The operations carried out by the terrorist in the book After the First Death by Robert Cormier share some common characteristics to the Chechen terrorist’s Beslan School Siege. While there are many commonalities between the two attacks, there is also a few differences. To highlight these similarities and differences it is best to focus on three main areas that are common within any terrorist organization. Those three main areas are, motivation, methods, and target selection, it is through these areas where highlighting the similarities and differences can be explained. Motivation is broken up into three categories when it comes to terrorist, those three forms of motivation are revenge, renown, and reaction. It is these motivations that …show more content…
Both terrorist organizations have carried out bombing attacks, for the books terrorist they bombed post offices and automobile plants across the U.S. to raise the public’s awareness. The Chechens also carried out bombing attacks across Russia in efforts to show the Russian governments they need to halt efforts in Chechnya. Both organizations had tried bombings to force governments to change policies, but neither organization succeeded forcing them to change their targets. While the methods of attacks were similar between the two groups, there is some difference in how they carried out their most well-known attack. During the Beslan School Siege, the Chechens had a large force of 32 terrorists to carry out this attack. The Chechen terrorist was operating in large numbers while on the other hand the terrorist that took over the school bus only had a small cell of 4 …show more content…
Target selection is very important and both terrorists knew this. That is why both chose the young children as their primary target for their attacks because any politician or civilian would do anything to keep those children safe. The terrorist themselves didn’t necessarily want to harm the children in both scenarios either as it would hurt their complicit surround. But held the justification that Russia and the United States had killed children from their country without blinking twice, so if the terrorist had to kill the children they were absolutely willing
What internally drives a terrorist’s motivation varies from subject to subject. While the average American citizen would likely be quick to point terrorists hate the western way of life and what it represents, the issue is far more complex. Simon Cottee’s article “What Motivates Terrorists?” (2015), looks at various levels of motivation. Prior definitions of terrorism looked at the defining cause as possibly psychological abnormalities within in the individual (Cottee, 2015). As studies have evolved, the focus has shifted to the environment in which the terrorist is surrounded. While certainly there is cases in which a person who is mentally unstable could be an ideal target for terrorist propaganda, the number of cases involving mental
In Brym’s article he discusses what research has shown about the motivations of suicide bombers. Brym and my fellow classmate explained to me how suicide bombers may be motivated by politics, religion, or retaliatory aims (Brym, Kyra Howard). Both Brym and Howard helped me view the issue of suicide bombers in multiple
Likewise, Goodwin illustrates how the use of categorical terrorism can be seem being used by Al-Qaida during the attacks of 9/11. Nonetheless, it is evident that Al-Qaida is unusual in terms of using terrorism to influence the rise of unity rather than trying to overthrow a standing state. For the purpose of instigating a pan-Islamic revolutionary movement, Al-Qaida tries to unite all Islamic people under one state to develop umma, or Muslim community. The logic of Al-Qaida remained that if their “revolutionaries” could illicit a reaction from the powerful US state, resulting in oppression of the middle-eastern region, that Al-Qaida could, as a result, unite all Muslims to counter this suggested oppression. Although the end goal of Al-Qaida clear failed, it does suggest the organization’s attempt at implementing categorical terrorism.
The decades' old Chechen conflict has not received much media coverage in the West; however, there has been one aspect of this struggle which has been reported upon: female suicide bombers, known as “Black Widows”. Various sources attribute their actions to being victims who suffered traumatic loss of loved ones, brainwashing by Islamist zealots, being rape and/or being drugged. In my paper, I sought to learn more about the motivations of these women to see if there is more behind than what I perceived to be stereotypical reasons for their actions offered in the media. I discovered that their reality and motivation is complex, based on past and recent history of Chechnya and the culture of indigenous Chechen society.
This paper will talk about three different types of terrorism. A background of each type will be provided to understand the motivations and goals. The first type that will be discussed is religious terrorism. The second type that will be discussed is suicide terrorism. The third and last type that will be discussed is nationalist terrorism. Each type of terrorism has distinct differences in their goals, motivations, strategy, use of violence, etc. However, the main focus of this paper will be on the difference between each type’s tactics and/or strategy.
The FBI defines terrorism as “the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof in furtherance of political or social objectives (fbi.gov).” By this definition, terrorism can be classified as internal or international based on the overall intent of the attack. Terrorism has been around since the beginning of time, but it’s only since 2011 that the world has come to fully understand the meaning of terrorism. The following paragraphs will highlight four different types of terrorist attacks that all took place within the United States spanning over a 40 year time period.
Many analysts, researchers, and professors have tried to define the purpose of terrorism. Some believe that can only be achieved when we know how the mind of a terrorist works. The Encyclopedia Britannica describes terrorism as, “The systematic use of violence or threat of violence by organized groups to achieve specific goals. Terrorist activities may be directed against individuals, organizations or governments. Terrorism is employed by radical groups to obtain concessions from established governments, such as a change in policies unfavorable to them or the release of imprisoned members of their organizations…” (Encyclopedia Britannica. “Terrorism” 1987 T-169)
One of the most complex aspects of counterterrorism (CT) for the intelligence community (IC), law enforcement (LE), and CT communities is the psychology of terrorism. In the broad study of the psychology of terrorism, a highly misunderstood and challenging subject area is the recruitment of terrorists. A “normal,” rational person would wonder why an individual would pledge to commit acts of terror that would inflict lethal or grave danger upon innocent civilians for a politically educed cause. When in matter of fact, that rational person could also be susceptible to recruitment by a terrorist organization based upon any anti-political ideologies they may hold against their respected government. There are many reasons an individual may want to join a terrorist organization which includes aspects associated to an individuals psychology, ideology, theology, and state of mind. It also includes factors like an individuals religion, culture, morals, influences, integrity, and environment. More specifically terrorists go through a top-down or bottom-up process to enter the life of a terrorist and either have a strategic choice or psychological forces which make them susceptible to terrorism and recruitment. For IC, LE, and CT professionals the psychology of terrorist group recruitment is gravely important because it will allow them to identify indicators of individuals who are at a particular point in the recruitment process, who are already recruited, and who may also be planning attacks against U.S. assets, infrastructure, and personnel. Terrorism is a serious threat to national and homeland security and it all starts with a terrorist recruitment. If an individual is identified, exploited, or neutralized before ...
3,000 people were killed in the attacks(CNET). The government would not plot to kill 3,000 people on their own country. The world trade center was the largest loss of life from a foreign attack(CNET). That is what terrorists do, target busy places to try and kill as many people as possible, not something the government does. Out of the 3,000 victims, 1200 have yet to be identified(CNN). When the bombings were occurring, they weren't just hurting the victims, they were also hurting friends, kids, family, parents, that is something that terrorists would want to do.
In Module one, I learned that terrorism is a result of physical harm or deadly acts of force with the intent of a political outcome by the use of terror for coercion. There are various types of terrorism such as international terrorism and domestic terrorism. International terrorism occurs outside of the United States with a purpose to influence the policy of a government by intimidation. International and Domestic terrorism both involve violent acts dangerous to human life that violate federal and state laws. Domestic terrorism occurs within the United States with the intention of coercion or intimidation by way of mass destruction, etc. Some forms of terrorism include Improvised explosive devices (IED), kidnappings, suicide bombings and
There a small but clear differences between domestic terrorism and international terrorism, that difference is where the terrorist act is planned, supported, and carried out. In the case of domestic terrorism, the act must be planned, supported, and carried out all within the boundaries of the United States. The domestic terrorists must also be domicile to the United States and not be current foreign nationals at the time of the act. If the terrorist act is committed with help from a foreign group, planned or supported in a foreign country or committed by foreign nationals inside the boundaries of the U.S., then the attack may be international terrorism. The 9/11 attack was a clear act of international terrorism as it was planned, supported,
Terrorism is used around the world to create fear and influence the public on political views (Siegel, 489). There are four views of terrorism including the psychological view, socialization view, ideological view, and the alienation view. A religious terrorist would most likely fit under the ideological view. In this view the terrorist feels the need to change a wrong opinion and believes that, because they are sacrificing themselves for something they believe so strongly in, it justifies the damage and harm done to innocent people (Siegel, 490). They use terror to create fear in anyone who opposes them and attract followers to their religion. In short, terrorism is widely used for political reasons but religion has been linked to the violence as well.
Just like any cult, terrorism has several stages that a follower must undergo before becoming a fully established terrorist. Under the social psychological conditioning theory, there are five phases that a terrorist must go through before becoming a complete radical (Siegel 123). The phases in social psychological conditioning fit very well with the cultic condition present in terrorism.
The next category of terrorist is a group acting together in order to achieve their political or ideological agenda. These groups of people are often found living in oppressed conditions and are seeking extreme measures to bring about change. Such groups have been found in Georgia and Bosnia fighting over ethnic cleansing of a particular area after the Soviet Union disbanded (Wilkinson). Once a group looks at its neighbors and decides to improve its self-defense in order to...
...d 50,000 casualties (Effective human rights work is the best weapon against terrorism). There are nonviolent ways of dealing with oppression, following Gandhi’s example, and even the Boston Tea Party which brought changes with little violence. This Chechen conflict has been on-going for over 200 years, and unfortunately terrorist leaders continue to think terrorism will advance their cause even after much time has passed (Dershowitz 166).