USA Domestic Terrorism - Essay Example

Domestic Terrorism Rachna Jalan Domestic Terrorism According to the Unites s Department of Justice domestic terrorism is “The unlawful use of force or violence, committed by a group(s) of two or more individuals, against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.” (Presley, 1996). Terrorism which is practiced in one’s own country against own people is known as domestic terrorism (Domestic Terrorism, n.d.). Thistype of terrorism takes place through groups or individuals operating entirely within the U.S. aiming to influence the U.S. government or population to affect political or social amendment by conducting criminal action (Maehr, n.d.). The activities of international terrorists on the other hand cross national boundaries. The distinction between domestic and international terrorism does not refer to where the terrorist act takes place (Emergency Training: Terrorism, 2007). Instead, it refers to the origin of the individuals or groups responsible for it (Emergency Training: Terrorism, 2007). On April 30, 2001, the US State Department agreed that the distinction between domestic and international terrorism was getting blurred (Raman, 2002). It goes without saying that there is hardly any terrorist organization in today’s world which does not have international networking (Raman, 2002). “Sometimes the networking is with the diasporas; sometimes with like-minded terrorist groups or non-State actors or mercenaries in other countries; sometimes with State actors, who want to use them to achieve their own strategic objectives (Raman, 2002). Domestic terrorism is considered as a crime which should be treated as a criminal matter whereas international terrorism is both a crime and a matter of foreign intelligence (Cole, 2003). This is why international terrorism investigations have used broader surveillance under looser restrictions that apply to all criminal investigations (Cole, 2003). The very famous instance of domestic terrorism was the 1995 bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City (Domestic Terrorism, n.d.) whereas the World Trade Center attacks of September 2001 were international in nature (Emergency Training: Terrorism, 2007). Traditionally, Guerrilla Warfare involved operations from bases established in remote and inaccessible terrain such as forests, mountains, and jungles and the tactics were those of harassment (Weiss, 2000). The chief aims of the guerrillas have been disturbing enemy activities and detaining equipment and supplies for their own use (Weiss, 2000). Capturing of guerrillas is extremely difficult due to their mobility, dispersal into small groups and their expertise to vanish among the civilian population (Weiss, 2000). However, post World War II, has seen addition to the meaning of guerrilla which includes tactics of any insurgency, rebellion, or uprising against an established government (Weiss, 2000). The armies which were led by Mao Tse-tung were actually not guerrilla forces in the conventional sense (Weiss, 2000). The troupes following Mao Tse-tung adopted guerrilla like tactics until they were sufficiently strong to defeat the Nationalist armies in pitched battles (Weiss, 2000). “In so-called wars of national liberation, stress is placed on armed insurgency, especially paramilitary and guerrilla tactics, sometimes at the expense of the political machinery” (Weiss, 2000). The same approach was adopted by Che Guevara, the military assistant of Cuban leader Fidel Castro and Jules Regis Debray, a French journalist for the eradication of existing governments in South and Central America (Weiss, 2000). Frantz Fanon along with Che Guevara and Mao Tse-tung are considered to have influenced the ideology of the Red Brigades which appears to be confused (Francis, 1977). A unique feature of the violence involves shooting of victims in the legs or kneecaps, sometimes crippling them permanently (Francis, 1977). According to Carlos Marighella, probably the most influential revolutionary writer on urban guerilla warfare, guerilla activity is indispensable to the revolutionary (Francis, 1977). In Marighella’s view, terrorism meant “the place meant of a bomb or fire explosion of great destructive power, which is capable of effecting irreparable loss against the enemy” (Francis, 1977). Mao Tse-tung proposed the idea of “peasant socialism” as he considered the peasant class to be the true leaders of revolution (Harun Yahya n.d.). Adopting “guerilla war” he chose the countryside and mountains for the preparation of revolution instead of city centers (Harun Yahya n.d.). It was Mao’s hands behind the development of the idea of “National Socialism” (Harun Yahya n.d.). The Ku Klux Klan has been a domestic terror group for a considerable period in the past and can be identified with these approaches. This group too was originally founded as a guerrilla army after the Civil War aiming to restore White majority rule and constitutional government to the occupied South (Ku Klux Klan, n.d.). Some of the Ku Klux Klan groups are even reported to advocate illegal violence (Ku Klux Klan, n.d.). The group consists of various separate organizations each with different missions, tactics and quality of leadership (Ku Klux Klan, n.d.). The Black Guerrilla Family is another such example (Domestic Terrorism Before September, n.d.). Among the earliest forms of terrorism almost 70% attacks involved bombings while around 5% of the events encompassed assassinations and arson (Domestic Terrorism Before September, n.d.). During the 1970s and 1980s the chief perpetrators of attacks were the left-wing and anti-war groups such as the Weather Underground, the Black Liberation Army, the Armed Forces of Puerto Rican Liberation (Domestic Terrorism Before September, n.d.). Majority of the events observed in that era took place in Puerto Rico conducted by groups for the country’s independence from the United States (Domestic Terrorism Before September, n.d.). The late 1980s witnessed a series of arson, sabotage and bombing incidents by various animal rights and environmental organizations (Domestic Terrorism Before September, n.d.). Among them, the Earth First Organization was first accused of sabotage in 1986 (Domestic Terrorism Before September, n.d.). The first attack of the Animal Liberation Front was reported in 1983 when 12 research dogs were stolen in California (Domestic Terrorism Before September, n.d.). Of late, the Earth Liberation Front has come up with a series of arson campaigns (Domestic Terrorism Before September, n.d.). The group’s attack on a ski resort in Vail, Colorado in 1998 resulted in the destruction of over $12 million (Domestic Terrorism Before September, n.d.). The 1980s marked the beginning of the right-wing extremist groups, of which the Ku Klux Klan remaining one of the most visible (Domestic Terrorism Before September, n.d.). They aimed to have white supremacist, anti-government philosophies (Domestic Terrorism Before September, n.d.). The Aryan Nation is considered to have attacked as early as 1984 (Domestic Terrorism Before September, n.d.). The very famous instance of domestic terrorism was the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City by Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols (Domestic Terrorism Before September, n.d.). The bombing of Millennial Park during the 1996 Olympics was conducted by Eric Robert Rudolph (Domestic Terrorism Before September, n.d.). In the present scenario, the opinion contained in the Vohryzek-Bolden appears true to some extent. A somewhat nonviolent form of “backlash” (anti-environmental) extremism has already risen which has already been described in detail by Vohryzek-Bolden et. al. (2001) as the Wise Use movement. The text puts forward that the success of the movement can be attributed to a fairly sophisticated public relations strategy (Vohryzek-Bolden et. al. 2001). It encompasses three diverse kinds of messages to three different audiences such as the vanguard message which is applied to keep hardcore members in line, stating the fundamental ideas of the movement along with assisting to raise money for the group, the conspiracy message which is applied as a recurring tool to arrange local groups or to convince already involved participants and the mainstream message which is used to make academic or pseudo-scientific arguments which are frequently the most famous communication. The right wing terror groups, racially motivated groups in the United States, by highlighting the extent of racial turmoil within the country tend to utilize religious justifications and “teachings” for their violent actions (Presley, 1996). Moreover, such anti-government groups claim that the government has become too large and repressive in everyday life and therefore they are openly soliciting and calling for the overthrow of the United States government (Presley, 1996). The two most dangerous threats which America faces today is firstly of racial hate-groups and racial supremacists and secondly of anti-government, ultra right-wing separatists and state’s-rights armed militia groups (Presley, 1996). An ever-increasing “blur” is reported to be developing between and among these groups (Presley, 1996). A majority of the ultra right-wing groups are also racial supremacists as well as religious extremists and are therefore in a position to recruit from and influence a larger portion of the population (Presley, 1996). A combination of religious, racist and anarchistic violence is known as “backwoods terrorism” (Presley, 1996). The rise of extremist and terrorist groups can be believed to be the result of religious and racial feelings of superiority such as the Christians feeling superior to Jews or vice-versa, Catholics feeling superior to Protestants or vice-versa, whites feeling superior to blacks, etc. (Presley, 1996). Several extremist groups which call themselves motivated by religion have unquestionably revealed racial supremacist and hate-mongerer views (Presley, 1996). For example, two racial supremacist groups which characterizes opposite extremes, the Nation of Islam and the Posse Comitatus have surprisingly agreed to an ultimate endstate segregation of the United States into regions of “pure” racial integrity (Presley, 1996). The Ku Klux Klan group too blended a racist agenda with religious rhetoric (Presley, 1996). The United States with the First Amendment provides the independence of religion so that they can believe whatever they want (Presley, 1996). The disagreement of the right-wing terror groups with this Amendment contributed to the Second Amendment which offers the right to keep and bear arms so that its people can buy guns to protect their belief (Presley, 1996). PETA is a domestic terrorist group in the U.S. which stands for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Fronzo, n.d.). From the name one might assume that they stand for animal rights. However, it is misleading. The day this organization proved that it will go to extremes to disallow people from enjoying the freedoms of being an American, their endeavors of infringement of our rights as Americans to make choices has been understood (Fronzo, n.d.). PETA aims to impose their will prevent one from eating meat, bringing children to the zoo and enjoying all American activities such as fishing and hunting (Fronzo, n.d.). They threaten to attack those who refuse to give up this freedom (Fronzo, n.d.). Hence, this group is no less than a terrorist group whose efforts are imposing their rights forcibly upon us and infringing our rights of being American. They enjoy dousing a woman in red paint if she wears a fur hat, scaring the kids in a significant fish tournament in a fish suit handing out comic books to little children entitled “Your Dad is a blood thirsty murderer and he loves killing animals” with a violent, horrific cartoon on the cover (Fronzo, n.d.). Their rationale behind being a vegetarian, not wearing fur or abusing animals may be morally justifiable to some extent but infringement of our rights to choose is certainly unacceptable (Fronzo, n.d.). The name of the organization, Greenpeace gives the impression that non-violence and peaceful methods are at its core (Marco, 2005). The organization derives its name from an ideologically quiet and harmonic ecological world (Marco, 2005). From a ragtag band of hippies at one time Greenpeace has now become the largest environmental organization around the globe with around 5 million members and 24 offices in 24 countries (Spencer, Bollwerk & Morais, 1991). However, according to some Greenpeace is, “a multinational organization accountable only to itself, with large revenues and a brilliant ability to manipulate the press and the public” (Spencer, Bollwerk & Morais, 1991). They have charged that German publications have carried revelations of millions of marks of donations being funneled into Greenpeace savings accounts instead of being used to brawl pollution (Spencer, Bollwerk & Morais, 1991). Greenpeace campaigns such as the save-the-whale appear open and spontaneous. However, It has been commented that these programs are properly orchestrated with the network of investigators who collect tips from government officials, truck drivers and sympathetic employees at corporate targets of Greenpeace antipollution campaigns (Spencer, Bollwerk & Morais, 1991). Moreover, Greenpeace has also been charged of forming an alliance of environmental groups that paid the bail and private investigation fees of two Earth First members injured in a car bomb explosion in 1990 (Spencer, Bollwerk & Morais, 1991). Greenpeace also was labeled as “eco-terrorists” in 2001 by Dr. Ohsumi, Director General of the Institute of Cetacean Research in Tokyo in the event of the Greenpeace vessel Arctic Sunrise being seen in the Antarctic where Japanese vessels were conducting the 15th year of their whale research program (Greenpeace labeled “eco-terrorists”, 2001). References Cole, David. (2003). What Patriot II Proposes To Do. Retrieved Aug 23, 2007, from http://www.cdt.org/security/usapatriot/030210cole.pdf. Domestic Terrorism. (n.d.). The Free Dictionary. Retrieved Aug 23, 2007, from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/domestic+terrorism. Domestic Terrorism Before September (11,) (2001). (n.d.). Retrieved Aug 23, 2007, from http://social.jrank.org/pages/1318/Terrorism-Domestic-Terrorism-Before-September-11-2001.html Emergency Training: Terrorism. (2007). Jefferson County EMA. Retrieved Aug 23, 2007, from http://www.impactalabama.com/terrorism.html. Francis, Samuel, T. (1977). The Terrorist International and Western Europe. The Heritage Foundation. Retrieved Aug 23, 2007, from http://www.heritage.org/Research/Europe/bg47.cfm?renderforprint=1. Fronzo, Craig, De. (n.d.). Hunting Down America’s Own Domestic Terrorist Group: Peta. Retrieved Aug 23, 2007, from http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/hunting_peta.html Greenpeace labelled “eco-terrorists”. (2001). Scoop World. Retrieved Aug 23, 2007, from http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0112/S00132.htm. Harun Yahya: An Invitation to the Truth. (n.d.). Red Terror in Asia. Retrieved Aug 23, 2007, from http://www.harunyahya.com/communism05.php. Ku Klux Klan. (n.d.). Stormfront. Retrieved Aug 23, 2007, from http://www.stormfront.org/ku_klux_klan/. Marco, Formisano. (2005). Is Greenpeace a terrorist organization under EU Law?. Retrieved Aug 23, 2007, http://libertysecurity.org/article283.html. Maehr, Jeff. (n.d.). Domestic Terrorist by any other name: Do you recognize them, and will you defend America?. The Daily Scare. Retrieved Aug 23, 2007, from http://dailyscare.com/1911/domestic-terrorist-by-any-other-name-do-you-recognize-them-and-will-you-defend-america. Presley, Steven, Mack. (1996). Rise of Domestic Terrorism and Its Relation to United States Armed Forces. Retrieved Aug 23, 2007, from http://www.fas.org/irp/eprint/presley.htm. Raman, B. (2002). South Asia Analysis Group: Global & Regional Co-operation In Meeting Transational Terrorism. Retrieved Aug 23, 2007, from http://www.saag.org/papers5/paper422.html. Spencer, Leslie, Bollwerk, Jan, & Morais, Richard, C. (1991). The not so peaceful world of Greenpeace. Retrieved Aug 23, 2007, http://www.highnorth.no/Library/Movements/Greenpeace/ge-ar-gr.htm Vohryzek-Bolden, M., Olson-Raymer, G. & Whamond, J. (2001). Domestic Terrorism and Incident Management. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas. Weiss, Egon, A. (2000). Guerrilla Warfare. Retrieved Aug 23, 2007, from http://autocww.colorado.edu/~blackmon/E64ContentFiles/MilitaryDefense/GuerrillaWarfare.html. Read More

The armies which were led by Mao Tse-tung were actually not guerrilla forces in the conventional sense (Weiss, 2000). The troupes following Mao Tse-tung adopted guerrilla like tactics until they were sufficiently strong to defeat the Nationalist armies in pitched battles (Weiss, 2000). “In so-called wars of national liberation, stress is placed on armed insurgency, especially paramilitary and guerrilla tactics, sometimes at the expense of the political machinery” (Weiss, 2000). The same approach was adopted by Che Guevara, the military assistant of Cuban leader Fidel Castro and Jules Regis Debray, a French journalist for the eradication of existing governments in South and Central America (Weiss, 2000).

Frantz Fanon along with Che Guevara and Mao Tse-tung are considered to have influenced the ideology of the Red Brigades which appears to be confused (Francis, 1977). A unique feature of the violence involves shooting of victims in the legs or kneecaps, sometimes crippling them permanently (Francis, 1977). According to Carlos Marighella, probably the most influential revolutionary writer on urban guerilla warfare, guerilla activity is indispensable to the revolutionary (Francis, 1977). In Marighella’s view, terrorism meant “the place meant of a bomb or fire explosion of great destructive power, which is capable of effecting irreparable loss against the enemy” (Francis, 1977).

Mao Tse-tung proposed the idea of “peasant socialism” as he considered the peasant class to be the true leaders of revolution (Harun Yahya n.d.). Adopting “guerilla war” he chose the countryside and mountains for the preparation of revolution instead of city centers (Harun Yahya n.d.). It was Mao’s hands behind the development of the idea of “National Socialism” (Harun Yahya n.d.). The Ku Klux Klan has been a domestic terror group for a considerable period in the past and can be identified with these approaches.

This group too was originally founded as a guerrilla army after the Civil War aiming to restore White majority rule and constitutional government to the occupied South (Ku Klux Klan, n.d.). Some of the Ku Klux Klan groups are even reported to advocate illegal violence (Ku Klux Klan, n.d.). The group consists of various separate organizations each with different missions, tactics and quality of leadership (Ku Klux Klan, n.d.). The Black Guerrilla Family is another such example (Domestic Terrorism Before September, n.d.).

Among the earliest forms of terrorism almost 70% attacks involved bombings while around 5% of the events encompassed assassinations and arson (Domestic Terrorism Before September, n.d.). During the 1970s and 1980s the chief perpetrators of attacks were the left-wing and anti-war groups such as the Weather Underground, the Black Liberation Army, the Armed Forces of Puerto Rican Liberation (Domestic Terrorism Before September, n.d.). Majority of the events observed in that era took place in Puerto Rico conducted by groups for the country’s independence from the United States (Domestic Terrorism Before September, n.d.).

The late 1980s witnessed a series of arson, sabotage and bombing incidents by various animal rights and environmental organizations (Domestic Terrorism Before September, n.d.). Among them, the Earth First Organization was first accused of sabotage in 1986 (Domestic Terrorism Before September, n.d.). The first attack of the Animal Liberation Front was reported in 1983 when 12 research dogs were stolen in California (Domestic Terrorism Before September, n.d.). Of late, the Earth Liberation Front has come up with a series of arson campaigns (Domestic Terrorism Before September, n.d.).

The group’s attack on a ski resort in Vail, Colorado in 1998 resulted in the destruction of over $12 million (Domestic Terrorism Before September, n.d.). The 1980s marked the beginning of the right-wing extremist groups, of which the Ku Klux Klan remaining one of the most visible (Domestic Terrorism Before September, n.d.).

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