A Brief History of Terrorism

Zealots – Sicarri (1st century) Murdered Romans in broad daylight in

Jerusalem Muslim Assassins (11th & 12th centuries)

Shia Muslim sect who attacked their enemies either covertly or in broad daylight, usually using a small blade like a dagger

Hindu Thugee (13th-17th centuries) Originally a religious sect that strangled &

robbed victims in ritual sacrifice

French revolution Use of revolutionary tribunals to prop up the French

republic. Rule by fear/terror – Robespierre’s “lists”

Iraq Hussein regime uses chemical weapons to subdue

uprising among Kurdish villages

Early terrorism in the U.S. “Sons of Liberty” – provoked by Stamp Act,

organized mobs to tar and feather colonists still loyal to the king, forcing many to flee the country and settle in Canada

Klu Klux Klan – effective in spreading fear; forced federal govt. to end Reconstruction

4 Waves, Each roughly 40-45 years (David Rapoport)

Covers roughly 130 years of terrorism history Anarchist Wave Anti-Colonial/Decolonization Wave New Left Wave/Leftist anti-Western sentiment Religious Inspiration Wave

Themes to consider for each wave:1. Doctrines of terror2. Technology (especially for

communication/propaganda)3. Avenues of funding and support4. Organizations can transcend waves (e.g. IRA, ETA)

Roughly 1880s to 1920s

Doctrines: seeking to provoke state to the point where the

reaction leads to popular revolt Technology:

communication and transportation patterns; telegraph; daily newspapers; railroads; technology shrank time and space

weapons: mostly guns and knives; but invention of dynamite helped launch new terrorist capabilities

Financing: Bank robberies, extortion, etc.

Tsar Alexander II (1861) frees the serfs (1/3 of Russia’s population) and promises funds for them to use to buy land

Unable to provide those funds, raised expectations lead to widespread anger, disappointment, unrest; violence, assassinations

Narodnaya Volya (“people’s will”), Kropotkin’s “propaganda by the deed”

Pre-cursor to Serbian group, Narodna Obrana (splinter: Black Hand), killed Archduke Ferdinand and helped spark World War I

Other Examples: Assassinations of Pres. McKinley, Spanish Prime

Minister, etc.

Response of several governments was to create plain-clothes national police forces (FBI, Scotland Yard, Russian Okhrana, etc.); most are still in action today

1919: President Wilson authorizes round up of all Anarchists; ship to Soviet Union; Anti-American speech made illegal

Circa 1920s – 1960s Examples: Irgun (precursor to Lehi), the “Stern Gang”

and other Zionist extremists; ANC in South Africa; GIA and GSPC in Algeria

Doctrines: Freedom for indigenous peoples to decide own system,

structure Anti-racism, imperialism; fewer assassinations then

previous wave; attacks mainly on police, military, colonial govt. targets

Technology: Faster means of communication, transportation, money

transfer Financing:

Diaspora support, particularly from immigrants living in Western countries

Circa 1960s – 1990s Examples: Italian Red Brigades, ETA (Spain, France), Tamil Tigers

(Sri Lanka), PLO (Middle East), Red Army Faction (Baader-Meinhof Gang) (Germany), Japanese Red Army, Sendero Luminoso (Peru)

Doctrines: strategies for political change, Marxism, separatism Anti-Western political movements encouraged by Soviets,

Libyans, Iranians, Syrians, North Koreans etc. Technology:

cell phones, digital timers, radar guns and other types of devices that could be used as trigger switches for explosives

Airplane hijackings Global television media

Financing: Could include state-sponsorship (e.g., Soviet Union), hostage

ransoms

Current “wave” of terrorism Religious Cults (e.g., Aum Shinrikyo) Christian, Jewish and Islamist extremists Violent anti-abortion movement

Doctrines: superiority of God’s rules oust “them” from holy lands; stop actions that “offend God” Fatwas against the West; sermons condemning abortion

Technology: Increasing sophistication of IEDs Use of “ultimate smart bomb” (suicide terrorists) New “Weapons of Mass Disruption” The Internet

Financing: Global trafficking in drugs & weapons Diverted charity funds Internet fraud, ID theft, etc.

Themes to consider for each wave:1. Doctrines of terror2. Technology (especially for

communication/propaganda)3. Avenues of funding and support4. Organizations can transcend waves (e.g.

IRA, ETA)

What do we think about the future of these things?