What is terrorism?
Freewrite:
• What is terrorism?
• Freewrite for 5 minutes on the above
question. If you can, give me examples of
terrorism and explain why you consider it to
be an act of terrorism. Remember that a
freewrite is a non-stop writing activity.
Develop a 2-3 sentence definition of
“terrorism”
• Ask yourself the following questions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Can it involve simply the destruction of property, with no injuries?
Does terrorism have to be violent? What if the intent is to not harm
anybody? (What is violence?)
Does terrorism have to target large numbers of people or can it target a
few? A single person?
Can governments commit acts of terrorism, or is the term reserved only
for people who operate outside of governments (organizations, groups,
“extremists,” “radicals,” etc.)?
Can terrorism be nation to nation? An entire nation towards a specific
individual?
Is any targeting of civilians “terrorism”?
Must terrorism involve the people of one country attacking citizens of
another or can it be within a country?
Does motive make a difference?
Does terrorism need to be intentional? What if it fits your criteria, but it
is by accident?
Scenario #1
The country of Marak?
Israel
The country of Bragan?
Palestine
The country of Bolaire?
The United States
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
• Both the Jewish and Palestinian
people have claims to this area in
the Middle East.
• In 1948 the country of “Israel”
was created allowing for areas of
Palestinian settlements.
• Palestinians in Israeli territory
were forced out of their homes
into these “Palestinian” areas.
• Those who refused were forcibly
moved and their homes
bulldozed.
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
• Much violence
occurred between both
Israelis and Palestinians.
• In 1967 the Israeli
military invaded and
occupied these areas
(Golan Heights, the
West Bank, and Gaza
Strip).
• The Palestinian
minorities were forced
into refugee camps
where oppression and
violence are common.
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
• A cycle of retributive
violence has occurred
between the two
peoples:
• Forced out of their
homes, Palestinians
attack Israeli
neighborhoods.
• Fearing violence and
attacks, the Israeli
military invades the
Palestinian areas and
kills those suspected
of the violence.
August 21, 2003 the entire commercial area
of Nazlat 'Isa was razed to the ground as
some 15 bulldozers, accompanied by large
numbers of military and border police,
destroyed over 100 shops and 5 homes. PENTGON photo
One of the 117 olive trees uprooted by Israel
on 9 December 2004 in Jayyous. A truck driver
said he would bring the trees to the Tel Aviv
area, to be sold. (Photo: Christoph Gocke)
Israel has seized more than half of the
West Bank since 1967. AlJazeera
Workmen assemble a section of the Israeli
separation barrier, which will consist of
trenches, walls, barbed wire, electronic fences,
and patrol roads. When completed, the barrier
system will snake throughout the West Bank REINHARD KRAUSE/REUTERS
Scenario #1 Review
• Think for a minute about the Israeli-Palestinian
scenario we have looked at the past few days.
1. Discuss in your group if you believe this scenario to be
an act of “terrorism.” Remember that you must back
up your thinking with specific points from your
definition of terrorism. Give time for each group
member to share.
2. Does your definition of “terrorism” need to be
adjusted? If you answer yes to this question, spend a
few minutes doing so.
Scenario #2
The country of Menin?
The United States
The country of Pungor?
India
The corporation?
Union Carbide
Union Carbide – Bhopal Disaster
• Union Carbide, a subsidiary of Dow Chemical
Company. The Union Carbide plant in Bhopal,
India made pesticides.
• On the night of Dec. 2-3, 1984 the plant began
leaking chemicals.
• It is estimated that over 5,000 people were
killed on that night and as many as 10,000 since
due to birth defects, sicknesses, still births, etc.
Union Carbide – Bhopal Disaster
• Before the disaster, Union
Carbide began a series of cost
cutting decisions in order to
maximize profits:
• Filling chemical tanks
beyond recommended
levels.
• Poor maintenance at the
plant.
• Refusal to follow safety
procedures.
• Safety systems switched
off to save money –
including the chemical
refrigeration system.
• All of these were well known
prior to the disaster by the
Union Carbide Corporation.
Union Carbide – Bhopal Disaster
• It is estimated that between
100,000 and 200,000 people have
permanent injuries due to the
disaster.
• These include:
• eye problems
• Respiratory difficulties
• immune disorders
• Cardiac failure
• female reproductive
difficulties
• Birth defects
• Union Carbide and Dow Chemical
Company deny that any
permanent injuries were caused
by this chemical leak.
Union Carbide – Bhopal Disaster
• Union Carbide or Dow Chemical
Company refuse to clean up the
chemical plant, nor take
responsibility for the
environmental devastation of
Bhopal:
• The factory is now
abandoned, but chemical
contamination of the area is
everywhere.
• Several studies have shown
that the soil and groundwater
within 15 miles of the plant
have been contaminated.
• In 1991 the local authorities
declared water from over 100
wells unfit for drinking.
Union Carbide – Bhopal Disaster
• Prior contaminations had
occurred throughout the 1970s
and early 1980s – several
contaminated, livestock dying, etc.
• Workers had been injured and
even killed in accidents over the
years.
•Union Carbide and Dow Chemical
Company have paid for an
intelligence research organization
called Stratfor to spy on Bhopal
Disaster Activists.
• Warren Anderson, the CEO of
Union Carbide, was charged with
manslaughter by an Indian court,
but the U.S. refused extradition.
Scenario #2 Review
• Think for a minute about the Bhopal Disaster
scenario we have looked at the past few days.
1. Discuss in your group if you believe this scenario to be
an act of “terrorism.” Remember that you must back
up your thinking with specific points from your
definition of terrorism. Give time for each group
member to share.
2. Does your definition of “terrorism” need to be
adjusted? If you answer yes to this question, spend a
few minutes doing so.
Scenario #3
The country of Tobian?
The United States
The country of Ambar?
Nicaragua
The “country next door”?
Honduras
The guerrillas?
Contras
Nicaraguan Civil War
• Daniel Ortega, the leader of
the socialist rebel group
known as the Sandinistas
took control of Nicaragua in
1979.
• In 1980, new U.S. president
Ronald Reagan began the
push to support the antiSandinista government
counter-revolutionaries
known as Contras (short for
the Spanish name la
contrarrevolucion).
Nicaraguan Civil War
• A civil war would rage
between these two
groups for the next
decade.
• The Contras supported
by the U.S. and the
Sandinistas supported
by the communist
Cuban government.
• Most of the violence
committed between
these two groups was
not directed towards
each other, but
towards the civilian
population.
Nicaraguan Civil War
• The U.S. government
gave instructions to
the Contras to attack
“soft targets”
(undefended civilian
targets).
– Farmers’
cooperatives
– Hospitals
– Churches
– Village leaders
– Doctors
– Nurses
– Health care clinics
– Judges
Nicaraguan Civil War
• The CIA released a
manual for use with
Contra trained
leaders titled
“Implicit and Explicit
Terror.”
• It instructed the
Contras to continue
these attacks
claiming that the
people of Nicaragua
would lose
confidence in the
Sandinistas and join
with the counterrevolutionaries.
Nicaraguan Civil War
• The United Nations, in
a report issued in
1984, stated that the
U.S. supported
“Contras have killed,
tortured, raped,
mutilated and
abducted hundreds of
civilians. . .”
• Other reports claim
that the Contras have
kidnapped, tortured
and executed children
and burnt civilian
houses to the ground.
Nicaraguan Civil War
• "We found that there
is substantial credible
evidence that the
contras engaged with
some frequency in acts
of terroristic violence
directed at Nicaraguan
civilians... These are
individuals who are
not caught in the
cross-fire between
Government and
contra forces, but...
deliberately targeted
by the contras for acts
of terror."
~ International Human
Rights Law Group
School of the Americas
• Now known as
WHIN SEC.
• SOA is a U.S.
Defense
Department
program that trains
Latin Americans
with the tools to
protect Democratic
ideals throughout
the Western
Hemisphere
• Many of the Contras
were trained at
SOA.
• Nicaraguan Civil War / School of the Americas
Video link (7:45-24:30)
Scenario #3 Review
• Think for a minute about the Nicaraguan Civil War
(Contras / Sandinistas) scenario we have looked at
the past few days.
1. Discuss in your group if you believe this scenario to be
an act of “terrorism.” Remember that you must back
up your thinking with specific points from your
definition of terrorism. Give time for each group
member to share.
2. Does your definition of “terrorism” need to be
adjusted? If you answer yes to this question, spend a
few minutes doing so.
Scenario #4
The country of Anza?
The United States
The country of Baltus?
Sudan
The countries where the Anza embassies were
bombed?
Kenya and Tanzania
“Prominent” individual mention?
Osama bin Laden
Bombing of Kenyan and
Tanzanian Embassies
• On August 7th, 1998,
al-Qaeda, under the
leadership of Osama
Bin Laden,
simultaneously
bombed the
embassies of Kenya
and Tanzania.
News story video link
• Nearly 300 people
were killed and
some estimate over
4,000 wounded.
Bombing of Kenyan and
Tanzanian Embassies
• al-Qaeda claimed
responsibility.
• Bin Laden stated
that the strikes were
in retaliation for the
arrest and torture of
4 “terror” suspects
who had been
arrested 3 months
earlier by U.S.
forces.
Bombing of Kenyan and
Tanzanian Embassies
• The bombings
were on the 8th
anniversary of the
arrival of U.S.
troops to Saudi
Arabia, which was
the home-country
of Bin Laden.
U.S. Retaliatory Strike on Sudanese
Pharmaceutical Factory
• Less than 2 weeks later,
the U.S. fired a series of
Cruise Missiles from U.S.
ships in the Red Sea that
destroyed a Sudanese
Pharmaceutical factory.
• It was believed that the
factory was making
chemical weapons.
• It was also believed that
the owners of the factory
had ties with the al-Qaeda
organization.
• Both claims have now
been proven as false.
U.S. Retaliatory Strike on Sudanese
Pharmaceutical Factory
•The factory made
more than 70% of all
of Sudan’s medicine,
mostly Chloroquine,
the standard
treatment for malaria.
News story video link
• Some humanitarian
organizations believe
that the destruction of
much needed
medicine for the
Sudanese people has
killed another 20,000.
Scenario #4 Review
• Think for a minute about the U.S. Embassy in Kenya
and Tanzania (and the U.S. attack in Sudan)
scenario we have looked at the past few days.
1. Discuss in your group if you believe this scenario to be
an act of “terrorism.” Remember that you must back
up your thinking with specific points from your
definition of terrorism. Give time for each group
member to share.
2. Does your definition of “terrorism” need to be
adjusted? If you answer yes to this question, spend a
few minutes doing so.
Scenario #5
Sport-King?
Nike
The country of Morcosas?
The United States
Transnational Corporations: Nike
• You could replace “Nike”
with literally hundreds
of other TNCs.
• Transnational
Corporations (TNC) are
companies that do not
have only one country
of operation.
• For example, the
company may have their
administration located
in the U.S., but their
factories and other
operations are spread
out to 10 other
countries.
Transnational Corporations: Nike
Behind the Swoosh Video
• The U.S. headquarters
are in Beaverton, OR,
however, Nike has
factories in 12
different countries.
• These factories are
not technically
“owned” by Nike.
• The owners of these
factories are
contracted to make
Nike products.
• The minimum wage of
these factories on
average is 17 cents /
hour.
Scenario #5 Review
• Think for a minute about the Nike / Transnational
Corporations scenario we have looked at the past
few days.
1. Discuss in your group if you believe this scenario to be
an act of “terrorism.” Remember that you must back
up your thinking with specific points from your
definition of terrorism. Give time for each group
member to share.
2. Does your definition of “terrorism” need to be
adjusted? If you answer yes to this question, spend a
few minutes doing so.
What is terrorism?
• Spend 3 minutes looking
over the 5 different
scenarios.
• If you need to, revise
your definition of
terrorism.
• In your group, you will
have 1 minute to read
your definition of
terrorism, then explain
which 3 scenarios you
plan to write about and
why they connect to your
definition.
Student #1
Student #2
Student #3
Student #4
Crude Documentary