Violent Extremism and Terrorism: The Al-Qaeda and IRA - Coursework Example

Introduction From highly disciplined outfits to loosely connected networks, it is undeniable that terror groups have taken root all over the world. Terrorism has shaken up various regions around the globe from small attacks to continuous elaborate major attacks like 9/11, 7/7 to mention but a few. This essay seeks to critically evaluate the various aims, structures and modus operandi of two terrorist groups; the Al-Qaeda and IRA, and the possible implications of their presence and operation on national security, community cohesions and authorities. It also seeks to provide theory and evidence, the role of communities and community groups and effectiveness of official responses to tackling the specific terrorist groups. Classical car bombs, suicide attacks and assassinations constitute traditional forms of modus operandi by terrorists (Verma, 2009). Though some of these tactics are still used, terrorists have moved to targeting major landmarks and killing foreign nationals in a bid to make major statements and remain in the news for instance the ISIS crisis. The Islamic State is a terror group that broke away from al Qaeda is 2013 and has reined terror in multiple Islamic states like Syria and Iraq. ISIS took advantage of the chaos of Syria’s civil war to expand its invasion past Iraq. Later, the terrorist group posted a video showing the beheading of US journalist James Foley (agencies, 2014). The internet has played a key role in aiding these terrorist groups deliver their messages. New weaponry and acquisition of equipment and availability of information regarding manufacture and production of weapons such as explosive devices has assisted in growing militant terrorist groups. Evolving technology in weaponry such as chemical bombs, biological weapons and nuclear devices also contribute to the growth of terrorist activities around the world. HAMAS which is and Islamic resistance movement has reportedly used coated shrapnel with poisons and pesticides at their targets (Cronin, 2003). Al Qaeda is an extremist Islamic group that originated from the aftermath of the Soviet-Afghan war of 1979 to 1989. The Al Qaeda is aimed at bringing together extremists around the world citing the West as the cause of problems in Islamic nations (Venhaus, 2010). This terrorist group has had its sights on high impact attacks following its declaration in 1996. Since then, Al Qaeda has launched various attacks around the world from the 1998 U.S embassy bombings in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania that left over 200 people dead and thousands injured to the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York that resulted in 2996 deaths including the 19 hijackers and scores injured (Schindler, 2007). Al Qaeda resorted to using ‘hawala’ which is a trust based informal banking system to transfer funds and acquire assets. These trust-based banks are difficult to uncover allowing for free flow of funds within their territorial managements. The Irish Republican Army (IRA) on the other hand, is a militant organization founded in 1921 that was formed as an opposition to British rule in Ireland. The IRA traces its origin from the Catholic Irish nationalism of the early 1900s. It was considered by many as a terrorist organization because it employed coercive tactics such as assassinations and bombings to get its message across. From 1969 to 1997, the IRA branched out to form different organizations namely Official IRA (OIRA), Provisional IRA (PIRA), Real IRA (RIRA) and Continuity IRA (CIRA). The Provisional IRA which offers paramilitary links to the Official IRA was what set this organization up as a terrorist group. Ideological differences other than the main motivation led to the split of the IRA into multiple groups over time (News.bbc.co.uk, 2015). Continuity IRA was opposed to the Official IRA’s agreement to engage with the British government instead was prepared to fight for their own ‘rights’. Sir Jonathan Evans, a former director of the Security Service stated that personal rivalries and marginal distinctions are the cause of the branching out of the different IRA units. British troops opened fire on a Catholic rally in January 1972 that left 14 unarmed people dead. Crossfire from ‘loyalists’ to the IRA and the British troops resulted in the death of over 3,600 people and the tension in these areas was high for the longest time before a peace accord was signed. Continuous innovations in weapon technology made the IRA very unpredictable in terms of tracing origins of the weapons they used (Oppenheimer and English, 2009). Aims Terrorist groups are driven by different reasons such as instilling fear, gaining international recognition or harassing government security forces. Al Qaeda has achieved international recognition besides instilling fear and discouraging foreign interaction between nations. Whenever a terror attack occurs, travel advisories are put up by countries to their citizens despite terrorism being a global concern and terrorist groups capitalize on such implications to build their territory. The Charlie Hebdo attack on a satirical newspaper in Paris on January 7th 2015 was carried out by Yemen’s Al Qaeda branch which is an affiliate of the Al Qaeda group (BBC News, 2015). Two Islamist gunmen were deployed to massacre 12 people in cold blood using assault rifles. The leader of the Al Qaeda in the Arabic Peninsula, Nasr al-Ansi through a video posted via their Twitter account, cites ‘revenge for the prophet’ as their reason for the attack and he goes on to promise that there will be more attacks on the West. Structures and affiliations Al-Qaeda has a devolved networked structure whose network command is unclear. The late Osama bin Laden was the known leader of Al Qaeda and was thereafter succeeded by Ayman al-Zawahiri following bin Laden’s death in 2011. The group has branches in various parts of the world like Al Qaeda in the Arabic Peninsula (Yemen), Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) which is also known as Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), Al Shabaab (Somalia) and Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (North Africa). Osama bin Laden was previously on a mission to establish an Islamic army to fight the Western dominance which failed (Sageman, 2004). Although this army was not ideological at the time, it still has come into fulfilment regarding the organized activities of these terrorist groups on various nations around the world. Cash couriers are also used to move money making it difficult to trace sources and destination. To curb Al Qaeda terror threats, countries such as the United States are emphasizing on cyber security, maritime security, chemical facility security and border security to ensure safety within its borders. The IRA had a small membership of about 700 members who were broken down into smaller cells. IRA’s daily operations were organized by an Army Council of 7 people. The IRA is also considered an innovative terror group with the ability to create ammunition for battle such improvised mortars posing a great threat to British authorities and troops. The IRA enjoyed support from American sympathizers and the Palestine Liberation Organization and Libya who provided them with weaponry and training (Shanahan, 2009). IRA’s connections have also been traced to some Marxist-leaning terrorist groups active during the 1970s. Following the war path and tactics set up by the Al Qaeda, some terrorist groups such as the Boko Haram from Nigeria have set root in the West African region. This group is hell-bent on living up to of Al Qaeda’s jihadi philosophy to destroy modernism ideals and establish ‘religious ideals’ of Islam (Fiat Sophia, 2014). AQ has received its funding from Muslim charities and individuals who are in support of their missions towards the West. Some of the funding is suspected to be raised also through criminal activities like credit card fraud and money laundering. Implications for national security and community cohesion Terrorism threats are viewed as enduring and have led all governments to establish and sustain mitigation efforts. Continuous attacks by militant groups have led many nations to go on the offense by setting up and activating critical infrastructure. United States for example has compiled sophisticated means to gather intelligence on a range of terrorist networks in order to act against them through kinetic actions, targeting their financial networks and propaganda. In order to reduce the operational capabilities of the Al Qaeda, the U.S has provided security assistance for Iraq over the years (Eju.tv, 2015). Australia has taken up an intelligence-led and risk-informed approach for her protective security. The Republic of Ireland kept surveillance on the IRA despite the ceasefire in 1994. Garda Special Branch which is Irish Republic’s police counter-subversive unit noted activity from senior Republican officials just before the major bombing attack in canary Wharf, London. Though the IRA did not have a platform as global as the internet their operational tactics were inflated by access to ammunition and wealth of sympathizers and funders (Jackson and Frelinger, 2008). Community cohesion needs to exist for people to work and live together regardless of their background or race. A well integrated community is based on trust within its members as well as its authorities to act fairly if need arises. Monitoring, response and action required are the rules that govern community cohesion. However, there is pressure on Muslim communities for instance France has banned Muslims from wearing burqa and niqab in public citing it as a means to curb rising terrorism level is in the country. This is regardless to the religious context to which this garment is equated and has led to protests by the Muslim community as an infringement of their religious freedom as provided for in the constitution (Chrisafis, 2013). Community tension has arisen from this law and may as well be causative to resistance by the Muslim community to cooperate with authorities. U.S’s committee of Homeland Security encourages collaboration on all government levels through planning, sharing information and training for effective response to terrorism attacks. National and trans-national responses to tackle terrorist groups The IRA’s resistance towards British rule to achieve Ireland’s independence as a republican state was the root cause of their operations. Under Michael Collin’s governance, IRA used guerrilla tactics like ambushes, sabotage and raids to get the British government to negotiate. According to Oppenheimer and English (2009), the IRA campaigned extensively through violence especially by employing Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), car bombs and booby traps. They point out the intensity of violence that this organization is responsible for with the Provisional IRA having carried out 1300 bombings in 1972 alone. IRA was tackled with hard-lined security measures and troops being sent in to fight IRA militants. Following her appointment as the British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher was hell-bent on confronting the IRA head on which brought with it massive casualties following a series of bomb attacks even including the death of her friend, Airey Neave on Mach 30th, 1979. To suppress possible assaults in the future Margaret Thatcher went into a meeting with Irish Taoiseach Jack Lynch. Proposals by the British government included British helicopters to be allowed within the borders of Ireland for up to 15 kilometres and training to the Irish by the British in order to combat terrorism. Margaret Thatcher’s policies to increase security in order to curb IRA terror were met with opposition from the Republic of Ireland there was persistence by the British government to see these policies through. Powell took to addressing terrorists directly and the Good Friday Agreement which was ratified on 10th of April 1988 aimed to eliminate continuous clashes of Catholic Unionists to free of British control, Protestant Unionists in Northern Ireland to remain in the UK from British governance (Neal, 2014). Combating the IRA has made the British government to engage in major offensive tactics such as waging direct war on IRA to keeps its borders and people secure (Hoffman, 2006). Transnational surveillance is a means by INTERPOL to help counter transnational terrorist attack for instance if a person from a different nationality is killed in a terrorist attack this calls for intervention by INTERPOL to look into the matter. INTERPOL employs its resources to assist in capturing transnational terrorists. After the 4 hijackings that constituted 9/11, INTERPOL placed just over 20 percent of its crime fighting resources to help in countering terrorism in a bid to prevent the occurrence of the same (Sandler, Arce and Enders, 2011). United Nations Security Council used asset freezing as a way to disrupt Al Qaeda’s activities but this was not exactly effective because of the basis in which they operate to gain funds. Conclusion Militant terrorist groups have with no doubt torn through the world’s security fabric fiercely in the last century. The IRA in particular has been at war with the British government for decades and within this timeline managed to leave a great number of casualties through their tactical car bombs and assassinations. The Al Qaeda is on the same playing field with its casualties list growing by the day as it purposes to bring down the West one attack at a time. The quest for world peace is getting tougher with no end in sight for the devastation left by the same arsenal amassed on the daily. Coercive means to any end with a quest for vengeance or walk towards freedom are the excuses relayed by the different terrorist groups that exist today. The path to world peace may just be a grand illusion as it is a possibility. (Carment and Schnabel, 2003) References agencies, J. (2014). Iraq crisis: what is the Islamic State? [online] Telegraph.co.uk. Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iraq/10891387/Iraq-crisis-what-is-the-Islamic-State.html [Accessed 24 Mar. 2015]. 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