Chapter Twelve: Ideological Terrorism

1. Chapter Twelve:Ideological Terrorism

2. The Status of Ideological Terrorism

3. The Status of Ideological Terrorism • Ideological terrorism vs. single-issue terrorism • Ideological terrorism refers to small groups who terrorize for the purpose of imposing their political ideals on others • Single-issue terrorists embrace a single cause such as antiglobalism, animal rights, ecology, abortion, or anarchism • Ideological terrorism developed from theories of revolution and was closely tied to models of guerilla warfare

4. The Status of Ideological Terrorism • The effect of religious violence on ideological terrorism • Most of the groups lost sponsors when the Soviet Union collapsed • Right-wing groups modified their politics with tailored-made religions, especially in the United States • As death and violence increased with the advent of religious terrorism, many ideologues renounced violence • The nations that continued to support terrorism did so under the new rules of the game • They either endorsed religion or let the issue driving violence become a surrogate religion expressed in absolutist terms

5. The Status of Ideological Terrorism • Surrogate religion • The group replaces religious behavior with an ideology that has the power of religion • When violence is internalized, that is, focused on its own members, the group can become a religious cult • If the group targets victims in the outside world, it frequently behaves like a religious terrorist organization

6. The Status of Ideological Terrorism • State-sponsored terrorism • State-sponsored terrorism is terrorism supported by a nation-state • Ideology is related to state-sponsored terrorism, but ideological terrorism has been transformed since the fall of the Soviet Union • The ideology that supports terrorism tends to come from the passion surrounding an issue, not state sponsorship • State sponsorship may occur on the fringes, but a single ideology drives the violence

7. Ideology and Marighella’s Urban Model

8. Ideology and Marighella’s Urban Model • Urban guerilla and urban terrorism • Ideologically driven terrorism emerged from anticolonialism • The model for such terrorism was based on the idea of the urban guerilla and urban terrorism. These ideas were initially championed by Frantz Fannon

9. Ideology and Marighella’s Urban Model • Frantz Fannon • In the Wretched of the Earth, Fannon writes that Western powers have dehumanized non-Western people by destroying their cultures and replacing them with Western values • The masses end up suffering a perpetual identity crisis: To succeed, they are forced to deny their heritage. Fanon argues that the natives can follow only one course of action: revolution • He claimed decolonization was destined to be a violent process because it involved replacing one group of powerful people with another group; achieving freedom was inherently violent

10. Ideology and Marighella’s Urban Model • Frantz Fannon • Fanon advocated rural guerrilla warfare as the primary method of revolution • Terrorism had a specific purpose: to terrorize Westerners and their followers into submission • Urban terror was to create mayhem, and all terrorism was to be excessively brutal to communicate fear. Fanon’s guerrilla model thus uses terrorism as a strategy and deviates from typical guerrillas who try to build a military force

11. Ideology and Marighella’s Urban Model • Carlos Marighella and the Marighella model • For the Liberation of Brazil and The Minimanual of the Urban Guerrilla, Marighella designed and presented practical guides for terrorism • Marighella wanted to move violence from the countryside to the city and designed a method for organizing a campaign of terror that has been used by groups ranging across the political spectrum • The Japanese Red Army • The Freemen of Montana • The basis of revolution was violence • All violence could be urban-based and controlled by a small group of urban guerillas

12. Ideology and Marighella’s Urban Model • Robert Moss’ synopsis of Marighella’s writings • Urban terrorism was to begin with two distinct phases, one designed to bring about actual violence, and the other designed to give that violence meaning • The terror campaign was to be accompanied by a psychological offensive, that is, a mass movement of revolutionary sympathizers, to provide peripheral support for terrorists • A campaign of revolutionary terrorism in an urban setting could be used to destabilize government power; Governmental repression was the goal of terrorism at this stage • Marighella believed that the public supported government policies because they did not recognize the repressive nature of the state. A terrorist campaign would force the government to reveal that repressive nature, thereby alienating the public

13. Ideology and Marighella’s Urban Model • The firing team • The purpose of the urban guerrilla is to shoot. The job of the firing team, Marighella’s basic unit, is to kill • The firing team is composed of four to five terrorists. Several firing teams are needed to construct a terrorist organization, but the team can exist on its own • The firing team is the basic weapon of the urban guerilla

14. Ideology and Marighella’s Urban Model • The Marighella model and terrorism • This model of urban terrorism and revolution would be an excellent theory for revolutionaries if it were functional • It does not work; it does not topple governments • Most ideological terrorist groups have followed the path of Marighella. They cannot become strong enough to create a new order, but they can terrorize a community or country

15. The Demise of Left-Wing Ideology in Europe

16. The Demise of Left-Wing Ideology in Europe • Raymond Corrado and Rebecca Evans • The ideological terrorists of the 1960s, on both the left and the right, were expressing their frustration with the social structures imposed by a modern industrial society • The fundamental difference between ideological and nationalist terrorists can be found in their goals. Ideological terrorists in Europe reject the economic and social structure of industrial capitalism; they want a new order • Nationalists, on the other hand, frequently embrace capitalism and fight for ethnic self-determination. They desire economic opportunity within the context of a strong national identity. Nationalism stays, ideology does not

17. The Demise of Left-Wing Ideology in Europe • Raymond Corrado and Rebecca Evans • Corrado and Evans conclude, the popularity of nationalistic and left-wing terrorism was changing • As pluralistic governments worked to relieve frustration, the attractiveness of terrorism waned, and terrorists lost their support base. Corrado and Evans assumed that terrorist violence would fade away, only reappearing in a few sporadic incidents

18. The Demise of Left-Wing Ideology in Europe • Three key events that changed the political destiny and the world • The Berlin Wall came down, leading to the reunification of Germany • To the south, new nations emerging from the former Yugoslavia took up arms and resumed a centuries-old struggle • The Soviet Union dissolved, along with the authoritarian rule of the Communist Party in the republics of the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe

19. The Demise of Left-Wing Ideology in Europe • Pluchinsky and supraindigenous terrorism • By the term supraindigenous terrorism, Pluchinsky meant that local terrorist activities would extend beyond local boundaries; Each time a government brings one variety of terrorism into check, a new strain appears • As the structure of Europe and the world changed from 1989 to 1992, European terrorism also changed • Ideological terrorism swung from the left to right, changing its structure as it moved

20. The Demise of Left-Wing Ideology in Europe • Stephen Segaller • Segaller believes that the European leftists were seeking unity out of weakness, not strength • Modern European terrorism emerged in the 1960s as an extreme reflection of left-wing activism • By 1970, most left-wing groups and the resurgent nationalist groups modeled themselves after the Marighella model • In 1985, the left-wing movement faced its weakness and tried to form a confederation to gain momentum • The left-wing coalition was an effort to pool dwindling resources and support

21. The Demise of Left-Wing Ideology in Europe • The Red Brigades • The organization of the Red Brigades was unique in European terrorism • They came closer to matching the Marighella model than did any other group in Europe • The Red Brigades had a variety of urban centers. Each unit became a fairly autonomous organization within its own area

22. The Demise of Left-Wing Ideology in Europe • The current state of left-wing terrorism in Europe • The ideological basis for left-wing terrorism in Europe is out of vogue • Only three groups remained active in the 1990s • Dev Sol in Turkey • GRAPO in Spain • 17N in Greece • The ideological basis for left-wing terrorism has been eliminated • Single-issue terrorism is in its infancy in Europe • The bigger threat comes from international Jihadists, cultlike groups, and new strains replacing the old

23. Iraq Insurgency: Guerillas or Terrorists, Ethnic or Ideological?

24. Iraq Insurgency: Guerillas or Terrorists, Ethnic or Ideological? • Objectives for the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq • The United States sought to enforce a mandate from the United Nations to end the production and possession of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq • The United States wanted to end the reign of Saddam Hussein and implement a democratically elected government • The stated purpose was to end collusion between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda • After the major offensive, the campaign of violence against the United States and its allies was horrendous • Democratic elections took place in Iraq in January of 2005, but the Iraq insurgency continued

25. Iraq Insurgency: Guerillas or Terrorists, Ethnic or Ideological? • Three main insurgent groups • Displaced Ba’athists who were part of Sadddam Hussein’s regime • Many Ba’athists believe they can reclaim power. The see themselves engaged in a guerilla campaign • Iraqis who want the United States to leave their country • Sunni militants • Militant Shi’ites • Iraqi Criminals

26. Iraq Insurgency: Guerillas or Terrorists, Ethnic or Ideological? • Jihadists who have come to Iraq to fight the United States • Some flock from surrounding areas to fight as guerillas • Some are terrorists within an al Qaeda\-style umbrella • They are behind many of the murderous kidnappings and suicide bombings • The three insurgent groups do not share a common vision for the future of Iraq and they are frequently at odds with each other

27. Iraq Insurgency: Guerillas or Terrorists, Ethnic or Ideological? • The culture factor • An old Arab folk saying illustrates the overriding importance of family ties in Arab culture and the response to “the stranger”: “I and my brothers against my cousins; I and my cousins against the stranger” • When such cultural aspects combine with the various ideologies motivating insurgent groups, it is possible to see that a major portion of the insurrection does not involve terrorism • Many of the actions against Americans and their allies do not involve terrorism • If the United States is to end major combat operations in Iraq, it will need to implement a strategy that addresses the major issues that insurgents and terrorist groups use to justify violence