KEY TERMS: SHINING PATH, ABIMAEL GUZMAN, RED BRIGADE, BRIGATE ROSSE ,

RENATO CURCIO, ALDO MORO, JAMES DOZIER, HAMAS, AL-AQSA TV, AL QAEDA,

OSAMA BIN LADEN, WORLD TRADE CENTER, TALIBAN, USS COLE , HOMELAND

SECURITY, TSA

EQ: How has terrorism impacted the modern world?

Introduction

In the latter half of the 20th century and into the new millennium, terrorism has been used by extremist groups as a weapon of warfare.

Terrorist attacks have plagued nations all over the world and have had a major effect on how the modern world operates.

Shining Path

A communist group from Peru formed in 1970 by Abimael Guzman, a former philosophy professor

They get their name from a speech made by the founder of the Peruvian Communist Party, Jose Carlos Mariatgui: “Marxism-Leninism will open the shining path to revolution.”

The goal of the Shining Path was to restore the “pure” ideology of Mao Zedong in China. The organization also modeled their plans after Stalinist Russia and the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia.

Guzman first recruited young intellectuals and then got supporters from the countryside and poor urban areas.

The Shining Path used violence and intimidation to gain territory; they mostly relied on guerrilla warfare.

Despite their harsh tactics and strict discipline, they appealed to many natives who wanted more power concentrated in the Spanish-speaking elite.

Their first act of violence began in May of 1980, when the small group of 500 declared war on the Peruvian state by burning ballot boxes in a small town in Ayacucho the day before national elections were held.

They continued their attacks, especially targeting police stations. They were responsible for many bombings of govt. buildings in the capital of Lima.

Though the group never exceeded more than 3,000, it is estimated that they killed almost 70,000 people between 1980 and 2000.

The Shining Path’s brutal tactics included stoning victims to death or placing them in boiling water.

They carried out massacres of peasant communities considered to be against their struggle.

Most of their activities were funded by cocaine-processing plants and they ran many of the most lucrative drug cartels.

A drug processing facility in the jungles of Peru, protected by a member of the Shining Path.

Millions of dollars worth of cocaine confiscated from the Shining Path.

It was then incinerated.

President Alberto Fujimori took office in 1990 and launched an assault on the Shining Path rebels, capturing and torturing suspected sympathizers, as well as arming Peasant Patrol armies.

Guzman was captured in 1992 and later requested that his followers negotiate a peace deal with the govt.

His request caused a break in the group, as some die-hard communists viewed him as a traitor while others remained loyal.

Since this split, much of their activities have diminished and the Shining Path no longer presents a serious threat to the stability of the Peruvian govt.

Guzman, now 80, is still serving a life sentence at a maximum-security prison in Lima.

While the remnants of the Shining Path still support Maoist ideology, most of their activities are in drug trafficking.

Though the govt. is attempting to bring down the drug cartel, their remote and very secret drug camps in the jungle is making this task difficult.

Red Brigade

Founded in Italy in 1967 by militant communist Renato Curcio, the Brigate Rosse used terrorism to attempt to withdraw Italy from NATO, remove western democratic influence, and pave the way for a communist state in Italy.

At its height, the Red Brigade had 500 active members, an additional 1,000 members who assisted in periodic attacks, and several thousand supporters who provided funds and shelter.

The Red Brigades first acts of violence occurred in November 1970, when several factories and warehouses in Milan were firebombed.

The following year, they began kidnapping politicians and holding them for ransom. Some victims were released unharmed; others were tortured by “knee-capping” and a few were assassinated.

The Italian govt. used the antiterrorist squad to capture hundreds of alleged members of the group.

Curcio was caught and arrested in 1976, but the kidnappings continued. It is estimated that between 1974 and 1988, the Red Brigade carried out 50 attacks in which almost 50 people were killed.

On March 16, 1978, the Red Brigade kidnapped former prime minister Aldo Moro, murdering five of his bodyguards in the process.

Moro was held captive for two months, during which the kidnappers attempted to negotiate his return for the release of 16 Red Brigade members held in police custody.

The Red Brigade had no intention of releasing Moro. They held a secret trial, sentencing him to death.

On May 9, he was told that he was being transported. His captors instructed him to get into a car and cover himself with a blanket.

Once covered, they shot 11 rounds into him and placed his dead body in the trunk of the car. It was discovered later that day.

His prominence made this an especially important victory for the Red Brigade.

In 1981, four of the Red Brigade disguised themselves as plumbers and gained access to the apartment of US Army officer and NATO Deputy Chief of Staff, James L. Dozier.

Dozier was the first foreigner and only American to be captured by the Red Brigade. He was held for 42 days and was rescued by a special unit of the Italian police.

The entire terrorist cell was captured and most of the Red Brigade was dismantled in the following years.

Red Brigade founder, Renato Curcio, was released in 1998, having served 18 years of his 24 year sentence.

The following year, Labor Minister advisor Massimo D’ Antona was assassinated and the remnants of the Red Brigade claimed credit.

Though Curcio’s role in this killing is unknown, to this day he expresses no remorse for his actions.

Curcio in 2008

Hamas

Hamas is an Arabic acronym for “Islamic Resistance Movement.”

Established in 1987, it is the largest of several Palestinian militant Islamist groups. The main goal of Hamas is to eliminate Israeli occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

The Founders of Hamas

Sheikh Ahmed Yassin

Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi

Mahmoud Zahar

The Slogan of Hamas

“God is it’s target, the Prophet is it’s model, the Qur’an it’s constitution: Jihad is it’s path and death for the sake of God is the loftiest of it’s

wishes.”

Hamas Finances

Palestinian expatriates and private donors in Saudi Arabia and other oil-rich Persian Gulf states finance the organization.

Iran also provides significant support.

Attacks

Hamas is believed to have killed more than 500 people in more than 350 separate terrorist attacks since 1993.

Most of the killings were done by suicide bombers.Also use mortars, short-range rockets, and small

arms fire.

Recent Activity

There have been 350 separate terrorist attacks since 1993

On January 15, 2004, the first female suicide bomber killed 4 Israelis

On May 14, 2004, double suicide bombers killed ten and wounded 16

Media

In 2006, Hamas launched a television channel, Al-Aqsa TV. It showed television programs, including children’s shows, with anti-Semitic messages. It was banned in 2010.

Sheikh Ahmed Yassin

Sentenced to life in prison, released after 1 year

Assassinated on March 22, 2004 by Israeli gunship helicopter

“We chose this road, and will end with

martyrdom or victory”

Abdel Aziz Rantisi

Took leadership after Yassin’s deathAssassinated on April 17, 2004

“Violent resistance is the only option for the restoration of

our stolen rights”

Mahmoud Zahar

Yassin’s personal physicianSenior official and spokespersonSecretly assigned to leadership after Rantisi’s

assassinationKilled by Israeli gunfire in Gaza on January 5,

2008

Despite the deaths of the original founders, Hamas has had leadership passed to other militants and is still active today.

Potential Threat to U.S.

November 8, 2006, Hamas called on Muslims around the world to attack American targets

So far, no attacks on the U.S. have been linked to Hamas

Al-Qaeda

Al Qaeda means “the Base.” It is a stateless (meaning without a country) terrorist organization.

It was founded and financed by Osama bin Laden, a radical Sunni Muslim.

History of al-Qaeda and Terrorism against the USA

The beginnings of al-Qaeda go back to the 1980’s when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan.

Bin Laden and the Arab Afghans fought the Soviet Union in Afghanistan.

The Soviet army left in 1988.

Operation Desert Storm

In 1990, Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein invaded the tiny, oil-rich country of Kuwait

The United States feared Saddam would invade Saudi Arabia too.

Iraqi tanks

US and Saudi coalition

The United States asked the Saudis for permission to establish military bases in their country.

Osama bin Laden, back home from Afghanistan, offered the Saudis the use of his soldiers to fight the Iraqi army because “infidel” armies have no place in the holy land of Islam.

Saudis chose the USA and snubbed bin Laden.

1991—Bin Laden left Saudi Arabia for Sudan

USA in Somalia

Dec. 4, 1992, George H.W. Bush sent 28,000 American troops to Somalia during a time of civil war and violence.

US presence in Somalia was very close to Bin Laden’s group in the Sudan.

Black Hawk Down!

In 1993, 18 Americans died when their Black Hawk helicopter was shot down over Mogadishu, Somalia.

Al Qaeda operatives likely taught the Somalis how to shoot down helicopters just like they did in Afghanistan against the Soviets.

The World Trade Center

Constructed in the 1960s and 1970s and containing the tallest buildings in the world, the WTC was symbolic of American wealth and power. As such, it was the target of more than one Al Qaeda attack.

The 1993 Attack

On February 26, 1993, at 12:18 p.m., a small cell of Al Qaeda terrorists, with links to a local radical mosque and broader Islamist terror networks, detonated about 1,200 pounds of explosives in a rental van in the underground parking garage at the North Tower of the World Trade Center. The terrorists fled the area after setting the bomb to explode.

Their intent was to cause enough structural damage to send the North Tower crashing into the South Tower.

Though it failed to do so, the explosion created a five-story crater in the sub-grade levels of the towers and undermined the floor of an adjoining hotel.

Six people were killed and more than 1,000 people were injured, including 88 firefighters, 35 police officers, and an emergency medical services worker. About 50,000 people evacuated from the WTC complex. It sustained an estimated $500 million in damages.

1993 WTC bombing

In the weeks after the attack, the planner and co-conspirators were identified as members of Al Qaeda.

Four of the seven terrorists were arrested, convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

ABC News CoverageTwenty Years Later

May 1996, Sudan expelled bin Laden, and he returned to Afghanistan.

Afghanistan was run by the Taliban, a violent local Afghani group led by Mullah Omar.

The Taliban did not plan the Al Qaeda attacks, but they let Bin Laden operate from Afghanistan and refused to turn him over to the US.

1996 car bombing of Khobar Towers

19 Americans were killed and hundreds injured.

Fatwa—An Islamic legal pronouncement

In August of 1998, Al Qaeda, led by bin Laden and Ayman Zawahiri declared war on Americans.

Embassy bombings: 1998

Two American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed simultaneously. 220 people were killed.

US sent missiles against Qaeda training camps in Sudan and Afghanistan—with little effect.

In 2000, four Al Qaeda terrorists were arrested crossing the Canadian border with nitroglycerin in his trunk. They were planning to bomb LA International Airport.

In Yemen, a boat with explosives tried to bomb a navy ship but sank due to being overloaded.

October 2000, Al Qaeda operatives sent a suicide bomber aboard a small ship near the USS Cole off the coast of Yemen. It detonated, blowing a large hole in the US Navy ship. 17 sailors were killed.

Al Qaeda’s most powerful attack

2819 people were killed343 firefighters and paramedics were killed

Khalid Sheik Muhhamad was the centralPlanner of the 9/11. Most terrorists were from Saudi Arabia.

Flight 93

Impact of Terrorism

Economic• Loss of life and property • Loss of business for the airline industry had to be ‘cured’ through huge government bail-outs•Increase of govt. spending on security measures

Political• Tightening of border security and immigration clearance• Counter-terrorism legislation that infringe on individual freedom and personal privacy (Homeland Security, TSA)

Social• Knee-jerk reactions to crises• Extremist rhetoric and sensitive political developments over people• Causes suspicion and tension among different ethnic and religious groups• Causes paranoia and fear

September 11 Attacks Loss of life and property cost insurance companies

close to US$40 million. Loss of business to the airline industry as people were

afraid of flying following the incidents. Government bail-outs were necessary to help support the

airline industry and prevent airlines from closing down. Despite this, many airlines cut down by retrenching staff

or cutting down orders for new aircraft. As people were afraid to fly, the tourism industry in some

countries suffered.