Terrorism and Counterterrorism (gov)

According to lecture and the reading (Section 15.1), what is terrorism? What are the distinguishing features of terrorist organizations? What is the "terrorist's dilemma" (see Section 15.2)?

Terrorism: difficult to define; Defined as the use or threatened use of violence against non-combatants in pursuit of a political aim. As such, applying the label of terrorist to an action or group is a political statement rather than an analytical one

- Violence aimed at achieving a larger political goal

- Violence aimed at inducing fear among a broader audience than its immediate victims

- Violence perpetrated by non-state actors

terrorist's dilemma:

tradeoff between increased cohesion and organization and the vulnerability of the organization. The more organized a terrorist organization is, the more easily they can be identified, captured. smaller cells lose the benefits of increased coordination and collective action

According to the reading (Section 15.3), what are some of the broader global patterns in terrorist attacks? Which countries are the main targets of terrorist attacks?

Terrorist attacks and deaths have risen since 9/11 and especially in the past several years (see Figure 15-1 in reading)Increase in attacks, more lethal, but most occur outside of western democracies.

But, these attacks have been concentrated in a small set of countries marked by civil conflicts

main countries: Syria, Pakistan, Nigeria, Iraq, Afghanistan

Why do terrorist organizations resort to political violence to achieve their political goals? Compare and contrast psychological and strategic approaches to understanding the reasons terrorists resort to violence.

-Evens the playing field for weaker terrorist groups against stronger states-Specific

- goals can only be achieved by their limited military capabilities by attacking civilians

provides individuals with sense of solidarity, a group and a mission

Using lecture and the reading (Section 15.4), discuss specific strategic uses of political violence by terrorist organizations such as provocation, outbidding, and spoiling potential peace negotiations.

provocation:

- prompting overreaction from the state to a terrorist attack that prompts more membership for the terrorist group

spoiling:

- undermining peace negotiations, thus furthering political goal of conflict

outbidding:

- using violence to compete for followers

What are the dilemmas of counterterrorism (see Section 15.5)? Discuss the costs and benefits of using defensive measures like domestic intelligence and increased security to counter terrorism.

types of counterterrorism that create different dilemmas

defensive measures:

- excessive coercion and targeting of ethnic communities while limiting civil rights of citizens

- too costly

deterrence:

- threats of retaliation

external wars:

- foreign wars in countries harboring terrorist groups

Why are terrorist organizations hard to deter? What are the tradeoffs of targeting terrorist leaders with weapons such as drone strikes?

unlike states, terrorist groups lack a home address for a retaliatory attack

Drone strikes:

- drone strikes effective in destroying cells w/o risking direct conflict

- produce collateral damage that could increase local support

targeted leaders can be replaced by more radical ones

Discuss how the attack on 9/11 led to the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. How did the decision not to distinguish between terrorists and states that harbor terrorists play into this decision? How did considerations of domestic reaction and the possibility of another attack affect this decision?

- Bush considered war right away

- no discrimination between terrorist and states that harbor them

- pressured states like Pakistan to pick a side, with the US or against

- pressure on military and CIA to deploy ASAP as to not incur another attack before striking back

How did we get from the attack on 9/11 and war in Afghanistan to war in Iraq?

Bush faces pressure from within administration to go to war against Iraq right away after 9/11

- orders Rumsfeld to update Iraq war plan

Iraq potentially possessing weapons of mass destruction

Saddam Hussein seeking to augment capabilities and would threaten allies in region

Might give to terrorists

Iraq part of axis of evil and key enemy of the US

Democratic Iraq would put pressure on autocratic countries in region to liberalize

What are tradeoffs associated with using external military force abroad such as in Afghanistan and Iraq to counter terrorism?

- US did not understand conflict within states

- removing authorities implements power vacuum

- increased casualties increase local support for terrorism

damages to US:

- international reputation

- economy

- deep divisions within political env.

- overstretched military