Department of Criminal Justice California State University - Bakersfield CRJU 477 Terrorism Dr. Abu-Lughod, Reem Ali Terrorism: First Impressions

In search of definition n Al Qaeda: Ideology 1. Symbolizing global terrorism in the 21 st century 2. Osama bin Laden and Ayman Al Zawahiri 3. The role of the media: Al Jazeera 4. Ideologies: clash of civilizations 5. Holy war as religious duty to defend the Muslim nation 6. Violence and enemies of the West

TERRORISM n Destruction and assassinations n The impact of Terrorism: media and democratization of Terrorism n Globalization of T: challenge to norm and status quo September 11 th, 2001 n Turning point n Political violence and mass destruction The Rise of Terrorist Attacks n History of T in human civilization n Rationalizations of T behavior n Rational choice theory

Extremism vs. Terrorism Extremism: n radical and intolerant n Justification of behavior n One’s beliefs and expression of these beliefs n How one acts upon his/her beliefs Terrorism: defined? n Politically motivated n Against “soft targets” n Terrorizing audience n Is it a crime? n Controversy of definition

Sources of Terrorism and the interdisciplinary / multidisciplinary approach u Sociology, psychology, political science, etc… Friedland’s framework 1 st : group phenomenon Clear identity: national Religious ideology 2 nd : political terrorism has its roots in intergroup conflict 3 rd : “insurgent” terrorism not “state” terrorism is strategy of the weak

Ideologies n Systems of belief n Derivations from theories Disagreements and the role of American government in regulating people’s lives n E.g. degrees of freedom and government intervention

The Morality of Terrorism/or is it Immorality n Mala prohibita acts made illegal by legislation. Society declared these acts as wrong n E.g. laws prohibiting prostitution n Mala in se acts that are “immoral or wrong in themselves” n Cannot be justified n E.g. forcible rape and premeditated murder will never be legalized

So how is Terrorism defined? Is it worth it for some? Is it relative? n “where you stand depends on where you sit” FOUR QUOTATIONS: 1. One person’s terrorist is another person’s freedom fighter 2. One man willing to throw away his life is enough to terrorize a thousand n Written by Chinese military philosopher Wu Ch’i n “kill one man terrorize 1000” attributed to leader of Chinese Revolution Mao Zedong and “military philosopher Sun Tzu n Note: Sun Tzu’s The Art of War

3. Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice… Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona 4. It became necessary to destroy the town to save it Attributed to a statement made by an American officer during the war in Vietnam: symbolic logic

FOCUS ON 3 CASES: 1) Richard Baumhammers: Pittsburg, Penn April 2000 u Racist immigration attorney u Neo Nazi views/ideologies u Victims: Jewish woman, 2 Indian men, 2 Asian men, 1 African American man u Minimal criminal sophistication “lone wolf” 2) Theodore “Ted” Kaczynski 1978 UNABOMBER u UNABOM u Medium criminal sophistication 3) Ramzi Yousef 1993 u High degree

Symbolization of T u Oklahoma City Bombing Timothy McVeigh 2. Children killed: collateral damage u September 11 th The aftermath 2. Patriot Act October Dept. Homeland Security

CONCLUSION n The importance of history in examining modern human behavior and T n Manifestation of extremist beliefs n The importance of ideology n The controversy of mala prohibita vs. mala in se n Rationality of criminal behavior