By Matt for the TIB Network:
One of our newest blogger friends (and a frequent commenter here on WMD in the last few days) Peter Konefal asked this very question on his blog (and we had been discussing it some in one of the threads here) so I thought I'd take a stab at it...Here is how Paul Pillar, a former deputy chief of the CIA's Counterterrorist Center defines terrorism:
1. It is premeditated—planned in advance, rather than an impulsive act of rage.Personally, I find the State Department's version a bit more useful:
2. It is political—not criminal, like the violence that groups such as the mafia use to get money, but designed to change the existing political order.
3. It is aimed at civilians—not at military targets or combat-ready troops.
4. It is carried out by subnational groups—not by the army of a country.
[P]remeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents, usually intended to influence an audience.I find this particular bit enlightening:
Terrorist acts are often deliberately spectacular, designed to rattle and influence a wide audience, beyond the victims of the violence itself. The point is to use the psychological impact of violence or of the threat of violence to effect political change. As the terrorism expert Brian Jenkins bluntly put it in 1974, "Terrorism is theatre."All of the above quotations come from the Council on Foreign Relations' Introduction to Terrorism site.
Here is the definition from Dictionary.com:
The unlawful use or threatened use of force or violence by a person or an organized group against people or property with the intention of intimidating or coercing societies or governments, often for ideological or political reasons.So, how do I define terrorism? Like obscenity, I know when I see it.
Not buying that, huh? Hmm...well, okay, let's try this:
Terrorism is the premeditated and public usage of violence, usually against civilians but not limited to that population, with the intent to effect some significant political change.
There are several "classifications" of terrorism and their organizations that employ the tactic: nationalist terrorism, religious terrorism, state-sponsored terrorism, left-wing terrorism, right-wing terrorism, anarchist terrorism, narco-terrorism, and cyber-terrorism.
Nationalist Terrorism
Basically, nationalists want land of their own. The Basques in Spain have ETA 'seperatists'; the Palestinians have the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade; in Ireland it is the IRA; in Russia, it's the Chechyan 'rebels.'Religious Terrorism
According to CFR, nearly half of the known terrorist organizations are religious in nature. Their goal is to further whatever cause they believe has been divinely commanded. Obviously al Qaeda falls in to this category. As does Hamas (Palestinian Sunnis), Hezbollah (Lebanese Shiites), and Japan's Aum Shinrikyo cultists.State-Sponsored Terrorism
Mercenaries. Pure and simple. Nations that want to maintain the facade of staying "above the fray" engage in covert warfare using terrorists. The 1979 kidnapping of the hostages at the embassy in Tehran was state-sponsored terrorism.Left-Wing Terrorism
These guys want to destroy our capitalist way of life. They aren't afraid to do what is neccessary to do it. The Baader-Meinhof Group (Germany), the Japanese Red Army, the Weathermen (1970s America), and the Red Brigades (Italy) are examples of left-wing terrorist groups.Right-Wing Terrorism
Neofascists. Pure and simple. The skinhead-Neo-nazi-types (these idiots can be found EVERYWHERE) usually attack immigrants and refugees.Anarchist Terrorism
CFR:From the 1870s until about 1920, anarchist terrorism was a major global phenomenon. Revolutionaries seeking to overthrow established governments launched a wave of bombings and assassinated a series of heads of state; one such victim was President William McKinley, killed in 1901 by a young Hungarian refugee influenced by anarchist sentiments. Some experts see signs of a new interest in anarchist violence arising out of the recent wave of protests against globalization.
Narco-Terrorism
The Drug Enforcement Agency defines narco-terrorism as:[T]errorist acts carried out by groups that are directly or indirectly involved in cultivating, manufacturing, transporting, or distributing illicit drugs.The term has also been applied to those who use drug trade to fund terrorism. Check out Columbia for an example of this brand of terrorism.
