IV. Give a title to the text and respond to the following: what do you associate the term “terrorism” with and how are the acts of terrorism different from other acts of violence?

Terrorism – the systematic use of terror or unpredictable violence against governments, publics or individuals to attain a political objective. Terrorisms been used by political organizations with both rightist and leftist objectives, by nationalistic and ethnic groups, by revolutionaries, and by the armies and secret police of governments themselves.

The ancient Greek historian Xenophon (430 – 349 B.C.) wrote of the effectiveness of psychological warfare against enemy populations. Roman emperors (Tiberius, Caligula) used banishment, expropriation of property, and execution as means to discourage opposition to their rule. The Spanish Inquisition used arbitrary arrest, torture, and execution to punish what it viewed as religious heresy. The use of terror was openly advocated by Robespierre as a means of encouraging revolutionary virtue during the French Revolution, leading to the period of his political dominance called the Reign of terror (1793 - 1794). In the latter half of 19th century terrorism was adopted by adherents of anarchism in Western Europe, Russia and the USA. They believed that the best way to effect revolutionary political and social change was to assassinate persons in positions of power. From 1865 to 1905 a number of kings, presidents, MPs and other government officials were killed by anarchists guns or bombs.

The 20th century witnessed great changes in the use and practice of terrorism. Technological advances such as automatic weapons and compact electrically detonated explosives gave terrorists a new mobility and lethality. Terrorism was adopted as virtually a state policy, though an unacknowledged one, by such totalitarian regimes as those of Nazi Germany (Hitler) and SU under Stalin. In these states arrests, imprisonment, torture and execution were applied without legal adherence to the national ideology and the declared economic, social and political goals of the state.

Terrorism most common become identified, however, with individuals or group attempting to destabilize or overthrow existing political institutions. Terrorisms been used by one or both sides in anticolonial conflicts (Ireland and UK, Algeria and France, Vietnam and France or US), in disputes between different national groups over position of a contested home land (Palestinians and Israel), in conflicts between different religious denominations (Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland), and in internal conflicts between evolutionary forces and established governments (Malaysia and Indonesia, the Philippines, Iran, Argentine...)

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TERROR ACTS ALL OVER THE WORLD

Countries all over the world have united in the common cause against terrorism. This unique solidarity must be sustained and supported also through dialogue of countries.

I. Study a brief chronology of the significant terrorist incidents /1970 - 2000/ and answer the questions after it.

U.S. Agency for International Development Adviser Kidnapped, July 31, 1970: In Montevideo, Uruguay, the Tupamaros terrorist group kidnapped USAID Police adviser Dan Mitrione; his body was found on August 10.

Naval Officer Assassinated in Greece, November 15, 1983: A U.S. Navy officer was shot by the November 17 terrorist group in Athens, Greece, while his car was stopped at a traffic light.

Berlin Discoteque Bombing, April 5, 1986: Two U.S. soldiers were killed, and 79 American servicemen were injured in a Libyan bomb attack on a nightclub in West Berlin, West Germany. In retaliation, U.S. military jets bombed targets in and around Tripoli and Benghazi.

Hutu Abductions, March 1, 1999: 150 armed Hutu rebels attacked three tourist camps in Uganda, killed four Ugandans, and abducted three U.S. citizens, six Britons, three New Zealanders, two Danish citizens, one Australian, and one Canadian national. Two of the U.S. citizens and six of the other hostages were subsequently killed by their abductors.

Car bombing in Spain, January 27, 2000: Police officials reported unidentified individuals set fire to a Citroen car dealership in Iturreta, causing extensive damage to the building and destroying 12 vehicles. The attack bore the hallmark of the Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA).