Terrorism in Perspective-Global and Domestic Terrorism

Amy Sohm

PS 405 Threats of Terrorism

Assignment 4.2

Explain the difference between global and domestic terrorism and how it affects the United States.

So some regular “Joe” who drives a limo for the Denver airport gets arrested for allegedly being involved in a terrorist plot this last week. His neighbors and coworkers found it hard to believe their acquaintance could possibly be involved in a larger plot, originating on the other side of the world.

Didn’t anyone think his trips to Palestine to “visit his wife” were suspicious? Maybe they didn’t know. The FBI knew. I say kudos to the FBI and Homeland Security for their diligence. If it weren’t for new measures in our domestic terrorism policies they may not have been able to solve this case proactively.

When it rains it pours. Arrests are also made in Dallas and New York City for similar attempts. Lone wolves aren’t always lone wolves. All of this is connected somehow. Training camps in Palestine induct child soldiers and teach a limo driver how to build bombs. Middle Eastern descent works against your identity when you try and cover yourself with public service jobs and surround yourself by middle class working America. I think that in general, we as Americans would like to be able to know and trust these Middle Easterners as people and not prejudge them based on recent history. But when the rain keeps pouring down and the evidence is always connected to someone from that part of the world in connection to terrorism, it gets harder and harder with every event.

Separating global and domestic terrorism, if I’m understanding their definition correctly, really only works on paper. If their group trains and acts locally or regionally you get classified as being domestic. If you take your plots across the globe it becomes global.

The fact still remains that terrorists don’t view themselves as terrorists. Freedom fighters with a political agenda and a little God mixed in with a twisted vision to target and destroy what stands in your way justified the way you carry it out.

But if we must separate the two, this is how it happens:

Domestic Terrorism

Terrorist cells and visionary groups coalesce to create an organization with an agenda. Maybe they don’t agree with government policy or who is in leadership. They may find some success in a very limited (and usually rigged) political process to get their leadership elected, but if that doesn’t happen, busting a few heads, playing with guns, torture, false imprisonment and miniature wars take the place of full blown war declared on a specific area in the world. Smaller cells keep them clandestine, easier to move around and hide.

This war is never ending. Maybe minor issues change the reasons for attacks here and there, but as funding ebbs and flows their radar detects the next target and they’re back in business again. Planning can take years of strategizing and generations of training.

Contained within national borders revolutionary dissidents threaten using political violence to bring about change. Sub-revolutionaries don’t want the political system completely gone but use violence to bring about change in a current political system. Or the establishment itself may strike out in force inside it’s own system or even reaching beyond it’s own borders if need be.

As religious as some of these groups are, it’s hard to believe that Nihilism exists within. Philosophically cleansing of the world or perceived threats makes sense to them, but there are groups that see religion, traditional family values and nationalism as a justification for wiping out a political system or society. You would think it wouldn’t be that way but it is. When I think about religion I think of positive values like family and tradition. Of course Nihilism started in Marxist Russia and along with the Marxist vision it would make sense.

Nationalists are differentiated by religion, culture or race. Somebody always thinks they’re better than somebody else based on race or religion. Nazi Germany led by Hitler is probably the best example of that. Ireland was never to hip to sharing anything between Catholic and Protestant for a long time, too. All contained inside a specific nation or region, it is domestic terrorism just the same.

All this to say, the agenda of a group led by a powerful individual with the ability to motivate and unite based on a centralized cause sometimes finds it’s way to the other side of the world.

Global Terrorism

When Najibullah Zazi goes to Palestine to learn how to make bombs or Khalid al-Mindhar comes to America and goes to flight training school in order to perfect a plan to later fly jets into the World Trade Center in New York City, terrorism becomes global (http://www.scribd.com/doc/13120462/FBI-summary-about-Alleged-Flight-77-Higjackers-Khalid-Almihdhar). The Cold War in the 1970’s sparked some controversy and toward the late 20^th century Russia became more and more unstable as an ally.

So now Chavez comes away last week boasting of his purchase of 19 missiles from Russia, turns around and proclaims his avid love for Jesus and hatred for poverty, but what about the missiles Chavez? Talking out of both sides your mouth and throwing a couple of “Jesus’s” in for good measure doesn’t mean your ends are justified.

Terrorism is crazy. We don’t agree with them, they don’t agree with us. What else is new? We unknowingly trained some of their guys to use against us; our allies sell them weapons. Political regimes end and new ones begin with the same perceived evil to be conquered. Chavez doesn’t see himself as a terrorist or even a menace to society. Just as Hamas began with the Muslim Brotherhood doing charity work in Gaza, as the conflict heats up, cells change and move then somebody else needs firearms.

Iran swore up and down they weren’t building an uranium enrichment plant or had technology for nuclear weaponry, but today we have public media announcing a 2^ndenrichment facility, looks a little like a power plant guys but it also comes fully equipped with long-range missile launching sites. Sources also state this information has been known since the Bush administration. (http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/09/26/iran.nuclear/index.html) They’re preparing for testing of long-range missiles as we speak.

Afghan native Najibullah Zazi comes to Denver, Colorado to drive a limo for a living, to and from the airport. He must have passed a security background check or do they do that in that vocation? I have to pass a background check to drive a school bus. Everybody does. The state won’t just hand a CDL to anyone who can drive the vehicle. Point being, Zazi gets caught, investigations link him to a Palestine-Hamas based terrorist training camp and a New York City apartment full of bomb making materials (http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-denver-terror18-2009sep18,0,3958808.story ). He claims no acquaintance or connection to anyone also plotting a subway attack in New York City. First of all, good work to the FBI and Homeland Security. Second, what’s with the lying? Iran says, “We’re not doing anything.” Did we really think they were going to give us the grand tour of their facility? Then again, the man in charge in Iran thinks the holocaust of the Jews in Nazi Germany is all made up, too. Is this an uneducated, ignorant or just plain crazy human being? This is global terrorism.

A little more about Chavez and then I’m done. The Christian Science Monitor hails him as some kind of democracy-based social program hero, rescuing scores from poverty and a life of violence (http//www.csmonitor.com/2009/0202/pols03-woam.html). He seeks Iran’s help in finding uranium deposits in Venezuela….IRAN???!!! Are you crazy Chavez? What side are you on anyway? (http//www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,555720,00.html) But he loves Jesus like Muslims love Allah. He also compares himself to the leader in Iran and says, “I believe the holocaust of the Jews in Nazi Germany happened.” So what he’s better now? He abolishes term limits for himself and other elected officials in Venezuela (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/feb/16/hugo-chavez-indefinite-rule). Do you know who this guy reminds me of? Fidel Castro.

I feel for the US government. They get a tongue lashing for “falsely accusing” another nation for stock piling weapons of mass destruction or covering up a major conspiracy that cost America thousands of lives and 2 world-iconic economic super-centers. I don’t hear anybody criticizing Bush now. Would they have done anything different today? Sure they would have. The US is fortunate we don’t have a major war going on here on our turf. The war on terrorism is much more complicated than anyone realizes. Leaking the wrong information at the wrong time could tip off suspects and ruin years of organizational information in an investigation. Obama told us about the Iranian nuclear plants. I’m glad. I want to know as I know many others do. It all affects us in different ways. The panic that would arise in a split second if we knew more would disrupt our lives probably more than another terrorist attack.

We trust less, our economy is hurting and the war will never end. If you’re military it probably hurts worse, but you know you’ve got a job. The economy will heal but with more and more globalization in economical matters and terrorism influencing more nations in need of industrialization and peace, the United States will never cease to be big brother to those in need. We rely on allied nations. We need to. We all need each other. Violence has been a solution since the beginning of time if not negotiating, the rebuttal for certain. Secrets will always be a part of the system. We trust our government and our military to do what is best for all. If there is a light at the end of the tunnel, it’s being squelched on the other side of the world.