SS 474 TERRORISM COUNTERTERRORISM Lesson 1 Introduction

SS 474: TERRORISM & COUNTERTERRORISM Lesson 1: Introduction to the Study of Terrorism Agenda: 1) Course Admin Review 2) Course Assignment #1 3) Lesson 1: Defining Terrorism COMBATING TERRORISM CENTER at West Point Dr. James Forest Director of Terrorism Studies

Course Assignment #1 Terrorist Group Analysis • 3 -page case study • Describe a terrorist group, including motivations, structure, strategy, etc. • Due 8 September, NLT 1600 • Your performance on this will determine who is selected to go on the DC trip COMBATING TERRORISM CENTER at West Point Dr. James Forest Director of Terrorism Studies AB 95 -5. PPT // ##

Course Admin notes • Tuesday, 22 August – E Hour, GEN Downing • Thursday, 24 August – Lesson 2: History of Terrorism • Sunday, August 27 – Counterterrorism Fellowship reception, with military officers from 32 countries, at the Thayer Hotel, Lawn Terrace – See Sign-up Sheet • Read, read like your life depends on it • Guest lectures are mandatory (esp. GEN Downing) • No “office hours” but e-mail me for appointments • Some class or lecture dates may change: Always check the course website for latest information COMBATING TERRORISM CENTER at West Point Dr. James Forest Director of Terrorism Studies AB 95 -5. PPT // ##

SS 474: TERRORISM & COUNTERTERRORISM Lesson 1: Introduction to Terrorism • Current Events • Terrorist Hotspots? • Reflections on the assigned readings – – – Hoffman Stern Crenshaw Ahmad Pillar COMBATING TERRORISM CENTER at West Point Dr. James Forest Director of Terrorism Studies

Defining Terrorism • Definitions – Many – Ambiguous – Are terrorists “freedom fighters”? – Matter of perception? – What is the relationship between insurgency and terrorism? Are all insurgents terrorists? Are all terrorists insurgents? – AW/UW, 4 GW and terrorism COMBATING TERRORISM CENTER at West Point Dr. James Forest Director of Terrorism Studies

The Study of Terrorism: Implications for the Education of Military Officers (According to GEN Downing and GEN Mc. Caffrey) Officers must have a total grasp of the struggle, not just the terrorist acts Why is terrorism being used as a tactic? What are the political goals? Part of an insurgency? What are the political, social, economic, cultural, information dimensions of the conflict as well as the security and military aspects. How do these interrelate? Training on tactics, techniques, and procedures can be developed but not until the leaders have the background COMBATING TERRORISM CENTER at West Point Dr. James Forest Director of Terrorism Studies

Terrorism: Key Terms • • • Vision Power Strategy Tactic Duty Shame Freedom fighter Self-sacrifice Will to kill Skill to kill COMBATING TERRORISM CENTER at West Point • • • Ideology Indoctrination Radicalization Rationalization Emotions Moral Disengagement Communicative Acts Facilitators/Causes Learning Organization Counter vs. Anti Hard/Soft Power Dr. James Forest Director of Terrorism Studies AB 95 -5. PPT // ##

Certain aspects are fundamental • Political act – Desire for political change – Terrorism is typically non-state in character • (Note the separate but related topic of state terrorism – typically antithetical to the desire for political change. ) • States can terrorize, but they are not terrorists. – Terrorists do not abide by norms • They target innocents • They seek psychological trauma COMBATING TERRORISM CENTER at West Point Dr. James Forest Director of Terrorism Studies

Defining Terrorism Primary Types • • Left-wing Right Wing Ethno-nationalist (separatist) Religious COMBATING TERRORISM CENTER at West Point Dr. James Forest Director of Terrorism Studies AB 95 -5. PPT // ##

Left wing terrorist • Driven by liberal or idealist political concepts • Prefer revolutionary anti-authoritarian antimaterialist agendas • Typically target elites that symbolize authority • Examples? COMBATING TERRORISM CENTER at West Point Dr. James Forest Director of Terrorism Studies

Right wing terrorists • Often target race and ethnicity • Examples? COMBATING TERRORISM CENTER at West Point Dr. James Forest Director of Terrorism Studies

Ethnonationalist/separatists • Usually have clear territorial objectives – Liberation/separation – Popular support usually along ethnic/racial lines. • Examples? COMBATING TERRORISM CENTER at West Point Dr. James Forest Director of Terrorism Studies

Religious terrorists • Believe involved in a struggle of good vs evil • Acting along desires of a diety – audience is thus not necessarily human. • Feel unconstrained by law – higher calling • Complete alienation from existing socio/political order • Support may be diffuse • Ideologies are supremacist & absolutist • Examples? COMBATING TERRORISM CENTER at West Point Dr. James Forest Director of Terrorism Studies

Historical Examples • Zealots – Sicarri 1 st century BCE – Murdered Romans in broad daylight in Jerusalem • Hindu Thugee – Thugs originally religious sect that strangled & robbed victims in ritual sacrifice • Muslim Assassins – It is a myth that the word assassin comes from the Arabic word haschishin for hashish user. – Assassin comes from Hassassin -- a follower of Hassan – Hassan was Persian not Arabic COMBATING TERRORISM CENTER at West Point Dr. James Forest Director of Terrorism Studies

Historical Examples • French revolution – Use of revolutionary tribunals to prop up the French republic. – Rule by fear/terror – Robespierre’s “lists” • Iraq – Hussein regime uses chemical weapons to subdue uprising among Kurdish villages – Rule by fear/terror – Contemporary groups using terrorism. . . COMBATING TERRORISM CENTER at West Point Dr. James Forest Director of Terrorism Studies

Historical Examples Irish Republican Army Hizballah ETA (Basque Separatists) LEHI, Stern Gang and Zvi Irgun (Jewish extremists) Tamil Tigers (LTTE) Sendero Luminoso FARC MRTA (Tupac Amaru movement) Al Qaida Jemaah Islamiya Aum Shinrikyo Moro Islamic Liberation Front Egyptian Islamic Jihad COMBATING TERRORISM CENTER at West Point Algerian GIA and GSPC Syrian Muslim Brotherhood Hizb ut-Tahrir Al Qaeda in Iraq Lashkar-e Taiba (and other Kashmir groups) Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan Italian Red Brigades Red Army Faction (Baader Meinhof Gang) U. S. -based militia groups The Order, the Aryan Brotherhood, Christian Identity, The Sword, the Covenant & Arm of the Lord Many, many others. . . Dr. James Forest Director of Terrorism Studies

More history of terrorism • First VBIED (or “Car Bomb”) terrorist attack? New York City, September 1920 • Terrorist: Italian anarchist Mario Buda • Vehicle: Horse-drawn wagon • Target: Corner of Wall and Broad streets (directly across from JP Morgan Company) • Attack: The wagon—packed with dynamite and iron slugs— exploded at precisely noon in a fireball of shrapnel, killing 40 and wounding more than 200. COMBATING TERRORISM CENTER at West Point Dr. James Forest Director of Terrorism Studies

More history of terrorism • Second VBIED (or “Car Bomb”) terrorist attack? Haifa, Palestine (now Israel) January, 1947 • Terrorists: Stern Gang (a pro-fascist splinter group led by Avraham Stern that broke away from the right-wing Zionist paramilitary Irgun) • Vehicle: Truck • Target: British police station in Haifa • Attack: A truckload of explosives was driven into the station, killing 4 and injuring 140. (The Stern Gang would soon use truck and car bombs to kill Palestinians as well, as part of their extremist agenda) COMBATING TERRORISM CENTER at West Point Dr. James Forest Director of Terrorism Studies

Basic trends in modern terrorism • More violent attacks (and increasing lethality) • Increasing use of suicide bombers (the ultimate smart bomb) • Religious terrorist groups most common (even insurgencies and ethnic separatist groups use religion to justify violence) COMBATING TERRORISM CENTER at West Point Dr. James Forest Director of Terrorism Studies

Lesson 1: Wrap-up – What is a terrorist? – Who is a terrorist? – Terrorists do not want a "terrorist state" so, what do terrorists desire and what motivates terrorists? – Why do definitions matter? COMBATING TERRORISM CENTER at West Point Dr. James Forest Director of Terrorism Studies

Questions? COMBATING TERRORISM CENTER at West Point Dr. James Forest Director of Terrorism Studies