Chapter 17 - Defining Terrorism
What is the history of terrorism in the US?
Bombings with the Union movement - Haymarket Square
What about presidential assassinations?
Have any been terrorism?
Abortion clinic bombings?
Oklahoma City
The earlier bombing of the World Trade Center
Were the Black Panthers a terrorist group?
PETA?
The Unibomber?
What have you seen as changes?
Do you worry about terrorism in your daily life?
Terrorists v. Freedom Fighters?
How does the frame of reference determine whether an act is terrorism or
freedom fighting?
Is killing civilians the key?
Does it have to be intentionally killing civilians?
How does the characterize of the acts change in history when the terrorists
win the conflict and become the legitimate government?
Terrorism v. crime
Is the line so clear?
What about narco-terrorists in South America?
What about the mafia in Sicily when they were killing police and judges?
What about domestic narcotics traffickers who use terrorist tactics to
intimidate police and judges to protect their business?
What about protections rackets that terrorize businesses to get protection
money?
Where does the IRA fit in?
Criminal gang or terrorist?
What about violent criminal enterprises in the US, like the Hell's Angels?
What about unsafe neighborhoods? Are drive by shootings terrorism?
What about hate crimes?
Eco-saboteurs?
Antiabortion groups who bomb and shoot?
Which is a bigger enterprise, international terrorism or international crime?
What are the key legitimate businesses that are critical to both?
How does the US drug problem and drug laws directly support terrorism?
How does the US approach to drug laws build an infrastructure that
supports international crime and makes it more difficult to control our
borders?
What about US immigration law?
How does the new rhetoric at Homeland Security merge terrorism and
crime?
What about meth labs?
What are the legal implications of calling gangs domestic terrorists?
How does it change law enforcement?
What about other agencies?
Why do the Islamic terrorists hate us?
Is Bush worse than Clinton to them?
What part of American imperialism is most upsetting?
What does this mean about the idea that if we just disengage from the middle
east the terrorists will let us alone?
What does it mean for Europe?
Why is Europe a breeding ground for terrorism?
Why is the US less so?
Is terrorism the problem, i.e., is terrorism just a technique, like the blitzkrieg?
Can we fight terrorism or do we have to fight the groups that sponsor it?
Why is this harder for NGO terrorists?
Is terrorism a natural part of the modern world?
What is the fundamental distinction between criminal investigation and antiterrorism investigations?
What is the principle distinction between criminal law and administrative
law, which supports the different warrant requirements for public health
and criminal searches?
Where does terrorism fit in this?
Why is probable cause more difficult for terrorism than for criminal
investigations?
When does a terrorism investigation become a criminal law investigation?
What constitutional issues are implicated in terrorism but not usually in
criminal law?
How is the informational database for assessing the success of traditional law
enforcement different from that for assessing the effectiveness of antiterrorist activities?
What is the outlier problem for terrorism?
What is the credibility problem with terrorism stats?
Why does the legal definition of terrorism matter?
How is this like the definition of hate crimes?
Is there one definition of terrorism?
What are some of the definitions?
The definition in NSDD-207?
The state department?
The draft Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism?
Why did they UN resist adding the word terrorism to this definition?
How was this solved?
What is the definition in 8 U.S.C. §1189(a)(1) (2000)?
What is the definition of international terrorism in 18 U.S.C. §2331(1)?
How do these definitions differ?
What is the legal significance of multiple definitions of terrorism?
Does this pose constitutional problems?
First Trade Center Bombing - U.S. v. Yousef, 327 F.3d 56 (2nd Cir.(N.Y.) 2003)
What did Justice Bork say about the definition of terrorism in customary
international law?
Why did Justice Robb say it was non-justiciable?
People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran v. Department of State, 327 F.3d 1238
(D.C.Cir. , 2003) - cite is wrong in the book
What are the plaintiffs contesting?
What happens if they lose?
What did the court require the secretary to do for due process?
Why did plaintiffs say the secretary did not comply with the due process
requirements?
What did plaintiffs admit they have done that the court thinks justifies the
classification?
Plaintiffs claim this law interferes with the 1st Amendment right of free
speech. How does the court answer this?