Terrorism ORGANIZING TERRORISM
CAUSES, STRATEGY, TACTICS • CAUSES OF TERRORISM • Psycho-Social • Rational-Material • FTO ORGANIZATION • STRATEGY & TACTICS Terms To Know Spider web theory martyrdom video Munich Netwar cell Hub v. chain networks Bushido Code Black Widows Freedom Birds TWA Flt. 847 knee-capping Death Culture signature method Suicide Bombing Relative deprivation
PSYCHO-SOCIAL Old CW: Mental Illness acts of extreme violence, irrespective of motive, must be by the pathological/mentally ill. Crenshaw (1981) no evidence of psychopathology in study of Algeria’s National Liberation Front. N.Ireland: “Political murderers were…more stable than non-political murderers” Merrari: No single personality profile RATIONAL-MATERIAL Costs Benefits Conditions I. CAUSES OF TERRORISM
Conditions • It’s the Occupation, Stupid (Pape) • Relative Deprivation (Martin; Burgoon): • Feelings of economic frustration • Rising expectations • perceived unjust inequality
Psychosocial conditions:Moral Disengagement
Culture & Subculture • CULTURES OF SELF-SACRIFICE • Bushido Code: death before dishonor • Kamikaze (“Divine Wind”) • Seppuku (“Hara Kiri”) • Martyrdom (“Shahada”) • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dPb1bF-s4M&feature=related • Group Culture: Path to extremism (Hamm) • Youth subculture with a specific • Ideology • paramilitary style • Musical expression
Who Becomes a Female Terrorist? • Young • ave age 21.5 (Turkey) - 23 (Lebanon) • LTTE: brainwashed preadolescent orphans • Widowed and single • Loss of a close friend or family member. • Guilt • Humiliation • Revenge
II. FTO ORGANIZATION http://www.fas.org/irp/world/para/manualpart1_1.pdf
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7728551.stm Shapes • Netwar: A mode of conflict involving using decentralized network forms of organization and technologies attuned to the information age.
Shapes and Sizes • SIZE (Ted Gurr): • Large groups more successful • Most groups: • involve few people • generate more noise than injury • end within 18 months
“Exposure to Ideas”(Socialization) • Martyrdom Culture • Shahada (martyrdom) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dPb1bF-s4M&feature=related • Farfour the Mouse & Nahool the Bee http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wiBwQ9fiho&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFz8DwvJP6Q&feature=related
Recruitment • Abu Mansour al-Amrikithe American • Recruitment Video & Raps: The American dream has fallen Bush is going down like Stalin The economy is crawlin’ The widows are bawlin’ Your dead you be haulin’ • Al-Shebab (“The youth” • “radicalised clusters” of Somali-American youths being recruited. • October 2008: 1st suicide attack by an American: Somali from Minneapolis http://video.aol.com/video-detail/english-nasheed-rap-by-shabab-al-mujahideen-sooner-or-later/766712952 http://tr.youtube.com/user/wa1slama http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090331/wl_africa_afp/usattackssomaliaunrest_20090331220133/print http://www.zshare.net/audio/58019065ea7a2330/ http://www.alqimmah.net/showthread.php?t=4519 http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/024080.php http://admin.jordantimes.com/index.php?news=15546 http://tr.youtube.com/user/wa1slama
Al Qaeda’s Recruitment Manual • "removing him from the bad environment in which he lives" and putting him into "a good environment designed to improve his faith.” • Take him "for a boat ride on the Nile or some other retreat." Go to prayers together; "Send him a nice da'wah[proselytizing] message on his mobile phone.” • "Youth in remote areas" are likely to be "naturally religious” and "easy to shape and convince” • “favorite group”: the nonreligious…lack a vocabulary to answer religious arguments. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=102193723
Recruitment & Filtering
TRAINING & BONDINGOn Killing (Lt.Col.David Grossman)
Employment • Martyrdom Videos • Last message • Commitment (fear of shame) • Rationalizes for self & family http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WPhQRmqo7o&feature=related Paradise Now: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1s_aL1jrWWQ
III. STRATEGY & TACTICS T.E. Lawrence • Theorem 1: irregular forces are incapable of destroying an enemy’s army. • Theorem 2: irregular troops are unable to defend a point or line. • Rebellion must have: • 1. an unassailable base, independence of supply, and the qualities of speed, endurance and ubiquity. • 2. an alien army too small to fulfill the doctrine of acreage • 3. a friendly population sympathetic to the point of not betraying rebel movements to the enemy. Mao’s 7 Steps • Arouse and organize the people. • Recover national strength. • Destroy enemy’s national strength. • guerrilla warfare…cannot exist if it separates from the masses’ sympathies and cooperation • Spirit between troops and local inhabitants, like fish in water
OBJECTIVES & AUDIENCES ENEMY GOVERNMENT Public MEMBERSHIP/SUPPORTERS “POTENTIAL SUPPORTERS” • Inspire • The Majestic(al-Shamikha) RIVAL GROUPS BYSTANDERS/3RD PARTIES • Changing Existing Order • Psychological disruption • Social disruption • Publicizing the cause • Creating a revolutionary environment
MEDIA ORIENTED TERRORSIM • TWA Flight 847 (1985) • Munich (1972) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTqZPKZ4_wk
Strategic & Tactical Attraction of Suicide Terrorism (Hoffman) • Cost effective ($150 for Israeli bomber) • “Smart” bomb (goes where you want) • “lethally flexible & inventive” (adapts to situation) • Maximize fear (nowhere is safe)
Robert Pape: Dying to Win • Secular, strategic goal: • compel democracies to withdraw military forces from territory terrorists consider their homeland • Democracies “especially vulnerable”: • Intolerant of costs imposed by attacks • Likely to push for changes in policy that lessen future attacks. • Hoffman’s Spider web theory: • “looks strong from the outside, but touch it and it will fall apart.” • Hamas: “Jews love life” vs. the “smile of joy”
The Logic of Female Suicide Bombers • Increased number of combatants • Increased publicity • Play off stereotypes: Element of surprise • Play off cultural norms: Search women http://www.e-prism.org/images/memo84_Female_suicide_bombers_-_Jaffee_Center_-_Aug06.pdf http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pdffiles/PUB408.pdf
