The Palestinian Authority has purged itself, at least temporarily, of the influence of Hamas. Hamas, for those of you JUsers out there who don't know, is a terrorist organization funded largely by Syrian, Lebanese, and Iranian interests against Israel. From Australia's The Age : Whatever one's perception of Hamas and its activities, it has risen as a credible alternative to the secular Palestine Liberation Organisation, which led the Palestinian nationalist movement from the middle o...
The existing law enforcement is there: along with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), many government agencies work long hours to keep Americans safe. The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), US Customs, and the Coast Guard have been rolled into the nascent Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Though not intended to be a domestic intelligence service as such, the inclusion of the organizations mentioned have made intelligence part of DHS' daily operations. Ironically, t...
In what ways, if any, do you think that US policymakers can do a better job apprising the American public of the long-term nature of the Global War on Terrorism and he sacrifices that struggle will continue to entail? Certain members of Congress and the White House articulate the importance of staying in the fight quite well. It is just a matter of whether or not the claims fall on deaf ears or are taken seriously. Supporters of the War on Terror are seen as Bush's shills or cronies, as ...
Why hasn't Al Qaeda attempted an large CBRN attack, given the group's M.O of "spectacular" mass casualty attacks against symbolic targets? I have my ideas, but they are speculative. Could be any one of a number of factors: 1) They can't get one into a strategic location. Since 9/11, security around high-value American targets has increased many-fold. Metal detectors are almost ubiquitous in Washington DC these days. I've never felt safer riding the Metro. Even airliners transiting...
What are the most significant technical constraints, political constraints, and psychological inhibitory constraints against CBRN use by terrorist networks? How might these be enhanced? So, what's stopping the terrorists? Holding them back from doing the unthinkable, the devastating, the inevitable? The biggest factor is the damage caused. CBRN weapons inflict mass casualties upon a large area, and the psychological damage is even more widespread. CBRN give a huge payoff with minim...
What role did ideology play in Iran's support for terrorism in the aftermath of the 1979 revolution? What, if anything, has changed since then with respect to ideology? The success of the Islamic Revolution caused a kind of manifest destiny for the new Iranian clerical elite. Their ultimate desire was to export Islam until the entire world was one mighty caliphate. Iran, unfortunately, was a weakling at the playground; in addition to the other more secular Arab nations, there was a...
Should Hezbollah be considered a terrorist organization in that it provides services to the public and participates in electoral politics? The words: "Absolutely!" spring quickly to mind. And here's why... With apologies to Forrest Gump, Terrorist is as terrorist does. The bombings of the Marine barracks in Beirut was attributed to them, along with a decades-long campaign against the West and Israel (Bynam 84-5). So despite the fluffy niceties of political correctness and t...
I do believe that the longer people just accept that this is the way the 'east' thinks...and this is the way the 'west' thinks...then we are in for even more milennia of stuck in the mud progress. But it's so much easier to pigeonhole one culture (especially the opposing culture in a war) as being beyond (or beneath) reason. If we truly believe that the Muslim people of the world are bitter and irreconcilable, then we better just kill them all off and poof! No more threat. But to enga...
From the Chicago Tribune, January 5, 2007: Consider The Irony Of Guantanamo Bay By Thomas P. Sullivan What an irony, what a contradiction! Although the trial may have been flawed and the execution precipitous, the Iraqi government afforded a mass murderer, Saddam Hussein, basic rights before judgment was pronounced. Hussein was presented with written charges, provided the assistance of lawyers, the government was required to introduce proof to support its charges through competen...
Evaluate the assertions by Ehrlich and Liu that differential population growth rates between Israelis and Palestinians “may exacerbate the conditions that breed terrorism.” What information do they provide that supports their contention that the different rates do actually contribute to terrorism? Potential terrorists are predominantly young adult males (Ehrlich & Liu 2002). Ehrlich and Liu cite that with poverty, a general lack of responsibility, and general indifference towards mor...
Evaluate Hoffman’s conclusion that the PLO was a model for certain types of terrorist groups. What types of groups? What were the features of the PLO and its actions that seem to have been adopted by other groups? Hoffman was quite explicit in how the PLO's efforts have been emulated in regional and international terror groups. Their ruthless efficiency in 1972 Munich made the whole world stand up and take notice. "The undivided attention of some four thousand print and radio journa...
Explain and evaluate Hoffman assertion that terrorists ordinarily act rationally. The terrorist always fights against a better-armed foe. In order to go up against such an enemy, there must be undying fervor and burning desire within the fighter. The training starts from birth. The child is taught to dehmanize the enemy, and that killing them is part of the natural order. Hoffman calls this an "inverted sense of normality" and it is instilled throughout society. [The Pale...
Front page of the New York Times, circa 1944 :
Remember this? WMD in Iraq. The Iraqi government was found to be in "material breach" of its obligations back in 2002: Holding Iraq in “material breach” of its obligations under previous resolutions, the Security Council this morning decided to afford it a “final opportunity to comply” with its disarmament obligations, while setting up an enhanced inspection regime for full and verified completion of the disarmament process established by resolution 687 (1991). By the unanimous adopt...
Some good news from the northern front of the War on Terror: Canadians were about to experience their own 9/11, or more appropriately their own Oklahoma City; if it hadn't been for the police rounding these fellow Canadians up on Friday afternoon... From today's Toronto's Globe and Mail: Brampton, Ont. -- Members of an alleged homegrown terror cell appeared in a Brampton courtroom Saturday to face charges they plotted to attack Canadian targets in Southern Ontario. In a series of...