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Crime and Terrorism

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Please help so I can complete the following:

Locate an example of a terrorist organization from the Foreign Terrorist Organization List
http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/fs/2002/12535.htm
Research your chosen terrorist organization. Include APA formatted citations and references for sources used in your research.
Discuss in 1,050-1,400 words, the following:

Explain the motivation of the selected terrorist organization.
How can this knowledge of the terrorist's motivation assist in planning counterterrorist strategy?
How do the motivations of terrorists differ from the motivations of other violent criminals, such as those who commit murder, rape, and domestic assault?
How might cultural, socioeconomic, or political factors lead someone to become a terrorist or a criminal?

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Solution Summary

Through an illustration example of a terrorist group, this solution explains the motivation of the organization, compares these with of other violent criminals, such as those who commit murder, rape, and domestic assault and then looks at how these motivations assists in planning counterterrorist strategy. It also discusses how cultural, socioeconomic, or political factors might lead someone to become a terrorist or a criminal. Supplemented with a Rand report on terrorism.

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Hi,

Interesting questions! Lets take a closer look at the questions, which you can draw on for your final copy. The questions can act as a tentative outline for your paper, which will be the body part of your paper. The paper will include an Introduction (e..g, include a purpose statement: the purpose of this paper is to...), Body (e.g. organized around the questions), Conclusion (e.g. restate purpose statement, sum up main points) and References (in APA format).

Let's take a closer look.

RESPONSE:

One approach to help you with a paper like this one is to look at relevant information from various sources, which you can then draw on for your final copy. I also attached an excellent APA resource. This is the approach this response takes.

Let's go with Al-Quaeda.

1. Explain the motivation of the selected terrorist organization?

Al-Quaeda (other ways to spell it as well), like other terrorist groups, has an evolving ideology and strategies, meaning that motivations often also evolve and change. According to Boyne, German and Pillar (2005), for example, terrorists see the world at a tipping point, and their goal is to devise an attack that will alter the status quo; that will throw the world into chaos, a cleansing war, a jihad. White Supremacists call it RAHOWA, short for Racial Holy War. Charles Manson called it Helter-Skelter. Whatever they call it, the terrorists believe that out of the chaos, their people will rise and dominate, either because God, or simply justice, is on their side (http://www.globalsecurity.org/security/library/report/2005/pub613.pdf).

Research suggest that Al-Queda's has evolved, and bin Laden has reported changing political aspirations over the years, but the theme underlying most spoken motivations is that Islam is the true religion and should be the dominating religion of the world. Some to these motivations and intentions listed in the literature are as follows:

(1) To resist the West and American domination and humiliation of the Muslims by fighting back (Bin Laden) e.g. also socio-economic because they fear domination of United States over their oil supply, for example.

For example, early Al-Quaeda attacks, such as that on American embassies in 1998 and even 9/11 itself, the broad motivations of those responsible were clear. Bin Laden made his own agenda clear in a series of public statements. The Islamic world was under attack from a belligerent West set on the domination and humiliation of Muslims, he said, and it was every believer's religious duty to fight back. It was not a case of 'hating freedom', he claimed, but of desiring freedom from supposed American-led oppression. He repeatedly listed the various parts of the world - Palestine, Kashmir, Chechnya, Afghanistan and, latterly, Iraq - where he felt Muslims were oppressed.

(2) Declaration of jihad (e.g., Holy war) (1990s against the western world)

E.g. In the early 1990s, Bin Laden emphasized his desire to secure the withdrawal of U.S. and other foreign troops from Saudi Arabia at all costs. The cornerstone of Bin Laden's religious rhetoric has remained consistent: Muslims should view themselves as a single nation and unite to resist anti-Islamic aggression on the basis of obligatory defensive jihad. (http://www.fas.org/irp/crs/RS21973.pdf).

(3) Bin Laden's attacks aimed to radicalize and mobilize the Islamic world (Western view)

E.g. The purpose of holing American warships or destroying the Twin Towers was primarily to scare or damage America, but was also intended to inspire those in the Muslim world who had hitherto rejected his extremist message. Bin Laden realized that many were pleased to see the US wounded and humiliated and went to great lengths to ensure that only targets that would be widely regarded as legitimate were hit. Suicide bombers were an integral part of this strategy, supposedly demonstrating the power and righteousness of their cause by their own self-sacrifice (http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1525351,00.html) .

(4) International Islamic Movement: World domination of Islam

Motivated to take over the world and to rule using Islam philosophy.

(5) Motivated to come against nations where there is a clash between two ideologies (e.g. argues that Western ideology interpret Al-Quaeda's motives differently than Al-Quaeda does) (http://www.fas.org/irp/crs/RS21973.pdf).

EXCERPT

Chris Brown, Professor of International Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science, considers whether the liberal West fully grasped the exact nature of the current threat, Osama bin Laden's ideology, and asks whether it is only capable of interpreting Al Qaeda's actions in Western terms (see session links below). He unpacks that ideology and the particular brand of radical Islam represented by Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda, arguing that the values espoused by Al Qaeda are inherently anti-progressive and not comparable to the revolutionary and nationalistic movements of the late twentieth century. Brown says this is a point caught by few contemporary writers of the left. Many regard the ideology of Al Qaeda as a place-holder for a much more ...

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