Most of the countries involved in state-sponsored terrorism make modest attempts to disassociate themselves with terrorist organizations. These countries do this in hopes that the United Nations will not place sanctions. More often than not, these countries continue their support of various terrorist groups. They support the terrorist organization in various ways: financially, training, supplies. Iran has remained the most active state sponsor of terrorism to date (State Department, 2013). Iran supports several different terrorist organizations, including Hamas, Palestine Islamic Jihad, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command and Hizballah. Often times, Iran is involved in the planning and support of different terrorist attacks. Iran has most notably assisted the terrorist organization, Hizballah, with training, weapons and funding. The Iranian government has also allowed Hizballah to use Iran as a safe haven for any terrorists that might need to go underground to hide if they have been involved in terrorist attacks and are currently on a watch list. This paper will first define terrorism, as well as state-sponsored terrorism. Second, the paper will give background on the terrorist organization of Hizballah; to include why the organization was first created and what attacks the organization is responsible for. Third, the paper will discuss the ideology and goals of Hizballah and how their ideology and goals fit into those of the Iranian government. This paper will also exam the relationship between Hizballah and the Iranian government and how that relationship affects the United States and its interests in the Middle East, mainly Israel.
There is not a definition of terrorism that is used universally. Th...
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... terrorism. It went over some background on the terrorist organization of Hizballah; to include why the organization was first created and what attacks the organization is responsible for. It discussed the ideology and goals of Hizballah and how their ideology and goals fit into those of the Iranian government. It examined the relationship between Hizballah and the Iranian government. It also examined how that relationship affects the United States and its interests in the Middle East, mainly Israel.
Works Cited
"Country Reports on Terrorism 2013" Bureau of Counterterrorism U.S. Department of State 2013 Web.
http://www.state.gov/j/ct/rls/crt/2013/224826.htm
"Lebanon 2006: Unfinished War" MERIA Journal Volume 11, Number 03 (Sep 2007)
Snapper, Jessica. "The Hezbollah Dossier" December 15th, 2009 Web.
http://jessicasnapper.com/the-hezbollah-dossier/
HAMAS, an Arabic acronym meaning “Islamic Resistance Movement”, is the name of the socio-political organization currently in power over the Gaza Strip. For decades Jews & Muslims and Israelis & Palestinians, often one in the same, have fought for control over the region. Each have killed thousands of the other, destroyed infrastructures and used underhanded tactics to gain an advantage. Nations such as Japan, the European Union, the United States and (of course) Israel classify the group as terrorists, while nations such as Turkey, Russia and Switzerland do not. (King, 2010) Many factors are taken into consideration before a Nation-State denounces an organization as a “terrorist group”. A profile of HAMAS may help make clear why it is not uniformly denounced by all nations and with historical context, if they truly are freedom fighters in a resistance movement.
The tragedy of strained relations between Islamic and Judeo-Christian countries is a part of everyday life. One need only pick up a newspaper or check the news story of the day via television, radio, or internet to learn of the latest violent attack by a suicide bomber or military retaliation on such an attack. The terrorist attacks have been perpetrated by countries that are predominantly Islamic with the counter attacks coming from a well-armed Israel, supported by US arms sales as well as US silence. Arecent CNN talk show byline queried, “Are we at war with Islam?” One does sometimes wonder.
When the Iranian Revolution succeeded in 1979, Iran wanted to gain the admiration and the support of Arab countries, benefiting in particular from the support by the Shah of Iran and his relationship with Israel before the collapse of his regime. On this very first day of the victory of the revolution, Iran was keen to extend its bonds with the Islamic world, and when this was not possible in most cases, because of many complex causes of the revolution, Iran began to look for «organizations» instead of «regime’s or countries», in order to continue its role in Islamic issues. Iran was keen to show that this role was one of the foundations of the revolution and its beliefs, in order to free Iran from the charge of Persian racism.
In the post Osama bin Laden era al-Qaedist ideology is flourishing across the Arab world. A significant development has been the rise of al-Qaeda offshoots in the Middle East. The Abdallah Azzam Brigades franchise has increasingly become a noteworthy actor in terrorism. On May 8th, 2012 Thomas Nides, Deputy Secretary of State designated Abdallah Azzam Brigades as a foreign terrorist organization (Nides, T.R. , 2012). Abdullah Azzam Brigades may have only recently been added as a foreign terrorist group; nevertheless the organization has deep roots, lethal capacity, and is capable of contributing to supplementary instability in the Middle East.
The group of students claim that attack was carried out because of all of the prior years of US attempt of reform on Iran (Bryne). However, others claim that the attack was motivated by the US treatment of the Shah. These two motives were enough for the students to take their anger out on the people occupying the US Embassy. The government was not aware of the attack beforehand, however they did side with conspirators for political reasons, along with the people of Iran (Bryne). President Jimmy Carter did not let the Shah in because for political reasons, but for humanitarian reasons (Iran Crisis). Although President Carter had good intentions by doing this it unleashed a dislike toward Americans in the minds of of almost every Iranian (Iran Crisis). Underlying the attack on the United States Embassy were anti-American and anti-Carter
The continuing successful and attempted terrorist attacks in the USA and the endless wars and conflicts in which we are involved are a manifestation of political, economical and imperialistic failures in Arab lands. This was supported by Western society with the United States as the largest of powers. Instability, oppression, poverty and political alienation that the citizens of many Islamic-Arab nations experienced within the last hundred years have led to major hatred of the United States by the people of many Arab nations. These sources of hatred can be viewed as remote causes of the endless terror attacks and conflicts around the globe. Through the analysis of these causes, it is possible to find ways to avoid such incidents of terror by solving the problem at the source.
Over the course of the last century, the Islamic Republic of Iran (formerly known as Persia) has seen colonialism, the end of a dynasty, the installation of a government by a foreign power, and just over three decades ago, the popular uprising and a cleric-led revolution. These events preceded what could be considered the world’s first Islamic state, as politics and fundamentalist religion are inextricably linked in contemporary Iran. Looking at Iran from the mid 1940’s until the present day, one can trace the path that led to the rise of fundamental Islam in Iran in three distinct periods. The first is that which began with the rise of secular nationalism and the decline of Islam. In the second, the secular, western-friendly government eventually gave way to the Islamic revival in the form of a government takeover by hard-line clerics and disillusioned, fundamentalist youth; both motivated and led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Rule of Iran by these fundamentalist clerics then led to the formation of the fundamentalist Islamic theocracy that governs present-day Iran. The current government has some democratic appearances, but all real power is in the hands of the supreme leader, an Ayatollah who is chosen by the Assembly of Experts, a group of clerics chosen by the Guardian Council. With the Iranian Revolution, political Islam was born, with the fundamentalists holding the reins of power in Iran to the present day.
The topic of my paper is types of terrorism. There are several types of terrorism for which to choose for my paper, state, dissident, religious, left-wing v. right-wing, and international. In this paper I have chosen state terrorism, religious terrorism, and international terrorism as the types of terrorism that I am going to discuss. I will discuss what they are in my own words and give examples of two different groups for each type that represent that type of terrorism. Then I will compare and contrast the three types of terrorism that I chose.
America’s role in the establishing of Israel marked the beginning of resentment among many Arabs and Muslims communities (Evara, Stratmann & Natta 2007). With this political stand, the US was forced to adopt policies that conflicted with major political movements in the region, namely secular pan-Arabism and Islamic fundamentalism. Egypt was on the forefront pushing for the first movement; it described its position on the Middle East and the rest of the world. Both the movements called for unity among the Muslim and Arabic community. Consequently they alienated the western countries, to an extent of advocating for violence. In 1991 the relationship was complicated further when the US led the gulf war against Iraq. However the more recent September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on America soil hig...
One of the foremost growing concerns in the modern globalized world is the increasing rate of nuclear proliferation. Coupled with the burgeoning number of nuclear devices is the threat of a terrorist possibly obtaining a weapon of such magnitude. While one could argue that the rising number of states with nuclear capability is a disturbing prospect, particularly as many pursue such capabilities without the approval of the “traditional” nuclear powers, terrorists in possession of nuclear arms presents the most horrific outlook concerning nuclear proliferation. Terrorist groups, unlike states, are not organized governmental bodies, which complicates any means of formalized diplomacy or negotiation. Furthermore, unlike as compared to a state, one cannot formally declare war on a terrorist group, thus causing difficulties in regards to concerns of specific conflicts or targets. It is not as if one could penalize a terrorist group with economic sanctions or any other means states employ to deter threats from and intimidate one another. The globalized world has created a form of terrorism that knows no borders, and it would be very difficult to exert one’s will on a terrorist group, at least on a large scale. The coinciding fact that terrorists do not conduct warfare in the same manner as states do makes them increasingly unpredictable. A terrorist employment of a nuclear arm would not occur during an organized conflict; rather it would be used in a terrorist attack without warning. And due to the growing fervor of fundamental religious terrorism, there is a greater willingness among terrorists to sacrifice their own lives in pursuit of their goals. These combined elements create a frightening world in which today’s most astounding new threat possesses weapons of the most awesome power.
Griffith, William E. “The Revial of Islamic Fundamentalism: the Case of Iran.” International Security. Volume 4, Issue 1, 1979, 132-138.
In early 1974, the Secretary General of the United Nations, U Thant, invited the Palestinian Liberation Organization to attend the General Assembly gathering on November 13, 1974, and in doing so gave legitimacy to the Palestinian Liberation Organization as a governing body. In Yasser Arafat’s speech to the General Assembly, he thanked the United Nations for recognizing his organization and its legitimacy. When Arafat addressed the General Assembly, he made the argument that the actions taken by his government were not acts of terrorism, but these were acts of revolution and their purpose was to regain control of Palestine’s occupied original territory. The problem we confront is, there is no internationally agreed upon definition of terrorism and the international community should be able to come up with one. The major hurdle in defining is the states’ ideas of what terrorism is.
Ever since the Islamic revolution in 1979, Iran has been involved in terrorist activities. What most people do not know is that Iran suffers from its own terrorist problems. The Mujahedin-e-Khalq (MEK) has assassinated Iranian officials and had conducted a guerrilla war. Iran also engaged in terrorist activities. The Iran Hostage Crisis was the start of many more terrorist attacks to come. 66 American hostages were taken from the American Embassy by a group of students who tortured and held them captive for more than a year. Later, in 1983 Hezbollah, also known as Hizballah, killed 17 Americans officials and 241 Marines in the bombing of the U.S. embassy and the Marine barracks in Beirut. Iran had supported Hezbollah by providing millions of dollars, arms, and training. In 1984, the U.S. government labeled Iran as a state sponsor of terrorism. Iran also supported Hezbollah in a 2012 bus bombing against Israel (“Terrorism
During the revolutionary struggle and the hostage crisis, groups of local toughs were formed and grew in strength. These neighborhood thugs were called hizbollahis, also known as the groups of the Party of God (Schlesinger, 97). These groups were sponsored by the religious revolution of Islam to carry out measures necessary for the revolution. In the beginning the group was given simple tasks like enforcing the policy of all women being veiled and members of party harassed those that were found unveiled. The terrorist group of Hizbollah has now grown into one of the largest state sponsored organizations of the Is...
Terrorist organizations have been committing atrocities against innocent civilians throughout the world for hundreds of years. Terrorism has evolved in many different forms and from various motivations such as religious protest movements, political revolts, and social uprisings. Regardless of the motives for terror, the problem is the financing of terrorism and terrorist organizations themselves. Recent global terrorist attacks using high technology and extensive networks have shown that money is essential to provide the means behind all terrorist activities. Individual terrorists plan terrorist operations and require resources to live, prepare, and implement their plans. The use of money laundering and financial support schemes are the root of the cause. If money laundering were curtailed or even eliminated, and financial supporters of terrorism were identified terrorism would decrease dramatically. To achieve these goals would take monumental efforts. The United States, United Nations and all sovereign nations would need to take cooperative action that has never been accomplished. Terrorism, its' history, concepts, reasoning, methods, and financial roots are object of this research.