. Extreme sleep deprivation, hallucinating, threaten to kill loved ones, forced positions, waterboarding
Non-state actors
groups and individuals that act on an international level (businesses, charities, terrorist organizations)
GWOT
immediately following 9/11. This was Bush's way to make terrorism stop. PURPOSE: instead of fighting coming to the US (attack), we fight them on their soil. Term= controversial bc terrorism is an idea , when would fighting end? We were aware it would not be a quick war.
What is jihad?
literally means "the struggle". According to Muhammad: the Great Jihad= struggle against morals and shortcomings to become a better person. Little jihad= against enemies of Islam. Extremists latch to the latter definition and now we think jihad to be a holy war
Growing concerns about terrorism
more nukes, chemical weapons proliferation. Clear that those doing attacks were not rational people= can't negotiate with them.
Extraordinary rendition
moving terror suspects to CIA black sites (secret prisons) outside of the USA to use interrogation methods they would be uncomfortable using in the USA. Legal grey area ( POWs and civilians, but terrorists are neither so they are treated as enemy combatants)
Refugees
post Paris and San Bernardino, ppl worried that ISIS was infiltrating the refugee pool. US planned to take 110k refugees in 2017--> trump Brough that down to 45k .Trump campaigned to prevent all Muslims from entering US until he could figure out what was going on. Turned into a Middle East ban. But some say refugees are thoroughly screened and we should help them escape genocide.
Planned Parenthood shooting 2015
shot 12, killed 3 at abortion clinic MOTIVE: anti-abortion "army of god" christian terrorist group. Also connected to other abortion clinic bombings, arson, and murder of doctors who performed abortions
Issues with terrorism definition
some people say that it should include more than just civilians: Anarchists targeted governments and leaders. Some think state perpetrators should be included (maybe Assad vs his civilians)
Boston Marathon 2013
two brothers detonate bombs by finish line. Massive manhunt through Boston for the bombers. One killed in shootout, other captured and sentenced to death. MOTIVE: wanted to defend islam against US aggression/what they saw as war on islam
How strong is Al Qaeda today?
used to be a strong cell network (independent of each other so if one is struck down they aren't all screwed). 2001 became an organization, now they are more of an ideological movement. Inspire lone wolf attacks (no large scale communications). Harder to track and find out about attacks bc they are radicalized online. Been severely weakened as an organization by GWOT