Terrorism in Kenya
Introduction
Kenya has been the battlefield of tragic terrorist attacks on western interests twice since 1998 – once in 1998 when the US embassy was attacked and a second time in 2002 when a Israeli-owned Paradise hotel was bombed. In 1980, Jewish-owned Norfolk hotel was attacked by the PLO. Every single attack shared a common thread of irony: the majority of the lives lost were Kenyan, even though the ideology behind the attacks suggests that Kenyan and Kenyans were not involved in the political dynamic that precipitated the attacks.
The paper seeks to understand the political, social and cultural variables that have thrown Kenya into the geo-political limelight insofar as the so-called ‘War on Terrorism’ is
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In 1980 terrorists linked to the Palestinian Liberation Organization attacked the Jewish-owned Norfolk hotel in Nairobi killing 15 people, most of them Kenyans.
In 1998, the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya and the one in neighboring Tanzania were bombed. According to official Kenyan government figures, 213 people were killed in the blast that gutted the U.S. Embassy building in downtown Nairobi. That included 12 American workers and 34 of their Kenyan colleagues, called "foreign service nationals [FSNs]." More than 4,000 Kenyans were also injured in the explosion.
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]
More recently, in May 2003, warnings of possible imminent attacks in Kenya were issued on by officials in Washington, London and Berlin. Britain ordered British airlines to halt flights to Kenya due to fears
During the night of September 11, 2012, a United States State Department Special Mission Compound, also known as the Diplomatic Compound, was attacked by a group of terrorists in Benghazi, Libya. The United States Ambassador, Christopher Stevens, stayed in the Diplomatic Compound, as his home in Benghazi, along with nine other people. State Department computer expert, Sean Smith, and three members of the “17 February militia,” also known as the “17 Feb” and five Diplomatic Security agents accompanied Ambassador Christopher Stevens. About a mile away from the Diplomatic Compound was the Annex. The Annex held six American security soldiers, the soldiers were: Dave Benton, Mark Geist, Kris Paronto, Jack Silva, John Tiegen, and Tyrone Woods. A group of terrorists went up to the front gate of the Diplomatic Compound and knocked it down with a rocket projectile that got shot out of a rocket launcher. The members of the “17 Feb”
On September 11, 2012, four Americans, including the U.S. Ambassador to Libya, were killed in an attack in Benghazi. The first attack happened at the American diplomatic compound. This attack killed the Ambassador, J. Christopher Stevens, and the U.S. Foreign Service Information Management Officer, Sean Smith. Multiple Libyan people condemned the attack as the Libyans were very fond of J. Christopher Stevens. There was a second attack at an annex compound one mile away and several hours later. After five hours of fighting, reinforcements finally arrived. This second attack killed CIA contractors, Tyrone S. Woods and Glen Doherty, and ten others were injured in
There were also Somali American’s that were killed in the bombing. Mohamoud Elmi, a Somali American from ohio was confirmed killed. The Second Somalia American was Ahmed Eyow, 50, who lived in Minnesota.
Terrorist followed through with an attack on a U.S compound in Libya. More specifically in the eastern region of Libya, a city which name has now become famous, Benghazi. Armed islamic radicals by sheer number over powered the Libyan security and American protection gaining access to the compound. After breaking through the compounds gates U.S Ambassador Chris Stevens and State Department information management officer Sean Smith secured themselves inside a safe room fortified by a metal door in the main building inside the compound. As the attack raged on outside the terrorist could not seem to break through the metal door refusing them access to the main building. Shortly after, the building was set on fire quickly engulfing both men in huge amounts of smoke and subsequently suffocating the two
On April 19th 1995 the worst terrorist attack on US soil took place in the heartland of America. The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma was targeted and almost completely blown to pieces by one enormous homemade bomb. The unthinkable had happened at the beginning of an average day at the office. This day would be remembered for the rest of America's history, unlike any other day, as a blatant attack on the United States government.
A recent newsworthy event that has happened is recent bombing of a college campus in Kenya. Ruthlessly armed attackers stormed Garissa University early on April 2, killing two security guards then firing aimlessly on students. At least 147 people, mostly students, have been killed in an attack. “He militants singled out Christians and shot them”, witnesses said
On March 30, 1981 John Hinckley Jr shot at the Then-President of the United States, Ronald Reagan, as he walked from the Washington Hilton Hotel to his limo. The President was hit in the armpit and two of his guards were also shot as well as his aide. President Reagan went into a 2-Hour surgery and survived the attempt on his life with a couple of scars. April 18, 1983 in Beirut, Lebanon, a man drove a truck into the US Embassy and detonated about 2,000 pounds of explosives. Instantly killing 63 people, including 13 American CIA operatives. Just a year before this brutal attack the military forces of the United States of America and some European nations stepped in to help the Lebanese government with the third part of their Civil War. The Lebanese Hezbollah and the Islamic Jihad Organization expressed a strong dislike for the American and Israeli forces on the outskirts of Beirut. The Islamic Jihad Organization later claimed responsibility for the bombing. In the aftermath of the attack the Then-Secretary of State George Shultz tasked a team with making sure that the overseas embassies were safe. Their result was the State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security and Diplomatic Security Service. On June 14, 1985 two gunman board a
Ling Silverstein F Block 3/6/24 Macbeth and his Masculinity Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, is known to be one of the most captivating, well-written pieces of literature in the world. The story of Macbeth is a tragedy of political ambition, about a brave Scottish general named Macbeth. Throughout the story, it becomes clear that Macbeth struggles to find confidence in himself, and often relies on others' words to find that courage. It is clear in the story that Macbeth is insecure about his masculinity and ends up making decisions that he thinks will make him more masculine. Macbeth is the Thane of Cawdor and strives to gain more power, eventually becoming king.
Two terrorist attacks, both at different times, and both unexpected occurred. One being before the 1960’s and the other after. In the early
On October 23, 1983, a massive explosion from a 19-ton truck full of explosives attacked military barracks and killed 241 servicemen (including 220 U.S. Marines) in Beirut, Lebanon. The blast was the biggest known non-nuclear explosion since World War II and was the "bloodiest day since Iowa Jima," according to Rick Hampson writing in USA Today.
Terrorist attacked U.S. Marine headquarters in Lebanon where a truck bomb exploded killing 241. Almost simultaneously, a second truck bomb exploded at a French paratroop barracks 2 miles away killing 58.
Since Sunday September 15, 1963, Birmingham received its nickname Bombingham. Many people would think that a church, a place of God, would be the last place to be blown to pieces. Four people lost their lives the day of the bombing. The enemy didn’t seem to care about the people inside but the color of their skin. The Birmingham church bombing also brought influential people, major details surrounding the crisis, a difference in society, and a change in history.
The 2002 October Bali bombings impacted the lives of thousands, not only the 202 people killed in the blast, but there families, friends and the people on the small island of Bali. Police presence in Bali sky rocketed and the Indonesian Government put in place strict protocol to make sure that an event like this never happend again, but it was too late, with the internet era news and pictures of the bombing quickly spread across the world. Hundreds of thousands of flights were cancelled to the holiday island, and with the US Government claiming that Al-Qaeda was directly involved in the bombing, the island was added to watchlists and some governments even strongly urged their citizens not to travel to the island. The islands visitor numbers
Acts of terrorism has greatly affected multiple countries, including the United States. The horrific events that took place on 9/11 left the American people shocked, devastated, and furious. Many innocent American’s lost their lives on this infamous day. While airports and airlines are not free from security breaches, a set of new security measures and requirements have been implemented by the International Air Transport Association and the International Civil Aviation Organization (Beirman, 2011). Increased security at airports and airlines, have left terrorists to target more vulnerable areas such as tourist destinations. Attacking tourists’ spots such as hotels, restaurants, nightclubs, conference venues and other forms
The perspective that Strategic Theorists have on the recent suicide bombing in Nigeria by terrorist cell Boko Haram would be that the intention of Boko Haram would not be that of pure rage and hatred but that of a strategic value. Nicholas Lemann highlights the views and some of the assumptions of this theory in his article What Terrorists Want. One of the main assumptions of strategic theory that this event does touch upon would be the assumption that Boko Haram has a political goal and their goal is to help create an Islamic state in Nigeria as especially northern Nigeria is a mainly Muslim population compared to the more Christian south of the country. What he would say about this event is that Boko Haram is not doing these bombings out of complete hatred for non-religious Nigerian Citizens but that they are doing this for a more complex reason, that they are part of a movement of using these bombings and conflict to create civil war and recruit people to create a wider Islamic State as a more ultimate goal. Boko Haram is allied with ISIL and shows that they are not just doing this out of pure rage but that they are serious about reaching their goal of a new Islamic state in Nigeria and aren’t just performing attacks like these out of pure rage like another theory in this article says. Another perspective of strategic theory especially in the case of the modern Islamic terrorists is that these terrorists recruit with these acts such as suicide bombings to show that not