Transnational Terrorism

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Transnational Terrorism
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Overview

• What is transnational terrorism?
• Is terrorism a new phenomenon?
• Significance of September 11 attacks
• What is Al-Qaeda?
• Why is Al-Qaeda significant?
• Impact of terrorism
• Economic, social, political
• Can transnational terrorism be managed?
• ASEANs efforts
• Intl efforts
• Nurturing an environment that censures terrorism

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What is transnational terrorism?

• Recall the IRA and LTTE
• They used terrorism to strike fear in the people
  and weaken ruling government
• Their aims are nationalistic in nature
• Their attacks are localised

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What is transnational terrorism?

• Transnational terrorism involves the unlawful use
  of force or indiscriminate violence by
  internationally-linked groups against persons and
  properties in many different parts of the world
• International membership
• Conducts activities in many countries
• Targets international community
• Aim to bring about regional or global political
  and social change

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Is terrorism a new phenomenon?

• NO!
• Terrorist acts carried out by state
  agents/non-state organisations
• State agent Bomb planting on a South Korean
  airline by North Korean agents in 1987 which
  killed all on board, bombing of a US airliner
  over the UK by Libyan agents in 1988 which killed
  270 people including those on the ground
• Non-state agent LTTE, IRA, the 1995 sarin gas
  attacks on Tokyo train system by Aum Shinrikyo,
  terrorist acts in India in 1980s and 1990s by the
  Khalistan movement-including the assassination of
  Indias PM Indira Gandhi on 31 Oct 1984

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TerrorismPast Vs. Present
Past Present
Small-scale Big-scale
Did not cause mass casualties Causes mass casualties
Localised attack Regional/international attack
E.g. LTTE, IRA, Aum Shinrikyo, Khalistan E.g. 9/11 attacks, 1978 terrorist attack in Iran
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Aum Shinrikyo- Who are they?

• Aum Shinrikyo, now known as Aleph, is a Japanese
  new religious movement organization.
• The name "Aum Shinrikyo" (?????? Omu Shinrikyo),
  roughly means "True Principle Teachings". In
  2000, the organization changed its name to
  "Aleph" (the first letter of the Hebrew and
  Arabic alphabet), changing its logo as well
• The core of Aum doctrine is Buddhist scripture.
  Other religious texts are also used, including a
  number of Tibetan Buddhist sutras, Hindu yogic
  sutras, and Taoist scriptures. However, there is
  controversy over whether to call Aum a Buddhist
  group or to apply other definitions, such as a
  'doomsday cult'.

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Aum Shinrikyo- Who are they?

• The movement was founded by Shoko Asahara in his
  one-bedroom apartment in Tokyo's Shibuya ward in
  1984, starting off as a Yoga and meditation class
  known as Aum-no-kai ("Aum club") and steadily
  grew in the following years. It gained the
  official status as a religious organization in
  1989. It attracted such a considerable number of
  young graduates from Japan's elite universities
  that it was dubbed a "religion for the elite".

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Aum Shinrikyo What did they do?

• On the morning of 20th March 1995, Aum members
  released sarin in a co-ordinated attack on five
  trains in the Tokyo subway system, killing 12
  commuters, harming 54 and affecting 980 more
• 5,000 people were injured by the sarin
• At the cult's headquarters in Kamikuishiki on the
  foot of Mount Fuji, police found explosives,
  chemical weapons and biological warfare agents,
  such as anthrax and Ebola cultures, and a Russian
  military helicopter. Police also found labs to
  manufacture drugs such as LSD, methamphetamines,
  and a crude form of truth serum, a safe
  containing millions of dollars worth in cash and
  gold, and cells, many still containing prisoners

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Aum Shinrikyo What happened to them?

• During the raids, Aum issued statements claiming
  that the chemicals were for fertilizers. Over the
  next 6 weeks, over 150 cult members were arrested
  for a variety of offenses
• In 1995, the group had 9,000 members in Japan,
  and as many as 40,000 worldwide. As of 2004, Aum
  Shinrikyo/Aleph membership was estimated at 1,500
  to 2,000 people

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Khalistan Movement Who are they?

• The Khalistan movement (East Punjabi ????????,
  West Punjabi ????? ???????) is a movement in
  Indian Punjab in the 1970s and '80s to create
  "The Land of the Pure" as an independent state in
  all Punjabi-speaking areas which include Indian
  Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and some other
  Punjabi speaking parts of states like Gujarat and
  Rajasthan

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Khalistan Movement What did they do?

• On the morning of 31 October 1984, Prime Minister
  Indira Gandhi was shot-dead by two Sikh security
  guards in New Delhi. The assassination triggered
  violence against Sikhs across north India. It was
  alleged that State-operated national television
  was used by the state to incite violence against
  the Sikhs. Sixteen politicians were named as
  organisers of the riots.

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Khalistan Movement What happened to them?

• The Central government attempted to seek a
  political solution to the grievances of the Sikhs
  through the Rajiv-Longowal Accord, which took
  place between the late Prime Minister Rajiv
  Gandhi and Harchand Singh Longowal, the then
  President of the Akali Dal, who was assassinated
  a few months later. The accord recognised the
  religious, territorial and economic demands of
  the Sikhs that were thought to be non-negotiable
  under Indira Gandhis tenure. While the agreement
  provided some basis for a return to normalcy, it
  was denounced by Sikh militants who claimed that
  the Indian state could not be trusted.
• The present situation in Punjab is generally
  regarded as peaceful, and the militant Khalistan
  movement weakened considerably. The Sikh
  community maintains its own unique identity and
  is socially assimilated in cosmopolitan areas.
  India presently has a Sikh Prime Minister
  Manmohan Singh, who is highly regarded by both
  the left and right wing sections of the political
  spectrum. The present situation remains peaceful
  to a large extent, though support for an
  independent homeland may remain strong in Punjab.
  The movement is popular in the Sikh diaspora in
  Europe and North America.

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Operation Blue Star
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Lords Resistance Army

• The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) was formed in
  1987.
• It is a rebel guerrilla army operating mainly in
  northern Uganda and parts of Sudan.
• The group is engaged in an armed rebellion
  against the Ugandan government in what is now one
  of Africa's longest-running conflicts.
• Leader Joseph Kony, who proclaims himself a
  spirit medium, and apparently wishes to establish
  a state based on the Ten Commandments and Acholi
  tradition.
• The LRA is accused of widespread human rights
  violations, including mutilation, torture, rape,
  the abduction of civilians, the use of child
  soldiers and a number of massacres.

Every night, across northern Uganda an estimated
50,000 children leave their homes and travel as
far as 10 miles away to city centers in search of
a safe place to sleep. They flee their homes out
of fear of being abducted and forced into combat
and sexual slavery by the Lord's Resistance Army.
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9/11 Attacks
Location New York City, U.S. (1st 2nd)Arlington Co, VA, U.S. (3rd)Near Shanksville, PA, U.S.(4th)
Target World Trade Center and The Pentagon (fourth target is unknown, but suspected to be a location in Washington, D.C. Al-Qaeda claims it was to be the United States Capitol
Date Tuesday, September 11, 2001846 am 1028 am (UTC-4)
Victims Death toll 2,993 (including 19 terrorists) Injured 6,291
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9/11 Catastrophe
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9/11 Attacks

• Four commercial airliners were hijacked en route
  to California from Logan International, Dulles
  International, and Newark airports. Each of the
  airliners had a jet fuel capacity of nearly
  24,000 U.S. gallons (91,000 liters). Two of the
  airliners were flown into the World Trade Center,
  one each into the North and South towers, one was
  flown into the Pentagon, and the fourth crashed
  near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
• American Airlines Flight 11, crashed into the
  northern side of the North Tower of the World
  Trade Center (WTC) at 84630 a.m. local time,
  hitting at the 94-98th floors.
• United Airlines Flight 175, crashed into the
  78-84th floors of the South Tower at 90259 a.m.
  local time, an event covered live by television
  broadcasters and amateur filmers from around the
  world who had their cameras trained on the
  buildings after the earlier crash.
• American Airlines Flight 77, crashed into the
  Pentagon at 93746 a.m. local time.
• United Airlines Flight 93, crashed in a field in
  southwest Pennsylvania just outside of
  Shanksville, about 150 miles (240 km) northwest
  of Washington, D.C., at 100311 a.m. local time.
  The crash in Pennsylvania resulted from the
  passengers of the airliner attempting to regain
  control from the hijackers.

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9/11 Attacks

• Three buildings in the World Trade Center Complex
  collapsed due to structural failure on the day of
  the attack. The south tower (2 WTC) fell at
  approximately 959 a.m., after burning for 56
  minutes in a fire caused by the impact of United
  Airlines Flight 175, and the north tower (1 WTC)
  collapsed at 1028 a.m., after burning for
  approximately 102 minutes. A third building, 7
  World Trade Center (7 WTC) collapsed at 520
  p.m., after being heavily damaged by debris from
  the Twin Towers when they fell

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Significance of September 11 Attacks

• Landmark in the history of terrorism
• Victims from more than 30 countries died in the
  attacks
• The attacks showed that
• Terrorists were well-trained and could coordinate
  simultaneous mass attacks
• Terrorists were willing to target civilians
  indiscriminately and die for their cause

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Impact of 9/11 Attacks

• Loss of lives
• Collapse of two 110 storey-tall towers
• New York City covered in dust and debris of the
  ruined buildings
• Psychological and economic impact on USA and the
  world

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How many of you have heard of Osama bin Laden?

• Did you know that

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Osama's son wants to be 'peace ambassador'
Associated PressPosted online Friday , January
18, 2008 at 025059Updated Friday , January
18, 2008 at 030638

• Cairo, January 17 Omar Osama bin Laden bears a
  striking resemblance to his notorious father -
  except for the dreadlocks that dangle halfway
  down his back. Then there's the black leather
  biker jacket.
• The 26-year-old does not renounce his father,
  al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, but in an
  interview with The Associated Press, he said
  there is better way to defend Islam than
  al-Qaida's militancy Omar wants to be an
  "ambassador for peace" between Muslims and the
  West.
• Omar raised a tabloid storm in Britain last year
  when he married a 52-year-old British woman, Jane
  Felix-Browne, who took on the name Zaina Alsabah.
  Now the couple say they want to be advocates,
  planning a 5,000-kilometre horse race across
  North Africa to draw attention to the cause of
  peace.

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Omar Osama bin Laden and Jane Felix-Browne
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What is Al-Qaeda?

• Al-Qaeda means the base (Althe, Qaedabase)
• An organisation created in 1989 by Osama bin
  Laden out of a network of Arab volunteers who had
  gone to Afghanistan in the 1980s to fight against
  Soviet Communism
• Osama fell out with the Saudi ruling family and
  they rejected his offer to lead an army of
  militants to liberate Kuwait in 1990. Saudi
  turned to the US for help instead.

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What is Al-Qaeda?

• Osama was unhappy with this and retaliated by
  carrying out anti-state activities. The Saudi
  government eventually expelled him from the
  country and this provoked Osama to carry out
  campaigns against the Saudi government, the US
  and its allies
• Goal of Al-Qaeda
• Rid Muslim countries of the influence of the
  West, particularly the US
• Establish a global Islamic caliphate, based on
  extremist misinterpretations of Islamic teachings
• How to achieve these goals?
• The use of terrorism against US and its allies

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Why is Al-Qaeda Significant?

• Epitome of the new form of transnational
  terrorist organisation. Features
• Multi-national membership, scattered all over the
  world
• Utilises globalisation, such as the use of
  internet and international banking, to plan and
  carry out attacks across continents
• Attacks are designed to ensure maximum casualties

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Why is Al-Qaeda Significant?

• Post 9/11 attacks, US declared a global war on
  terrorism
• Osama bin Laden and other Al-Qaeda members were
  believed to be in Afghanistan and the Taliban
  government refused to give them up to the
  coalition forces
• US-led coalition forces went into Afghanistan in
  October 2001 to attack the terrorist training
  camps and Al-Qaeda terrorists

American consumers are snapping up action figures
of Osama Bin Laden and US President George W
Bush. (BBC News, 19 April 2002)
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Why is Al-Qaeda Significant?

• However, Al-Qaeda was still capable of launching
  terrorist attacks because it has many groups
  associated with it
• Al-Qaeda shares expertise, resources, strategy
  and even conducts joint operations with these
  groups
• Main reason for Al-Qaedas continued resilience
  deliberate and effective spread of its ideology
  based on the misuse and misinterpretation of
  religious concepts
• It claims that Islam sanctions and requires
  Muslims to undertake violence against the West
  and its allies, which also includes killing
  civilians

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Why is Al-Qaeda Significant?

• Al-Qaedas ideology is rejected by Muslims and
  Islam
• After the September 11 attacks and disruption of
  JI terrorist network in Singapore, more than 120
  Muslim organisations in Singapore issued a joint
  public statement to condemn the misuse of Islam
  for terrorism
• The Mufti of Singapore, Tuan Haji Syed Isa Semait
  condemned the act of terrorism staged by
  terrorists who subscribed to Al-Qaedas ideology
  and carried out suicide bombing in Jordan in
  November 2005

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Why is Al-Qaeda Significant?

• In the Bali bombing incident (2002), 200 people
  were killed and 300 injured
• These attacks were carried out by JI, a group
  linked to Al-Qaeda
• Significance
• Attacks could happen even with increased security
  and vigilance
• Terrorists were now targetting soft targets,
  such as night clubs and shopping centres
• In 2005, Bali was again bombed by terrorists

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Where has Al-Qaeda/organisations linked to
Al-Qaeda launched attacks?
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Impact of Terrorism

• Economic Impact
• Governments have budgeted more money to increase
  their countries security
• Governments deployed troops and police to guard
  areas, such as airports, embassies and other
  vulnerable spots
• Emergency exercises were also conducted to ensure
  citizens are prepared and know what to do, if
  they are faced with terrorist attacks
• E.g. In January 2006, Singapore conducted
  Exercise Northstar V, led by Singapore Civil
  Defence Force, to simulate 5 bomb explosions and
  one simulated chemical attacks, involving the
  closure of 13 MRT stations and service disruption
  of three hours. The operation involves 2,000
  personnel from 22 agencies and thus far is the
  largest civil emergency exercise

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Exercise Northstar V
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Impact of Terrorism

• Economic Impact
• a. 9/11 Attacks
• The 9/11 attacks claimed many lives and
  properties. Insurance companies had to pay about
  US40 billion in compensation of the loss
• Airline industry lost money because people were
  afraid of flying
• US government had to give economic aid to the
  airline companies to prevent them from going out
  of business

Financial performance of US airlines before and
after 9/11
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Impact of Terrorism

• Economic Impact
• b. Bali Bombing (2002)
• Balis main source of income was tourism
• After the 2002 bombing incident, tourists arrival
  to Bali dropped by more than 50
• Many Balinese lost their livelihood
• The Indonesian government faced pressure to
  relieve the economic hardship of the Balinese

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Impact of Terrorism

• 2. Social Impact
• Act of terrorism may create suspicion and tension
  among various ethnic and religious groups
• Governments worldwide have put in measures to
  ensure that terrorism would not hurt the social
  cohesion in their countries
• PM Lee Hsien Loong on 9 Feb 2006 introduced the
  Community Engagement Programme as a long term
  measure to ensure Singaporeans will maintain
  social cohesion and harmony. Aim to bring
  together Singaporeans from different communities,
  to strengthen inter-communal bonds, to put in
  place response plans to help deal with potential
  communal tensions after the incident, be it
  terrorist attack of a civil emergency

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911 and the JI Arrest Impacted Singapores Social
Cohesion
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but we were able to talk about the issues openly
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Impact of Terrorism

• 3. Political Impact
• Governments have the responsibility to keep
  citizens safe from terrorists
• Thus, governments need to tighten various
  controls, such as stepping up border security to
  ensure that terrorists do not slip into the
  country
• Greater checks on travellers identities and
  belongings
• Intrusive legislation aimed at countering
  terrorism have been introduced
• Critics argue that such measures will curb
  individual freedom and invade personal privacy
• Nevertheless, such trade-off is necessary to
  ensure security

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Can Transnational Terrorism be Managed?

• ASEANs efforts to manage terrorism
• ASEAN views terrorism as a major threat to
  international peace and security and a direct
  challenge to the achievement of peace, progress
  and prosperity in ASEAN
• ASEAN governments pledged their determination to
  cooperate against transnational terrorists
  through join police and intelligence measures

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Can Transnational Terrorism be Managed?

• ASEANs efforts to manage terrorism
• ASEAN pledged to enhance information and
  intelligence exchange on terrorists and terrorist
  activities
• Information provided by Singapore has helped
  Philippine authorities to arrest JI bomb-maker
  Fathur Rohman Al-Ghozi in 2002. Fathur was
  involved in the bombing of the Light Railway
  Train in Manila (Dec 2000) and he was a lead
  character in the Al-Qaeda plot to bomb western
  targets in Singapore

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Can Transnational Terrorism be Managed?

• ASEANs efforts to manage terrorism
• In Jan 2007, Southeast Asian leaders agreed to
  commit their national security and law
  enforcement agencies to work closely to fight the
  threat together
• The Convention on Counter-terrorism, signed by
  ASEAN leaders at the annual summit in Cebu,
  Philippines, is the first legally binding
  anti-terrorism accord

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Can Transnational Terrorism be Managed?

• 2. International efforts to combat terrorism
• UN passed a series of resolutions to get all
  member countries to freeze financial assets of
  terrorist and their supporters, deny them travel
  and safe haven, prevent terrorist recruitment and
  weapons supply and cooperate with other countries
  in information sharing and criminal prosecution
• The UN set up Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC)
  to monitor member countries adherence to the
  resolutions as well as to strengthen the
  counter-terrorism capacity of UN member states.
  CTC also provides technical assistance to
  countries that require help in implementing the
  resolutions

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Can Transnational Terrorism be Managed?

• 2. International efforts to combat terrorism
• Have these measures been successful?
• Member countries managed to freeze more than
  US200 million in terrorist funding
• 4,000 terrorist suspects arrested through the
  sharing of information among member countries
• However, international community has not been
  that successful because
• Terrorists are able to evade security
  restrictions imposed by governments
• Terrorists are able to continually recruit new
  operatives

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Can Transnational Terrorism be Managed?

• 3. Nurturing an environment that censures
• terrorism
• Terrorists usually operate on hate and enmity,
  and instigate and falsely sanction a person/ a
  group to commit such acts of violence
• Thus, there is a need for society to stand firmly
  against ideas that fuel terrorism, otherwise
  these ideas will gain legitimacy in the society