1. Terrorism & Political Violence
Topic Two
The General History of Terrorism
© William Eric Davis – All Rights Reserved

2. The 1st Recorded Case of Terrorism
In the year 48 A.D. a Jewish sect calling itself the “Zealots” carried out a campaign of terror hoping to spur an insurrection against Roman occupation of Judea (Israel/Palestine).
Their tactics were assassination with daggers of Roman soldiers along with specific Jewish collaborators.
This is the origin of the modern day term “zealot” – meaning a fanatical partisan. 2

3. Zealot Tactics
The Zealots were not capable of, and were not interested in, mass casualties.
They were not as much motivated by religion as they were nationalism – that is, to end foreign occupation of “their land.”
The objective was to send warnings to Roman officials, soldiers and collaborators by spreading fear among them. 3

4. The 5 Main Eras of Terrorism
I. Pre-French Revolution (48 A.D. – 1789)
II. Revolutionary/Anti-Colonial Terror ( )
III. State Terror ( )
IV. International Terror ( )
V. Religious & Mass Casualty Terror (1990-Present) 4

5. I. Pre-French Revolution Era (48 A.D. – 1789)
Note that the period is over 1700 years long.
Assassination was the tactic of choice (usually with a dagger) — where specific people were targeted rather than indiscriminate random attacks.
Terrorism was very rare and not related to religion very often. Main motivation was ethnic and tribal.
After the birth of Christianity and Islam, both having broken away from Judaism, the 3 religions got along relatively peacefully until a few centuries before the Crusades. 5

6. The Sicarii
The Sicarii (Ziccari, Siccari) was a jewish religious sect that fomented a popular uprising against Roman occupiers of Palestine between 66 and 70 A.D.
They struck in broad daylight with dagger attacks with plenty of witnesses to show the Romans could not protect themselves or their collaborators. The purpose was to provoke indiscriminate counter-measures by the Romans and they succeeded in this.
The Sicarii met their end at their last fortress at Masada in 70 A.D. when they all committed ritual murder and suicide rather than be taken prisoner. 6

7. The “Assassins”
Take their name from the Arab word for “hash eaters” -- “Hashashins.”
They were a division of a Shiite Muslim sect that appeared in the 11th century. The Mongols wiped them out in the 13th century, so they lasted 200 years.
The killed victims (mostly enemies) with golden daggers while under the influence of the drug (often while victim was asleep). The drug was meant to invoke visions of paradise before they set out on their missions.
They are the inspiration of the modern radical Islamic terrorists who believe they will ascend into heaven if killed while on a murderous holy war (jihad) mission. 7

8. The “Thuggee”( )
An Indian Hindu group whose 300 year existence introduced the word “thug” into several languages.
“Thugs” believed that Bhowani or ‘Kali the Black One’ bestowed success on the worthy but demanded the sacrifice of lives in return.
They strangled their victims with silk scarves in a ritualistic murder, often after encountering them on highways.
The choice of victim was random and indiscriminate. They chose targets of opportunity, not religious or philosophical enemies. They made no demands and did not target rulers or officials.
The British drove them underground in 1837 and they were extinct by 1857). 8

9. Thuggees (Thugs)

10. II. The Revolutionary/Anti-Colonial Terror Era (1789-1930)
This era began with the French revolution and also marks the rise and fall of colonialism.
It also begins “ideological” terrorism directed either internally at nation’s own population or outward toward other nation’s populations.
Many nations in the latter half of this period began to break apart.
Although the French revolutionary government used terror against its population, it was to secure revolutionary goals – so it can be considered state terror too, but that would identify a later period. 10

11. The French Revolution

12. Narodnaya Volya (“People’s Will”)
A revolutionary (and anarchist) group in Tsarist Russia (the group existed from ).
It began as a socialist movement but not like those that came later. The “People’s Will” desired the basic freedoms outlined in the US Bill-of-Rights.
They coined “propaganda by deed” – which means normal propaganda failed, so they escalated to terror (assassination). They were the first terrorists to use dynamite (almost a WMD) but took measures to avoid innocent deaths.
They killed Tsar Alexander II with a suicide dynamite attack. 12

13. III. The Era of State Terror (1930-1968)
Started with the Soviet Bolsheviks in Russia, which started out as revolutionary but quickly evolved into state terrorists by the time Stalin took over the USSR.
After the 1917 Russian revolution, the nation settled into a long period of totalitarianism, essentially replacing one oppressive regime (the Tsar) with another far worse one.
Germany under the Nazis (Hitler) in the 1930s & 1940s are another example of state terrorists. Various ideologies have been pursued by state terrorists. 13

14. State Terrorists
V. I. Lenin and Joseph Stalin
Adolph Hitler 14

15. IV. Era of International Terror (1968-1990)
This era began on July 22, 1968, when 3 armed Palestinian terrorists, belonging to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), hijacked an Israeli EL AL commercial flight from Rome to Tel Aviv, Israel.
The PFLP was Yassir Arafat’s group and was an Arab nationalist terror group seeking to drive the Jews out of Israel and set up an independent Palestinian nation. 15

16. King David Hotel in 1946
British Headquarters -- Attacked by Jewish Terror Group Irgun

17. The 1968 PFLP Plane Hijacking
It was not the first time a plane was hijacked, but several distinguishing characteristics mark it as unique:
It crossed national borders and was not meant to merely divert a plane’s destination from one point to another, but to trade the passengers for Palestinian terrorists held in Israeli prisons.
The origin and nationality of the airliner mattered and was deliberately targeted.
They terrorists forced the government of Israel to deal directly with them.
As a result of the hijacking and the way it was covered by the world media, terrorists learned of the power of “public” acts of terrorism and the media. 17

18. Yassir Arafat Longtime Leader of the PLO

19. Significance of 1968
The year 1968 also marks the year the United Nations and the international community lost the war on terror by not doing anything about it beyond some public criticism and, instead, deciding to choose up sides and support terrorists whose cause was favored.
We all would have be better off fighting a united front against all terrorists. 19

20. Munich Olympic Massacre September 5, 1972
“Black September” members abducted and eventually killed 11 Israeli athletes. Five terrorists and 1 German policeman died as well.

21. V. Era of Religious & Mass Casualties (1990-Present)
We see a decline in ideological/philosophical (secular) terrorism, which was primarily leftist (Marxist), and witness a rise in religious motivated terror.
Also, we see a change in tactics where there is a desire for mass casualties and a drive to get W.M.D. by the terror groups. 21

22. What Can We Expect in the Future?
More religious motivated attacks with mass casualties as the objective.
Radical Islamic Groups will be the most active, but possibly made more dangerous if joined by ideological groups like Marxist terror groups or nations.
A re-conceptualization of War where it no longer serves political/social/economic objectives so much, but instead a “clash of civilizations,” where the objective is to exterminate the evil enemy entirely. That is, war is not a means to a (political) goal, but is the goal itself. 22

23. What the World Must Now Do
The world must become more democratic or it will degenerate into more violence.
We cannot negotiate with terrorists because it only encourages more of it—to derive more concessions from nations.
Civilization (a system of peaceful resolution of disputes) depends on choosing correctly a strategy for fighting terrorism. 23

24. Defending Civilization
The first duty of all civilizations (cultures) is to create pockets of peace in which violence is not used as a means of obtaining goals.
The second duty is to defend these pockets against those who try to disrupt the peace, either from within or without.
Can we fight ruthlessness without becoming ruthless? If not, is it justified in defense of civilization? Does a civilization have a right to defend itself from those who use violence when they do not get what they want? 24

25. There will be no total victory against terrorism
The world will not return to a time without religious motivated mass casualty terrorism without a concerted & unified effort to destroy the terrorists. This is not likely. All we can hope for is to minimize the losses inflicted by terrorists & reduce the frequency of attacks. 25

26. A Philosophy of a War on Terror
“Terrorists are like cockroaches— you have to step on them. Cockroaches cannot be reasoned with and they have no use for democracy or diplomacy. The bugs are single-minded in their pursuit of the only thing they want, which in their case happens to be food. In the case of modern Islamic terrorists, they seek no less than the total destruction of their enemies. They seek an irrational and unrealizable goal, to be sure, but modern terrorists are less rational than those of a few decades ago.”
William Eric Davis--The Road to Evil.

27. Propaganda Uses of the Media
1. Instill fear in a mass audience
2. Polarize public opinion
3. Gain publicity by agreeing to interviews
4. Demand publication of a manifesto
5. Provoke government overreaction
6. Spread false and misleading information
7. Bring about the release of prisoners
8. Attract converts and support to the cause
9. Intimidate/coerce the media by assaulting journalists
10. Profit from “free advertising”
11. Discredit public officials being held hostage
12. Divert public attention by bombing way onto front pages
13. Use the media to send messages to comrades in another country
14. Excite public against the legitimate government
15. Bolster the terror group’s morale
16. Gain the Robin Hood image by fighting “injustice”
17. Obtain information on counter-terrorist strategies
18. Identify future victims
19. Acquire information about popular support for the terror group
20. Exploit the exaggerated media image of a powerful, omnipotent group.