Terrorism

An overview
By Martha Bohnenberger
D. R. Hill Middle

What is
terrorism?

Definitions

Encyclopedia Britannica

The systematic use of terror (such as bombings, killings, and

kidnappings) as a means of forcing some political objective. When
used by a government, it may signal efforts to stifle dissent; used by
insurrectionists or guerrillas, it many be part of an overall effort to
effect desired political change.

Websters II New Riverside

University Dictionary

Systematic use of violence, terror,

and intimidation to achieve an end.

U.S. Department of State

Terrorism is
premeditated,
politically
motivated violence
perpetrated against
noncombatant
targets by
subnational groups
or clandestine
state agents,
usually to
influence an
audience.

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Terrorism is the
unlawful use of force
or violence against
persons or property to
intimidate or coerce a
government, the
civilian population, or
any segment thereof,
in furtherance of
political or social
objectives.

All criminal acts

directed against a State
and calculated to create a
state of terror in the
minds of particular
persons or group of
persons or the general
public.

League of Nations
Convention
(1937)

United Nations
Resolutions Language
(1999)

1. Strongly condemns all acts, methods, and practices of terrorism as

criminal and unjustifiable, wherever and by whomsoever committed;
2. Reiterates that criminal acts intended or calculated to provoke a state
of terror in the general public, a group of persons or particular persons
for political purposes are in any circumstance unjustifiable, whatever
the considerations of a political, philosophical, ideological, racial,
ethnic, religious or other nature that may be invoked to justify them.
(General Assembly Resolution 51/210, measures to eliminate
international terrorism)

History or Terrorism

he term terrorism evolved during a phase of the French Revolution known as the
Reign of Terror. From 1793 to 1794, one faction of the Revolution used violent methods
to weed out traitors and to spread terror throughout the country. In just six weeks,
more than 1,300 people were guillotined in Paris alone.

French
Revolution

Terrorism is on the rise in recent years.

2
1.8
1.6
1.4
1.2
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0

South America
Asia
Europe
Africa
North America

1970's

1980s

1990s

Time Line
1995
1988,

1979

Pan Am
#103
bombed,
Lockerbie
Scotland

Diplomats
held hostage,
Tehran, Iran

1972
Israeli
athletes
taken
hostage,
Munich
Germany

Murrah
Building
bombed,
Oklahoma
City

1997
1996, Truck
bomb,
Manchester
England

Shopping
mall bombed,
Jerusalem
Isreal

Oklahoma

1984

1992

Golden
Temple
seized,
Amritsar
India

Two car
bombs
explode,
Lima, Peru

1998
1995 Nerve
gas released,
Aum
Shinrikyo

U. S.
Embassies
bomed,
Kenya and
Tanzania

2001 Four
airplanes hijacked
and crashed,
Washington, DC
& New York City

Recent
Terrorism
1970s

1972 Israeli athletes taken hostage, Munich Germany

1979 Diplomats held hostage,

Tehran, Iran

ovember, 1979.
After the exiled Shah
of Iran was admitted
into the United States
for medical treatment,
angry Iranian students
seized the U.S.
embassy in Tehran and
took scores of
American diplomats
hostage. Thirteen
hostages were released
shortly thereafter, but
the others were held
for over a year.

Tehran
Iran

Recent
Terrorism
1984
1984 Golden Temple
seized, Amritsar, India

une, 1984. In an effort

to establish an independent
state, Sikh terrorists seized
the Golden Temple in
Amritsar, India. Prime
Minister Indoor Gandhi
ordered a military
campaign to drive out the
terrorists. Hundreds were
killed.

Amritsar
India

1988, Pan Am #103 bombed,

Lockerbie, Scotland

1995
Murrah
Building
bombed,
Oklahoma
City, OK

1995 Nerve gas

released, Aum Shinrikyo

1992
Two car
bombs
explode,
Lima,
Peru

Recent Terrorism
1988-1995

Tokyo
Japan

arch, 1995 The terrorist group, Aum Shinrikyo, released nerve gas in a Tokyo subway
station to head off a raid by the Japanese government. The terrorist killed eleven people and
injured thousands.

1996, Truck bomb,

Manchester, England

Recent Terrorism
1995-2001

2001 Four airplanes

hijacked and crashed,
Washington, DC and New
York City

1998 U. S. Embassies bomed,

Kenya and Tanzania

1997 Shopping mall

bombed, Jeruselem, Isreal

eptember 11, 2001 was the deadliest terrorist attack in history. Osama Bin Ladens terrorist
organization Al Qaeda hijacked 4 commercial jets. Two of the planes were flown into the
World Trade Center, another into the Pentagon, and the last plane crashed in rural
Pennsylvania. Thousands of lives were lost. Innocent citizens of over 80 different nations were
attacked and killed without warning, shocking the civilized world.

New York
City
USA

Who are terrorists?

Terrorists can be anyone who believes in a cause strongly

enough to commit violence to make a point.They can even be
your neighbor next door.

What can we do about Terrorism?

The spread of terrorism world wide must be

stopped through education.
Education about the terrorist groups and why the
terrorist incidents happen is crucial, so that
these acts can be stopped before they happen.
People worldwide need to join together in not
allowing these criminals to use intimidation as a
means of achieving their goals.

The following graphic organizers

will help you research and better
understand the terrorists groups
and the reasoning behind their
intimidation tactics.

Graphic Organizers on Terrorist

Incidents
Who is the
terrorist
group?

What or who
did the group
target?

When (year)
did the action
take place?

Where (city or
country) did
the action
take place?

How was the

attack carried
out?

What was the

goal of the
terrorist?

Geography

Economy

Politics

Culture

Global
Connections

Bibliography
http://www.freefoto.com/
Terrorism, Bureau of Public Affairs, U. S.
Department of State.
http://www.clipartconnection.com/searchsit
e/index.html?
q=patriotism&b=9&f=jgwecbp&p=5
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