Problems of Terrorism on the Global level

Article was published at the blog of the Partnership for Peace Consortium of Defense Academies and Security Studies Institutes. Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. March, 2007

By: Nika Chitadze. Ph.D.President of the George C. Marshall Alumni Union, Georgia - International and Security Research Center 

Introduction

Terrorism is a term used to describe violence or other harmful acts committed (or threatened) against civilians by groups or persons for political, nationalist, or religious goals. As a type of unconventional warfare , terrorism means to weaken or supplant existing political landscapes through capitulation, acquiescence , or radicalization as opposed o subversion or direct military action.

Terrorist attacks" usually are characterized as "indiscriminate", the "targeting of civilians", or as executed "with disregard for human life" such as the terrorist attack in London, as well as the attack in  Madrid by some extremeIslamic group as a result of non-satisfaction of UK-Spain foreign policy towards Islamic countries. The term "terrorism" often is used to assert that the enemy's political violence is immoral, wanton, and unjustified. Per the most common definition of terrorism typically used by states, academics, counter-terrorism experts, and civil, non-governmental organizations, "terrorists" are actors who do not belong to any recognized armed forces or who don't abide the laws of war , and who, therefore, are regarded as "rogue actors".

A modern trend in terrorism appears to be toward loosely organized, self- financed, international networks of terrorists. Increasingly, radical Islamist  groups, or groups using religion as a pretext, pose a serious threat to U.S interests and to friendly regimes. Of concern as well is the growing political participation of extremist Islamist parties in foreign nations. Also noteworthy is the apparent growth of cross-national links among different terrorist organizations, which may involve combinations of military training, funding, technology transfer, or political advice.

Looming over the entire issue of international terrorism is the specter of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD).  Iran, seen as the most active state sponsor of terrorism, has been secretly conducting — and now openly seeks — uranium enrichment, and North Korea has both admitted to having a clandestine program for uranium enrichment and claimed to have nuclear weapons. Indications have also surfaced that Al Qaeda has attempted to acquire chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear weapons.

As the colonial era passed away, the Middle East saw the establishment of many military dictatorships. Some rulers adopted the dogmas of socialism, seized total control of political parties and the media and universities. They allied themselves with the Soviet bloc and with international terrorism. Dictators in Iraq and Syria promised the restoration of national honor, a return to ancient glories. They've left instead a legacy of torture, oppression, misery, and ruin.

Modern Terrorism

National Strategy For Combating Terrorism is mentioned: "Our Globe is at war with a transnational terrorist movement fueled by a radical ideology of hatred, oppression, and murder.  Our strategy also recognizes that the War on Terror is a different kind of war.  From the beginning, it has been both a battle of arms and a battle of ideas.  Not only do we fight our terrorist enemies on the battlefield, we promote freedom and human dignity as alternatives to the terrorists’ perverse vision of oppression and totalitarian rule.

Funding :

Terrorist organizations do not usually have only one means of funding, but many. Funding can be raised in both legal and illegal ways. Some of the most common ways to raise funds are through charities, well funded organizations, or a non violent organization with similar ideologies. In the absence of state funding, terrorists may rely on organized crime to fund their activities. This has included kidnapping, drug trafficking or robbery. Additionally, terrorists have also found many more sources of revenue. Osama Bin Laden for example, invested millions in terrorism that his family made in the construction industry building luxury mansions for Saudi Arabia's oil billionaires .  

Experts believe that such cells are operating not just in places where they are welcomed or tolerated, but in many other areas as well, including Western Europe and the United States.  According to Patterns of Global Terrorism 2003 (Patterns 2003), as of January 2003 an aggressive international law enforcement effort had resulted in detention of approximately 3,000 terrorists and their supporters in more than 100 countries and in the freezing of $124 million in assets in some 600 bank accounts around the world, including $36 million in the United States alone.

The G-8 leaders publicized plans, subsequently implemented, to create a Counter-Terrorism Action Group to assist nations in enhancing their anti-terrorism capabilities through initiatives including

-          Outreach to countries in the area of counter-terrorism cooperation.

-          Providing capacity building assistance to nations with insufficient capacity to fight terrorism

Terrorists have been able to develop their own sources of financing, which range from NGOs and charities to illegal enterprises such as narcotics, extortion, and kidnapping.  Colombia’s FARC is said to make hundreds of millions of dollars annually from criminal activities, mostly from “taxing” of, or participating in the narcotics trade.  Bin Laden’s Al Qaeda depends on a formidable array of fundraising operations including Muslim charities and wealthy well-wishers, legitimate-seeming businesses, and banking connections in the Persian Gulf, as well as various smuggling and fraud activities. Furthermore ongoing of cross-national  links among different terrorist organizations.

The Policy to combat international terrorism :

1.      Diplomacy\ constructive Engagement : using the diplomacy mean to help create anti-terror coalition . Example : the Diplomacy was a key factor leading to the composition of the US led coalition against the Taliban .on a different level , in the wake of the September 11 attacks , the bush administration explored the possibility of enlisting nations considered state sponsor of terrorism at the time , such as Libya , Sudan and Syria in a broader Islamic coalition against Al-Qaeda and its followers.   Former CIA director James Woolsey asserted in a spring 2001 ,that increasingly Terrorists do not just want to place at the table " they want to blow up the table and everyone who is sitting at the table"

2.      Economic Sanctions : It fall into Six Main categories of restrictions :

o   Trading                                          - Export credits and guarantees 

o   Technology transfer                      - Foreign exchange and capital transactions

o   Foreign assistance                         - Economic access

 Sanctions on regimes can be essentially unilateral , Such as US bans on trade and investment relations with Cuba and Iran , or Multilateral such as those endorsed by the UN in response to Libya's involvement in the PAN Am 103 bombing . the best example is the adoption of UN security Council resolution N : 1373 which requires all states to " limit the ability of terrorists and terrorist organization to operate internationally" by freezing their assets and denying them safe haven . 

3.      Extradition Law Enforcement cooperation : International cooperation in such areas as law enforcement , Customs control , and Intelligence activities ex : DEA currently maintains offices in 62 countries staffed by some 750 direct hire personnel and 260 contract personnel .

4.      Rewarding for information program : Money can be a powerful motivator , Rewards for information have been instrumental in Italy in destroying the Red Bridges and in Colombia in apprehending drug cartel leaders , as well as the US rewards of 25 $ US Million for any information guide to Usama Bin laden . 

5.      Military force : successful use of military force preemptive or relatively strikes presupposes the ability to identify a terrorist perpetrator or its state sponsor,  particularly when wielded by  a superpower such as United States , example : US components are currently involved in a variety of anti-terrorism related missions, exercises , and deployment in areas such as Afghanistan, Iraq , Colombia. Other example can be mentioned in this case is the Israeli military operations in July 2006 aimed to weakening the escalating threat posed to that nation by Hezbollah in Lebanon .

There might be a long-term aim of Military force that it send a political message to the target nation that providing refuge or support to such groups come with a price .

6.      An international Court for Terrorism : Perhaps under UN to sit in permanent session to adjudicate cases against persons accused of International Terrorist Crimes .

7.   Educational system reform

Historically have been unable to agree on a definition of terrorism, since one person’s terrorist is often another person’s freedom fighter.  To circumvent this political constraint, countries have taken the approach of enacting laws or negotiating conventions which criminalize specific acts such as kidnapping detonating bombs or hijacking airplanes.