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Below we list the common definitions related to be terrorist acts:
Kidnapping has been around for along time. As in the goals of terrorist kidnappings today, kidnapping in the past was a means to extort money out of relatives and friends of the victim. The most well known modern kidnapping before terrorism became such a worldwide problem was the kidnapping of Charles Lindburgh's child. Perhaps the most well known kidnapping is the kidnapping of legendary King Arthur, the lionheart, by his brother Prince Johh. While this story is in legend, it is most likely (like all legends) built upon cases of kidnapping that occurred in that historical time frame.
Most kidnapping victims are killed, but the fact that a few hostages have been returned alive continues to give the relatives and friends false hope. Today, kidnapping is a means for attracting lots of media attention on the kidnapper's cause. Again, few victims survive.
Kidnapping until the War in Iraq has not been as popular a terrorist
act as setting a bomb in or the hijacking of an aircraft. Kidnapping does gain
as much in the way of media attention. More often than not, the victim
is killed, especially when governments refuse to bargain with
kidnappers. As we have seen in Iraq since the invasion and ouster
of Saddam Hussein's Baathist friendly regime, terrorists have used
kidnapping as incentives to the homeland countries of their victims to
pull out of the coaltion. In 2004, that tactic switched to
attempting to terrorize Iraqi citizens as Iraq began major moves toward
democracy.
To demonstrate how often kidnappings occurred would require a great deal of information not available to the common researcher due to the fact that relatives and friends of kidnap victims who do pay ransoms do not want the fact publicized, and rightly so. Of course in Iraq beginning as early as March of 2003, it became quite clear that the kidnappers were happy to use their victims plight, broadcasting beheadings on pro-Extremist news networks such as Al Jezzerra.
The U.S. government has a stated policy of not negotiating with terrorists (kidnappers or otherwise), but with some very well publicized exceptions has shown that the frustration and concern for the welfare of kidnapped citizens will test the sternest resolve.
In any case the following is a sample of kidnappings from 1968 through 1979.
Despite heroric attempts by some of the team members a few of the athletes were killed on the spot, and several taken hostage. The West German police, at this time, were not prepared for anti-terrorist action, and before the affair was over, 3 people were injured and seven of the athletes had been killed along with a few of their kidnappers (who were killed with the hostages at Munich Airport), bringing the total dead to 11. The failure at Munich Airport led to the formation of the West German GSG-9 counter-terrorist unit.
Within 2 years, Israeli Hit Teams managed to kill all but 2 of the kidnap team and their planners. The hit teams were not perfect in their target selection though and at least 1 innocent man was mistaken for one of the leaders and killed, ending the hit teams revengeful search.
In 1973, Victor Samuelson was kidnapped and ransomed, successfully for $14.2 million dollars. His kidnappers were never caught and he was released.
American Consul Terry Leonhardy was also kidnapped in May of 1973, and released. No details whether a ransom was paid or not.
Hanns-Martin Schleyer, a very wealthy industrialist was kidnapped by the Banner-Meinhoff gang in 1977. His body was found within a year.
In Italy, on March 16, 1978, Aldo Moro was kidnapped, his aide being killed at the snatch, and oro himself killed later. This kidnapping made emmense changes in the Italian government, and thus would have to be the most politically devastating kidnap in history.
One nervy kidnapping/murder in the eighties was the kidnap of NATO Col. Francis, a U.S. arine assigned to the N.A.T.O. peacekeeping forces in Lebanon. Photographs of his dead body swept through the press within a year of his kidnapping.
In December of 1981, Brigadier General James Dozier was kidnapped in Italy, and later released.
The Soviets were not exempt from kidnap attempts any more than they were exempt from airline hijackings, with 4 Soviet diplomats being kidnapped and 1 murdered in 1985.
David Jacobsen, Director of an American Hospital in Lebanon was kidnapped by Hizbollah , a radical moslem group.
On 10/7/85, Terrorists hijacked the Achille Lauro , a pleasure cruise ship, and killed American Jew, Leon Klinghoffer, and then later tried to deny it. This murder/kidnapping/hijack was a rare case where U.S. military aircraft had the opportunity to force down an Egyptian airliner which was carrying the hijackers to safety. Hijackers were tried in Italy and found guility.
Hostages are one of the most common victims in a terrorist attack. The typical scenario is the terrorist grabs hostages, makes a series of demands which include money and safe passage in exchange for the hostages. Hostages usually gain their freedom, but usually one or more is killed as message to the authorities about the seriousness of the terrorists. The Hezbollah specializes in hostage taking, holding the hostages in Beirut, Lebanon. Even after governments withdraw citizens from an area of heightened instability, hostages have still been taken from members of news organizations or from the clergy. Hostages seldom recover mentally from their ordeals, and some have committed suicide a few years later. Since 1968, there have been a large number of hostages taken around the world.
By far the most successful hostage taking occurs on aircraft, with attacks on public areas leading a not too close second. Why are aircraft so prone to hostage taking? It is a matter of simple safety in the high altitude flight envelope. One misplaced shot and you have explosive decompression, and a very good possibility of aircraft breakup as a result of major structural damage.
Moreover, the aircraft is a world within itself, fairly independent, with all the facilities needed for a fair amount of time in hostile negotiations. In fact, it is a good thing that aircraft have a limited amount of food and fuel on board, or we would probably see the standard 3-4 days seige of an aircraft extended to 2-3 weeks.
In a slightly different combination, the country may sponser those
taking the
hostages, providing the public forum AND the facilities to hold the
hostages.
A prime example of this was the taking of the American Embassy in Iran.
This hostage situation was inflamed by anti-American sentiment in the
streets of Tehran, and escalated into the capture of 96 Americans and
their being held for over 1 year. Politically debilatating to the U.S.
morale, President Jimmy Carter lost his presidency over the ill feeling
of the American public toward our nation's seeming helplessness. From
this viewpoint, the hostage taking had a severe impact politically, and
has helped to establish the "no negotiation with terrorists" policy.
The bombing as a world terrorism event still occurs many times per year. Despite many techniques for locating bombs before they go on aircraft, bombs like the Lockerbie bomb hidden in a cassette player still frustrate our best search technology.
Weapons smuggled must be brought on board (at least in today's environment) by someone who can get around airport metal detectors and such. Lax security in many airports are the indirect cause of hijackings and there is no excuse for this wanton disregard for the travelling public. Many countries prohibit their aircraft from serving such airports.
Bombs used in terrorism are typically found where the terrorist wishes to be far removed from the physical event itself, thus living to terrorize again. This logical development in terrorist activity also serves to make more publicity, since a bomb can be quite devastating, as well as maximizes the element of surprise. Surprise yields more shock, thus is more traumatic, also a goal of terrorist attacks.
Pipe Bombs are the most prevalent, with car bombs coming in at a close second. Pipe bombs are easy to build, and several books published around the world spell out their construction in great detail using common hardware store items.
Car bombs, while easily constructed, typically require a larger amount of explosive, or pre- manufactured explosive, thus require more planning. Obviously a stolen vehicle is preferred, so that the device cannot lead back to the terrorist after the explosion. Car bombs also kill terrorists, though, more often than a pipe bomb, since explosives used in them are typically extremely powerful, and also quite sensitive to shock.
Car bombs are usually of two types, personal attack weapons, or random victim weapons. The personal attack genre are those car bombs which are intended to take out a specific victim or group of victims. This is usually the known passengers of the vehicle. Israeli hit teams, for instance, used remote control detonators to ensure that innocents would not be killed when they assassinated the Black September members responsible for the Munich assacre. The bomb is usually in the hood, under the chassis or under the seat to ensure the victim has no chance to survive.
The random victim type of car bomb is one where the vehicle is
loaded with explosive and a timing device, and placed in a location
which is destined to either create the most physical damage, kill as
many innocent people, or both. An example would be the car bomb
exploded at the World Trade Center in New York in February, 1993.
In 2001, terrorists used a new weapon, an airliner full of fuel and
passengers to take down both towers of the World Trade Center and to
crash into the Pentagon. A fourth plane, believed to have been
destined for another target in the Washington, D.C. area crashed in
Pennsylvania when its passengers revolted to thwart the terrorists.
Chemical and biological weapons have been used infrequently by
terrorist, presumably due to the sophistication required to manufacture
the proper agents as well as disperal methodology. That changed in 2001
as well as unknown terrorists used the U.S. mail to attack the
Legislative branch of the U.S. government as well as several media
celebrities. The other most famous chembio attack occurred in the
Tokyo subway, when the group Aum Shrinko set off a chemical
weapon. So far as is publicly known, no biological attack by
terrorists has ever occurred.
In his book, "Sum of All Fears", Tom Clancey fictionalizes an
Islamic Terrorist group which
through a quirk of events, gets their hands on a Israeli built
thermonuclear bomb, repackages it into a carton looking like a
professional video tape drive for television station usage, then plants
this weapon next to a football stadium, in...yes...a van.
The chilling realism in this book may sometime find its way to reality. The "ideal" terrorist weapon would be a atomic or hydrogen weapon, and in fitting with their current patterns, the car bomb (or truck or van) holds a high probability as the delivery vehicle.
Unfortunately, it is only a matter of time before some terrorist
group gains access to one.
But hijacking first became highly visible to U.S. citizens as Cuban refugees tried to be flown back to Cuba by forcefully taking over a Southern route airliner. These flights were typically executed with some nervousness by pilots at the end of pistol barrel, but occasionally the attacker carried grenades, bombs or guns.
At first hijacking was a solo form of assault, but before too long, hijackers were well organized bands of terrorists with excellent weaponry and a solid understanding of the target aircraft and the flight crew tasks.
While Sky Marshals helped virtually eliminate the hijacking of domestic U.S. flights, only the Israelis have been able to effectively reduce hijacking and related deaths. This is due in part to their retaliation policies, as well as full time Sky Marshals on all flights, and armored luggage and cargo areas on all aircraft.
One other technique for fighting hijacking has been the introduction of the metal detector and the upgrade of these and their operators over the last few years. A number of would-be hijackers or their unwitting pawns have been captured with guns or bombs before boarding flights.
Incidentally the data in the Terrfile also shows that airliners and airports are the scene for a large share of all the terrorist attacks in the world.
Sky Marshals are armed deputies whose sole purpose on board an aircraft is to prevent a hijacker from completing the hijacking either through negotiation or through the capture or death of the hijacker.
The Israeli Sky Marshals are quite vicious and seldom allow the hijacker to survive. Also the Israelis have Sky Marshals on every flight whereas other countries (probably because the incidence of hijacking has been reduced dramatically) do not expend the funds to man every aircraft with Sky Marshals.
The innocents are the prime target of many terrorist acts. The more innocent the better, in fact. The purpose of many terrorist acts is to cause fear in the "common man". By attacking innocent bystanders, the terrorist hopes to strike fear in all those who can identify with the victims.
Therefore, the terrorist will invariably attack common carriers such as aircraft, buses, ships, etc. Or will attack a shopping center, market, bus depot, airport, restaurant, or other common place public gathering place.
Innocents are defined loosely in terms of civilians, which can further be defined as "...those not actively engaged in military activity, aggression, or terrorism". Without a State of War existing, as declared and acknowleged by two countries, there are no valid military targets save for planning purposes.
For example when no State of War exists, civilians not currently wanted for terrorist or criminal acts by an international court of law are considered innocents. The direct family of a member of the military are considered innocents. Strategic targets might be the family of an important public figure or military leader, and as such are usually protected by the government.
When a State of War does exist, the civilian employee of government while at his or her workplace is a military target (and thus not an innocent). A politician and his family may also be military targets depending upon their connection with the government. When at war innocents will be considered targets but are still considered innocents. Terrorists, of course, are at war with the world, and this is how they "justify" their murder of innocents. Thus Terrorists convince themselves that no one is "an innocent". Reality is, of course, that Terrorists are never innocents and their targets are nearly always innocents.
Unfortunately, military personnel are always a military target, even when "off duty" simply because they cannot be readily replaced and therefore have military value.
Attacking a member of the military is an act of war. Terrorists are rarely attached, at least publiclyi, to any nation, so Terrorists have no compunction to attacking military personell either. But the attack of military personnel off duty or when no State of War exists incites fierce anger in their peers and serves only to increase their performance. As does the "singled out" attack on a military member's family.
any terrorists organizations declare, or their leaders declare that they are at a state of war with either one or more countries, or with a particular political group, or with a particular religious group. This declaration then is used to cover terrorists acts by deeming them Acts of War.
The World Court, and in recent years, the United Nations has rejected this subterfuge, stating that nationless groups, and specifically nationless terrorist groups (within an eye to the PLO and its splinter groups as well as the IRA), have nothing to lose by declaring war on anyone they choose, since there is no nation to retaliate against, or to declare War against in response.
Countries that sponser terrorism, of course, refuse to acknowlege
the World Court, the United Nations, or other world organizations. In
many cases the reasons that might be given include "the rest are
infidels" or "these organizations are part of the oppressive western
conspiracy."
Today assassination attempts may serve the same purpose, and is more increasingly aimed at anyone in government as targets of convenience. In recent years, even non-governmental figures have been assassinated, typically because of their wealth or a vocal position on a political issue.
In Columbia, the Meddian Drug Cartel very effectivlely used assassination to quiet public discussions of their affairs by assassinations of public figures as well as vast numbers of civilians.
For purposes of definition, assassins generally do not assassinate innocents, rather someone who they view as guilty of some action, non-action, or perhaps just being guilty of a race or nationality. The intended victim is usually a public official or a member of some political party or action group, but on numerous occassions the victim has been a business leader. On some rare occassions the intended victim is a member of a standing military organization (includes treaty organization such as NATO).
In the distant pass, the fastest way to gain way to the throne was through assassination and many an heir apparant took advantage. Thus the historical record for assassination would indicate that even a father is not safe from assassination from those closest to him. The same holds true today.
In the 1970s, political leaders fell like ducks on a shooting pond. The most critical was Anwar Sadat, the forward thinking, and peace seeking President of Egypt. The reason thought for the assassination was his signing of the Middle East Peace Treaty with Menacham Begin at Camp David, an action even moderate Arabs could not forgive him. (Just as Mabarek was most recently the target of a failed assasination attempt). Sadat and a number of his retinue were killed by assassins (bearing machine guns) while he watched his Army in formation parade by his reviewing stand.
A famous domestic political assassination was that of peace demonstrator Reverand Martin Luther King. King's death only served to strengthen the cause the assassin was trying to kill along with the dynamic leader, and within a year landmark Civil Rights legislation was enacted to prevent segration by race in the United States. The foundations of many other minority actions and movements in the U.S. were also created at this time.
Another famous worldwide assassination was the killing of the exiled opposition leader President Acquino of the Phillipines, thought to be sponsored by Dictator Ferdinand Marcos. Later Acquino's wife, Corozone Acquino, deposed Marcos sending the dictator and his wife into exile. Marcos later died in a hospital in Hawaii while under the guard of U.S. Marshals. His wife eventually went back to stand trial for crimes aganst the nation.
For more information see the List of Assassinations .