The History of Terrorism Part 1 - Canadian Armed Forces in the New Millenium (Part 3)

Terrorism has been around for centuries.

During biblical times, the first recorded acts of what we now call terrorism were perpetuated by a radical offshoot of the Zealots. This group, active at the time of Christ, was known to use daggers to assassinate Romans and any Jews who collaborated with them in broad daylight, often in public places such as crowded markets or on feast days. Like modern terrorism, the Zealots actions were intended to send a message to masses.

During the crusades, a group of Muslims called the Assassins emerged. Viewing self-sacrifice and martyrdom as a way to ascend to heaven, this group used the same methods as the Zealots in their fight against the Christian Crusaders who had invaded what is modern day Syria.

Toward the end of the French revolution (1789-1799), a new trend in terrorism began to emerge. Until this point, most terrorism had been religious based but in the 1800s nationalism, anarchism, Marxism, and other political movements started to appear. Initially antimonarchical, rebels used modern terrorism in the latter part of the French Revolution.

During the same period, a group calling themselves The People’s Will were active in Russia. Selecting targets that represented the state’s power base, the group embraced a philosophy of “propaganda by the deed”, educating the people about inequities imposed by the state and attempting to rally support for revolution. Some of their more notable targets were the governor-general of Saint Petersburg, the head of the secret police, and even Tsar Alexander II.

The assignation of the tsar inspired another group who got together to discuss how to create a worldwide revolution. Known as Black International, their goal was to coordinate and support a worldwide terrorist campaign designed to overthrow both monarchies and democratically elected government. During the first 20 or so years after their formation in 1881, the anarchists were successful in assassinating United States president McKinley, the president of France and Spain’s prime minister, Empress Elisabeth of Austria and King Humbert I of Italy. Anarchists are also accused of fomenting labour unrest in the United States in which many of the disputes turned violent.

Perhaps the greatest example of the effects terrorism can have on a modern society is the assignation of Austrian archduke Francis Ferdinand. While on a visit to Sarajevo, Bosnia he was gunned down by a Bosnian Serb radical with close ties to Serbia, Austria’s enemy. This act is credited with starting World War One.

Terrorism Evolves

Between WWI and WWII, the rise of totalitarian regimes that employed terror as a means of controlling the people overshadowed acts of terror by individuals. State sponsored death squads, beatings and torture became the norm in many countries.

After WWII, terrorism once again became a revolutionary tool. At the forefront was the use of terrorism as a weapon against colonialism. One of the deadliest attacks of the period was the bombing of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem by Irgun Zvai Le’umi (National Military Organization) in 1946. The bombing, which took place because the hotel housed the military and administration offices of the British in Palestine, killed ninety-one people and injured forty-five more. Also of note was the fact that this terrorist group was led by Menachem Begin, who would one day become the Prime Minister of Israel and would win the Nobel Peace Prize in 1978.

As time progressed, terrorism started to evolve from a revolutionary tool and started to assume more ideological motivations. Many groups and factions attempted to use terror as a way to draw attention to their cause.

In the mid 1960s terror took on a new and even deadlier role.

Going Global

In 1966, Cuba held a conference that would change the world. Sponsored by the Soviet Union, the Tri-Continental Conference brought together terrorist groups from all over the world. Groups from the Middle-East, Europe, Asia and Latin America formed alliances and began to work together. Organizations such as the German Red Army Faction allied with the French Action Direct, the Italian Red Army Brigade and the Palestinian Black September while the Japanese Red Army allied with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). These alliances included financial, political, operational and intelligence cooperation. Cuba also became a training ground for many of these groups.

On July 28, 1968, three men from the PFLP hijacked an Israeli airliner enroute from Rome to Tel Aviv. Commercial airplanes had been hijacked in the past but this was the first political hijacking to have occurred. This was also the first recorded terrorist act to have originated outside the country involved.

Two years later, the group staged an even more spectacular attack. Hijacking one Swiss and two American planes, the group flew them to Jordan where they proceeded to blow them up after evacuating the hostages. This was strictly a media event designed to broadcast their cause to the entire world. This was also the first time that innocent civilians from countries not involved in the particular conflict were targeted.

During the 60s and 70s, terrorist organizations quickly learned how to take advantage of the growing areas of international travel and communications. Many incidents were designed to get the maximum amount of TV and newspaper coverage to reach a wider audience.

The most infamous example of this was the killing of eleven Israeli athletes by Black September during the 1972 Munich Olympic Games. The world watched in horror as the grisly events unfolded, ending in a botched rescue attempt by the German police that saw all the hostages, terrorists and one German police officer killed.

Terrorism came full circle in 1979 with the rise of the Ayatollah Khomeini in Iran. Once again, religion became the driving force behind terrorist attacks. This was further hastened by the collapse of the Soviet Union and the loss of their ideological, material and financial support.

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