International terrorism Essay Example for Free

International terrorism EssayTerrorism is the intended use or brat of use of extra normal violence or brutality by sub-national groups to obtain a political, ghostly, or ideological objective through intimidation of a huge audience, usually non directly concern with the policy making that the terrorists seek to influence. (Enders and Sandler, 2002a, 2002b) Several historical and modern terrorist groups support a strong religious society, typically by dint of their membership.Anti-colonial, nationalist movements such as the Jewish terrorist organizations active in pre-independence Israel and the Muslim dominate FLN in Algeria come eagerly to mind, as do more topical examples such as the devastatingly Catholic IRA their Protestant counterparts, arrayed in various loyalist paramilitary groups like the Ulster Freedom Fighters, the Ulster bid Force and the Red Hand Commandos and the predominantly Muslim PLO. Though, in all these groups it is the political, not the sacred fit of their motivation that is prevailing the primacy of their ethno-nationalist and/or irredentist aims is obviously true.For early(a)s, however, the religious motivation is overriding. Certainly, the religious crucial for terrorism are the most signifi do-nothingt defining characteristic of terrorist activity today. The consequences of the rebellion that transformed Iran into an Islamic res publica in 1979 have included its critical role in the renaissance of this strand of terrorism but, the contemporary advent of religious terrorism has not been restricted exclusively to Iran, much less to the Middle easterly or to Islam since eighties it has involved elements of all the worlds key religions and, in several instances, smaller sects or cults as well.I have no regrets, said Yigal Amir, the young Jewish extremist who assassinated Israeli old Minister Yitzhak Rabin, to the police. I acted alone and on orders from God. (Amir Yigal, 1987, pp. 7-8). Like Al-Qaeda, al-Jihad is an sep arate international terrorist group that was the yield of numerous splits within the Lebanese Shia movement. Its origins can be traced back to 1974, when a Lebanese Shia cleric, Imam genus Musa al-Sadr, who had studied in the Persian holy city of Qom, organized the Movement of the Underprivileged to advance Shia interests and procession the communitys lowly socioeconomic conditions.This movement was consequently reorganized as the principal Shia political fellowship in Lebanon, Amal, which formed its own militia during the civil war that racked Lebanon a year later. Hezbollahs ideology is as simplex as the organization is wraithlike. The members are taught that humans form two groups the followers of Allah (Muslims) and the followers of Satan (infidels) who moldiness be censored so that Allahs rule will expand to the whole planet.Satan, they have been told, evident himself in all sorts of disguises a womans lock showing from under her veil (chador) the bare leg of a adolescent boy women and men mixing in public places (cinemas, cafes, restaurants) the Israeli profession of Palestine and so on. The fence against Satan is a full-time job for party members the partys proposal clearly states Our religion is not a meager part-time hobby like cross-worshipers who go to church on Sunday to bribe their God. (Robert Fisk, 1996) The party recruit volunteers for martyrdom, trains them, and flings them on missions.In October 1983, such volunteers carried out the suicide bombing of the American marines and French commandos in Beirut. Other members linger the streets, throwing acid on womens unveiled faces, pasting opponents, setting fire to newspaper offices, and so on. The party also broadcasts courses on radio and TV on how to use a diverse firearm, techniques of guerrilla warfare, kidnapping, assassinations of enemies of God, and other deeds. The size of the membership is composed of teenagers and even children.Throughout the eight-year war with Iraq, childrens martyrs were commonly sent to the tap fields to clear the way for tanks. A senior member of the party explained that children can be replaced at less cost than the tanks. Khomeinis justification was perceptibly less cynical Those less than twenty have not yet been infected by satanic Western culture. In its first months, the Islamic Republic use Syrian and Palestinian terrorists to perform assassinations of opponents in foreign countries. In 1980, Khomeini ordered the formation of an Iranian wedge capable of striking anywhere in the world.Hojatol-Islam Fazlollah Mahalati, with the assistance of Hadi Ghaffary and Chamran, a pro-Khomeini radical who lived in Lebanon (who had both been happy in PLO camps in the early 1970s), was dispersed to the task. By 1981 the hit squads started their worldwide operations. In 1979, however, al-Sadr vanished throughout a visit to Libya. The desertion of the Imam created a vacuum within Amal that made the party productive grease for Iranian influe nce, and given the movement prone to the fundamentalist call of the revolt which had brought Khomeini to power earlier that year.Nabih Berri, a lawyer, was appointed head of Amal the following year. Hussein Mussawi, and the assumed mastermind behind the terrorist campaign against Libya to recover the Imam, was named as Berris deputy and commander of the militia. A fanatical supporter of Khomeini, Mussawi sought to place Amal in the front margin of a regional revolution based on the new Iranian Islamic Republic. Berri, on the other hand, clung to a modest line and advocated a new deal for the Shia community within the limits of the existing Lebanese state structure.By this time, though, the radicalization of the Shia in Lebanon had gone far away the narrow nationalist and social aims of Amal. In 1981, Mussawi broke with Berri and founded his own organization, Islamic Amal. Shortly after, another faction split from Amal and under the leadership of Abbas Mussawi and the eldritch guid ance of Sheikh Mohamed Hussein Fadlallah, it soon came to be recognized as the Hezbollah. Like Islamic Amal, Hezbollah embraced Khomeinis directive for a pan-Islamic revolt designed to turn Lebanon into an Iranian-style Islamic republic.It is really unfortunate that people some the world are irritable about three human deaths throughout this war yet barely uttered a word with the massacres lately in Africa where hundreds of thousands of people were murdered. The United Nations is calling for a armistice and saying this could lead to a humanitarian crisis. Though, this effort didnt work well so far. accord to Gal Luft, In Hizballahland, the movements fighters have much more than a safe haven.Its training camps have travel a hub of international terrorism, a convention center for some of the worlds most dangerous men. Here they can experiment with new weapons, practice their tactics, and collaborate with fellow terrorists from groups like al Qaeda, Hamas, Ansar al-Islam, Palestin ian Islamic Jihad, and the Kurdish Workers Party. From Lebanon, similarly, Hizballahs agents and associates can easily export their skills to destinations around the world. (Gal Luft, Hizballahland, Commentary Magazine, July-August 2003).The second advantage Hizballah enjoys is sophisticated weaponry. Al Qaedas arsenal is now limited to small, easily smuggle arms. When it comes to anti-aircraft capabilities, it possesses (as far as we know) only antiquated Soviet SA-7 Strella missiles, part of roughly 50,000 that were sold to third-world countries during the cold war such missilesthey may have figured in last Novembers attack on an Israeli passenger plane in Kenyaare largely ineffective against the countermeasure routinely employed by modern planes.By contrast, Hizballah has accumulated an impressive stockpile of weapons, including, as I mentioned at the outset, thousands of rockets, artillery pieces, and antitank and anti-aircraft missiles. In the latter category, it has reportedly equipped itself with SA-18 missiles, whose substantially improved operate and speed enable them to shoot down almost any aircraft. Gal Luft, Hizballahland, Commentary Magazine, July-August 2003.Owning more weapons than it knows what to do with, Hizballah has also helped procure arms for other groups. It played a key role in the January 2002 attempt to smuggle 50 tons of weapons to the Palestinian Authority aboard the Karine-A. Its external-operations commander, Imad Mughniyeh, one of the worlds most precious terrorists, arranged to purchase the ship, and Mughniyehs deputy Haj Bassem personally supervised the loading operation at the Iranian island of Kish. Gal Luft, Hizballahland, Commentary Magazine, July-August 2003.