Terrorism
Definition:
Terrorism is the political use of violence to
weaken a hated authority.
Types of Terrorist Groups
A. Separatists
– Want to secede the current national
government to form their own homeland
– Examples:
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13 colonies in the American Revolution
Jews in Palestine between the World Wars
PLO and Hamas in Palestine now
Chechens of Chechnya want to break free from
Russia
Irish Republican Army (IRA) wanted to separate
Northern Ireland from the U.K.
13 Colonies
PLO
Types of Terrorist Groups
B. International Terrorists
– Political groups who commit violent acts
outside their country
– Examples:
•
Al Qaeda destroying World Trade Center
Al Qaeda
Types of Terrorist Groups
C. State-sponsored terrorists
– Commit violent acts that are encouraged by
the government for political purposes.
– Examples:
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CIA in Guatemala
Iran and Syria sponsor the terrorist organization
Hezbollah in Lebanon
Janjaweed in Sudan
Hezbollah
Types of Terrorist Groups
D. Domestic terrorists
– Commit violent acts against their own
country
– Examples:
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Timothy McVeigh in the Oklahoma City bombing
KKK
Bolsheviks in the Russian Revolution
KKK
Bolsheviks; Russian Rev.
Terrorist actions include (but are
not limited to):
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Assassinations
Bombings
Hostage crisis
Hijackings
Suicides
Public executions
Why are Middle Eastern extremists
so unhappy with the U.S.?
A. Muslims used to be the dominant power in
the world, but have since fallen behind
Western countries.
B. Imperialism by European countries in the
1800s and 1900s-Middle Eastern countries
were forced to serve European ones.
C. Israel was created by Western countries for
the Jews and Muslims were pushed out.
D. The US has supported oppressive
monarchies in the Middle East (i.e. Iran, Egypt,
Why are Middle Eastern extremists
so unhappy with the U.S.?
E. When the West modernized, it was forced
to give its people more freedom, equality,
and education. The Middle East is trying to
decide whether or not to modernize and risk
losing thier traditional values.
• Fundamentalists (like bin Laden) want to return to
traditional ways
• Cities (pro-West) v. countryside (poor areas are breeding
ground for fundamentalists)
Why did Bin Laden attack the
U.S.?
A. Lack of recognition by Saudi Arabia and
Pakistan for his achievements in 1980s- both
countries turned to the US for protection.
B. U.S. had a strong presence in the Middle
East.
C. U.S. supports M.E. monarchies- Bin
Laden would like them overthrown.
How to handle Terrorism?
A. Allow Saudi Arabia to handle its own problems,
since oil is important to everyone.
B. Stop the proliferation of nukes to make sure
fundamentalist nations never obtain them.
C. Stay allies with moderate Muslims nations like Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia.
D. Rebuild devastated countries that are breeding
grounds for terrorists.
American Terrorists:
• OK City Bombing
-Timothy McVeigh
-sentenced to death and executed
June 13, 2001.
-passionate about guns
-“The Turner Diaries”
-Gulf War Vet
-Arms dealer
The attack:
• OK City, 1995
• Timothy McVeigh bombs federal building.
-168 killed, 19 children
-Injured more than 500
Reasons for Bombing
• upset with government policies on fire
arms.
• unhappy with situation in Waco
-executes bombing 2 yrs to the day
after Waco.
*worst attack on US soil*