Active and Passive State Sponsored Terrorism - Essay Example

FOUNDATIONS OF TERRORISM goes here] [Your goes here] [Due the paper] Answer No Active Sponsored Terrorism Control Some states have a direct control over the activities of the terrorist groups operating in their territories. The aim of such states is to use the terrorists as a threat for the governments of opposing countries. A good example of directly controlled terrorism is of Syria which controlled a terrorist group named Al-Saiqa. This group was based in Palestine and Syria had been directly and openly controlling this group to tackle the influence of Yasir Arafat who was the most prominent leader of Palestine. 2. Contact This form can be termed as the widely practiced and confirmed form of state sponsored terrorism. State sponsorships falling under this category provide partial support to the independent terrorist groups. States use these groups to serve their national interests. An example of this form of state sponsored terrorism is of Pakistani governments which have been using Kashmiri Militants/Mujahidin to continue struggling for the independence of Kashmir and its joining with Pakistan. 3. Coordination Some states remain in frequent contact with the terrorist groups based in different countries. The aim of such states is to use the power of those terrorist groups when needed. States keep the communication channels open for the terrorist groups and often engage in tactical coordination with them. An example of this form of state sponsored terrorism is of Iran which has always kept good relations with Al-Qaeda and Salafi-Jihadist groups to use them in some particular circumstances (Ahmad, n.d., p. 7). Passive State Sponsored Terrorism 1. Knowing Toleration Some states tolerate the activities of terrorist groups and militants to escape from their terrorist attacks. They let them recruit members, raise funds, and operate from their territories in order to keep good relations with them. Syria is a good example of such states which had been involved in providing safe place to the Jihadists and militants to let them organize properly against the U.S. invasion of Iraq (Ahmad, n.d., p. 7). 2. Ignorance or Unconcern Some states show ignorance to the activities of the terrorist groups operating from their territories. They show the least concern to the presence of terrorists in their territories as long as the terrorists do not carry out any sort of criminal activity against their civilians. They also ignore the terrorists as long as their activities do not become harmful for their state’s interests. An example of such form of state sponsored terrorism is of the Canadian government which allowed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam to grow in Canada because this group did not prove to be a real threat for the Canadian people (Ahmad, n.d., p. 7). 3. Incapacity Some states are not able to completely control their territories. As the result of this, different terrorist groups start coming and living in those areas of the states where the governmental influence is the lowest level. An example of this form of state sponsored terrorism is of Pakistan the government of which has almost no control in the tribal areas. Therefore, many terrorist groups have settled in there and are operating their activities freely. Answer No. 2 Strategic Motivations Strategic motivation is one of the biggest motivations that states usually have to sponsor terrorism. Some states want to make their presence feel among the neighboring states. Some states want to create insurgency in the neighboring states, whereas some states want to increase their international clout. Some states also have the objective to become the most advanced state in the local region. To accomplish such purposes, states usually use terrorist organizations. One of the main examples of strategic motivation based sponsorship is that of Pakistani governments which always have been using Kashmiri mujahidin to create unrest in the Indian occupied Kashmir and keep India involved in the law and order situation. Ideological Motivations Apart from strategic motivations, some states also have ideological motivation to sponsor terrorism. The main aims or goals of ideological motivation based sponsorship are to influence a specific ideology in any particular state, to destroy the system of the targeted state, and to get rid of the opposing government. An example of this type of motivation is that of Afghanistan where previous governments sponsored and facilitated Taliban to bring ideological revolution in the country. However, the consequences of this type of motivation are very negative for the state itself and for the whole world as we have seen in the case of Afghan Taliban. Domestic Political Motivations Another type of motivation which states usually have to sponsor terrorism is domestic political motivation. Some states want to control the local region by influencing governments of the neighboring countries. Some states also want to secure their political legitimacy and for doing this, they remain in continuous contact with the local terrorist or extremist groups. We can take example of Syria where President Bashar al-Asad has been leaning on Hezbollah, a terrorist group, to secure his legitimacy (Ahmad, n.d., p. 11). Answer No. 3 Use of Intelligence Agencies Some states make use of their own intelligence agencies to carry out terrorist attacks on some other country either because of conflicts between the two states or because of the intent to destabilize the victim state. An example of a country providing this kind of support is Pakistan. Indian governments often blame Pakistani intelligence agencies for their role in the terrorist attacks in its major cities, such as, Mumbai and Delhi. Provision of Safe Corner to Terrorists Some states also become a safe corner or safe place for the terrorists from where they can operate easily. Terrorists can hide in such places after carrying out terrorist attacks on their targeted countries. An example of this kind of support is provision of safe corner to Al-Saiqa and Palestine-based extremist groups by Syria. Sudan has also become a safe place for Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement. Provision of Funding to Terrorist Groups Some states fund the terrorist groups operating in other countries to keep them carry out their criminal activities. Their intent is to weaken the political and military base of the victim state. An example of this kind of support to terrorists is provision of financial and logistical support to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force by the Iranian government to help them operate successfully in the neighboring countries (U.S. Department of State, 2012). Answer No. 4 Syria is currently one of the main active state sponsors of terrorism in the world. Syria has maintained close relations with many terrorist organizations and extremist groups and it has been using these groups as a strategic tool to influence the neighboring countries. Syria has also been designated as a state sponsor of terrorism in 1979. Syria has always provided political, logistics, and ideological support to the militant groups. This support from the Syrian government has always played a key role in creating instability in the region, as well as in causing unrest. One of the main groups which is benefiting from Syrian support is Hezbollah, which is a Lebanon based terrorist group. Similarly, Syria has also been involved in providing weapon and political support to many other terrorist groups, such as, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Palestine Islamic Jihad, and Hamas. All of these terrorist groups are easily operating from the territory of Syria except Hamas which started to shift out from the country in 2011 because of use of violence by the Syrian government against the protestors (U.S. Department of State, 2012). Terrorist organizations operating in the Middle East region call Damascus the safest place for the terrorists. Syria has never maintained good relations with Israel. Therefore, it has always supported the Palestinian terrorist groups which have targeted their terrorist attempts towards Israel. An important point here is that Syria has started to portray its image as a victim of terrorism because of some terrorist attacks in Damascus by some unknown groups in 2011. Summing it up, Syria is a very active state sponsor of terrorism in the Middle East region and continues to provide all types of support to the terrorist groups operating against the Syrian opponents. Answer No. 5 As far as passive state sponsored terrorism is concerned, one of the main examples is that of Pakistan’s hidden support to Al-Qaeda, which is one of the biggest terrorist groups of the world. A large number of Al-Qaida militants reside in the tribal areas of Pakistan from where they carry out terrorist attacks in the neighboring countries, such as, Afghanistan and India. Pakistani government does not do anything against them because of the fear that if they take any step against them, they will start targeting their civilians and infrastructure. This shows incapacity of Pakistan to combat terrorists residing in the tribal areas. Pakistani governments have never been able to take complete control of the tribal areas where Mujahidin and militant groups organize by finding opportunity from the lack of state control (Byman, 2004). Another important point in this regard is that Pakistan has always been providing military and logistics support to the Jihadi groups in Kashmir. Members of those groups also take shelter in the tribal areas of Pakistan after carrying out terrorist activities in Indian occupied Kashmir. This is an example of knowing toleration (for Kashmiri Mujahidin) from the Pakistani government. Pakistan wants to take strategic advantage over India by keeping the government and forces of India busy in dealing with Kashmiri Mujahidin. Summing it up, Pakistan has been a passive sponsor of terrorism for a long time. It location in the region is very critical and Pakistan wants to take good advantage of its location by creating insurgency in its rival neighboring state. References Ahmad, I. (n.d.). State-Sponsored Terrorism. Retrieved from http://www.ishtiaqahmad.com/downloads/State_Sponsored_Terrorism.pdf Byman, D. (2004). Passive Sponsorship of Terrorism. Retrieved from http://web.mit.edu/ssp/seminars/wed_archives04fall/byman.htm U.S. Department of State/ (2012). Country Reports on Terrorism 2011. Retrieved from http://www.state.gov/j/ct/rls/crt/2011/195547.htm Read More