Current Issues Terrorism Policy:

Bell Work Review: What is an Islamic Fundamentalist? What are the different sects of Islam- what’s

the difference between the two?Preview: What areas of the globe are current hot

spots for Al-Qaeda? What is the difference between hard targets

and soft targets? What is the idea behind “state sponsored”

terrorism?

CURRENT ISSUES: TERRORISM POLICY DEBATE

Resolved: The United States foreign policy regarding terrorism should focus on

terrorist activity located within Afghanistan rather than on nation building within Iraq…

Relevant and Potential Topics (areas to focus on):

History of Islamic Fundamentalism

Iraq Wars (Desert Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom)

Al Qaeda- motives, leadership

Events of September 11, 2001

War in Afghanistan October 2001 to the present

Iraqi interlude Organizational operations…

hard vs. soft targets Recent Terrorist Attacks

(Mumbai, Ft. Hood,

Christmas Day 2009)

History of Islamic

Fundamentalism

Holy Land Dispute

Middle Ages to the present (meeting of the world’s 3 largest religions: Judaism, Christianity, Islam)

Fight over the Holy Lands- persistent conflict over the areas involving Jerusalem, Modern Day Israel, Gaza Strip, and Golan Heights

Exacerbated by the creation of the Jewish state of Israel

Palestinian individuals already there (East bank, Gaza Strip)

Israel in constant defense of its homeland- 7 Days War, etc (Egypt)

Aside from state sponsored attacks, terrorists attacks begin (Munich 1972- Black October)

US Middle Eastern Involvement US supports creation of Israeli state- largest

source of international funding Shah of Iran is deposed- Ayatollah Khomeini

(Shia) preaches that the United States is the “Great Satan” due to its sponsorship of Israel

1979- US Embassy is attacked- hostages are taken for 444 days.

Iran and Iraq War: 1980-1988- US supports Iraq but negotiates deal with Iran for hostages

Iraq Wars

After Iran War- Saddam Hussein attacks Kuwait (radical rebuilding process- Kuwait truly apart of Iraq)

Threatens Saudi Arabia- US and a large coalition of international states protect Saudi Arabia

Shield to Storm: Coalition rolls back the gains of Iraq (stops short of removing Saddam)

Saddam has sanctions placed against him and remains largely powerless (despite occasional missions to weaken him)

Birth of Al Qaeda

Osama Bin Laden- born to a rich wealthy family in Saudi Arabia (involved in construction for oil manufacturing)- later his family will disown him due to radical ideas.

Develops military prowess by stopping a Soviet invasion of Afghanistan (US supports the Taliban- anti-Soviet).

Upset by US occupation in Saudi Arabia- develops Al Qaeda (the base)- fundamentalist Sunni

From former CIA analyst, Bruce Riedel,

“The Bush administration deliberately conflated the Al Qaeda threat with the problem posed by Saddam's Iraq. Then [they] deepened the confusion with the claim that Al Qaeda hated the United States because of our freedoms and our way of life. As [Osama] bin Ladin has said, if that were the case, Al Qaeda would have attacked Sweden. So what is it that motivates AQ and the terrorists that belong to it? A sense that the Islamic world has been under systematic attack by the West for the last century, and that in order to defend itself from Western attack, the Islamic world has to take the war to the United States and its allies in order to drag them into quagmires that will bleed them until they finally admit defeat and leave Islamic world.”

Birth of Al Qaeda

First attack occurs against the USS Cole, American Embassies in Africa.

September 11, 2001.

War in Afghanistan October 2001

Similar to the Doolittle Raids of WWII, the United States attacked Afghanistan with the purpose of removing the Taliban (also aid Northern Alliance)

US scatters Taliban and Al Qaeda operatives (chase to the border of Pakistan)

US has a chance to kill Bin Laden with a drone attack (go against it since a ranking Pakistani individual is present)

Iraq War Part II and Afghanistan again

Using justification of Saddam developing WMDs (had not inspected Iraq since 1998), US goes to war with a much smaller coalition.

Justification- Nigerian Weapons Grade Uranium, supposed meeting with Iraqi and Al-Qaeda operatives in Hamburg, Germany.

Despite removing Saddam, war allows the Taliban to regroup in Afghanistan and Pakistan

Organizational operations… hard vs soft targets

Riedel: “Al Qaeda remains the world's first truly global terrorist organization. Think of it as a multinational corporation. It has a CEO and deputy CEO and a propaganda apparatus all headquartered in Pakistan, with franchise operations in Saudi Arabia, in Iraq, another in Yemen, another in North Africa—then with cells throughout the Muslim diaspora in Western Europe, particularly in the U.K. And its tradecraft—its way of doing business, if you like—is very sophisticated. It's a relatively small organization—thousands but not tens of thousands—but one which has been able in the seven years since 2001 to attack literally across the globe, from one end of the Islamic world to another, with "raids," as they call them, into Western Europe”.

Organizational operations… hard vs soft targets

Goals- recreate the Ottoman empire and a Islamic controlled Middle East- want the Western world to leave the Middle East

Due to a weakened operational base: have begun to focus on soft targets (hotels- Mumbai, airplanes, nightclubs) rather than hard targets- heavy security groups.

Possible Policies Regarding Terrorism

The United States was correct in targeting Iraq to send a message to the rest of the world regarding tyrannical regimes.

Pro- has proven to send messages to Libya regarding WMDs; Iraq has made increasing gains due to a surge that helped stabilize important areas.

Con- weren’t justified. No significant WMDs found, no connection between Al Qaeda and Saddam’s regime.

Possible Policies Regarding Terrorism

The US dropped the ball regarding the war on terror and should have targeted the source: Al-Qaeda.

Pro- US could have destroyed Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, but focused on Iraq.

Con- Is a war on terror even winnable? Wars could be too expensive.

Possible Policies Regarding Terrorism

Neither military option would help with the war on terror; instead the United States should focus on humanitarian efforts to help broaden American international appeal.

Pro- helps with international appeal and could change the image of the United States (less US casualties)

Con-Terrorists could claim victory, US needs to focus on the US economy rather than the international community

Possible Policies Regarding Terrorism

The US should continue to focus on both areas (Afghanistan and Iraq) and try to optimize nation building in both countries.

Pro- finish the job we already started- can’t simply abandon Iraq with the increased threat from Iran.

Con- plays into the Al-Qaeda strategy of bleeding the west.

Possible Policies Regarding Terrorism

Given the rather dire situations in both areas, the US should retract from world affairs and focus on domestic issues.

Pro- low US casualties, less expenditure, more help for the economy

Con- Terrorists win, could be an international backlash (lone Superpower) opens the door for China.