TERRORISM IN THE 20TH CENTURY 1.

DEFINITION, PARTICULARITIES & CONSIDERATIONS ON TERRORISM

The history of humanity is written with the blood of those who fell in battles and wars. The actual border configuration, economic and political power is the result of all the wars that have been fought. People always wanted to have more. Very often more than they deserve. In the pursuit of gaining more some have put their intellect at work in order to create something new that would bring an income, while other searched for reasons to start a war against somebody and take what does not belong to them by force. The violent subjugation of the Palestinians, Iraqis, and Afghans will only ensure that those who oppose us will increasingly speak to us in the language we speak to themviolence.1 This is the main reason for all armed conflicts and this is a reason why terrorism appeared as a phenomenon of the modern society. We first fought... in the name of religion, then Communism, and now in the name of drugs and terrorism. Our excuses for global domination always change.2 Terrorism is a form of modern war, a war without borders, a war from the shadow probably the most unpredictable type of war. You never know for sure who your enemy is, where does it hide and whats going to be the next target. A definition of the terrorism would normally also contain a brief, general description of its promoters, of the persons & entities who carry the blame for letting this disastrous phenomenon exist. Commonly, the bad guys are individuals or groups. Nevertheless, I think theres a lot of confusion about evil, where it's all coming from. No one has the right to ignite a war and lead an occupation and armies to conquer people, invading them and make them suffer all kinds of torture, murder, expulsion, displacement, bombing and terrorism by different lethal prohibited weapons and then come and speak as the saviour of the people or a defender of their rights. There are many nations that have tasted the bitterness of the so-called democratization by force. What I find interesting about all this democratization is that the saved countries were either rich on natural resources, either strategically very important in terms of economy and military. So I wouldnt rush in dividing the parties into saviours and bad guys. Lets take the famous example of 9\11. Are you sure it wasnt a setup only just to find reasons to invade Iraq? Im not. Did they find nuclear weapons in Iraq? They didnt! Was there any evidence that the former Teheran governing was supporting Al Qaeda? There was not. At least not enough in order to start a war. Why was it Iraq? How can you declare war to a certain country if you have no single clue where the headquarters of Al Qaeda are? Go to the internet and go to the FBI website and go to their international list of top ten terrorists. You will see Bin Laden there, bring his name up and his picture. Amazingly, all the charges: the embassy of '98 and this other stuff is all listed. But, ironically nothing on 9/11. NOTHING! Now when the FBI was pressed as to why 9/11 wasn't included, their response was "We don't have enough evidence." Now, people, if you're like me that is extremely disturbing; we've fought two wars, we've changed our entire foreign policy and we've had the PATRIOT act put on us, all, supposedly, because of Osama Bin Laden!3 Or maybe the headquarters of terrorist organizations move from country to country exactly there where you have petroleum? This means starting a war on the basis of some suppositions. Furthermore: killing civilians! They did more, how they call it, collateral damage than neutralizing the armed forces of Iraq. Asymmetrical warfare is a euphemism for terrorism, just like collateral damage is a euphemism for killing innocent civilians.4 There is no moral difference between a Stealth bomber and a suicide bomber. They both kill innocent people for political reasons.5

1 2

Chris Hedges Serj Tankian 3 Jesse Ventura 4 Alan Dershowitz 5 Tony Benn

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Now, the legal definition for terrorism in US is: premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents.6 If you Google the word terrorism, the first result to show up (means best match7 + most viewed) is the Wikipedia version which defines terrorism as: Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, often violent, especially as means of coercion. Common definitions of terrorism refer only to those violent acts which are intended to create fear (terror), are perpetrated for a religious, political or, ideological goal; and deliberately target or disregard the safety of non-combatants (civilians). Some definitions now include acts of unlawful violence and war. Now think about the war in Iraq: it was premeditated, it was politically motivated and it was perpetrated against whomever, just to capture Teheran as quick as possible; it was perpetrated against civilians as well. The only element that doesnt match with the legal US definition of terrorism are the subnational groups or the clandestine agent. It was a state that invaded Iraq, so if not for the notion of war, the invasion of Iraq would be closest to the notion of terrorism. Even George W. Bush recognized that One of the hardest parts of my job is to connect Iraq to the war on terror. In the hypothesis that we would admit the general accepted elements of the notion of terrorism, which are: ineluctably political in aims and motives violent or, equally important, threatens violence designed to have far-reaching psychological repercussions beyond the immediate victim or target conducted by an organization with an identifiable chain of command or conspiratorial cell structure (whose members wear no uniform or identifying insignia) and 8 perpetrated by a subnational group or non-state entity and taking into consideration that the most terrorist organizations fight for something that has been taken by force from them (Chechnya, Palestine, Syria for example) we are calling terrorists non-state groups which use violence in the context of conflicts over national liberation and selfdetermination.9 Henceforth, the violence towards national liberation is terrorism while the violence aimed to conquer is democratization. More people have died in the processes of fighting terrorism and democratising everyone that has natural resources, than in the acts stated as being terrorist attacks. I dont want to take any side; I dont think it is a good thing to do: taking sides maybe this is the main reasons for all major wars; I just want to highlight that the main terrorist fighters are, in fact, not better than the entities they are fighting against. There will never be a definition for terrorism recognized by the international community. The Islam countries, for example, consider states like Israel10 and USA11 as being terrorist states and CIA12 and Mossad terrorist organisations. There are many points of view and Im sure everyone has a point, everyone has its

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U.S. Code Title 22, Ch.38, Para. 2656f(d) point (2) Best matches the searched word(s) 8 nd Bruce Hoffman, Inside terrorism, 2 ed., Columbia University Press, 2006, p. 41 9 Angus Martyn, The Right of Self-Defence under International Law - the Response to the Terrorist Attacks of 11 September 10 http://www.serendipity.li/zionism/israel_terr.htm 11 http://www.serendipity.li/wtc11.htm#vietnam_war 12 http://www.serendipity.li/cia/cia_terr.html

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reasons. Actually Mossad did train terrorists to kill Iran scientists13, while CIA trained Taliban terrorists14 in Afghanistan to fight against the Russians.
2.TYPES OF TERRORISM

In early 1975, the Law Enforcement Assistant Administration in the United States formed the National Advisory Committee on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals. One of the five volumes that the committee wrote was entitled Disorders and Terrorism, produced by the Task Force on Disorders and Terrorism under the direction of H.H.A. Cooper, Director of the Task Force staff.15 The Task Force classified terrorism into six categories. Civil disorder A form of collective violence interfering with the peace, security, and normal functioning of the community. Political terrorism Violent criminal behaviour designed primarily to generate fear in the community, or substantial segment of it, for political purposes. Non-Political terrorism Terrorism that is not aimed at political purposes but which exhibits conscious design to create and maintain a high degree of fear for coercive purposes, but the end is individual or collective gain rather than the achievement of a political objective. Quasi-terrorism The activities incidental to the commission of crimes of violence that are similar in form and method to genuine terrorism but which nevertheless lack its essential ingredient. It is not the main purpose of the quasi-terrorists to induce terror in the immediate victim as in the case of genuine terrorism, but the quasi-terrorist uses the modalities and techniques of the genuine terrorist and produces similar consequences and reaction. 16 For example, the fleeing felon who takes hostages is a quasi-terrorist, whose methods are similar to those of the genuine terrorist but whose purposes are quite different. Limited political terrorism Genuine political terrorism is characterized by a revolutionary approach; limited political terrorism refers to acts of terrorism which are committed for ideological or political motives but which are not part of a concerted campaign to capture control of the state. Official or state terrorism "referring to nations whose rule is based upon fear and oppression that reach similar to terrorism or such proportions. It may also be referred to as Structural Terrorism defined broadly as terrorist acts carried out by governments in pursuit of political objectives, often as part of their foreign policy. Several sources17 have further defined the typology of terrorism: Political terrorism Sub-state terrorism Social revolutionary terrorism Nationalist-separatist terrorism Religious extremist terrorism Religious fundamentalist Terrorism New religions terrorism
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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2099142/Mossad-training-terrorists-kill-Irans-nuclear-scientists-U-Sofficials-claim--Israels-real-target-Obama.html 14 http://rupeenews.com/usa/the-taliban-was-a-construct-of-the-cia-and-was-armed-by-the-cia/ 15 Disorders and Terrorism, National Advisory Committee on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals (Washington D.C.:1976). 16 "13 Beagles Stolen From Researchers". The New York Times. February 2, 1988. Retrieved 2010-01-11. "Animal-rights proponents have removed 13 beagles used for medical research ... A campus spokeswoman, Kathy Jones, called the theft a quasi-terrorist act."
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Hudson, Rex A. Who Becomes a Terrorist and Why: The 1999 Government Report on Profiling Terrorists, Federal Research Division, The Lyons Press, 2002. Barry Scheider, Jim Davis, Avoiding the abyss: progress, shortfalls and the way ahaed in combatting the WMD threat, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2009 p. 60. Terrorism and homeland security: an introduction with applications, by Philip P. Purpura, Butterworth-Heinemann, 2007, p. 16

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Right-wing terrorism Left-wing terrorism Single-issue terrorism State-sponsored terrorism Regime or state terrorism Criminal terrorism Pathological terrorism
3.TERRORIST ORGANISATIONS & TERRORIST ATTACKS

The United States Secretary of State, in accordance to the section 19 from the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), has declared the following organizations as being terrorist organizations: Middle East Gaza and the West Bank 1. Abu Nidal Organization (ANO) (International, Palestinian) 2. Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades (Palestinian) 3. Hamas (Islamic Resistance Movement) (Palestinian) 4. Army of Islam (Palestinian) 5. Islamic Jihad Group (Palestinian) 6. Palestine Liberation Front (PLF) (Palestinian) 7. Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) (Palestinian) 8. PFLP-General Command (PFLP-GC) (Palestinian) Iraq 1. Al-Qaeda Kurdish Battalions (formerly Ansar al-Islam) (Iraqi Kurdistan) 2. Kata'ib Hezbollah (Iraq) 3. Kongra-Gel (formerly Kurdistan Workers' Party) (KGK, formerly PKK, KADEK, KongraGel) (Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Syria) 4. Tanzim Qa'idat al-Jihad fi Bilad al-Rafidayn (QJBR) (al-Qaida in Iraq) (formerly Jama'at alTawhid wa'al-Jihad, JTJ, al-Zarqawi Network) (Iraq) Lebanon 1. Asbat an-Ansar (Lebanon) 2. Hezbollah (Party of God) (Lebanon) Israel 1. Kahane Chai (Kach) (Israel) Iran 1. Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK) (Iran) 2. Jundallah (People's Resistance Movement of Iran, or PRMI) (Iran)[3] Saudi Arabia 1. al-Qaida (Global) 2. al-Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) 3. al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (formerly GSPC) (The Maghreb) Asia Afghanistan 1. Haqqani network Bangladesh 1. Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami (HUJI-B) (Bangladesh) Sri Lanka 1. Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) (Sri Lanka) India 1. Indian Mujahideen (IM) (India) Japan 1. Aum Shinrikyo (Japan) Pakistan
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1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 1. 2. 3. 1. Africa

Harakat ul-Mujahidin (HUM) (Pakistan) Jaish-e-Mohammed (Army of Mohammed) (JEM) (Pakistan) Lashkar-e Tayyiba (Army of the Righteous) (LET) (Muridke, Pakistan) Lashkar i Jhangvi (Pakistan) Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) (Pakistan) South East Asia Jemaah Islamiya organization (JI) (Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Singapore) Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) (Philippines) Communist Party of the Philippines/New People's Army (CPP/NPA) (Philippines) Uzbekistan Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) (Uzbekistan)

Somalia 1. Al-Shabaab (Somalia) Algeria 1. Armed Islamic Group (GIA) (Algeria) Egypt 1. Gamaa al-Islamiyya (Egypt) Other countries 1. Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG) (Libya) 2. Lord's Resistance Army (Uganda) 3. Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group (MICG) (Morocco) Europe United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland 1. Continuity Irish Republican Army (CIRA) (United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland) 2. Real Irish Republican Army (RIRA) (United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland) 3. Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) (United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland) 4. Ulster Defence Association (UDA) (United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland) Greece 1. Revolutionary Organization 17 November (Greece) 2. Revolutionary Struggle (Greece) Turkey 1. Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C) (Turkey) 2. Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) (Turkey) Spain 1. Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (Basque Fatherland and Liberty) (ETA) (Spain, France) South America Colombia 1. National Liberation Army (ELN) (Colombia) 2. Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) (Colombia) 3. United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) (Colombia) Peru 1. Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso, SL) (Peru)18 If you analyse the motivation of any of these organisations, youll almost inevitably say the following key-words: independence, national liberation, self-determination. I dont have the moral right to judge whether these organisations have the right to claim what they are claiming, but I can say it seems totally logical to me that the Palestinians would want their territories back after the state of Israel was founded 60 years ago out of a monstrous crime the expulsion of nearly a
18

Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism (January 19, 2010). "Foreign Terrorist Organizations".state.gov. U.S. State Department. Retrieved June 17, 2010.

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million Palestinians from their homes. This violence is known to Palestinians as the Nakba the Arabic word for catastrophe. It was followed by a second humanitarian disaster in 1967 when Israel seized the whole of Jerusalem and the entirety of historic Palestine leading to over 40 years of military occupation and wave after wave of killings in defence of the Zionist state. The birth of the new state of Israel was assisted by the world superpowers as the US and the Soviet Union first backed the United Nations (UN) plan for the partition of Palestine and then recognised the state of Israel. The starting gun for the Zionist seizure of most of Palestine was fired by the United Nations General Assembly, which voted in November 1947 to divide Palestine in two, leaving a Jewish state and a Palestinian state side by side. The partition plan was manifestly unjust to the Palestinians and I see it as a normal effect that they fight for their lands. It is just that the car bomb is the poor mans air force.19 I also do not see anything wrong about the population in Chechnya wanting their lands back from the Russian Empire20. Terrorism is the price of empire. If you do not wish to pay the price, you must give up the empire.21 No big power is willing to give up what theyve conquered; so what if they just use the euphemism terrorism for the notion national liberation in order to have the moral right to fight against it? The difference between a terrorist and a freedom fighter is a matter of perspective: it all depends on the observer and the verdict of history.22 The history is written by those who won the major wars. This is the main problem of the history as a subject: it reveals only a part of the truth and it rushes with conclusions there where it should let the people draw their own conclusions and form their opinions on various events.
4.HOW TO STOP TERRORISM

The phenomenon of terrorism is a reality of the modern society because of two reasons. First because the great powers take what they are not entitled to and find reasons in order to invade countries and exploit their resources. Terrorism is not the disease itself, it is the symptom, it is not the reason of violence, it is the reaction to it. Islamic killers are over here because we are over there. 23 More than that: the fight against terrorism mustnt be fiercer and bloodier then the terrorism itself. We all have to be concerned about terrorism, but you will never end terrorism by terrorizing others.24 Making excess of power and invoking terrorism just to have reasons to invade a country discredits the fight against terrorism. Another important thing to do, or maybe not to do is not provoking people to act violent. For example I do not see any difference between the Munich Dictate (1938) and UN General Assembly voting the division of Palestine (1947); in other words the robbery of the Palestinian lands which were given to Israel. The second reason why terrorism exists is the particular to the Islamic nations: the education based on religion. Why does a young Muslim, in the prime of life, with a full life ahead, go and blow himself up in a bus full of innocent passengers? In our countries, religion is the sole source of education, and this is the only spring from which that terrorist drank until his thirst was quenched. He was not born a terrorist, and did not become a terrorist overnight. Islamic teachings played a role in weaving his ideological fabric, thread by thread, and did not allow other sourcesI am referring to scientific sourcesto play a role. It was these teachings that distorted this terrorist, and killed his humanity; it was not [the terrorist] who distorted the religious teachings, and misunderstood them, as some ignorant people claim. When you recite to a child still in his early years the verse 'They will be
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Mike Davis I would rather call it Empire than Federation 21 Patrick Buchanan, Where the Right Went Wrong 22 Pentti Linkola, Can Life Prevail? 23 Patrick Buchanan, Where the Right Went Wrong 24 Martin Luther King

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killed or crucified, or have their hands and feet on alternative sides cut off,' regardless of this verse's interpretation, and regardless of the reasons it was conveyed, or its time, you have made the first step towards creating a great terrorist.25 The key to tackling Islamist fundamentalism and terrorism from the Islamist community is in the hands of moderate Muslims.26 This is, in my opinion not the key, but, nevertheless, is a good point. Everybodys worried about stopping terrorism. Well, theres a really easy way: stop participating in it.27 Terrorism as a phenomenon may never go away. But if it is to be contained, the first step is for America to at least acknowledge that it shares the planet with other nations, with other human beings who, even if they are not on TV, have loves and griefs and stories and songs and sorrows and, for heaven's sake, rights.28

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Wafa Sultan Gijs de Vries 27 Noam Chomsky 28 Arundhati Roy (The Algebra of Infinite Justice, 2001)

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