Articles Online - Terrorism
Definitions
| Islamic Radicalism
| Suicide Attacks | The
Arab-Israeli Conflict | The Roots
of Muslim Rage
U.S. Responsibility for the Attacks? |
Terrorism as a Psychological Weapon
Definitions [back to top]
The links below explore the complex and subtle task of defining terrorism.
"10 Things to Know About Terrorism" gives a history of the term, and explores how hard it is to agree on a definition. < http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=11647 >
This U.N. article describes how each nation's perspective will determines its definition of terrorism. < http://www.undcp.org/terrorism_definitions.html >
One news editor
has famously said, "One man's terrorist is another man's freedom
fighter." How do you reliably distinguish between the two? And if
terrorists are people out of uniform, is any uniformed army automatically
innocent of terrorism? The article below describes how such questions
have made an international anti-terror treaty difficult to finalize.
< http://www.atimes.com/front/CK30Aa02.html
>
"Noam Chomsky on Terrorism in Practice and in Propaganda," Democracy Now! radio interview. MIT linguist and noted political activist Chomsky outlines how the ambiguity of the term terrorism can be convenient for certain policymakers in all countries. http://www.webactive.com/pacifica/exile/dn20010921.html "...a posture of inconsistency necessarily evades definition. If you are not going to be consistent, you're not going to define. I have examined at least twenty official documents on terrorism. Not one defines the word. All of them explain it, express it emotively, polemically, to arouse our emotions rather than exercise our intelligence." http://www.irr.org.uk/terrorism/ This article argues that if a country is sufficiently powerful, it naturally assumes the role of global policeman, and as such can designate others terrorists while acting terroristically itself. http://www.zmag.org/zmag/articles/feb98herman.htm Timothy Garton Ash's "Is There A Good Terrorist?" formulates four criteria for naming someone a terrorist. <http://www.nybooks.com/articles/14860>
The October 2001 report of the Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism gives the definition of terrorism as used by the US. http://www.us-israel.org/jsource/Terrorism/2001taterep.html This is the US State Department's specific list of terrorists and terrorist organizations, including the top ten most wanted terrorists. http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/fs/2001/6531.htm
Bartleby's American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th ed., defines "terrorism." http://www.bartleby.com/61/26/T0122600.html
The etymology of "terrorism." http://www.wordorigins.org/wordort.htm#Terrorism
Islamic Radicalism [back to top]
Perhaps the largest and most difficult question about terrorism is what causes it. Even people who share a definition of terrorism may trace its roots to very different places. Since the attacks of September 11th have been tied to Islamic extremists, the groups of links that follow provide a variety of analyses of Islamic radicalism from all parts of the political spectrum.
"Frontline: Target America: The Evolution of Islamic Terrorism" Adapted from a PBS special, "Target America" provides a balanced overview of the subject. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/target/etc/modern.html>
"'Why Are They So Angry At Us?' Sandy Tolan, American RadioWorks." A web page with accompanying audio link giving a general introduction to the causes of Islamic resentment of the U.S. http://www.americanradioworks.org/features/resentment/angry1.html
"The Politics of Rage: Why Do They Hate Us?" from Newsweek. http://www.craggs-castle.com/Zakaria.o01.htm
"'Fresh Air', National Public Radio interviews with Thomas Friedman, Karen Armstrong, Imam Sayed Hassan Qazwini, and Asma Gull Hasan." A New York Times columnist, a Western scholar of religions and two Islamic scholars offer their interpretations of 9-11. http://freshair.npr.org/dayFA.cfm?display=day&todayDate=09%2F19%2F2001
"The Real Roots of Terror" Jack Beatty argues that the autocratic regimes of Saudi Arabia and Egypt distract their citizens from repression at home by directing their anger toward the U.S. <http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/polipro/pp2001-12-05.htm>
"Blowback" In 1986, Mary Anne Weaver explained Osama bin Laden's rise to power as an example of the manner in which the U.S. support for the Afghan mujahideen-the loose coalition of fighters from all parts of the Islamic world who doggedly resisted Soviet occupation during the 1980s-has backfired on the United States. <http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/96may/blowback.htm>
"Three Causes of Current Islamic Terrorism and Three Action Steps To Take" A middle eastern and a western academic team up to provide a brief, schematic analysis of Islamic terrorism today. <http://www.wright.edu/~scott.williams/forum/causes.htm>
"In the Beginning, There Were the Holy Books" Kenneth L. Woodward's Newsweek article tries to understand how parts of the Koran can be "twisted" into a call for violence. <http://www.msnbc.com/news/698874.asp>
"'Fresh Air', National Public Radio Interview with Scholar of Religions Karen Armstrong." Armstrong speaks of how the Islamic philosophy and politics of a radical Islamic scholar have provided the rationale for Osama Bin Laden's "Jihad" against the West. http://freshair.npr.org/dayFA.cfm?display=day&todayDate=10%2F17%2F2001
"The Riddle of Terrorism" This review article from 1987 outlines four different theories about the causes of terrorism. http://www.nybooks.com/articles/4662
The September 11th Sourcebooks, "Volume I: Terrorism and U.S. Policy" National Security Archives. Access to hundreds of documents relevant to the September attacks. http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB55/index1.html
Al Qaeda Training Manual. Found in the apartment of a terrorist suspect in London. http://www.usdoj.gov/ag/trainingmanual.htm
1998 Interview with Osama bin Laden. In the first part of this interview, Osama bin Laden answers questions asked by some of his followers at his camp in southern Afghanistan. In the latter part of the interview, ABC reporter John Miller is asking the questions. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/binladen/who/interview.html>
Bin Laden's November 3rd Broadcast. A translation of the broadcast carried by the Arab news station Al Jezeera. Bin Laden asserts of the September 11th attacks that "the vast majority of the sons of the Islamic world were happy about these strikes." <http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/monitoring/>
Suicide Attacks [back to top]
For Westerners, suicide attacks are perhaps the most frightenning aspect of Islamic fundamentalist terrorism. These links try to explain how an Islamic terrorist may develop the ambition to die for his cause.
"All Suicide Bombers Are Not Alike" New York Times Magazine correspondent Joseph Lelyveld visits the families and friends of several suicide bombers. http://www.physics.ohio-state.edu/~wilkins/Terror/suicidebomber.html
"Meeting with the Muj" Harvard terrorism expert interviews students at a radical religious school where suicide bombers, or "martyrs," are trained. <http://www.jammu-kashmir-facts.com/meeting_with_the_muj.htm>
"An Arsenal of Believers" Another set of interviews with the "human bombs." <http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/?011119fa_FACT1>
"Manual for a 'Raid'" A fascinating analysis of a "manual" found in the luggage of one of the September 11th hijackers. <http://www.nybooks.com/articles/15106>
A Martyr's Manual. Images of the manual itself. <www.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel01/letter.htm>
The Arab-Israeli Conflict [back to top]
Suicide bombings have occured with increasing frequency in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. While almost no one considers that conflict the sole cause of Islamic terrorism, U.S. support of Israel is often cited as a major reason for Muslim anger against this country.
Thomas Friedman's op-ed piece argues that the United States supports Israel out of love for freedom, not Jewish vote or strategy. http://senrs.com/it's_freedom,_stupid.htm
"The Arab-Israeli conflict: Basic Facts" Israel Science and Technology's broad history of the Arab-Israeli conflict from Israel's perspective. <http://www.science.co.il/Arab-Israeli-Conflict.asp>
"Israel Must End the Occupation" Robert Jensen writes that "tha actions of the Israeli government are consistent with a desire for power and resources, not peace." <http://www.counterpunch.org/jensenisrael.html>
"Why I Resisted Being Drafted into the Israeli Army" Written by a spokesman for the growing draft resistance movement in Israel. <http://www.counterpunch.org/khilou.html>
"Occupation as Terrorism" George Naggiar's polemic argues that the Israeli occupation of Gaza and The West Bank are themselves instances of terrorism. <http://www.counterpunch.org/naggiar1.html>
"'As Israel Intensifies Its Occupation in Palestinian Territories, a Conversation with Edward Said,' Democracy Now! interview." Said, a Columbia professor and noted advocate for Palestinian self-determination, suggests that "feelings of human dismissal" engender terrorist activity. http://www.webactive.com/pacifica/exile/dn20010925.html
"Toward a New Palestinian Strategy" Dr. James J. Zogby, President of the Arab- American Institute, believes that Palestinian's must give up violence as a way of acheiving their aims. <http://www.aaiusa.org/newsandviews/washingtonwatch/012802.html>
"New Strategy Debate Continues: Where to Go From Here?" Zogby's thoughts on public reactions to the above article. < http://www.aaiusa.org/newsandviews/washingtonwatch/021102.html>
"Israel and Palestine - The Roots of the Recent Escalation" A far left-wing analysis of the Palestinian-Israeli problem. <http://www.worldsocialist-cwi.org/eng/2001/Ispalroots.html>
A conflict as long and multi-leveled as that between Israel and the Palestinians can be treated only cursorily in an article. Below are several well regarded books by writers on both sides of the debate.
Netanyahu, Benjamin, ed. "Terrorism: How the West Can Win," Farrar Straus Giroux, 1986. An Israeli view on how to end terrorism.
Morris, Benny. "The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem, 1947-1949 (Cambridge Middle East Library)," Cambrisge University Press, 1989. A controversial set of findings which were censored in Isreal for a decade.
Shipler, David K. "Arab and Jew: Wounded Spirits in a Promised Land," Penguin USA, 1987 Winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1987, this book will make readers question themselves, no matter what position they hold in the debate.
Friedman, Thomas. "From Beruit to Jerusalem," Anchor Books, 1990. Winnner of the National Book Award in 1990 and updated in 1995, this book is considered one of the best all around popular studies of the Middle East. The chapter "Hama Rules" describes the horrifying fate of dissenters in Asad's Syria.
Grossman, David, "The Yellow Wind," Noonday Press, 1998. 'The Yellow Wind' is a novel contribution to the literature of the Israeli-Arab dispute because it navigates between the icebergs of political solutions, myth and guilt, choosing to skate on the thin cover of experience. Grossman records the voices, images, and impressions flowing beneath the ice. . . [He] is a filter, a prism, not only a camera or a tape recorder." - The Partisan Review
Stone, Robert. "Damascus Gate," Scribner Paperback Fiction, 1999. "Stone's novel concerns a plot by Christian fundamentalists and Jewish radicals to blow up the mosques on Jerusalem's Temple Mount and thus hasten, for the former, the Second Coming, and for the latter, the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple. That story line is skillfully developed, engendering considerable suspense, but the heart of the book lies in its characters' tormented inner lives, as a handful of Jews, Christians, Arabs, and combinations of each struggle with the idea of God and the nature of belief." - Booklist
The Roots of Muslim Rage [back to top]
Explanations can tend towards the specific or the general. Any Muslim hostile to the United States will have his or her own particular grievances - for example, U.S. support of Israel, our embargo on Iraq, our bombing of Libya or Syria, or our cooperation with oppressive, non-democratic regimes in the Middle East, among other things.
Nonetheless, some authors try to construct an all-encompassing explanation for the spread of Islamic terrorism. Roughly speaking, these theories break down into those that emphasize cultural incompatibilities between Islam and the West, and those that stress economic factors. As the links below indicate, Samuel P. Huntington's 1993 article "The Clash of Civilizations?" has served as a focal point for this discussion.
"The Roots of Muslim Rage" Leading Western historian of Islam Bernard Lewis asserted in 1990 that "fundamentalist leaders are not mistaken in seeing in Western civilization the greatest challenge to the way of life that they wish to retain or restore for their people." Huntington drew his title from a phrase in this article. <http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/90sep/rage.htm>
"Jihad Vs. McWorld" This 1992 article by Benjamin Barber was another precursor of Huntington's essay. Barber described a tension between the forces of business and commercialism, which thrive on open borders and worldwide communication, and tribal, racial, territorial and ethnic forces that wish to remain separate unto themselves. <http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/foreign/barberf.htm>
"The Clash of Civilizations?" Samuel P. Huntington's controversial article in the Summer 1993 issue of Foreign Affairs makes the case that deep seated and uneradicable cultural or "civilizational" conflicts are primarily responsible for Islamic hostility towards the west. <http://www.coloradocollege.edu/dept/PS/Finley/PS425/reading/Huntington1.html>
Samuel Huntington, "The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order" (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1996) Chapter 12, "The West, Civilizations, and Civilization" Huntington expanded his article into a book, of which this is the concluding chapter. Here he answers some of his critics and suggests how the West should comport itself in the coming century. <www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/hunting.htm>
"Responses to Samuel P. Huntington's "The Clash of Civilizations? The Summoning; 'But They Said, We Will Not Hearken.' JEREMIAH 6:17" by Fouad Ajami. This leading Arab-American scholar collected several responses to Huntington's thesis. Ajami and others argue that Islam is not nearly as monolithic as Huntington claims, and that economic disenfranchisement is the key factor in explaining the rise of Islamic fundamentalism. <http://www.coloradocollege.edu/Dept/PS/Finley/PS425/reading/Huntington2.html>
This debate became far less "academic" after the events of 9-11. Nonetheless, discussion of the causes of the September attacks has been significantly informed by the positions of Huntington and his critics.
"Fighting The 21st Century Fascists" Francis Fukuyama, author of the influential book "The End of History," writes that the attacks "represent a desperate backlash against the modern world, which appears to be like a speeding freight train to those unwilling to get on board." <http://www.theage.com.au/news/state/2002/01/05/FFXE5PLU0WC.html>
"Occidentalism" Avishai Margalit and Ian Buruma find striking parallels between the anti-Western rhetoric of Islamic fundamentalism and that of German, Japanese and Italian fascist intellectuals of the 30's and 40's. <http://www.nybooks.com/articles/15100>
"Clash of Civilizations?" By Shahid Alam. An Arab-American university professor argues that rhetoric like Huntington's not only misses the mark, but serves to deflect attention from questionable U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. <http://www.counterpunch.org/shahidclash.html>
"The Constituency of Terror" Hernando de Soto writes that "for the past 30 years the poor in most places have been more interested in becoming entrepreneurs than revolutionaries." Giving land grants and otherwise "encouraging capitalism from below" is in his view the best way to fight terrorism. http://www.econ.umn.edu/~cswan/F01/Class/Oct16/desoto.html
"Memo from Osama" Thomas Friedman's New York Times Op Ed piece suggests that U.S. failure to respond decisively to earlier terrorist attacks emboldened Osama Bin Laden and his followers. http://college4.nytimes.com/guests/articles/2001/06/26/853809.xml
"Interviewing Chomsky" Transcript of a Belgrade Radio interview with noted linguist and political activist Noam Chomsky. Chomsky attributes the September attacks to anger at U.S. actions such as support of Israel and the attacks and embargos on Iraq. <www.zmag.org/chomb92.htm>
"Political Terrorism: What's Behind It, And What Can End It" A far left wing analysis of the trade center attacks, starting from the point of view of the restaurant workers who died on the job. <http://www.socialism.com/currents/terrorismrw.html>
"What Terrorists Want" Nicholas Lemann introduces the concept of the "terrorost entrepreneur." Arguing that individual members of a population line up either with or against terrorists according to their own microeconomic interests, Lemann suggests that the U.S. must go almost door-to-door making its case against terrorism. <http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/?011029fa_FACT1>
U.S. Responsibility for the Attacks? [back to top]
One theme that has become increasingly prominent in discussions of terrorism since 9-11 might be expressed as "You reap what you sow." The links below highlight ways in which U.S. military and corporate methods may have come back to haunt us.
Chalmers Johnson. Excerpts from "Blowback: The Costs and Consequences of an American Empire," Henry Holt, 2000. A broad and comprehensive overview of the ways in which U.S. "realpolitik " may have backfired. http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Blowback_CJohnson/Blowback_CJohnson.html
"Interview of Zbigniew Brzezinski in 'Le Nouvel Observateur'" It has commonly been reported that the U.S. began arming and training Islamic forces in Afghanistan in response to the Soviet invasion there. Here, President Jimmy Carter's national security advisor says that the administration began arming Afghan guerillas in order to provoke the Soviet Union to invade. <http://www.nonviolence.org/commentary/104.phpateur (France), Jan 15-21, 1998, p. 76*>
"Backyard Terrorism" The School of the Americas in Ft. Benning, Georgia is known to have trained many foreign nationals in terrorist methods. Despite the September 11th attacks, this article asserts that nothing has changed at the SOA except its name. http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4287795,00.html
A FAQ on the School of the Americas (now the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation) http://www.soaw.org/faq.html
"Terrorism's CEO: An Interview With Peter Bergen" In "Holy War, Inc.", Bergen suggests that management techniques learned at one of the world's elite business schools taught Bin Laden how to build a vast and effective terrorist organization. <http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/interviews/int2002-01-09.htm>
Terrorism
as a Psychological Weapon [back to top]
Terrorism aims to affect not only the people it kills and injures, or
the property it destroys. Despite the physical casualties terrorism inflicts,
it is primarily a psychological weapon. The links that follow explore,
suggest or embody some of the psychological reactions to 9-11.
"Ground Zero: A collection of photographs by Gilles Peress, Joel Meyerowitz, and Susan Meiselas." These leading photojournalists were in Manhattan the time of the attacks. <http://www.newyorker.com/online/content/?010924on_onlineonly01>
"Listening to America" An overview of the "anguished, angry, fearful, plucky" voices of citizens in the aftermath of the attacks. <http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/polipro/pp2001-11-07.htm>
"Rashomon," This American Life, a 1 hour radio program in 3 acts. In the movie Rashomon, one story is told from four different points of view. The story changes dramatically depending on who's telling it. This radio show, broadcast October 5, 2001, demonstrates how the meaning of the events of September 11th changes depending on who you talk to. Prologue (7 minutes): Larry Keeley explains why the Pentagon wants to see things from another perspective ... and how hard that is to do. (Episode 196, available at http://www.thislife.org.)
"The Expression of Grief and the Power of Art" Explores the ways in which the arts process violence and war. http://www.nyscea.com/art1.htm
"Diplomacy" "Actually," wrote one viewer, "these things make me feel a little better." This shockwave animation shows how the bitterness and anger of some U.S. citizens has sometimes been transformed into a gallows humor. http://www.xs4all.nl/~dromero/diplomacy.swf (Macromedia Flash Player available at http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=Shock)
"The September 11 Dream Project" A compendum of dreams reported in the wake of the attacks. <http://www.hungryghost.net/dream/dreampjtint.html>
"First Writing Since" by Suheir Hammad. The feelings of an Arab-American poet and New Yorker subsequent to 9-11. http://www.ariga.com/visions/poetry/suheirhammad001.htm
"Tribute" A Canadian citizen defends the U.S. against its critics. <http://www.nyarts.com/ustribute/>
"New York Arts Magazine: Art and Violence" A Manhattan based publication devotes a lavishly illustrated issue to the realtionships between art and the unthinkable. <http://nyartsmagazine.com/62/content.htm>
