INTRODUCTION
“Al Qaeda gunmen kill French EU worker in Yemen, officials say.” “Gaza's Hamas executes 2 alleged spies for Israel.” “13 killed in Afghanistan bombing; Taliban claims responsibility.” “Lebanese MPs fail to elect president on second try as Hezbollah-led alliance boycotts vote.” These headlines have appeared on news sources such as Fox News and CNN just within the last week. It is hard for the American people to forget what happened on 9/11 and for that, the American media, political climate, and population in general are all focused on terrorism abroad. According to Tim Lister, a correspondent for CNN, the world’s 10 most dangerous terrorists all reside either in the Middle East or North Africa; none from within the United States.1 Almost every ‘most dangerous terrorist organizations’ list on the internet is absent of any domestic group. If they do have one, then it is the Ku Klux Klan.
Even within the United States, people only know the extreme right-wing group such as the Ku Klux Klan, Army of God, and the Sovereign Citizens. However, there is a rise in left-wing groups in America. Eco-terrorism is gaining popularity in the United States as issues including fracking, oil, and the claim of global warming are becoming more common at the dinner table and water cooler. Specially, the Earth Liberation Front (ELF) is at the forefront of American environmental terrorism. Many new sources and experts in the field have urged politicians and the American people to take ELF seriously as they are dedicated to their mission and are willing to go to great lengths for their cause.
ECO-TERRORISM AS A WHOLE
Though environmental terrorism and eco-terrorism seem similar on the surface, there is a stark difference between the two f...
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...c Terror: Who's Most Dangerous?” CNN. August 24, 2005. Accessed May 7, 2014. http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/08/24/schuster.column/.
Works Consulted:
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Anti-Defamation League. “Ecoterrorism: Extremism in the Animal Rights and Environmentalist Movements.” Accessed May 6, 2014. http://archive.adl.org/learn/ext_us/ecoterrorism.html.
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The Earth Liberation Front (ELF) was established in 1992 in England and originally developed from members of Earth First! that did not want to give up the criminal acts as a method (Earth Liberation Front). Earth First! as an organization did not want to engage in violent attacks, but rather make change through protests and civil disobedience. ELF moved to North America in the mid-1990s. The group primarily operates in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States (Earth Liberation Front).
For approximately the past three decades, a terrorist group has come to plague the world with its activities (Gunaratna, 2002). This group is known as Al Qaeda. Al Qaeda, when translated means “The Base”. It is a terrorist organization that seeks to remove western influence from the Middle East and spread its radical Islamic views. Al Qaeda’s most prominent leader was Osama bin Laden, until his death during a raid upon his compound in Pakistan. The Al Qaeda’s motivation stems primarily from extreme and deeply rooted religious beliefs. Their most used method of attack is through suicide bombers and improvised explosive devices. This organization has also used chemical warfare and at this time is believed to still actively seek to utilize chemical and biological agents as means to battle.
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The U.S. is struggling to find a way to prevent domestic terrorism. Local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies and the armed forces are working tirelessly to neutralize domestic terrorist cells and dismantle the influence of international extremist. This is a short summary discussing three domestic terrorist groups, and the similarities and differences between them. The three groups are the Animal Liberation Front (ALF), Earth Liberation Front (ELF), and the Army of God.
Herman, E. & Sullivan, G. O.1989. The Terrorism Industry: The Experts and Institutions That Shape Our View of Terror. New York: Pantheon.
Al-Qaeda Introduction Al Qaeda is a terrorist organization established in Peshawar, Pakistan, between 1988 and 1989 by Osama bin Laden and his teacher Abullah Yusuf Azzam. Al-Qaeda is an international terrorist network that is considered the top terrorist threat to the United States. Al Qaeda is seeking to get rid of all westerns from Muslim territory and replace their own Islamic regime. They are a group of people who work together to plan acts of terrorism against Muslims and non-Muslims especially in the United States. Al Qaeda believes that they are fighting a holy war against the enemy of their religion.
The threat of global terrorism continues to rise with the total number of deaths reaching 32,685 in 2015, which is an 80 percent increase from 2014 (Global Index). With this said, terrorism remains a growing, and violent phenomenon that has dominated global debates. However, ‘terrorism’ remains a highly contested term; there is no global agreement on exactly what constitutes a terror act. An even more contested concept is whether to broaden the scope of terrorism to include non-state and state actors.
The next category of terrorist is a group acting together in order to achieve their political or ideological agenda. These groups of people are often found living in oppressed conditions and are seeking extreme measures to bring about change. Such groups have been found in Georgia and Bosnia fighting over ethnic cleansing of a particular area after the Soviet Union disbanded (Wilkinson). Once a group looks at its neighbors and decides to improve its self-defense in order to...
The word terror dates back to the French Revolution. “A terrorist was, in its original meaning, a Jacobin who ruled France during la Terruer” (Moeller 20). Terrorism has clearly become much broader in the years since its origination. Since the concept was first birthed in France it has been used for separatist, nationalistic, political and religious ends, etc. In the book “Packaging Terrorism”, author Susan Moeller states that, “the goal of terrorism is to send a message, not to defeat the enemy”.
Jeremy Firestone & James Corbett, Combating Terrorism in the Environmental Trenches: Responding to Terrorism: Maritime Transportation: A Third Way for Port and Environmental Security.
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Terrorism is one of the most extensively discussed issues of our time and at the same time it is also one of the least understood. The term itself “terrorism” means many different things to different people, cultures, and races. As a result, trying to define or classify terrorism with one universal definition is nearly impossible. The definition of terrorism used in this research is a reflection of much of the Western and American way of defining it. The definition of terrorism is,