Transcript Topic Two - General History of Terrorism

Terrorism & Political Violence
Topic Two
The General History of Terrorism
© William Eric Davis – All Rights Reserved
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The 1st Recorded Case of Terrorism
In the year 48 A.D. a Jewish sect calling itself the
“Zealots” carried out a campaign of terror
hoping to spur an insurrection against Roman
occupation of Judea (Israel/Palestine).
Their tactics were assassination with daggers of
Roman soldiers along with specific Jewish
collaborators.
This is the origin of the modern day term “zealot”
– meaning a fanatical partisan.
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Zealot Tactics
The Zealots were not capable of, and were not
interested in, mass casualties.
They were not as much motivated by religion
as they were nationalism – that is, to end
foreign occupation of “their land.”
The objective was to send warnings to Roman
officials, soldiers and collaborators by
spreading fear among them.
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The 5 Main Eras of Terrorism
I. Pre-French Revolution (48 A.D. – 1789)
II. Revolutionary/Anti-Colonial Terror (1789-1930)
III. State Terror (1930-1968)
IV. International Terror (1968-1990)
V. Religious & Mass Casualty Terror (1990-Present)
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I. Pre-French Revolution Era
(48 A.D. – 1789)
Note that the period is over 1700 years long.
Assassination was the tactic of choice (usually with a
dagger) — where specific people were targeted rather
than indiscriminate random attacks.
Terrorism was very rare and not related to religion very
often. Main motivation was ethnic and tribal.
After the birth of Christianity and Islam, both having
broken away from Judaism, the 3 religions got along
relatively peacefully until a few centuries before the
Crusades.
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The Sicarii
The Sicarii (Ziccari, Siccari) was a jewish religious sect
that fomented a popular uprising against Roman
occupiers of Palestine between 66 and 70 A.D.
They struck in broad daylight with dagger attacks with
plenty of witnesses to show the Romans could not
protect themselves or their collaborators. The purpose
was to provoke indiscriminate counter-measures by
the Romans and they succeeded in this.
The Sicarii met their end at their last fortress at Masada
in 70 A.D. when they all committed ritual murder and
suicide rather than be taken prisoner.
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The “Assassins”
Take their name from the Arab word for “hash eaters” -“Hashashins.”
They were a division of a Shiite Muslim sect that appeared
in the 11th century. The Mongols wiped them out in the
13th century, so they lasted 200 years.
The killed victims (mostly enemies) with golden daggers
while under the influence of the drug (often while victim
was asleep). The drug was meant to invoke visions of
paradise before they set out on their missions.
They are the inspiration of the modern radical Islamic
terrorists who believe they will ascend into heaven if
killed while on a murderous holy war (jihad) mission.
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The “Thuggee”(1550-1857)
An Indian Hindu group whose 300 year existence
introduced the word “thug” into several languages.
“Thugs” believed that Bhowani or ‘Kali the Black One’
bestowed success on the worthy but demanded the
sacrifice of lives in return.
They strangled their victims with silk scarves in a
ritualistic murder, often after encountering them on
highways.
The choice of victim was random and indiscriminate. They
chose targets of opportunity, not religious or
philosophical enemies. They made no demands and did
not target rulers or officials.
The British drove them underground in 1837 and they
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were extinct by 1857).
Thuggees (Thugs)
II. The Revolutionary/Anti-Colonial Terror Era
(1789-1930)
This era began with the French revolution and also
marks the rise and fall of colonialism.
It also begins “ideological” terrorism directed either
internally at nation’s own population or outward
toward other nation’s populations.
Many nations in the latter half of this period began to
break apart.
Although the French revolutionary government used
terror against its population, it was to secure
revolutionary goals – so it can be considered state
terror too, but that would identify a later period.
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The French Revolution
Narodnaya Volya
(“People’s Will”)
A revolutionary (and anarchist) group in Tsarist
Russia (the group existed from 1879-1881).
It began as a socialist movement but not like those that
came later. The “People’s Will” desired the basic
freedoms outlined in the US Bill-of-Rights.
They coined “propaganda by deed” – which means
normal propaganda failed, so they escalated to
terror (assassination). They were the first terrorists
to use dynamite (almost a WMD) but took measures
to avoid innocent deaths.
They killed Tsar Alexander II with a suicide dynamite
attack.
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III. The Era of State Terror
(1930-1968)
Started with the Soviet Bolsheviks in Russia, which
started out as revolutionary but quickly evolved
into state terrorists by the time Stalin took over the
USSR.
After the 1917 Russian revolution, the nation settled
into a long period of totalitarianism, essentially
replacing one oppressive regime (the Tsar) with
another far worse one.
Germany under the Nazis (Hitler) in the 1930s &
1940s are another example of state terrorists.
Various ideologies have been pursued by state
terrorists.
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State Terrorists
V. I. Lenin and Joseph Stalin
Adolph Hitler
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IV. Era of International Terror
(1968-1990)
This era began on July 22, 1968, when 3 armed
Palestinian terrorists, belonging to the Popular Front
for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), hijacked an
Israeli EL AL commercial flight from Rome to Tel
Aviv, Israel.
The PFLP was Yassir Arafat’s group and was an Arab
nationalist terror group seeking to drive the Jews out
of Israel and set up an independent Palestinian
nation.
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King David Hotel in 1946
British Headquarters -- Attacked by Jewish Terror Group Irgun
The 1968 PFLP Plane Hijacking
It was not the first time a plane was hijacked, but several
distinguishing characteristics mark it as unique:
1) It crossed national borders and was not meant to
merely divert a plane’s destination from one point to
another, but to trade the passengers for Palestinian
terrorists held in Israeli prisons.
2) The origin and nationality of the airliner mattered
and was deliberately targeted.
3) They terrorists forced the government of Israel to
deal directly with them.
4) As a result of the hijacking and the way it was
covered by the world media, terrorists learned of the
power of “public” acts of terrorism and the media.
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Yassir Arafat
Longtime Leader of the PLO
Significance of 1968
The year 1968 also marks the year the United
Nations and the international community
lost the war on terror by not doing anything
about it beyond some public criticism and,
instead, deciding to choose up sides and
support terrorists whose cause was favored.
We all would have be better off fighting a
united front against all terrorists.
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Munich Olympic Massacre
September 5, 1972
“Black September” members abducted and eventually killed 11
Israeli athletes. Five terrorists and 1 German policeman died as
well.
V. Era of Religious & Mass Casualties
(1990-Present)
We see a decline in ideological/philosophical
(secular) terrorism, which was primarily
leftist (Marxist), and witness a rise in
religious motivated terror.
Also, we see a change in tactics where there is
a desire for mass casualties and a drive to
get W.M.D. by the terror groups.
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What Can We Expect in the Future?
1. More religious motivated attacks with mass casualties as
the objective.
2. Radical Islamic Groups will be the most active, but
possibly made more dangerous if joined by ideological
groups like Marxist terror groups or nations.
3. A re-conceptualization of War where it no longer serves
political/social/economic objectives so much, but instead
a “clash of civilizations,” where the objective is to
exterminate the evil enemy entirely. That is, war is not a
means to a (political) goal, but is the goal itself.
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What the World Must Now Do
The world must become more democratic or it will
degenerate into more violence.
We cannot negotiate with terrorists because it only
encourages more of it—to derive more concessions
from nations.
Civilization (a system of peaceful resolution of
disputes) depends on choosing correctly a strategy
for fighting terrorism.
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Defending Civilization
The first duty of all civilizations (cultures) is to create
pockets of peace in which violence is not used as a
means of obtaining goals.
The second duty is to defend these pockets against those
who try to disrupt the peace, either from within or
without.
Can we fight ruthlessness without becoming ruthless? If
not, is it justified in defense of civilization? Does a
civilization have a right to defend itself from those who
use violence when they do not get what they want?
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There will be no total victory
against terrorism
The world will not return to a time without
religious motivated mass casualty terrorism
without a concerted & unified effort to
destroy the terrorists. This is not likely. All
we can hope for is to minimize the losses
inflicted by terrorists & reduce the
frequency of attacks.
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A Philosophy of a War on Terror
“Terrorists are like cockroaches— you have to step on
them. Cockroaches cannot be reasoned with and they
have no use for democracy or diplomacy. The bugs are
single-minded in their pursuit of the only thing they
want, which in their case happens to be food. In the
case of modern Islamic terrorists, they seek no less than
the total destruction of their enemies. They seek an
irrational and unrealizable goal, to be sure, but modern
terrorists are less rational than those of a few decades
ago.”
William Eric Davis--The Road to Evil.
Propaganda Uses of the Media
1. Instill fear in a mass audience
2. Polarize public opinion
3. Gain publicity by agreeing to interviews
4. Demand publication of a manifesto
5. Provoke government overreaction
6. Spread false and misleading information
7. Bring about the release of prisoners
8. Attract converts and support to the cause
9. Intimidate/coerce the media by assaulting journalists
10. Profit from “free advertising”
11. Discredit public officials being held hostage
12. Divert public attention by bombing way onto front pages
13. Use the media to send messages to comrades in another country
14. Excite public against the legitimate government
15. Bolster the terror group’s morale
16. Gain the Robin Hood image by fighting “injustice”
17. Obtain information on counter-terrorist strategies
18. Identify future victims
19. Acquire information about popular support for the terror group
20. Exploit the exaggerated media image of a powerful, omnipotent group.