WORLD101: TERRORISM

ASSET QUIZ QUESTIONS

Core text and video

1. What distinguishes terrorism from war and crime?

2. List three different motivations that might drive terrorists.

3. What does it mean for a terrorist organization to be state-sponsored? What

organizations, if any, fit those criteria?

4. Name three methods or tools used in counterterrorism efforts.

5. What are some ways in which counterterrorism policies affect Americans and
people in other countries?

15 Terrorist Groups You Need to Understand

1. What constitutes a terrorist group, and why is it this difficult to define?

2. What criteria does the U.S. State Department use to designate a terrorist
organization as terrorist?

3. What goals do terrorist organizations seek to achieve? What are the similarities
and differences between the goals of different groups?

4. How do terrorist organizations fund their activities?

5. List at least five different tactics used by terrorists.

How a Single Sentence Defined the War on Terrorism

1. List some examples of the changes enacted in the name of security after 9/11.

2. What is the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) and why
was it passed?
 3. What is the concept of a "fundamental incident" of war, and how was this
concept important in the interpretation of the 2001 AUMF?

4. What is an associated force of al-Qaeda, as it has been defined, and why is this
concept important to understanding ongoing U.S. military action?

Terrorism and the Media

1. Why have terrorists long considered media coverage important?

2. In what ways is the relationship between terrorism and the media “a two-way
street?”

3. How has media coverage of terrorism changed over time?

4. How has media coverage affected Americans’ perception of the terrorist

threat?

5. How have terrorist groups leveraged social media and mainstream media to
further their aims?

The Threat of Terrorism Today

1. Describe contemporary trends in terrorism, including the number of terrorist

incidents, terrorist-related deaths, and locations most affected.

2. Which groups were responsible for the majority of terrorist-related deaths in

2015?

3. In which regions do most terrorist attacks and terrorist-related deaths occur

today? Why?

4. What might account for the discrepancy between Americans’ perception of the
terrorist threat today and the reduced number of attacks that have occurred in
United States in recent years compared to earlier decades?

The Evolution of U.S. Counterterrorism Policy

 1. When and why were the first U.S. counterterrorism policies put into place?
How did those policies differ from the counterterrorism policies we see today?

2. What measures did the U.S. government take in the 1960s and 70s to combat
terrorist threats? Why?

3. When and why was the first Joint Terrorism Task Force established?

4. What major counterterrorism initiatives were undertaken taken during the

1980s and 90s? What do these reveal about the evolving threat of terrorism
and U.S. policy priorities in that era?

5. What major counterterrorism policies were initiated in the wake of 9/11? How
are these similar, and how are they different, from the counterterrorism
policies of previous decades?

6. What were the major elements of the Obama administration’s

counterterrorism policies? How did they continue and depart from the policies
of the George W. Bush administration?

Radicalization and Identity

1. What kinds of things motivate those who engage in terrorism?

2. What does it mean to be radicalized, and what does the radicalization process
include?

3. What approach do extremist groups take to radicalize and recruit individuals,

and what are some of the tactics they use?

4. How have technology and other factors changed the influences that many
young people look to? What are the implications of this for efforts to counter
radicalization?

5. Why is it important to consider the terms used to discuss terrorism, including

the phrase, “radical Islamic terrorism?”