Below is the outline of selected international terrorist attacks:

January 24, 1975 —New York: Bomb set-off in historical Fraunces Tavern killed and injured more than 50 persons. Puerto Rican nationalist group claimed responsibility and police tied 13 other bombings to it.

1. April 18, 1983 —Beirut, Lebanon: US embassy is destroyed in a suicide car-bomb attack: 63 dead.
2. October 23, 1983 —Beirut. Lebanon: Shiite suicide bombers exploded trucks near US military barracks at Beirut airport, killing 241 Marines. minutes later a second bomb killed 58 French paratroopers in their barracks in West Beirut.
3. June 14. 1985 —BeIrut. Lebanon: Athens to Rome TWA Flight 847 was forced to fly to Beirut by gunmen apparently connected to Hezbollah. the Shiite Muslim terrorist group in Lebanon. The group demanded the release of 700 prisoners in Lebanon and Israel. During the standoff. US Navy diver. Robert Stethem, was executed and his body tossed from the plane onto the runway. The 17-day crisis ended when the hijackers flew toAlgiers and released the hostages.
4. June 23, 1985 —offCoast of ireland: Air India Boeing 747 exploded over the Atlantic as a result of a terrorist-planted bomb. All 329 aboard were killed. Sikh separatist group was thought to be responsible.

December 21, 1988 —Lockerbie,, Scotland: N.Y-bound Pan-Am Boeing 747 exploded in flight from a terrorist bomb and crashed into Scottish village, killing all 259 aboard and 11 on the civilians. Instead, they focus on such tactics as kidnapping business tycoons. government officials and symbolic bombing of strategic targets.

1. e) Right-wing terrorist are often associated with neo-Nazi street rioting in Western Europe and parts of Eastern Europe. They are often dominated by skinheads who seek to do away with liberal democratic governments and create fascist states in their place. Ieo-fascist groups frequently attack immigrants and refugees from eIoping countries. They are mainly racists and anti-Semitic on the ground). Passengers included 35 Syracuse University students and many US military personnel. Two Libyan intelligence officers were tried under Scottish law in The Hague: only one. Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Meghrahi, was found guilty in January 2001 (after 13 years protracted trial).
2. February 26,1993 —New York City: Bomb exploded in basement of World Trade Centre killing six and injuring at least 1040 others. Six Middle Eastern men were later convicted in this act of vengeance for Palestinian people. They claimed to be retaliating against U.S support for Israeli government.
3. January 1995 —Manila, Philippines: When a bomb exploded accidentally in a Manila apartment, police uncovered major terrorist plot. Associates of Osama bin Laden had planned to blow up 12 planes as they flew from South East Asia to U.S. crash another aircraft into CIA headquarters. and to kill the pope. This plot appears to be the “seed” of9/l I attack in 2001).
4. April 19, 1995 —Oklahoma City: truck bomb exploded outside federal office building, collapsing walls and floors. 168 persons were killed, including 19 children and one person who died in rescue effort. Over 200 buildings were destroyed. Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols were later convicted in the anti-government plot to avenge the Branch Davidian standoff in Waco. Texas, exactly two years earlier.
5. March,1995 —Tokyo, Japan: members of Aunt Shmnkyo, a

Jaese cult, released sarin nerve gas into the Tokyo subway, killing 12 and wounding over 3500.’

1. June 25, 1996 —Dharan, Saudi Arabia: truck bomb exploded outside Khoba Towers military complex, killing 19 American servicemen and injuring hundreds of others. Thirteen Saudis and a Lebanese all alleged members of Islamic militant group, Hezbollah, were indicted in June 2001 on charges relating to the attack (after 5 years of trial).
2. August 7, 1998 —Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar el Salaam, Tanzania: truck bombs exploded almost simultaneously near two U.S embassies, killing 224 (213 in Kenya and 11 in Tanzania), and

injuring about 4500. Four men two of whom had received training at al-Qaeda camps inside Afghanistan, were convicted of the killings in May 2001 and later sentenced to life in Prison. A federal grand jury had indicted 22 men in connection with the attacks, including Saudi dissident. Osama bin Laden.

3. December, 1999 – Canada: authorities arrested an Algerian trying to enter the U.S from Canada and foiled a Millennium Terror plot to detonate a bomb at Los Angeles International Airport in the days before January 1, 2000.
4. October 12, 2000 —Aden, Yemen: U.S Navy destroyer USS Cole was heavily damaged when a small boat loaded the explosives blew up alongside it. Seventeen sailors were killed what was apparently a deliberate terrorist attack. Prime suspect thought to be Osama bin Laden, or members of his al-Qaeda terrorist network.
5. September 11, 2001 —New York City and Arlington V.A:

American Airlines Boeing 767 and United Airlines Boeing 767, both en route Boston to Los Angeles were hijacked and flown only minutes apart into the north and south towers of the World Trade Centre in New York City. Shortly afterwards. American Airlines Boeing 757. en route from Washington DC to Los Angeles. crashed into the Pentagon. A fourth hijacked plane operated by United and headed for Newark from San Francisco crashed in a field in Shanks Ville. PA. Both World Trade Centre towers collapsed, and a section of the Pentagon was destroyed. All 266 passengers and crew aboard the planes were killed total dead and missing numbered about 3263. The names of the 19 hijackers, four of whom have been connected with terrorist Osama bin Laden, were released in mid-September, 2011.

 

LIST OF MAJOR TERRORIST ORGANISATIONS

Below is a list of major terrorist organizations in the        world.

1. Liberation of Tigers or Tamil Eeiam, Sri Lanka
2. Mujahedin-E-Khalq Organization. Worldwide
3. National Liberation Army, Colombia
4. Palestine Islamic Jihad-Shiqaqi Faction, Middle East
5. Popular Liberation Front-Abu Abbas Faction. Middle East

6.Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, Israel.        Syria,Lebanon

7. Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine- 8.General Command, Israel, Lebanon, Egypt Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia,                   Colombia
8. Revolutionary Organization 17 November, Greece
9. Revolutionary Peoples Liberation Party/Front. Turkey.
10. Revolutionary Peoples Struggle, Greece
11. Shining Path, Peru
12. Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement. Peru
13. Abu Nidal Organization, Middle East, Asia
14. Abu Sayyaf Group, Philippines
15. Al-Qaeda Worldwide
16. Armed Islamic Group, Algeria, France
17. Aum Shinrikyo, Japan, Russia
18. Euzkadi TaAskatasuna, Spain
19. A1-Gam&aAl-lslamivya, Egypt
20. Harnas, israel, Occupied Territories, Jordan
21. Harakat Ul-Mujahedin, Kashmir. Afghanistan. Pakistan
22. Hizballalt. Lebanon
23. Japanese Red Army, Possibly in Lebanon
24. Al-Jihad. Egypt
25. Kach. Israel. West Bank
26. Kahane Chi, Israel, West Bank
27. Kurdistan Workers’ Party. Turkey. Europe

 

DOMESTIC TERRORISM

Domestic Terrorism involves groups or individuals, who are based and operate within the territories of a country without foreign direction and whose acts are directed at target and elements of the government and civilian population. Domestic terrorist groups can be classified as:

1. a) Right-wing terrorist groups who adhere to the principles of racial supremacy and embrace anti-government, anti-regulatory beliefs. Generally, extremist right-wing groups engage in activity that is protected by constitutional guarantees of free speech and assembly.
2. b) Left-wing domestic terrorists generally profess a revolutionary (radical) ideology and view themselves as protectors of the people against the dehumanizing effects of capitalism and imperialism.
3. c) Special Interest terror groups seek to influence specific issues rather than effect widespread political change. They conduct acts of politically motivated violence to force segments of the society, including the general public to change attitude about issues considered important to their causes. For example, the assaults and murders of doctors, who perform abortions under the law in some countries, fall under special interest terrorism.

In summary, domestic terrorism is expressed in activities, which have the following characteristics:

1. a) Involve acts dangerous to human life that violate law and order
2. b) Acts intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population or to threaten and affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, kidnapping or sabotage of key public interest facilities
3. c) Occur primarily within the territorial jurisdiction of the country in question.

 

INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM

International terrorism is defamed in nearly identical way, except that it occurs or transcends national boundaries and enjoys foreign influence, support and partnership. International terrorism also differs from domestic terrorism in terms of means and network through which their acts are accomplished, the persons or targets they intend to intimidate or coerce. the scale in which their perpetrators operate and the symbolic high profile targets chosen for attacks.

 

STATE TERRORISM

Governments, international organizations, private institutions and some scholars believe that the term terrorism is one’ applicable to actions of violent non-state actors. To this, I disagree. They argue that, at best. states might use terrorism as proxy warfare in their foreign policy. In other circumstances, States play host to terrorist groups and provide invaluable support. Democratic regimes may foster state terrorism of populations outside their borders or perceived as alien but they do not terrorize their own populations because a regime that is truly based on violent suppression of its citizens would cease to be democratic. Some scholars can even argue that declaring war and sending the military to fight other military is not terrorism, nor is the use of violence to punish criminals and militants, who terrorize the civilian population (Stohl, 2006).

The major contention is that if States were considered the major actors in terrorism, the whole analytical assessment of terrorism as a weapon of the weak and non-state actors to intimidate and create fear would collapse. But this is only one aspect of the argument. I align myself with scholars, who see the state as the main actor in terrorism, whose actions, by omission or commission, promotes or curtails terrorism. State terrorism refers to acts of terrorism conducted by a state against a foreign state or people, or against its own people. The encyclopedia Britannica online defines terrorism generally as “the systematic use of violence to create a general climate of fear in a population and thereby to bring about a particular political objective”. It is further stated that “establishment terrorism, often called state or state-sponsored terrorism, is employed by governments, or more often by factions within governments against foreign governments or groups”. Popular examples include Syria, Libya, Saudi Arab ia. Iraq, Iran, Pakistan and North Korea.

While the more common usage of the word terrorism refers to civilian-victimizing political violence by insurgents, militants or extreme groups, several scholars have made broader interpretation of the nature of terrorism, which implicate state-sponsored terrorism. Michael Stohi (2006) argues that “the use of terror tactics is common in international relations and the State has been and remains a more likely employer of terrorism within the international system than insurgents”. Gus Martin describes State terrorism as terror acts committed by governments and quasi-governmental agencies and personnel against perceived threats which can be directed against both domestic and foreign targets. Similarly, Naom Chomsky defines state terrorism as “terrorism practiced by states (or governments) and their agents and allies” (Chomsky, 1998).

It is important to understand from the perspective of this lecture that in “terrorism”, the violence threatened or perpetrated has purposes broader that simple physical harm to a victim. The audience of the act or threat of violence is more important than the immediate victim. ###