TERRORISM Terrorism has existed for centuries in one

TERRORISM

Terrorism has existed for centuries in one form or another. The events of Sept. 11/2001 placed terrorism close to home and made us look at this issue in a new way. Terrorism has had many definitions.

“A terrorist’s main goal is to create a state of terror in the minds of particular persons, or the general public. Terror is created through murder or assassinations, kidnappings, bombings and hijackings. Anything that makes the public feel unsafe and scared. The public looks to the government for a solution. Terrorism’s goal is to make the government in power look inept at stopping them. The terrorist must strike frequently and must have the act publicized. Media recognition is key to a terrorist.

The government in order to counter the terrorist acts must remove some civil liberties (spot checks, searches, arrests, curfews etc. ) The general population will become angry and frustrated, not at the terrorist but at the governments lack of success at stopping the terrorists. Eventually the terrorist believes the population will overthrow the government and place the once terrorists in charge” The above was the definition that I was given when I was in school.

An example of this definition was the terrorism that was affecting Europe and especially Italy in the late 1970’s. The Terror group known as the ‘Red Brigades’ were terrorizing the population with shootings and bombings of government officials. All in the name of communism. This group went as far as kidnapping and murdering the Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro.

The general population was never targeted but they were extremely scared, frustrated anxious. Eventually the population grew tired of the attacks and directed their anger not at the government but at the terrorist – they had gone too far. The police was successful in arresting some key figures and the movement slowly died out. Germany, Japan, France had similar problems. September 11 th brought out a new type of terrorism. Today the U. S. army defines terrorism as:

“The calculated use of violence or the threat of violence to attain goals that are political, religious or ideological through intimidation, coercion or instilling fear. ” The U. S. army categorizes two types of terrorism: Domestic Terrorism: where terrorist activities are directed at the government without foreign direction – eg. The Unabomber or Timothy Mc. Veigh International Terrorism: When there is a foreign connection like the 9/11 attacks.

Terrorism has existed throughout history: • Ancient Greeks used it for psychological warfare against their enemies. • Jewish ‘Zealots’ opposing Roman occupation. • The Spanish Inquisition used terrorism to control religious heresy. • The resistance fighters in France and Europe during the German occupation. • The American colonies during British colonialization. • Anarchist in the late 1900’s in Europe.

Governments have used terrorism to force obedience from their general population (called State Terrorism) (Dictatorships – Totalitarian): • Stalin in Russia • Hitler in Germany • Mussolini in Italy • Sadam Hussein in Iraq • Pinochet in Chile The list goes on.

The U. S. has even been accused of helping (called ‘State sponsored terrorism) some of these dictators that were sympathetic to U. S. foreign policy: • The Shah in Iran • Battista in Cuba • even Sadam Hussein in Iraq at one time

Some terrorist groups have fought for freedom or for sovereignty from a country: • The FLQ in Quebec • The Kurds in Turkey and Iraq • The Tamils in Sri Lanka • The IRA in Ireland • The Basques in Spain

Terrorists try to cause widespread fear and anxiety (psychological). They hope to break down the normal social order: • The Aum Shinrikyo group in Tokyo. More about this group later. • The Unabomber who was against the spread of technology • Tim Mc. Viegh who thought the government was too powerful

Terrorist are hard to catch. They don’t wear uniforms. They blend in with the population. They work in a cell structure. They may remain dormant for years. The causes of terrorism can also vary: • They can be geopolitical - over land, boundaries or freedom • They can be ideological – communism vs. capitalism • They can be religious – Islam, Judaism, Christianity. • They can be economical – Rich vs. Poor

• They can be cultural – French vs. English • They can be in the form of what the CIA calls ‘Blowback’ – an unintended response due to American foreign policy

“One person’s terrorist is another person’s freedom fighter” Nelson Mandela fought against Apartheid in South Africa. Some saw him as a terrorist, he was imprisoned. Yet he won the Nobel Peace Prize. The tragic events of 9/11 was a terrorist act, but some would say it was a necessary step to stop the expansion of the U. S. (especially in the Muslim world) and the survival of the Islamic religion.

Even the weapons of terrorist have changed over the years: • Torture and Kidnapping • Knives • Guns • Conventional bombs • Hijackings and skyjackings and using airplanes as weapons • The Internet (Cyber-terrorism) – the western economy depends on electronic communication.

• Chemical weapons • Biological weapons • Nuclear weapons The last three are called ‘Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) due to their killing and destructive power. Thankfully they have yet to be used on a large scale.

Key questions for a terrorist to ask before using a WMD are: 1. Where do I get the necessary materials to build a weapon of mass destruction? 2. How do I build one? 3. How will I deliver the weapon? Luckily the answers to these questions are either too expensive or technologically beyond the reach of a terrorist. Let’s look at each individually.

Chemical Weapons: Chemical agents kill or incapacitate people, destroy livestock or ravage crops. Chemical agents are odourless and tasteless and are difficult to detect. They simply travel with the wind and can have an immediate affect. In 1995 an extreme religious group called Aum Shirikyo (in Tokyo, Japan) released a nerve gas called Sarin into the Subway system. They simply held their breath, dropped bags containing sarin onto the train platform and broke the bags with umbrella tips and ran.

Twelve died, over 1 000 were injured. If the sarin was a bit more pure and the dispersal system more sophisticated, tens of thousands could have died. Biological Weapons (Bioterrorism) Biological agents are infectious microbes or toxins used to produce illness or death. They can also be spread by airborne particles and contaminate water and food. Antidotes are needed to combat biological weapons. Weeks after Sept. 11, letters containing Antrax spores were sent through the mail to media and government outlets. Several people died. Anthrax can kill 90% of its victims.

One big concern is the use of the Smallpox virus as a biological weapon. For centuries smallpox claimed the lives of millions of people. But through global cooperation and vaccination the virus was eliminated. The virus is officially kept in two places on earth, one in the U. S and one in Russia. Other countries are believed to have or want to purchase the virus. Smallpox killed 300 000 million worldwide in the 20 th century. Hopefully the virus will not get into the wrong hands. Smallpox has a 50% mortality rate. Vaccinations were stopped in the 1970’s. We all saw what SARS did, not only to the unfortunate people who died but to the entire economy and health system of Toronto.

Nuclear Weapons The greatest fear is a terrorist using nuclear weapons. The effects of a nuclear explosion and the radiation it releases should be well known. • A terrorist could buy a nuclear bomb. • Build a nuclear weapon, but first you need to buy weapons grade uranium or plutonium, you then need the money and technology to build it. • You then need a method of delivering and detonating the bomb. A cheap man’s nuclear bomb has been called a ‘Dirty Bomb’.

A dirty bomb consists of conventional explosives (TNT) to spread radioactive material. • A terrorist could also try and blow up a nuclear power plant and release radioactive material that way. It is unnerving to write about all the methods a terrorist could use to hurt people on a large scale. People must feel safe as they go about their lives, working, traveling and raising their children. Containing the threat of terrorism involves the process of ‘counter-terrorism’ or anti-terrorism’ The government of a country could do the following:

• Spy and interfere with the planning and organization of terrorist activity. In doing some of this there would be an invasion of privacy and certain general and ‘taken-for-granted’ freedoms might be taken away from the general public. This in itself is a problem. • Arrest, interrogate and even torture the suspected terrorist and get information from them. • Bring back the death penalty. • Assassinate them secretly. • The above three have moral implications.

• Militarily attack countries that harbour, train or support terrorists. Does a country have the right to invade another, especially when no formal war has been declared. You need some kind of proof. We have seen the problems the U. S. and Great Britain have had with the invasion of Iraq and the claim that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. We also saw how the U. N. did not approve of a war and tried to find these weapons with inspectors (the inspectors didn’t find any). The U. S. and British forces went in anyway.

• Warn the world of a terrorist threat. George Bush coined the phrase ‘Axis of Evil’ – North Korea, Iran and Iraq. • Stop the money flow of the terrorist and monitor international banking. • Put up economic sanctions on the country thought to support terrorists. • Protect your targets with security, surveillance and detection systems.

• Implement a warning system: The U. S. has developed ‘Operation Liberty Shield’. This system warns the population of the threat of a terrorist attack. Low = Green, Guarded = Blue, Elevated = Yellow, High = Orange, Severe = Red. Canada in November 2001 amended its antiterrorism bill (C-36). This bill included new police powers of arrest and detention. It also tighten the definition of the words ‘terrorist act’ to exclude illegal strikes and native blockades. It also looked at the right to protest. Another bill (C-42) called the Public Safety Act, allows the minister of defense to create military zones if there is a threat to national security.

The final strategy to remove or stop terrorism is to me by far the best one. It also happens to be the most difficult and complicated to implement. ‘Remove the conditions that cause terrorism to develop in the first place. ’ This is called the ‘root cause’. Give people a legitimate way to address their grievances. Try to solve the economic, social and geopolitical issues that cause hatred anger that can lead to terrorism.

Remove the inequality of wealth. In its purist sense Globalization promises all this. No more borders, no more poor, everyone working for the betterment of each other. Everyone accepts, even tolerates each others differences. Imagine!!! (John Lennon) A major source for this slide show was: Canada and the World, Backgrounder: Terrorism, January, 2002

The End!