DOCSLIB.ORG

The Internal Dynamics of Terrorist Cells: a Social Network

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Internal Dynamics of Terrorist Cells: a Social Network THE INTERNAL DYNAMICS OF TERRORIST CELLS: A SOCIAL NETWORK ANALYSIS OF TERRORIST CELLS IN AN AUSTRALIAN CONTEXT STUART KOSCHADE Bachelor of Arts (First Class Honours) Centre for Social Change Research Queensland University of Technology Thesis submitted for the Doctor of Philosophy qualification 2007 i KEYWORDS: terrorism, terrorist cells, terrorism studies, social network analysis, Croatian Revolutionary Brotherhood, Ustashi, Ustasha, Aum Shinrikyo, Lashkar-e- Taiba, Jemaah Islamiyah, history of terrorism, Australia, destabilisation techniques, betweenness, critical node, counter-terrorism, Willie Brigitte, Faheem Khalid Lodhi, Shoko Asahara, Imam Samudra, Muklas, Bali bombing, Islamic extremism. ABSTRACT: The rise of the 21st Century Islamic extremist movement, which was mobilised by the al-Qaeda attacks of and responses to September 11, 2001, heralds a new period in the history of terrorism. The increased frequency and intensity of this type of terrorism affects every nation in the world, not least Australia. Rising to meet the challenges posed by terrorism is the field of terrorism studies, the field which aims at understanding, explaining, and countering terrorism. Despite the importance of the field, it has been beleaguered with criticisms since its inception as a response to the rise of international terrorism. These criticisms specifically aim at the field’s lack of objectivity, abstraction, levels of research, and levels of analysis. These criticisms were the impetus behind the adoption of the methodology of this thesis, which offers the distinct ability to understand, explain, and forecast the way in which terrorists interact within covert cells. Through social network analysis, this thesis examines four terrorist cells that have operated in or against Australia. These cells are from the groups Hrvatsko Revolucionarno Bratstvo (Croatian Revolutionary Brotherhood), Aum Shinrikyo (Supreme Truth), Lashkar-e-Taiba (Army of the Pure), and Jemaah Islamiyah (Islamic Community) and operated between 1963 and 2003. Essentially, this methodology attempts to discover, map, and analyse the interaction within the cells during the covert stage of their respective operations. Following this, the results are analysed through the traditional social network analysis frameworks to discover the internal dynamics of the cell and identify the critical nodes (leaders) within the cells. Destabilisation techniques are subsequently employed, targeting these critical nodes to establish the most effective disruption techniques from a counter-terrorism point of view. The major findings of this thesis are: (1) that cells with a focus on efficiency rather than covertness were more successful in completing their objectives (contrary to popular belief); and (2) betweenness centrality (control over the flow of communication) is a critical factor in identifying leaders within terrorist cells. The analysis also offered significant insight into how a Jemaah Islamiyah cell might operate effectively in Australia, as well as the importance of local contacts to terrorist operations and the significance of international counter-terrorism cooperation and coordination. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: Firstly I would like to thank my family for their support – Mum, Dad, Michael, and Fiona - without you this project would have been all the more difficult. Equally vital has been the support from my principal supervisor Dr. John Synott, whose guidance has been fundamental in the completion of this thesis. Additionally my associate supervisors Dr. Ian Wells and Dr Jean-Louis Durand have also been essential, their advice and guidance has been invaluable. To my most excellent band of brothers, my friends, thank you for your support in an endeavour that could surely threaten to send the sanest of people around the bend: Nigel Lee, Grant Gilmore, Ross Marks, Elliot Wren, Stewart Forsyth, Jolon Knight, Jonas Howard, Chris O’Hallaren, Dave Hartley, Robert Hueston, Steven York, Matthew Wren, and Shannon Boyd. Similar sentiments go to the Grange Thistle Football Club. I must also thank many staff at QUT for their support: Professor Clive Bean, Associate Professor Gavin Kendall, Dr. Ken Parker, Dr Paul Harrison, Dr Mark Brough, Dr Barbara Hanna, Waveney Croft, Gail Stringfellow, Chanel Hopkinson, Kerry Pert, Margaret Miles, Eve Teague, and Christie Anne Williams. My sincerest thanks also go out to the following: Noni Kenny, Chad Whelan, Luke Howie, Sally Hose, Mark Branagan, Martin Chulov, Jeff Penrose, Chantal Enter, Liz Jackson, Flt Lt Ian Tindall, Dr Carl Ungerer, Lucia Falzon, Ian Shaw, the Research Network for a Secure Australia, the Australian Homeland Security Research Centre and Athol Yates, Chris Flaherty, John McDonald, Dave Lawson, Jane Doutre, Anna King, Danelle Dobson, Jonathan Farley, and Kathleen Carley. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii LIST OF FIGURES & TABLES ix LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS xi STATEMENT OF ORIGINAL AUTHORSHIP xiii TERMS, PHRASES & LANGUAGE xiv CHAPTER I: AN INTRODUCTION 1 1. TERRORISM 2 2. ORIENTATION OF THESIS 4 3. SUMMARY OF THESIS 5 3.1 THE PHENOMENON OF TERRORISM 5 3.2 THE FIELD OF TERRORISM STUDIES 6 3.3 SOCIAL NETWORK ANALYSIS 7 3.4 DATA, ANALYSIS, & CONCLUSIONS 8 4. SIGNIFICANCE OF RESEARCH 9 CHAPTER II: THE PHENOMENON OF TERRORISM 11 1. A HISTORY OF TERRORISM 14 1.1 ANCIENT TERROR & ASSASSINATION: C4 BC – C1 AD 15 1.2 ORIGINS OF TERRORISM: CIRCA C1-C13 16 1.2.1 PERIOD SUMMARY 18 1.3 LEFT-WING & REVOLUTIONARY TERRORISM: CIRCA 1790 – 1910 19 1.3.1 THE ANARCHIST MOVEMENT 19 1.3.2 RUSSIAN TERRORISM 21 1.3.3 ANTI-OTTOMAN TERRORISM 22 1.3.4 IRISH TERRORISM 23 1.3.5 PERIOD SUMMARY 24 1.4 RIGHT-WING & POST WWI TERRORISM: CIRCA 1917 – 1960 24 1.4.1 THE IRON GUARD 25 1.4.2 ZIONISM 25 1.4.3 THE USTASHA 26 1.4.4 THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD 27 1.4.5 ALGERIAN TERRORISM 28 1.4.6 PERIOD SUMMARY 29 1.5 INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM: CIRCA 1960 – TODAY 30 1.5.1 CONTINUING GROUPS 31 1.5.1.1 THE IRA(s) 31 1.5.1.2 THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD 32 1.5.2 NEW GROUPS 33 1.5.2.1 PALESTINIAN GROUPS 33 1.5.2.2 ARMENIAN GROUPS 35 1.5.2.3 COMMUNIST GROUPS 36 1.5.2.4 HEZBOLLAH 38 1.5.2.5 ALGERIAN TERRORISM 39 1.5.2.6 AUM SHINRIKYO 40 1.5.2.7 AL-QAEDA 41 1.6 21ST CENTURY ISLAMIC EXTREMISM 45 1.6.1 JEMAAH ISLAMIYAH 46 1.6.2 CHECHEN REBELS 48 1.6.3 THE AL-QAEDA MOVEMENT 48 1.6.4 THE WAR IN IRAQ – CONSEQUENCES 49 2. TERRORISM IN AUSTRALIA 51 iv 2.1 POLITICAL VIOLENCE 52 2.2 EARLY TERRORISM 53 2.3 INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM 53 2.3.1 USTASHI GROUPS 53 2.3.2 PALESTINIAN TERRORISM 57 2.3.3 THE HILTON BOMBING 58 2.3.4 THE JCAG 58 2.3.5 AUM SHINRIKYO 59 2.4 DOMESTIC TERRORISM 60 2.5 21ST CENTURY ISLAMIC EXTREMISM 62 2.5.1 PRE 2001 ISLAMIC EXTREMISM 62 2.5.1.1 JEMAAH ISLAMIYAH MANTIQI 4 & JACK ROCHE 62 2.5.1.2 SYDNEY OLYMPIC GAMES 64 2.5.2 POST 2001 ISLAMIC EXTREMISM 65 2.5.2.1 LASHKAR-E-TAIBA 65 2.5.2.2 MALLAH & THOMAS 66 2.5.2.3 THREATS TO AUSTRALIA 67 2.5.2.4 COUNTER-TERRORISM RAIDS – NOVEMBER 2005 67 3. SUMMARY 68 CHAPTER III: THE FIELD OF TERRORISM STUDIES 71 1. THE DEVELOPMENT OF A FIELD 72 1.1 EARLY LITERATURE 73 1.1.1 EARLY 1970S – POLITICAL SCIENCE RESPONSES 73 1.1.2 MID 1970S – INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACHES 74 1.1.3 1980S – ‘BOOM PERIOD’ 78 1.1.3.1 SCHMID & JONGMAN’S APPRAISAL 79 1.2 CONTEMPORARY TERRORISM STUDIES 80 1.2.1 THE PHENOMENON OF TERRORISM 81 1.2.1.1 CONCEPTS AND DEFINITIONS OF TERRORISM 82 1.2.1.2 TYPOLOGIES OF TERRORISM 82 1.2.2 TERRORISTS 83 1.2.2.1 HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES 84 1.2.2.2 SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES 84 1.2.2.3 BEHAVIOURAL STUDIES 86 1.2.2.4 POLITICAL SCIENCE 87 1.2.3 TERRORIST TACTICS 88 1.2.3.1 TARGET SELECTION 88 1.2.3.2 WMD & CBRN 89 1.2.3.3 SUICIDE ATTACKS 90 1.2.3.4 CYBER-TERRORISM 92 1.2.3.5 GENERAL TACTICS 93 1.2.4 COUNTER-TERRORISM 94 1.2.4.1 NATIONAL 94 1.2.4.2 INTERNATIONAL 95 1.2.4.3 NON-STATE 96 1.2.4.4 GENERAL COUNTER-TERRORISM STUDIES 97 1.3 AUSTRALIAN LITERATURE 98 1.3.1 USTASHI LITERATURE 98 1.3.2 THE HILTON BOMBING & ANANDA MARGA 100 1.3.3 TERRORISM IN EARNEST 101 1.3.3.1 POST 2001 RESEARCH IN AUSTRALIA 107 2. ISSUES WITHIN TERRORISM STUDIES 110 2.1 CONTEMPORARY CRITICISMS OF TERRORISM STUDIES 111 2.1.1 OBJECTIVITY 111 2.1.2 ABSTRACTION 112 2.1.3 LEVELS OF RESEARCH 112 2.1.4 LEVELS OF ANALYSIS 113 v 3. POST 2001 ANALYTICAL RESEARCH IN TERRORISM 113 STUDIES 4. ADDRESSING THE CRITICISMS 118 CHAPTER IV: SOCIAL NETWORK ANALYSIS 121 1. SOCIAL NETWORK ANALYSIS 122 1.1 THE DEVELOPMENT OF A FIELD 122 1.1.1 SOCIOMETRIC ANALYSIS 123 1.1.2 HARVARD APPROACH 126 1.1.3 MANCHESTER APPROACH 127 1.2 SOCIAL NETWORK ANALYSIS – COVERT NETWORKS 127 1.3 SOCIAL NETWORK ANALYSIS & TERRORISM STUDIES 130 1.3.1 VALDIS KREBS 131 1.3.2 FURTHER TERRORISM RESEARCH 136 2. IMPLEMENTATION 136 2.1 THESIS OBJECTIVES 137 2.2 RESEARCH QUESTIONS 138 3. METHODOLOGY 139 3.1 CONTEXTUAL BACKGROUND 140 3.1.1 THE CASE STUDY 140 3.1.2 DATA COLLECTION & SOURCES 141 3.1.2.1 GOVERNMENT SOURCES 142 3.1.2.2 NGO & MEDIA SOURCES 142 3.1.2.3 INTERVIEWS 144 3.1.3 NEGATING CRITICISMS – CASE STUDIES 145 3.2 RELATIONAL DATA 146 3.2.1 INTERACTIONAL CRITERIA 147 3.2.1.1 MATRICES 148 3.2.1.2 GRAPHS 150 3.3 NETWORK ANALYSIS 152 3.3.1 NETWORK LEVEL MEASURES 152 3.3.1.1 SIZE 153 3.3.1.2 DENSITY 153 3.3.1.3 DEGREE OF CONNEXION 154 3.3.1.4 AVERAGE COMMUNICATION SPEED 155 3.3.1.5 CLUSTERS 156 3.3.1.6 NETWORK FORMATION 157 3.3.2 NODE LEVEL MEASURES 158 3.3.2.1 ACTOR LEVEL DEGREE CENTRALITY 159 3.3.2.2 ACTOR LEVEL CLOSENESS CENTRALITY 160 3.3.2.3 ACTOR LEVEL BETWEENNESS CENTRALITY 161 3.3.2.4 CLIQUE COUNT 162 3.4 DESTABILISATION TECHNIQUES 163 4.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Day Two of Military Judge Questioning 9/11 Accused About Self-Representation
    Public amnesty international USA Guantánamo: Day two of military judge questioning 9/11 accused about self-representation 11 July 2008 AI Index: AMR 51/077/2008 On 10 July 2008, military commission judge US Marine Colonel Ralph Kohlmann held further proceedings to question the men accused of orchestrating the attacks of 11 September 2001 about their decision to represent themselves at their forthcoming death penalty trial in the US Naval Base in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Amnesty International had an observer at the proceedings. The primary purpose of the hearings was to inquire of each of the accused individually about whether they had been intimidated before or during their arraignment on 5 June 2008 into making a choice to represent themselves, or whether this decision had been made knowingly and voluntarily. Judge Kohlmann had questioned two of the accused, ‘Ali ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ‘Ali (‘Ammar al Baluchi) and Mustafa al Hawsawi at individual sessions held on 9 July (see http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AMR51/076/2008/en). He had scheduled sessions for the other three men, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid bin Attash and Ramzi bin al-Shibh on 10 July. In the event, Ramzi bin al-Shibh refused to come to his session. It seems unlikely that the military judge will question him again on the matter of legal representation until the issue of Ramzi bin al-Shibh’s mental competency is addressed at a hearing scheduled to take place next month (see http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AMR51/074/2008/en). Both Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and Walid bin Attash denied that they had been intimidated or that any intimidation had taken place.
    [Show full text]
  • Articles Al-Qaida and the Pakistani Harakat Movement: Reflections and Questions About the Pre-2001 Period by Don Rassler
    PERSPECTIVES ON TERRORISM Volume 11, Issue 6 Articles Al-Qaida and the Pakistani Harakat Movement: Reflections and Questions about the pre-2001 Period by Don Rassler Abstract There has been a modest amount of progress made over the last two decades in piecing together the developments that led to creation of al-Qaida and how the group has evolved over the last 30 years. Yet, there are still many dimensions of al-Qaida that remain understudied, and likely as a result, poorly understood. One major gap are the dynamics and relationships that have underpinned al-Qaida’s multi-decade presence in Pakistan. The lack of developed and foundational work done on the al-Qaida-Pakistan linkage is quite surprising given how long al- Qaida has been active in the country, the mix of geographic areas - from Pakistan’s tribal areas to its main cities - in which it has operated and found shelter, and the key roles Pakistani al-Qaida operatives have played in the group over the last two decades. To push the ball forward and advance understanding of this critical issue, this article examines what is known, and has been suggested, about al-Qaida’s relations with a cluster of Deobandi militant groups consisting of Harakat ul-Mujahidin, Harakat ul-Jihad Islami, Harakat ul-Ansar, and Jaish-e-Muhammad, which have been collectively described as Pakistan’s Harakat movement, prior to 9/11. It finds that each of these groups and their leaders provided key elements of support to al-Qaida in a number of direct and indirect ways.
    [Show full text]
  • Australian Foreign Fighters: Risks and Responses
    Australian foreign fighters: Andrew Zammit Risks and responses April 2015 AUSTRALIAN FOREIGN FIGHTERS: RISKS AND RESPONSES The Lowy Institute for International Policy is an independent policy think tank. Its mandate ranges across all the dimensions of international policy debate in Australia – economic, political and strategic – and it is not limited to a particular geographic region. Its two core tasks are to: • produce distinctive research and fresh policy options for Australia’s international policy and to contribute to the wider international debate. • promote discussion of Australia’s role in the world by providing an accessible and high-quality forum for discussion of Australian international relations through debates, seminars, lectures, dialogues and conferences. Lowy Institute Analyses are short papers analysing recent international trends and events and their policy implications. The views expressed in this paper are entirely the author’s own and not those of the Lowy Institute for International Policy. AUSTRALIAN FOREIGN FIGHTERS: RISKS AND RESPONSES EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Conflicts in Syria and Iraq have attracted aspiring jihadists from across the world. Australians have joined the flow of foreign fighters to the region, raising concerns that some will carry out terrorist attacks in Australia should they return home. The record of past jihadist foreign fighter mobilisations, including Australia's own history in this regard, demonstrates that there is a potential threat to Australia’s security. However, a range of factors will shape that threat, including how Australia responds to returning foreign fighters. The Government's response has mainly focused on increased resources and powers for police and intelligence agencies, but also includes an important non-coercive element termed Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) that has received less attention.
    [Show full text]
  • Press Release
    PRESS RELEASE March 20, 2006 Commander at Guantanamo Reportedly Unaware of Some Abuse BY CAROL ROSENBERG Knight Ridder Newspapers MIAMI - As commander of prison operations at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Army Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller would boast that he had a hand in all the operations - from looking over the shoulders of interrogators at work to oversight of sports activities for soldiers guarding terror suspects. Not so, says Time magazine in a report published Monday morning that exonerates the commander from responsibility from one of the crudest cases of abuse at the Pentagon's showcase prison in southeast Cuba. An Army investigation obtained by the magazine found that Miller had no knowledge that interrogators unleashed an array of abuse and humiliation on a Saudi captive considered by some at Military Intelligence to have been a candidate for 20th hijacker in the Sept. 11 attacks. "Miller was unaware a canine had been used to intimidate alleged `20th hijacker' Mohammed al Qahtani, or that al Qahtani was forced to don women's underwear and perform dog tricks - even though Miller was intimately involved in planning the interrogation," Time reports, quoting a report by the Army Inspector General, Lt. Gen. Stanley Green. U.S. officials turned Qahtani away from entering the United States at Orlando International Airport in August 2001, but later captured him in south Asia and sent him to Guantanamo. Another suspected 20th hijacker, Frenchman Zacarias Moussaoui, was already in U.S. custody, but that didn't stop U.S. military interrogators from suspecting the Saudi as well. Qahtani's attorney says he was subjected to such a cruel stream of abusive interrogation that he gave a false confession, which he now recants.
    [Show full text]
  • Foreign Terrorist Organizations
    Order Code RL32223 CRS Report for Congress Received through the CRS Web Foreign Terrorist Organizations February 6, 2004 Audrey Kurth Cronin Specialist in Terrorism Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division Huda Aden, Adam Frost, and Benjamin Jones Research Associates Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress Foreign Terrorist Organizations Summary This report analyzes the status of many of the major foreign terrorist organizations that are a threat to the United States, placing special emphasis on issues of potential concern to Congress. The terrorist organizations included are those designated and listed by the Secretary of State as “Foreign Terrorist Organizations.” (For analysis of the operation and effectiveness of this list overall, see also The ‘FTO List’ and Congress: Sanctioning Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations, CRS Report RL32120.) The designated terrorist groups described in this report are: Abu Nidal Organization (ANO) Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade Armed Islamic Group (GIA) ‘Asbat al-Ansar Aum Supreme Truth (Aum) Aum Shinrikyo, Aleph Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA) Communist Party of Philippines/New People’s Army (CPP/NPA) Al-Gama’a al-Islamiyya (Islamic Group, IG) HAMAS (Islamic Resistance Movement) Harakat ul-Mujahidin (HUM) Hizballah (Party of God) Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM) Jemaah Islamiya (JI) Al-Jihad (Egyptian Islamic Jihad) Kahane Chai (Kach) Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK, KADEK) Lashkar-e-Tayyiba
    [Show full text]
  • The Jihadi Threat: ISIS, Al-Qaeda, and Beyond
    THE JIHADI THREAT ISIS, AL QAEDA, AND BEYOND The Jihadi Threat ISIS, al- Qaeda, and Beyond Robin Wright William McCants United States Institute of Peace Brookings Institution Woodrow Wilson Center Garrett Nada J. M. Berger United States Institute of Peace International Centre for Counter- Terrorism Jacob Olidort The Hague Washington Institute for Near East Policy William Braniff Alexander Thurston START Consortium, University of Mary land Georgetown University Cole Bunzel Clinton Watts Prince ton University Foreign Policy Research Institute Daniel Byman Frederic Wehrey Brookings Institution and Georgetown University Car ne gie Endowment for International Peace Jennifer Cafarella Craig Whiteside Institute for the Study of War Naval War College Harleen Gambhir Graeme Wood Institute for the Study of War Yale University Daveed Gartenstein- Ross Aaron Y. Zelin Foundation for the Defense of Democracies Washington Institute for Near East Policy Hassan Hassan Katherine Zimmerman Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy American Enterprise Institute Charles Lister Middle East Institute Making Peace Possible December 2016/January 2017 CONTENTS Source: Image by Peter Hermes Furian, www . iStockphoto. com. The West failed to predict the emergence of al- Qaeda in new forms across the Middle East and North Africa. It was blindsided by the ISIS sweep across Syria and Iraq, which at least temporarily changed the map of the Middle East. Both movements have skillfully continued to evolve and proliferate— and surprise. What’s next? Twenty experts from think tanks and universities across the United States explore the world’s deadliest movements, their strate- gies, the future scenarios, and policy considerations. This report reflects their analy sis and diverse views.
    [Show full text]
  • WALTER CRONKITE – IMAGE #28 the 20Th Summer Olympic Games
    WALTER CRONKITE – IMAGE #28 The 20th Summer Olympic Games were held in Munich, Germany, in 1972. Tensions ran high at these Olympics, because they were the first Olympic games held in Germany since the Nazis hosted them in 1936. The Israeli athletes and their trainers were especially nervous. Many had family members who had been murdered during the Holocaust or were themselves Holocaust survivors. The first few days of the Olympic Games went smoothly. On September 4th the Israeli team spent the evening out, seeing the play, Fiddler on the Roof. Then they went back to the Olympic Village to sleep. A little after 4 a.m. on September 5th, as the Israeli athletes slept, eight members of the Palestinian Liberation Organization terrorist group, Black September, jumped over the six-foot high fence that encircled the Olympic Village. The terrorists headed straight for 31 Connollystrasse, the building where the Israeli contingent was staying. Around 4:30 a.m. the terrorists entered the building. They rounded up the occupants of apartment 1 and, then, apartment 3. Several of the Israelis fought back. Two of them were killed. A couple of others were able to escape out windows. Nine were taken hostage. By 5:10 a.m. the police had been alerted, and news of the attack had spread around the world. The terrorists then dropped a list of their demands out the window. They wanted 234 prisoners released from Israeli prisons and two from German prisons by 9 a.m. Negotiators were able to extend the deadline to noon, then to 1 p.m., then to 3 p.m., then to 5 p.m.
    [Show full text]
  • The Munich Massacre: a New History
    The Munich Massacre: A New History Eppie Briggs (aka Marigold Black) A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of BA (Hons) in History University of Sydney October 2011 1 Contents Introduction and Historiography Part I – Quiet the Zionist Rage 1. The Burdened Alliance 2. Domestic Unrest Part II – Rouse the Global Wrath 3. International Condemnation 4. The New Terrorism Conclusion 2 Acknowledgments I would like to thank first and foremost Dr Glenda Sluga to whom I am greatly indebted for her guidance, support and encouragement. Without Glenda‟s sage advice, the writing of this thesis would have been an infinitely more difficult and painful experience. I would also like to thank Dr Michael Ondaatje for his excellent counsel, good-humour and friendship throughout the last few years. Heartfelt thanks go to Elise and Dean Briggs for all their love, support and patience and finally, to Angus Harker and Janie Briggs. I cannot adequately convey the thanks I owe Angus and Janie for their encouragement, love, and strength, and for being a constant reminder as to why I was writing this thesis. 3 Abstract This thesis examines the Nixon administration’s response to the Munich Massacre; a terrorist attack which took place at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich. By examining the contextual considerations influencing the administration’s response in both the domestic and international spheres, this thesis will determine the manner in which diplomatic intricacies impacted on the introduction of precedent setting counterterrorism institutions. Furthermore, it will expound the correlation between the Nixon administration’s response and a developing conceptualisation of acts of modern international terrorism.
    [Show full text]
  • Al-Qaeda: the Many Faces of an Islamist Extremist Threat
    a al-Qaeda: The Many Faces of an Islamist Extremist Threat REPORT OF THE HOUSE PERMANENT SELECT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE ISBN 0-16-076897-7 90000 9 780160 768972 al-QaedaTh e Many Faces of an Islamist Extremist Th reat REPORT OF THE HOUSE PERMANENT SELECT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE JUNE 2006 109th Congress Union Calendar No. 355 2d Session Report 109-615 al-Qaeda: The Many Faces of an Islamist Extremist Threat ___________________ REPORT OF THE U.S. HOUSE PERMANENT SELECT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE APPROVED: JUNE 2006 TOGETHER WITH ADDITIONAL AND MINORITY VIEWS SUBMITTED: SEPTEMBER 2006 Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.gpo.gov/congress/house http://intelligence.house.gov/ September 6, 2006.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE Keeping America Informed I www.gpo.gov WASHINGTON : 2006 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Offi ce Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512-1800; DC area (202) 512-1800 Fax: (202) 512-2250 Mail: Stop SSOP, Washington, DC 20402-0001 ISBN 0-16-076897-7 i PERMANENT SELECT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES PETER HOEKSTRA, MICHIGAN, CHAIRMAN RAY LAHOOD, ILLINOIS JANE HARMAN, CALIFORNIA TERRY EVERETT, ALABAMA ALCEE L. HASTINGS, FLORIDA ELTON GALLEGLY, CALIFORNIA SILVESTRE REYES, TEXAS HEATHER WILSON, NEW MEXICO LEONARD L. BOSWELL, IOWA JO ANN DAVIS, VIRGINIA ROBERT E. (BUD) CRAMER, JR., ALABAMA MAC THORNBERRY, TEXAS ANNA G. ESHOO, CALIFORNIA JOHN M. MCHUGH, NEW YORK RUSH D. HOLT, NEW JERSEY TODD TIAHRT, KANSAS C.
    [Show full text]
  • Anti-Semitism: a Pillar of Islamic Extremist Ideology
    Anti-Semitism: A Pillar of Islamic Extremist Ideology In a video message in August 2015, Osama bin Laden’s son, Hamza bin Laden, utilized a range of anti-Semitic and anti-Israel narratives in his effort to rally Al Qaeda supporters and incite violence against Americans and Jews. Bin Laden described Jews and Israel as having a disproportionate role in world events and the oppression of Muslims. He compared the “Zio- Crusader alliance led by America” to a bird: “Its head is America, one wing is NATO and the other is the State of the Jews in occupied Palestine, and the legs are the tyrant rulers that sit on the chests of the peoples of the Muslim Ummah [global community].” An undated image of al-Qaeda terrorist Osama bin Laden and his son, Hamza Bin Laden then called for attacks worldwide and demanded that Muslims “support their brothers in Palestine by fighting the Jews and the Americans... not in America and occupied Palestine and Afghanistan alone, but all over the world…. take it to all the American, Jewish, and Western interests in the world.” Such violent expressions of anti-Semitism have been at the core of Al Qaeda’s ideology for decades. Even the 9/11 terrorist attacks were motivated, in part, by anti-Semitism. Mohamed Atta, a key member of the Al Qaeda Hamburg cell responsible for the attacks, reportedly considered New York City to be the center of a global Jewish conspiracy, and Khalid Sheik Mohammed, who masterminded the attack, had allegedly previously developed several plans to attack Israeli and Jewish targets.
    [Show full text]
  • Counter-Insurgency Vs. Counter-Terrorism in Mindanao
    THE PHILIPPINES: COUNTER-INSURGENCY VS. COUNTER-TERRORISM IN MINDANAO Asia Report N°152 – 14 May 2008 TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS................................................. i I. INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................... 1 II. ISLANDS, FACTIONS AND ALLIANCES ................................................................ 3 III. AHJAG: A MECHANISM THAT WORKED .......................................................... 10 IV. BALIKATAN AND OPLAN ULTIMATUM............................................................. 12 A. EARLY SUCCESSES..............................................................................................................12 B. BREAKDOWN ......................................................................................................................14 C. THE APRIL WAR .................................................................................................................15 V. COLLUSION AND COOPERATION ....................................................................... 16 A. THE AL-BARKA INCIDENT: JUNE 2007................................................................................17 B. THE IPIL INCIDENT: FEBRUARY 2008 ..................................................................................18 C. THE MANY DEATHS OF DULMATIN......................................................................................18 D. THE GEOGRAPHICAL REACH OF TERRORISM IN MINDANAO ................................................19
    [Show full text]
  • El Viaje De La Muerte”1
    Informe de la ONG británica Reprieve que sacó del anonimato muchas historias de presos de Guantánamo y cómo EEUU los compró “El viaje de la muerte”1 Más de 700 prisioneros fueron enviados ilegalmente a Guantánamo con la ayuda de Portugal Reprieve, 28 de enero de 2008 Traducido del inglés para Rebelión por Germán Leyens La organización británica Reprieve muestra de modo concluyente que territorio y espacio aéreo portugueses han sido utilizados para transferir a más de 700 prisioneros para ser torturados y encarcelados ilegalmente en Guantánamo. Mediante la comparación de registros de vuelo obtenidos de las autoridades portuguesas,2información del Departamento de Defensa de EE.UU. mostrando fechas de llegada de prisioneros a Guantánamo, y testimonios no confidenciales de los propios prisioneros, 3 Reprieve puede identificar por primera vez a 728 prisioneros enviados a Guantánamo pasando por la jurisdicción portuguesa. La investigación también muestra que Portugal ha jugado un papel sustancial de apoyo en el programa general de entregas [‘extraordinarias’]. Por lo menos nueve prisioneros transportados pasando por la jurisdicción portuguesa fueron severamente torturados en prisiones secretas en todo el mundo antes de su llegada a Guantánamo.4 Vuelos de entregas de prisioneros a Guantánamo pasando por jurisdicción 1 Definición de Adil Zamil, prisionero transportado en el Vuelo RCH108Y que pasó por jurisdicción portuguesa hacia Guantánamo: “Llamo el viaje a Guantánamo ‘El viaje de la muerte.’ Discretamente estuve deseando que el avión se cayera para terminar con el dolor que sentía.” Fuente: “Kuwaiti Gitmo Detainees Speak Out about Abuse” [Detenidos en Guantánamo hablan del abuso], de Rania El Gamal, Kuwait Times, 1 de diciembre de 2006 2 Registros de vuelo obtenidos por Ana Gomes, miembro del Parlamento Europeo, en 2006 revelan que aviones cruzaron en por lo menos 94 ocasiones el espacio aéreo portugués en camino a, o desde, Guantánamo entre 2002 y 2006.
    [Show full text]