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Lecture 2: History

Lecture 2: History. A Brief History of Terrorism. Historical examples. Zealots – Sicarri (1 st century) Murdered Romans in broad daylight in Jerusalem Muslim Assassins (11 th & 12 th centuries)

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Lecture 2: History

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  1. Lecture 2: History • A Brief History of Terrorism

  2. Historical examples • Zealots – Sicarri (1st century) • Murdered Romans in broad daylight in Jerusalem • Muslim Assassins (11th & 12th centuries) • Shia Muslim sect who attacked their enemies either covertly or in broad daylight, usually using a small blade like a dagger • Hindu Thugee (13th-17th centuries) • Originally a religious sect that strangled & robbed victims in ritual sacrifice

  3. 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 • Early terrorism in the U.S. • “Sons of Liberty” – provoked by Stamp Act, organized mobs to tar and feather colonists still loyal to the king, forcing many to flee the country and settle in Canada • Klu Klux Klan – effective in spreading fear; forced federal govt. to end Reconstruction

  4. A Brief History of Modern Terrorism • 4 Waves, Each roughly 40-45 years(David Rapoport) • Covers roughly 130 years of terrorism history • Anarchist Wave • Anti-Colonial/Decolonization Wave • New Left Wave/Leftist anti-Western sentiment • Religious Inspiration Wave Themes to consider for each wave: • Doctrines of terror • Technology (especially for communication/propaganda) • Avenues of funding and support • Organizations can transcend waves (e.g. IRA, ETA)

  5. 1) Anarchist Wave • Roughly 1880s to 1920s • Doctrines: • seeking to provoke state to the point where the reaction leads to popular revolt • Technology: • communication and transportation patterns; telegraph; daily newspapers; railroads; technology shrank time and space • weapons: mostly guns and knives; but invention of dynamite helped launch new terrorist capabilities • Financing: • Bank robberies, extortion, etc.

  6. Anarchists • Tsar Alexander II (1861) frees the serfs (1/3 of Russia’s population) and promises funds for them to use to buy land • Unable to provide those funds, raised expectations lead to widespread anger, disappointment, unrest; violence, assassinations • Narodnaya Volya (“people’s will”), Kropotkin’s “propaganda by the deed” Pre-cursor to Serbian group, Narodna Obrana (splinter: Black Hand), killed Archduke Ferdinand and helped spark World War I

  7. Anarchists • Other Examples: • Assassinations of Pres. McKinley, Spanish Prime Minister, etc. • Response of several governments was to create plain-clothes national police forces (FBI, Scotland Yard, Russian Okhrana, etc.); most are still in action today • 1919: President Wilson authorizes round up of all Anarchists; ship to Soviet Union; Anti-American speech made illegal

  8. 2) Anti-Colonial Wave • Circa 1920s – 1960s • Examples: Irgun (precursor to Lehi), the “Stern Gang” and other Zionist extremists; ANC in South Africa; GIA and GSPC in Algeria • Doctrines: • Freedom for indigenous peoples to decide own system, structure • Anti-racism, imperialism; fewer assassinations then previous wave; attacks mainly on police, military, colonial govt. targets • Technology: • Faster means of communication, transportation, money transfer • Financing: • Diaspora support, particularly from immigrants living in Western countries

  9. 3) New Left Wave • Circa 1960s – 1990s • Examples: Italian Red Brigades, ETA (Spain, France), Tamil Tigers (Sri Lanka), PLO (Middle East), Red Army Faction (Baader-Meinhof Gang) (Germany), Japanese Red Army, Sendero Luminoso (Peru) • Doctrines: • strategies for political change, Marxism, separatism • Anti-Western political movements encouraged by Soviets, Libyans, Iranians, Syrians, North Koreans etc. • Technology: • cell phones, digital timers, radar guns and other types of devices that could be used as trigger switches for explosives • Airplane hijackings • Global television media • Financing: • Could include state-sponsorship (e.g., Soviet Union), hostage ransoms

  10. 4) Religious Inspiration Wave • Current “wave” of terrorism • Religious Cults (e.g., Aum Shinrikyo) • Christian, Jewish and Islamist extremists • Violent anti-abortion movement • Doctrines: • superiority of God’s rules • oust “them” from holy lands; stop actions that “offend God” • Fatwas against the West; sermons condemning abortion • Technology: • Increasing sophistication of IEDs • Use of “ultimate smart bomb” (suicide terrorists) • New “Weapons of Mass Disruption” • The Internet • Financing: • Global trafficking in drugs & weapons • Diverted charity funds • Internet fraud, ID theft, etc.

  11. Conclusion Themes to consider for each wave: • Doctrines of terror • Technology (especially for communication/propaganda) • Avenues of funding and support • Organizations can transcend waves (e.g. IRA, ETA) What do we think about the future of these things?

  12. Questions?

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