Links between Domestic Terrorist Groups and International Terrorist Groups - Term Paper Example

Running head: DOMESTIC TERRORISM Domestic Terrorism s Domestic Terrorism Links between Domestic Terrorist Groups and International Terrorist Groups There are no known operational links between domestic terrorist groups and al international terrorist groups, but monitoring organizations have noted that both American right-wing extremists and Islamist militants spread similar theories about Jews, Freemasons, and other groups conspiring to control the world. Moreover, some white supremacists applauded the September 11 attacks. "Anyone who is willing to drive a plane into a building to kill Jews is alright by me," said one leader of the National Alliance, a neo-Nazi group based in West Virginia; "I wish our members had half as much testicular fortitude (http://www.sullivan-county.com/id3/terror.htm) Enemies of Terrorist Groups Both domestic and international terror groups have the same enemies both terrorists group enemy is the government as these terrorist groups usually consist of the oppressed class, and this class feels that it is the government's fault that they do not get their fair share. Thus the government is the common enemy of both the terrorist groups. A good example of this is that al Qaeda trained many militants as it felt that the American government was oppressing their people and their religion. A good example of domestic terrorism is that Various recent events, most particularly the bombing of the Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in April, 1995, thus proving the fact that Organized extremist/terrorist groups of particular concern with regard to their abilities to recruit from, and exist within the United States armed services have historically been racist and/or anti-government in character. (http://www.fas.org/irp/eprint/presley.htm) Terrorists and Internet Terrorist have started to use the in two ways. The First and most common way is that, the Internet has developed into a forum through which both terrorist groups and individual terrorists can spread their intense and influential messages of hate and violence far and wide. Through this fast developing forum they can also communicate with one another and with those who show sympathy towards them. The Second way in which terrorist use the internet for their terrorism is that, individuals as well as groups have attempted to make an attack on a lot of computer networks, as well as those on the Internet this is called cyber terrorism or cyber warfare. At present, terrorists proffer to use the Internet for their purposes more than they are attacking it. At least twelve of the thirty groups on the State Department's list of selected foreign terrorist organizations keep Web sites on the Internet. Whereas U.S. officials strongly believe that a number of terrorists use encrypted E-mail to plan their evil acts of terrorism, the majority of groups seem to use the Internet so that they can spread their propaganda all around the world. Good number Internet sites of terrorist groups seek to promote the organization's political and ideological agenda. A good example is of this is that directly after the Peruvian terrorist group Tupac Amaru broke into the Japan's Ambassador's residence which was in Lima as well as apprehended scores of diplomatic, political and military officials hostage in December 1996, sympathizers of Tupac Amaru in who were citizens of U.S. and Canada developed quite a lot of solidarity Internet sites, one of the sites even had comprehensive drawings of the terrorists' plan of assault on the residence of the Japanese Ambassador's. When most of the free and English speaking world thinks of the word enemy, a warrior dressed assassin or foreign solder from a communist country usually comes to mind. Enlisted soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines who fight tirelessly to defend our country see the enemy as that exactly. Unfortunately, there is a new enemy threatening our way of life. This enemy attacks through e-mail messages and internet connections. Instead of nuclear, chemical or biological weapons, this enemy desires to use computer viruses and e-mail bombs against would be combatants. The enemy takes many forms from an anonymous user across miles of phone line to a disgruntled co worker who seeks revenge for decreased wages or a missed promotion. In his or her mind, hacking and cyber crime may seem justifiable. It may even be a prank for fun or revenge. Nevertheless, it affects the core of their workplace like a knife in the back. The enemy is also linked to global terrorism. Hackers have been known to be involved with aiding the terrorists responsible for the September 11th attacks whose intent was to splinter the economic status of the United States. These terrorists committed cyber theft and cyber fraud in order help Osama bin Laden perpetrate his terrorist acts. Firstly the Internet has become a forum for terrorist groups and individual terrorists both to spread their messages of hate and violence and to communicate with one another and sympathizers. Secondly individuals and groups have tried to attack computer networks, including those on the Internet, what has become known as cyber warfare. Most groups use the current loopholes in Internet regulation to spread their propaganda. Former chief of operations at the F.B.I. Buck Revell told U.S. News & World that: "As long as they don't specifically engage in criminal acts, they can do anything they want to aid and abet their activities. This is a safe haven for them. Regulating Internet The previous arguments show that there is a need for some regulation of the Internet. Presently some governing bodies exist such as A more attainable solution would be self-regulation, whereby parents control what can be access by home P.Cs, therefore eliminating the risk of terrorist forums. This can successfully be achieved with software blockers and filters. ADL Hatefilter; allows parents and others to block access to Internet sites that ADL believes promotes terrorism. For this solution to be effective Internet Service Providers would have to work closely with police and parents to keep abreast of potential dangers and existing loopholes. Another solution would be for a global treaty regulating the Internet extensively from a global perspective. Within this solution an International Body could be founded to pass new rules applicable to the Internet. Ideally the governments of the world could bestow power on the International Body in order to regulate the Internet. Currently the Internet knows no boundaries due to the fact that laws in one nation do not apply in another, yet the Internet is global and so what is published on a site in UK may be seen in China yet it may not be legal. These loopholes exist due to the differing national laws therefore if a new set of laws existed purely for the Internet maybe these loopholes would be closed. Whilst neither of these solutions is ideal, nor is the current setup whereby anything goes. Communication between users, government, police and Internet Service Providers should provide the relevant data from which the ideal solution could be achieved. Domestic Terrorist Acts There have been several terrorist acts committed in the United States of America, not by terrorists that live in other countries and despise the American ways and ideas, but by our own citizens who live and work in the United States of America. Domestic terrorism is done by a person or group of persons who reside here, who are not acting on behalf of a foreign power, and who may be conducting criminal activities in support of terrorist ideas and whose acts are aimed at elements of the U.S. Government or population. (www.fbi.gov/publications/terror/terror2000) Those objectives range from distrust of the government, to hatred of a specific type of person or people or their beliefs. They organize around civil rights, war, feminism and other political themes. The threat to the United States from domestic extremists is a very serious one. This was brought to attestation on April 19, 1995, as soon as Timothy McVeigh and partner in crime Terry Nichols detonated a huge truck bomb that shattered the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. It was the second most lethal terrorist act to take place on American soil. It has still not been completely determined if McVeigh and Nichols acted on their own or were part of a form of terrorism committed by small groups or individuals to exert pressure on a specific group or the government to grant recognition to a larger group with whom they relate or identify with. Domestic terrorism was again visited after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World trade Center in New York when anthrax attacks occurred in Washington, New York and Florida. Top FBI and CIA officials believe that the anthrax attacks on Washington, New York and Florida were likely the work of one or more extremists in the United States and the FBI said in June 2004 that eco-terrorism -- acts of violence, sabotage or property damage motivated by concern for animals or the environment -- was the nation's top domestic terrorism threat. (www.wsws.org/articles/2001/nov2001/iraq-n01.shtml) The attacks on the United States and its people by its own citizens, has shocked many Americans. Americans feel that after 911, the sense of patriotism and support for the government should have been at an all time high. However, strict government reforms and new laws that have tightened and, what some feel, interfere with some of our freedoms since 911 have drastically upset many of the extremist groups and militias. Militia members have strong hatred or fear for the government and very strongly believe that there are federal conspiracies in which the government is secretly planning to take over their land and make their citizens go against them its citizens. Hatred for the government grows out of these faucets as it faces these groups with opposition and attempts to expose them. Anti-government extremists are a large part of the radicals that cause a lot of the domestic terrorism. They are driven by their strong beliefs and goals and believe that they are correct in their thinking and the government is wrong. Domestic extremists are driven by internal factors and pursue a domestic agenda. Although anti-government extremists are a large part of the domestic terrorism group. There are several other groups that spread their beliefs of hate such as the Aryan Brotherhood, the KKK, the Black Panthers and outlaw motorcycle groups. Several of these groups plot to kill judges, police officers and other public officials and attack targets ranging from churches to abortion clinics, and even build chemical arms. The FBI is the lead agency assigned to investigate domestic terrorism in the United States. Their vast array of investigative tools and virtually unlimited resources make it ideal, especially since these groups operate in several states. The FBI did a study to in order to examine prospective for extremist activity in the U.S. by means of individuals or domestic extremist groups that append importance to the year 2000 this was named "Project Megiddo". This project provided law enforcement with an overview of potential extremism motivated by the next millennium and provided law enforcement the ability to prepare and respond. The acts committed by these domestic extremists are varied depending on the type of beliefs the group or individual has. The acts committed by KKK members in the 1950's and 1960's consisted of bombings, beatings and cross burnings and murder to intimidate civil rights workers. The outlaw motorcycle gangs commonly are involved in murder for hire, extortion, robbery, and bombings mail fraud, money laundering and transporting illegal drugs. Another common domestic terror group is street gangs. Street gangs conduct contract murders, smuggling illegal aliens across the borders into the U.S., and attacks on law enforcement and providing security for drug smuggling across the U.S. Communication as well as coordination among local, state in addition to federal law enforcement improved. This is a vital key to preventing another domestic terrorist attack. The domestic terrorist threat is real and more of a threat today because of the ease of accessing one of these groups via the Internet. Domestic terrorism can be controlled and thwarted by vigilant Americans and law enforcement efforts such as laws like the Patriot Act and the RICO Act. State and local law enforcement play a crucial role in combating, and preventing domestic terrorism. Hamm Report Findings According to Hamm can be divided into four separate cells of the ARA were concerned. In Hamm's report, the first cell consisted of the most important kind of terrorists today "the bomb builders" the names mentioned in this particular cell were of Steven as well as Dennis along with a third one which was rightly named as "phantom bomb builder" whereas McVeigh, Nichols, as well as Michael Fortier consisted of the second cell, they played the very important role of "to planning as well as developing a plan for the bombing." A third cell was allotted for "information, training, weapons, and logistical support" this consisted of Andreas Strassmier. It also integrated Denis Mahon as well as an Elohim City resident, Michael Brescia, whom a number of people have labeled as John Doe No. 2. The fourth which was the final cell consisted of financing that mainly had cases of bank robberies. Hamm's thesis, on the other hand, suffered from real problems of equally fact and reason. Hamm takes the reader on a tour of virtually each key white supremacist player as well as groups in 1990, lastly locating the heart of the hypothetical plan at Elohim City, a white supremacist complex in Oklahoma. A few examples of Hamm's conclusions may give a sense of his credibility. Quoting an unidentified J.D. Cash "informer," Hamm believes that that Timothy McVeigh was seen on the Elohim City gun range. (www.splcenter.org/intel/intelreport/article.jsp) He backs this up with another statement from a mentally unstable former federal informer. . He places McVeigh, Langan as well as Guthrie in Colorado; here he states that they had a "secret ceremony" to bond The Order -- a terrorist group shattered in 1984. By the end, the supposed plot seems to engage approximately each and every activist that was racist in America. Law Enforcement benefits from Hamm Report Law enforcement officials do predict convinced domestic criminal acts as terrorism, but the majority importantly for the reason that it rests on a neo-essentialist commencement that there is something a thing as 'real' terrorism way beyond the definitional powers that authorities have, even if they are government officials or criminologists. The significant issue nowadays is not only that the standard US citizen might carry on to attribute terrorist evil above all to foreign elements, however also that this labeling goes on at a time when government as well as police officials have been increasing the definitional powers of terrorism to embrace a lot of criminal activities that are domestic as well as international. Greater Threat Before coming to the conclusion which is a greater threat international or domestic terrorism I shall first differentiate them and give examples. There are a lot of diverse definitions of domestic terrorism. However, I define domestic terrorism as physical violence, actual or threatened, against an organization to generate fear in order to cause some sort of political as well as social change within the United States. Unlike international terrorism, domestic terrorism is usually carried out by local citizens who have become offended or feel threaten or believe they have or will be mistreated by organizations within their own society (government and religious structures). There are two specific types of domestic terrorism. They are "terrorism from above" and "terrorism from below" Terrorism from above takes place when persons who are empowered legally it can be covertly or overtly use, or threaten to use, violence that is political in nature to uphold or either to protect political power inside their domestic borders, or to preserve, defend, remove from power, or weaken the political power of other nations in the international community. One example of terrorism from above is the American Slavery. In 1619, black slaves arrived in colonial America with several different servitudes. However, within four decades, they would be legally restricted to only one: enslavement. For more than two centuries Blacks who were purchased were physically and emotionally terrorized under the legal system of slavery. Slavery was justified by the local government in order to solve the labor shortages in the colonies. Slavery would be supported and justified by colonial rulers for the next 250 years. Whereas international terrorism is the given their nature or context, may seriously damage a country or an international organization where committed with the aim of: seriously intimidating a population; or unduly compelling a Government or international organization to perform or abstain from performing any act; or seriously destabilizing or destroying the fundamental political, constitutional, economic or social structures of a country or an international organization (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Definition_of_terrorism) A good example of this kind of terrorism is the incident of 9/11 when America was attacked, by terrorist who hijacked planes and crashed them right into the world trade centre. After analyzing the above differences it can be said that international terrorism is a greater threat as these groups do not operate within the country, and thus they are even more difficult to stop. This makes them even more dangerous as they have access to more resources then the domestic theorist group has. Conclusion It can be said that terrorism is something which affects all of man kind, as the people who run these organizations are ruthless, they have been blinded and brain washed. Much research has been done on this topic but all seems to fail when these groups come in to action. References http://www.sullivan-county.com/id3/terror.htm retrieved on 10 October 2007 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Definition_of_terrorism retrieved on 10 October 2007 www.splcenter.org/intel/intelreport/article.jsp retrieved on 10 October 2007 www.wsws.org/articles/2001/nov2001/iraq-n01.shtml retrieved on 10 October 2007 www.fbi.gov/publications/terror/terror2000 retrieved on 10 October 2007 http://www.fas.org/irp/eprint/presley.htm retrieved on 10 October 2007 Read More