Terrorism

Over the past decades suicide terrorism has confirmed its effective tactic and it is seem to be developing and growing movement. Terrorism is designed to cause panic within people, communities and countries but also to gain the publicity through media. Suicide terrorism, more than other forms of terrorist activities is presenting determination and dedication both of dying by individual terrorist as well as the desire to kill innocent people. Suicide terrorism is an attractive tool for terrorist activities with guarantee media publicity with the international dimension. The aim of the attacks is to draw attention of governments, international organisations and

Iran gave direct support to Hezbollah through the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. Hezbollah opposed Lebanon because it was supported by Israel and the United States, and in 1985 it issued its political agenda through the “Open Letter to the Downtrodden in Lebanon and in the World.”# In 1989, the Taif Accord emerged and the Lebanese Civil War ended in 1990 when Syrian troops moved into parts of Lebanon that were not occupied by Israel. The Taif Accord balanced powers between Christians and Muslims in Lebanon, and overall tried to maneuver equality amongst both groups although Sunni elites were given the dominant role. After the Taif Accord, economic conditions continued to worsen and many began to underestimate the ability of Syria to control Lebanon. Syria then made the strategic move to promote Rafiq al-Hariri in 1992 to rescue Lebanon from its eventual demise. Hariri was able to boost the economy and revive morale in the Sunni communities. By the 1990s Hariri was capable of governing Lebanon independent of Syria. This began a decline of Syrian support for him, and a decline of Sunni dominance. After Hariri’s assassination in 2005, Syria was able to grasp control of Lebanon once more, and enabled Hezbollah to demonstrate a larger role. First existing as a revolutionary Islamist movement,

Suicide terrorism is frequently associated with irrational behavior. In the article “The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism” written by Robert A. Pape, he asserts that suicide terrorism are strategies of rational thinking. Furthermore, he claims that leaders of terrorist organizations utilize suicide terrorism, as a form of coercion. Thus, he characterizes suicide terrorism as a rational and strategic act amongst the leaders of terrorist organizations to achieve their political objectives. Although Pape constructed a significant correlation between coercion, suicide terrorism, and success. The article, however, fails to present a well-balanced argument, opposing viewpoints, and lacked sufficient

During the Iraq war, Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), the United States was introduced to suicide terrorism, which was used to threaten and exterminate the Iraqi security forces and to start a civil war amongst the Shi’i and Sunni Muslims (Hafez 2006). To dictate when a suicide attack is approaching, there are two developments that are involved: one is on the battlefield and the other in the political arena (Hafez 2006). On the battlefield, insurgents want to show their enemies and supporting audience they will not be intimidated, nor will they surrender their motives in the face of repression (Hafez 2006). In the public arena, suicidal terrorism arose “after the January 2005 elections for an assembly to draft a new Iraqi constitution, endorsement

Following the Algiers Accords, the first terrorism related U.S. sanctions were put in place against Iran following a series of Iran supported terrorist attacks by Hezbollah in 1983. Hezbollah or “Party of God” is an extremist political religious movement based in Lebanon. In the early 1980s, Iran helped create Hezbollah by providing funding, training, and the indoctrination of new members into what, until then, was a “fledgling movement.” Initially, Hezbollah was created and sponsored by Iran as a “form of resistance” to Israeli presence in southern Lebanon. However, Hezbollah’s dedication to the creation of an “Iran-style Islamic republic” in Lebanon has led Hezbollah to seek the removal of all non-Islamic influences

Hezbollah was labeled a Foreign Terrorist Organization (F.T.O.) in 1997 by the U.S. Then, in 2006, Hezbollah and Israel had a 33-Day War, in which both sides bombed each other. There was no apparent “winner” of the war, and both sides were left for the most part intact. There is still tension between Israel and Hezbollah to this day, and tensions are rising between the two groups all the time.

The use of the Hezbollah has greatly added to the continuation of the Arab-Israeli conflict and has limited cooperation in all regions. The Hezbollah also attracted U.S. attention after a suicide bomber killed over two hundred Marines in Beirut.

Initially, Gordon H. McCormick and Lindsay Fritz, introduce Hanadi Jaradat and her suicide attack during the Second Intifada (140). Jaradat was a law student with great potential however she resorted to detonating 22 pounds of explosives in an Israeli dinner. Her drive to do this heinous act was later explained to be retaliatory, her ”brother and fiance had been shot by an Israeli assassination squad” (145). This introduces that terrorism can be used in two strategic ways, political coercion and political mobilization, the intifada being an example of the latter. In the first, the audience being the state, terrorism is used to enter negotiations. In the second, the audience being constituents, terrorism is used to rally popular support.

Hezbollah is a Shiit Islamic political and paramilitary organization based in Lebanon. This organization is a political and military force. According to The Council on Foreign Relations, “Hezbollah (or "Party of God") emerged during Lebanon's fifteen-year-long civil war (1975–1990) in the aftermath of Israel's invasion in 1982 and subsequent occupation” (Masters, 2014). Hezbollah is fighting against Israel and “western imperialism” in Lebanon. This means that they wanted dominance over Israel. Hezbollah’s origins and ideology form from the Iranian Revolution. “The revolution called for a religious Muslim government that would represent the oppressed and downtrodden” states (Hezbollah: History & Overview). One of the reasons why Hezbollah is

Israel’s primary strategy in terms of countering terrorism is to use force to eliminate threats to its sovereignty and security. Initially, Israel sought to occupy southern Lebanon as a response to the Abu Nidal Organization’s attempted assassination on the Israeli Prime Minister to the United Kingdom. This initial occupation had no relationship to Hezbollah, but is the source of Hezbollah’s establishment. Occupation to suppress violence falls under Audrey Cronin’s category of repression in her study of the decline and demise of terrorist organizations, How Terrorism Ends. Repression is usually a knee-jerk reaction that seems to be less promising in terms of effectiveness than other strategies.

Israel was not the only foreigner in Lebanon. The United Nations also, had French and American soldiers stationed in Lebanon as UN peacekeepers (Byers, 2003). This did not, please Hezbollah, who wanted all foreigners off Lebanese soil. On April 18, 1983, Hezbollah finally struck. A Hezbollah operative drove an explosive laden van into the U.S. embassy in Beirut, Lebanon killing sixty-three individuals (Byers). Encouraged by this success Hezbollah then struck again on October 23, 1986, using suicide bombers in vehicles to blow up both the U.S. Marine Barracks and the French Paratroop Barracks, killing 241 Americans and 58 French. By, February 26, 1984, just four months after the devastating attack on the Marine Barracks the United States pulled its forces out of Lebanon (Byers).

In 1981, a large suicide bombing occurred in Lebanon during a civil war between Christians and Muslims, which was known to be the world’s first largest suicide bombing to occur in mankind. Indeed, ever since that tragic experience the world has seen a rise of such tactics over the following decades. With the bombings that have occurred over time, researchers came up with the conclusion that most of these bombings are caused by adolescents. For instance, Patrick Markey asserts in a 2016 article that “Teenagers are easier to recruit for suicide missions (Markey, "Child Suicide-Bombings Increasingly Used in Militant Attacks", 2016)…” Due to this revelation many pose the question "What propels these youngsters to damage themselves as well as other people?" Well one would contend that the main thrust behind youthful suicide bombers would be the inspiration

In the late 1960s secular movements such as Liberation of Palestine started targeting civilians outside the immediate area of conflict. Once Palestine leaders realized they could not defeat Israel using military forces alone. This is where they moved away from classic guerrilla warfare towards urban terrorism. Radical Palestinians took advantage of modernized communication systems to launch a series of hijackings, kidnappings, bombings, and shootings (Moore, 2014). These movements provided a model for numerous other secular militants and religious movements which resulted in the spread of terrorist techniques worldwide at the end of the 1970s.

They forced the Israeli forces from the majority of southern Lebanon other than the Sheeba Farm and Hezbollah was able to remain in the area and take a stronger foothold of the area. Its guerrilla tactics are largely believed to be responsible for the removal of Israeli forces. It has continued to increase its weapons arsenal. (Talbot, 2008) The weapons Hezbollah maintains are significant and include several offensive weapons platforms. It is estimated that Hezbollah maintains 10 to 12 thousand missiles of which about 8 thousand of them are Katyusha rockets capable of reaching far into Israel. These rockets are supplied by Iran. The biggest concern for Israel is Hezbollah’s Zelzal-2 heavy artillery rockets capable of reaching Tel Aviv. Iran provides expertise and command and control of these systems to help Hezbollah. Israel destroyed large parts of the missile system during the 2006 war but it is believed many missiles remain. Hezbollah has the capability to hit all of Israel’s largest cities with these weapons. (Talbot, 2008) Having these weapons and the knowledge to use them is of great concern to Israel but also American interests in the region. They have proven in the past they will attack American interests and because of this there influence and Iranian backing cannot be

In 2002, three suicide bombers attacked an Israeli-owned hotel, killing 11 Kenyans, 3 Israelis and wounding dozens. Almost simultaneously, at least two missiles were fired at - but missed - an Israeli airliner taking off from Mombasa airport. A previously unknown militant group calling itself The Government of Universal Palestine in Exile, The Army of Palestine, issued a statement in Lebanon claiming responsibility saying the operations were timed to mark the eve of the anniversary of the Nov. 29, 1947, decision by the United Nations to partition Palestine and allow creation of a Jewish state.[2]