International Terrorism
1. In the Middle East, violence is prevalent for almost thousands of centuries. At present, violence is still existent and glimpse of peace is quite out of whack. The prevalent violence in Middle East has been brought by three reasons namely; oil, religion and support for corrupt government or form of governance.
With the present situation of the Middle East, it seems that oil is the foremost reason responsible for the undying violence in the Middle East. Middle East is known for its richness of oil. The whole world, on the other hand, is undoubtedly dependent upon the oil reserves produced in Middle East. Notably, oil is essential in almost all phases of human’s needs. Oil is essential in operating machines, vehicles, producing energy, and many more. It is also noteworthy that America is the world’s leading consumer of oil (Reasons of Violence in Middle East, Apache). The violence enters the picture in many ways. It creates turmoil inside the country and at the same time provokes foreign intervention.
In the case of internal violence, the monopoly of chosen few over the production of oil creates unfair competition in the market. In addition, the government may also control the oil production. As to external source of violence, foreign nations come into picture. America for example has control over the land through the multinational corporation investing in the production of oil. Through the determination to monopolize and gain control over the oil reserves, foreign nations tends to pressure Middle East nations on account of terrorism or government corruption. There are hidden interests of the foreign nations. This is the present situation that continues to imperil peace process in the Middle East.
In securing lasting peace in Middle East, it is necessary the there should be determination and perseverance among the parties (Ginat, perkins, and Corr, 2002). Aside from that, the violent responses like bombing, assassinations and kidnapping should be stopped. Lastly, the peace negotiators should be very willing to listen and understand the point of view of each parties and compromise on one thing.
2. Hamas is an acronym for Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya which means Islamic resistant movement (Levitt, Washington Institute for Near East Policy, and Ross, 2007). The movement was established in 1987 as a Palestine Islamist group (Levitt, Washington Institute for Near East Policy, and Ross, 2007). The goal of the group is to eliminate the state of Israel and establish its own state in the territory known as British Mandatory Palestine, which is now occupied by Israel, West bank, and Gaza Strip (Levitt, Washington Institute for Near East Policy, and Ross, 2007). Hezbollah, on the other hand, means “Party of God” (Hezbollah, Global Security). The group was established after Israel seized Lebanon in 1982 fro the purpose of resisting Israel occupation in the nation (Hezbollah, Global Security). Eventually, it grew to be a terrorist group because of its involvement in killing foreign nationals and bombings. Both organization involved jihad in order to justify their actions and by recruiting more members of their organizations. Meanwhile, jihad is purposely to resist foreign control but has interpreted today as resistance against international order dominated by United States and its allies (Ayoob, 2007). Today, Islamic Jihad ahs formed into an organization with the purpose of resisting foreign control and in upholding Islamic belief.
The three organizations are similar as to the purpose and goal. The groups are Islamist national resistance that has developed through times as terrorist groups (Ayoob, 2007). In addition, Hezbollah and Hamas were resistance groups against Israel control but Hezbollah turned into a terrorist by targeting not just Jews but also other foreign nationals, especially Americans. Interestingly, Hamas and Hezbollah were not primarily grounded on religious extremism, unlike Islamic Jihad which has been justified through Islamic belief.
With the linkage of the groups to terrorism and to Al-Qaeda, they should be considered as a threat to U.S. There should also be no need to negotiate with the groups because of their extremism in their organizations’ mission.
3. In Turkey, the population is composed mostly by Kurds. Despite the fact that Kurdish is the mother tongue in the country, the Kurds were not recognized and the practice of their customs were not allowed in the whole Turkey (Heiberg, O’Leary, and Tirman, 2007). Kurdish was not allowed to be used in schools, in radio and in media. In addition, the economic status of the area occupied by most Kurds was never given attention by the government. Hence, they were politically, culturally, economically, and socially discriminated. Through the status, many Kurds cannot stand the government’s heedless attention to their needs. Consequently, the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) was established under the leadership of Ocalan (Haney). The PKK has been the revolutionary group voicing out the needs of the Kurds.
The conflict that existed involved the nation of Turkey and the Kurds. The conflict has been created by the impediment on the use of Kurdish language and the non- recognition of the minority Kurds in the state by the Turkey government. After a long battle, they deserve to own their own state. Notably, despite being controlled by Iraq and by Turkish, the Kurds remained to be separate and distinct as to their identity. Through their identity, they deserve to have their own nation state and control their own people through their own belief and practices. In addition, having their own state would prove their authority and their rights to the oil reserves and resources in a country founded by their ancestors. For such reasons, the Kurds deserve to have their own nation state.
4. After the 9/11 terrorist attack, the names Osam bin Laden and Al-Qaeda reverberated in the international community. The 9/11 was linked to Osama bin Laden who was concluded as the founder of the Al-Qaeda terrorist group. The existence of Al- Qaeda began during the time when Soviet occupied Afghanistan (Hayes, Brunner, and Rowen). Members of Al-Qaeda were named as mujahideens fighting against the foreign and protecting the Muslims (Hayes, Brunner, and Rowen). Osama bin Laden was the financier of the group. Obama moved to Saudi Arabia but was eventually expelled because of pressures from the government and form U.S. (Hayes, Brunner, and Rowen). Osama bin Laden established Al-Qaeda headquarter in Khartoum, Sudan (Hayes, Brunner, and Rowen). The group was involved in several terrorist attacks and bin Laden further declared war against U.S. (Hayes, Brunner, and Rowen). Eventually, bin Laden founded Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and trained members of the group.
Osama bin Laden initiated the group for the purposes of driving away Americans and American influence in the Muslim country and also to unite all Muslims to adhere to the rule of the first Caliphs (Hayes, Brunner, and Rowen). In carrying out his plans, many attacks have been fulfilled. The remarkable attacks propounded by the group include the bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993 (Hayes, Brunner, and Rowen). In 1996, the group also blasted off a truck outside the Khobar Towers military complex in Saudi Arabia which caused 19 lives of American servicemen (Hayes, Brunner, and Rowen). In 1998, the group also attacked U.S. Embassies in East Africa killing 224 innocent people, 12 of whom were Americans (Hayes, Brunner, and Rowen). In 2000, the USS Cole in Yemen exploded killing 17 American sailors (Hayes, Brunner, and Rowen). Remarkably, in Sept. 11, 2001, the group was known to have caused thousands of lives after the twin towers in America were attacked by suicide bombers. Furthermore, in 2005 the group exploded three trains in London that caused 52 lives.
As a response to the detrimental and threats caused by the group, America initiated the war against them and against terrorism. The very root of terrorism was bombarded until nothing was left but destruction. Today, the terrorism may seem to have been defeated. In order that peace and security be ensured, American should not negotiate with the group; instead it should eliminate any shadow of terrorism in the country in neighboring countries.
5. As you consider everything you have learned about international terrorism, in your opinion what are the most important facts or elements of the material that can be instructive for American foreign policy or counterterrorism efforts? Is there anything you have learned or have come to believe (about threats, opportunities, etc) through this course which you sense is not taken seriously enough or even considered by government officials? What would characterize your approach to terrorism if you were in a position to advise the President or other high-ranking government officials?
As for me, I consider religion and extremism in studying terrorism. In making counterterrorism policies, it is essential to consider all about the country and the group known to have been associated with terrorism. Before making any anti-terrorism activities, it is necessary that such act would not be perceived by the public as abusive use of power. It is essential to make every move justifiable and supported by law. In addition, it is necessary to win the support of foreign nations which can be used as a haven for terrorist. The act of U.S. today by enacting laws in preparing the nation for any terrorist attack is necessary. The lapses that led to the perfection of the 9/11 attack should be considered. Hence, national security should be given paramount importance. Significantly, it is necessary to continue the peace process in the Middle East and in building bridges among the nations in Middle East in order that their participation in fighting terrorism would be obtained. Hence, counter-terrorism would materialize through the effort and active participation of Arab nations who are familiar with the terrorist groups.
References
APACHE. (2008). Reasons of Violence in Middle East. Retrieved December 15, 2008, from http://www.k12.hi.us/~mrooney/Joshua/assignment7.html.
Ayoob, M. (2007). The Many Faces of Political Islam: Religion and Politics in the Muslim World. University of Michigan Press.
Ginat, J., Perkins, E. J., and Corr, E. G. (2002). The Middle East Peace Process: Vision Versus Reality. University of Oklahoma Press.
Global Security.Org. (2008). Hezbollah Party of God. Retrieved December 15, 2008, from http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/hizballah.htm
Haney, E. (2 March 1999). Info Please.com. Understanding the Turkey-Kurd Conflict. Retrieved December 15, 2008, from http://www.infoplease.com/spot/kurds1.html
Hayes, L., Brunner, B., and Rowen, B. (2008). Info Please.com. Al-Qaeda: Osama bin Laden’s Network of Terror. Retrieved December 15, 2008 from http://www.infoplease.com/spot/al-qaeda-terrorism.html
Heiberg, M., O’Leary, B., and Tirman, J. (2007). Terror, Insurgency, and the State: Ending Protracted Conflicts. University of Pennsylvania Press.
Levitt, M., Washington Institute for Near East Policy, and Ross, D. (2007). Hamas: Politics, Charity, and Terrorism in the Service of Jihad. New Haven: Yale University Press.
