How have governments
reacted to terrorism?
Get tough or talk?
Learning Objectives

Explain how different governments have responded to
terrorism;
British government to the IRA
Israel to the PLO
USA to al-Qaeda
 Compare strategies of getting tough or using negotiation with
terrorists and the effectiveness of these strategies.
 Evaluate which government has been most effective in dealing
with terrorism
 Evaluate how effective terrorist groups have been between
1969-2005
The British Government and the IRA –
Security and politics
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Internment: August 1971
Focus on security
Covert operations in 1980s
Co-operation with the government of the Irish
Republic
• Starving the terrorists of publicity
• Talking to terrorists
c
What is the message of this cartoon?
The man on the ground is Gerry Adams and the ‘doctor’ is US President Bill
Clinton
Israel and the PLO
• Get tough
• The intifada
• Talking to terrorists
• Does terrorism always
put governments in a
no win situation?
The US response to al-Qaeda:
What was the war on terror?
What was the war on
terror?
Using the summary at the top
of page 178, create a quick
flow diagram summarising the
events following 9/11 and the
invasion of Afghanistan
The US response to al-Qaeda:
How successful was the war on terror?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rS8nqBuvrBo
Was successful?
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Al-Qaeda and Taliban defeated
Events of 9/11 won support for US
Allowed countries such as Russia
and Israel to get support of public
opinion to clamp down o terrorism.
Since 2001 security has increased
USA has exported experts,
equipment and training all over
world to help combat terrorism and
has improved it’s own technologies.
USA has managed to ignore
international criticism in the face
of accusations about abusing human
rights when holding, questioning
suspected terrorists.
There have been no attacks on the
same scale as 9/11 since.
Was not successful?
• Afghanistan has been very difficult to
control. Attacks have continued from alQaeda and the Taliban and it has been
hard Afghan people. Heroin production
has also increased in Afghanistan
(provides 90% of worlds heroin).
•Still much sympathy in Middle East and
Asia for Islamic militancy i.e groups in
Pakistan.
•US tactics such as torture and
detention have cost them support. Has
also increased tensions between
Western governments and the media.
•Osama bin Laden and other leading alQaeda members escaped.