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TERRORIST & COUNTERTERROR ORGS
“The terrorist and the policeman both come from the same basket.Revolution, legality – counter moves in the same game; forms ofidleness at bottom identical.”
Joseph Conrad (1907)
The Secret Agent
In what ways are terror campaigns similar to or different from massmurder, genocide, insurgency, guerrilla war, other conflict forms?Are terrorists: crazy, evil, patriotic, rational, holy, …? Does it matter?What are the tactics, strategies, goals of terrorist organizations?How and where do terrorist networks operate? Can social networkanalysis methods help to identify & prevent attacks?What can counterterrorist orgs do to reduce, if not prevent, terrorism?Or must we learn to live indefinitely with possibility of terror attacks?What were U.S. public policy responses to terror threats to nationalsecurity? Have American civil liberties been harmed by terrorism?What is the connection between the “War on Terror” and the IraqiWar? Has the Iraqi War lessened the terror threat to the U.S.?
What is Terror(ism)? The word “terrorism” originated in the French Revolution:“ terrorisme
” from Latin
terrere
, to frighten. It was first used
for the Jacobin Club’s arrests and executions of opponents.During the 1793-1794 “Reign of Terror” (
la Terreur
), the
Committee on Public Safety killed between 15-40,000, andultimately some of its leaders (Danton and Robespierre).Dr. Joseph-Ignace Guillotin was not victim of his invention.
Columbia Encyclopedia, 6
th
Ed. (2001):
“the threat or use of violence, often
against the civilian population, to achieve political or social ends, to intimidateopponents, or to publicize grievances....” USA PATRIOT Act (2002):
"activities that (A) involve acts dangerous to
Numerous conflicting definitions have been proposed, manydepending on whether the actions are opposed or supported.What, if anything, do you see as problematic about these definitions?human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the U.S. or of any state,that (B) appear to be intended (i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population,(ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion, or (iii)to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, orkidnapping, and (C) occur primarily within the territorial jurisdiction of the U.S."
International Attack Trends
SOURCE: U.S. Department of State (2006)
Patterns of Global Terrorism
The State Dept tallies annual international attacks and casualties.What region(s) do you suspect had the most terrorist activity?
International Casualties
Hamas Behind the Mask
Watch an excerpt from
Hamas Behind the Mask
, a 2005
documentary by Canadian filmmaker Shelley Saywell.
“Interviews with leaders in hiding, militants,and activists are juxtaposed with Israeliexperts and victims, as the film examines howHamas turned the once secular struggle forPalestine into a religiously motivated Jihad.…. And even though they were put on theinternational terrorist list by the United States,they were able to increase their funding.”
How does Hamas recruit Palestinians to become suicide bombers?What justifications does Hamas offer for its “martyrdom missions?”What motivates these participants to accept their assignments?What causal explanation does an Israeli terrorist expert offer?Can you suggest any ways to break the terror-counterterror cycle?
Goals of Terror Organizations
Orgs use terror as means to achieve diverse goals. Althoughevery campaign has unique aims, two broad classifications are: Ethno-nationalist struggles for independence or autonomy:
Separatist: Chechens, Turkish Kurds, IRA in N. Ireland, ETA in Spain,Decolonization: Cuba Libre, South African Boers, Kenyan Mau Maus,Occupier eviction: Palestinians in Occupied Territories, Iraqi insurgents,
Ideological and political trans/reformation:
Marxist/class conflict: Nepal, Shining Path in Peru, FARC in ColombiaDemocratization: Czechoslovakia, Baltic States, Ukraine,Environmentalist: Earth First!, Animal Liberation Front,Messianic/visionary: Lord’s Resistance Army, Symbionese Lib. ArmyIslamic fundamentalist: Al Qaeda, Islamic Jihad, Hizballah, Is terrorism best conceptualized as just one of manyorganizational tactics used by social movements,insurgencies, & revolutions to achieve strategic goals?
Sociopolitical Explanations
-^
Lack of democracy, civil liberties, & the rule of law
- Failed/weak states unable to control territory & monopoly of violence• Rapid modernization, in the form of high economic growth• Extremist ideologies of a secular or religious nature• Historical antecedents - political violence, civil war, dictatorship, revolution,occupation - may lower threshold for acceptance of political violence• Hegemony and inequality of power• Illegitimate or corrupt governments
Sociopolitical theories of terrorism emphasize structural factors inthe emergence & success or failure of terrorist campaigns. What arethe social positions of perpetrators & their relation to power-holders?
SOURCE: Tore Bjørgo. 2003. “Root Causes of Terrorism” <www.nupi.no/IPS/filestore/Root_Causes_report.pdf>
International experts, meeting in Oslo, identified these pre-conditions for terrorism:
- Powerful external actors upholding illegitimate governments• Repression by foreign occupation or by colonial powers• Experience of discrimination on the basis of ethnic or religious origin• Failure/unwillingness of states to integrate dissident groups or emerging social classes• Experience of social injustice• Presence of charismatic ideological leaders• Triggering events are the direct precipitators of terrorist acts What research could sort out the relative impacts among these causes?
Covert Cell Structure
In a videotape found in Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden described aclassic cell structure for 9/11: “Those who were trained to fly didn’tknow the others. One group of people did not know the other group.” Resistance undergrounds, criminal, and terrorist orgs often use covertcell structures to thwart detection and penetration by law enforcement.
-^
Cells are deliberately kept very small (3 to 6 members)
- Most members only know the identities of their cell mates• Only cell leader knows & communicates with other leaders• Damage is limited if a member is captured & interrogated
WATCH online:
<http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/sleeper/inside/
A “sleeper cell” may stay dormant in place foryears, waiting to be activated at the right time.In 2003, six U.S. citizens of Yemeni descent,living in Lackawanna, New York, pled guilty toproviding material support to Al-Qaeda.
Connecting the 9/11 Dots
Shortly after 9/11, network consultant Valdis Krebs began tomap the hijacker network using newspaper reports on their ties.
“The 19 hijackers appeared to have come from anetwork that had formed while they were completingterrorist training in Afghanistan. Many were schoolchums from many years ago, some had livedtogether for years, and others were related by kinshipties.
Deep trusted ties
, that were not easily visible to
outsiders, wove this terror network together.”
In hindsight, Krebs reported the CIA knew that two suspects with links to al-Qaeda (Alhazmi and Almihdhar), living in Los Angeles since 1999, had beenphotographed at a meeting of known terrorists in Malaysia in January, 2000,before returning to L.A. Also attending the Malaysia meeting was one of thechief suspects (Khallad) in the subsequent
USS Cole
attack (October, 2000).
•^
All
19 hijackers on 9/11/01 were within 2 steps of the two original
suspects uncovered by the CIA in early 2000! (see Figure 2)
•^
Social network analysis reveals that Mohammed Atta
emerged
as
the central person linking together the hijacker cells
Could network analysts have uncovered the 9/11 plot?
Answer These Opinion Questions
“Do you approve or disapprove of the way Bush is handling theU.S. campaign against terrorism?"“Do you approve or disapprove of the way Bush is handlingprotecting Americans' privacy rights as the governmentinvestigates terrorism?
”
“As it conducts the war on terrorism, do you think the UnitedStates government is or is not doing enough to protect the rightsof American citizens?”"Do you think the Republicans in Congress or the Democrats inCongress would do a better job of dealing with terrorism?""How much confidence do you have in the ability of the U.S.government to protect its citizens from future terrorist attacks: agreat deal, a fair amount, not very much, or none at all?""Compared to before September 11, 2001, do you think thecountry today is safer from terrorism or less safe from terrorism?"
Then compare your views to some recent national polls:
Counterterror Organizations
Counterterrorism:
Institutions, policies, actions by government,
law enforcement, military, & other organizations to fight terrorism
First responders
- police, SWAT, medical teams, …
State governments & business communityNational intelligence
– NIA, CIA, FBI, NSA, DIA,
Combat forces
- military, special forces,
International
The Department of Homeland Security was created to “develop andcoordinate the implementation of a comprehensive national strategyto secure the United States from terrorist threats or attacks.”
How competently did FEMA and HomelandSecurity respond to Hurricanes Katrina andRita disaster in New Orleans in Fall 2005?How secure do you feel today from terror,including biochemical & nuclear attacks?
“Expatriate Games”
Newsome states 4 hypotheses why international CT is so difficult. A7-day simulation (war game) tested the validity of these hypotheses.
Al-Qaeda bombed a Bali night club in October 2002,killing 202 mostly Western tourists. U.S. & Australianwarned of attack, but Indonesia security forces failed toact on that information. Other nations (Pakistan, Turkey,Egypt, Israel) use counterterror to repress own dissidents.
1.
ICT “practically impossible” without interorganizational coordination
2.
Political partnerships are neither necessary nor sufficient for ICT
3.
Orgs’ internal orientations have negative effects on coordination
4.
Competing goals among orgs also have negative coordination impact
How can interorganizational coordination be strengthened to improveinternational counterterrorist efforts?Could simulation drills train CT teams enhance interorg’l coordination,e.g., with local police & military forces, tour operators, …
What Price National Security?
Patriot Act, the anti-terrorist legislation passed after 9/11 andrenewed in 2006, gave the executive branch sweeping powers.It also amended 1978 Foreign Intelligence Security Act (FISA).In the Global War on Terror, Bush Admin has designated capturedterrorists as enemy combatants, asserting they have no rights underthe Geneva Conventions. Many have been held for years in Gitmo.
Other alleged misconduct includes the abuse of Iraqiprisoners at Abu Ghraib & “extraordinary renditions”to nations that allegedly use force and torture duringinterrogations (Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan).
Many critics feel it has weakened Constitutionallyprotected civil liberties. Others believe its powersare essential to fight enemies who play by no rules.U.S. Senate voted in September, 2007 to extendPresident Bush’s warrantless wiretapping program.
Are these counterterror actions legal, moral, & effective?
