S2 MODERN STUDIES

TERRORISM

What is terrorism?

Terrorism is the widespread use of violence to achieve a goal. These violent acts are used to create fear amongst the wider population and often endanger the safety of ordinary people (civilians).

Causes of terrorism

Religion

People who commit terrorist attacks in the name of their religion are known as religious extremists. These people believe they are involved in a “jihad” which is a holy war. These people believe that their religion is superior (better than others), or that it is being treated unfairly.

Unhappy with the government

Around the world there are many countries that do not have the same political system as the UK. The UK is a democracy where each citizen has a voice. However, there are other countries that are run by dictatorships or corrupt governments. These governments make decisions that are not fair on the majority of people who live there and in many cases human rights are lost.

In countries such as these, groups of citizens, known as rebels, may use terrorism to try to bring about change with their country.

Lack of education

Terrorist groups often target the weak and vulnerable, trying to recruit them to carry out evil acts of violence. Those with a low IQ are taken advantage of and their low levels of intelligence make them an easy target for terror groups. One example of this is a man called Lewis Ludlow. He planned a terror attack on Oxford Street in London 2018 and said that he had been instructed by the Islamic State terror group. When the police arrested him they found that he had a very low IQ.

The internet

The internet is becoming more of a dangerous place for terrorism. Terror groups use it to communicate with people all over the world, influencing their ideas. This can lead to attacks happening in our country, or these people may try to go and fight abroad.

World’s Terror Attacks – 9/11

On September 11, 2001, at 8:45 a.m. an American Airlines Boeing 767 loaded with 20,000 gallons of jet fuel crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Centre in New York City. The impact left a gaping, burning hole near the 80th floor of the 110-story skyscraper, instantly killing hundreds of people and trapping hundreds more in higher floors. As the evacuation of the tower and its twin got underway, television cameras broadcasted live images of what initially appeared to be a freak accident. Then, 18 minutes after the first plane hit, a second Boeing 767–United Airlines Flight 175–appeared out of the sky, turned sharply toward the World Trade Centre and sliced into the South Tower near the 60th floor. The collision caused a massive explosion that showered burning debris over surrounding buildings and the streets below. America was under attack.

As millions watched the events unfolding in New York, American Airlines Flight 77 circled over downtown Washington, D.C., and slammed into the west side of the Pentagon military headquarters at 9:45 a.m. Jet fuel from the Boeing 757 caused a devastating inferno that led to the structural collapse of a portion of the giant concrete building. All told, 125 military personnel and civilians were killed in the Pentagon, along with all 64 people aboard the airliner.

Less than 15 minutes after the terrorists struck the nerve centre of the U.S. military, the horror in New York took a catastrophic turn for the worse when the south tower of the World Trade Centre collapsed in a massive cloud of dust and smoke. The structural steel of the skyscraper, built to withstand winds in excess of 200 miles per hour and a large conventional fire, could not withstand the tremendous heat generated by the burning jet fuel. At 10:30 a.m., the other Trade Centre tower collapsed. Close to 3,000 people died in the World Trade Centre and its vicinity, including a staggering 343 fire fighters and paramedics, 23 New York City police officers and 37 Port Authority police officers who were struggling to complete an evacuation of the buildings and save the office workers trapped on higher floors. Only six people in the World

Trade Centre towers at the time of their collapse survived. Almost 10,000 others were treated for injuries, many severe.

Meanwhile, a fourth California-bound plane–United Flight 93–was hijacked about 40 minutes after leaving Newark International Airport in New Jersey. Because the plane had been delayed in taking off, passengers on board learned of events in New York and Washington via mobile phone and calls to the ground. Knowing that the aircraft was not returning to an airport as the hijackers claimed, a group of passengers and flight attendants planned to fight back. One of the passengers, Thomas Burnett Jr, told his wife over the phone that "I know we're all going to die. There are three of us who are going to do something about it." Another passenger, Todd Beamer, was heard saying "Are you guys ready? Let's roll" over an open line. Sandy Bradshaw, a flight attendant, called her husband and explained that she had slipped into a galley and was filling pitchers with boiling water. Her last words to him were "Everyone's running to first class. I've got to go. Bye."

The passengers fought the four hijackers and are suspected to have attacked the cockpit with a fire extinguisher. The plane then flipped over and sped toward the ground at upwards of 500 miles per hour, crashing in a rural field in western Pennsylvania at 10:10 a.m. All 45 people aboard were killed. Its intended target is not known, but theories include the White House or one of several nuclear power plants along the eastern seaboard.

Ground Zero

Since 2001 in the United States, especially in the media, "Ground Zero" is generally understood to mean the site of the World Trade Centre, which was destroyed in the September 11 attacks. It has now become a formal memorial site to commemorate all of the 9/11 victims.

A new “World Trade Centre Complex” has now been built and is positioned alongside Ground Zero.

UK Terror Attacks

Lee Rigby Murder – May 2013

Michael Adebolajo, 29, and Michael Adebowale, 22, were found guilty in December 2013 of murdering soldier Lee Rigby as he returned to his barracks in Woolwich, south-east London.

The pair drove their car at Fusilier Rigby before attacking him with knives and attempting to decapitate him. The soldier, a father of one from Middleton, Greater Manchester, died of multiple cut and stab wounds after the attack on 22 May.

The men were in possession of a gun and eight knives on the day of the attack.

Why did they attack Lee Rigby?

In a police interview Adebolajo said he and Adebowale decided to lie in wait near the barracks and targeted Fusilier Rigby because he was wearing a Help for Heroes hooded top and carrying a camouflage rucksack.

As a police vehicle approached, the men then rushed towards it, waving the meat cleaver and a firearm.

They were both shot and wounded, but not killed. They are now serving life sentences in jail.

July 7/7 Attacks

Four suicide bombers struck in central London on Thursday 7 July 2005, killing 52 people and injuring more than 770. The attacks hit the transport system as the morning rush hour drew to a close.

The Attacks

Three bombs went off at or around 0850 BST on underground trains just outside Liverpool Street and Edgware Road stations, and on another travelling between King's Cross and Russell Square.

The final explosion was around an hour later on a double-decker bus in Tavistock Square, not far from King's Cross.

Who carried out the attack?

The four men who carried out the 7 July bombings were young Britons who had led ordinary lives.

One of the attackers is believed to have visited Pakistan and possibly Afghanistan in 2003 and may have met al-Qaeda members.

Westminster Bridge Attack – 22 March 2017

On 22 March 2017, a terrorist attack took place outside the Palace of Westminster in London, seat of the British Parliament. The attacker, 52-year-old Briton Khalid Masood, drove a car into pedestrians on the pavement along the south side of Westminster Bridge, injuring more than 50 people, four of them fatally. He then crashed the car into the perimeter fence of the Palace grounds and ran into New Palace Yard, where he fatally stabbed an unarmed police officer. He was then shot by an armed police officer and died at the scene

Ariana Grande – 22 May 2017

The Manchester Arena bombing was a suicide bombing attack in Manchester. A man with extreme views about Islam detonated a homemade bomb as people were leaving the Manchester Arena following an Ariana Grande concert.

Twenty-three people died, including the attacker, and 139 were wounded, more than half of them children. Several hundred more suffered psychological trauma.

The incident was the deadliest terrorist attack and the first suicide bombing in the United Kingdom since the 7 July 2005 London bombings.

The Liquid Bomb Plot

The 2006 Transatlantic Aircraft Plot was a terrorist plot to detonate liquid explosives carried on board 7 airliners travelling from the United Kingdom to the United States and Canada. The plot was discovered and foiled by British Police before it could be carried out.

In Pakistan, a British man from Birmingham named Rashid Rauf is believed to have put plotters in touch with Al-Qaeda’s leadership. A UK citizen named Ahmed Ali Khan travelled to Pakistan to meet with Rauf and was automatically under suspicion of being linked to terrorism as a result of his connection with this man. When Ahmed Ali Khan returned from Pakistan in June 2006, investigators secretly opened his baggage. Inside they found a powdered soft drink and a large number of batteries. It was enough to raise suspicion and in the following weeks, the police mounted the UK's largest surveillance operation, calling on an additional 220 officers from other forces around the UK to place 24 hour surveillance on Ali Khan and the other extremists involved in the plot. MI5 established that 19 people were potentially involved in this plot, symbolic also of the 19 people who carried out the 9/11 terror attacks.

Two other key individuals who worked alongside Ali Khan in orchestrating this plot were Assad Sarwar and Tanvir Husain. Assad Sarwar was known to be buying large quantities of hydrogen peroxide. Ali Khan and Tanvir Husain were seen paying particular interest in soft drinks bottles. On one occasion, surveillance officers watched Sarwar dispose of empty hydrogen peroxide bottles at a recycling centre.

Cameras were secretly placed in a property in East London by MI5. This property was being used as a bomb factory and it slowed officers in MI5 to monitor exactly what was going on and listen to conversations. The plotters were seen making devices out of drink bottles. They were also heard discussing popular “holiday destinations” in America. Really, they were plotting where to attack. It became clear that the UK was being used as a launch pad for a direct attack on the US.

They would then construct the devices mid-flight and detonate them. The alleged bombs would include 500 ml plastic bottles of the Oasis and Lucozade soft drinks. The mixture would be injected into a bottle with the help of a syringe. The bottle's cap would not have been removed and the hole would have been resealed, thereby allowing the device to resemble a normal drink bottle when screened by airport security.

Ali Khan was seen in an internet café researching the following flight times:

United Airlines Flight 931 to San Francisco departing at 14:15

Air Canada Flight 849 to Toronto-Pearson departing at 15:00

Air Canada Flight 865 to Montreal departing at 15:15

United Airlines Flight 959 to Chicago departing at 15:40

United Airlines Flight 925 to Washington-Dulles departing at 16:20

American Airlines Flight 131 to New York-JFK departing at 16:35

American Airlines Flight 91 to Chicago departing at 16:50

All of these flights were leaving the UK around the same time, so they would be brought down like ducks in a row. When the first bomb went off the other planes would not have enough time to turn round and land. This plot, had it been successful, would have claimed over 2000 lives in one night.

The American and UK governments did not agreed on how long to let the plot develop before the UK government stepped in and arrested those involved. If the plot is disrupted too early you risk not capturing everyone involved and there might not be the threshold of evidence needed to convict everyone. Some could also flee and destroy evidence. However, if the plot is disrupted too late it could mean a mass loss of life and the UK government could fall.

American officials visited Pakistan and whilst there coincidentally Rashid Rauf was arrested. The UK government did not know that the Americans were going to Pakistan and US officials have never admitted that there was a connection between their visit and the arrest of Rauf. However this prompted a massive overnight operation in the UK to arrest all of those involved before the news hit that Rashid Rauf had been captured. The fear was that if Ali Khan and his associates found this out evidence could be destroyed, or they may try and carry out whatever parts of the attack they could to still have some impact. The UK government were forced to act before they were ready to, but the operation to bring to justice those involved was very successful. The plotters were all given varying sentences depending on their level of involvement, but Ali Khan received the longest sentence of all with 42 years imprisonment for conspiracy to commit acts of terror.

UK Responses to Terror

The world has changed as countries around the world have responded to threats of terrorism. Terrorism could impact your life at any point

and so governments must make sure that they are not only prepared for terror attacks but are also working hard to prevent terrorism in the first place.

Counter-terrorism

Many governments around the world now have counter-terrorism strategies in place. These work to stop terrorism before attacks take place. The UK Government’s counter-terrorism strategy is called CONTEST and it has four main aims:

Pursue: to stop terrorist attacks Prevent: to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism Protect: to strengthen our protection against a terrorist attack Prepare: to minimise the impact of a terrorist attack

MI5

MI5 is responsible for setting the UK terrorist threat level. There are five levels of threat:

Critical – an attack is expected imminently

Severe – an attack is highly likely Substantial – an attack is a strong

possibility Moderate – an attack is possible but not likely Low – an attack is unlikely

What has the British government done to prevent terrorism?

Increased airport security

Changes to British airport security since 2006 have seen increased pat-down searches, more sniffer dogs in terminals and a step-up in hand luggage inspections. Other responses include a reduction in hand luggage (only 100 mls of liquid now allowed), stricter security checks, armed police, increased use of ‘Sky marshals’ by some airlines and airport body scanners.

Anti-terrorism barriers were built at Edinburgh Airport at a cost of around £150,000 to protect the outside of the building. After the Glasgow airport attacks a concrete chicane was built to prevent vehicles driving straight into the entrance. In many airports across the UK now, including Heathrow and Manchester, full body scanners are in use. They also have biometric systems that can scan passenger’s eyes and match it up to their passport.

Removal of easy targets e.g. litter bins in tube stations

Many train, tube stations and busy city centres have now removed litter bins completely in a bid to prevent easy terror targets. Other bins have been replaced by clear plastic ones where the contents of the bin are on view. In Glasgow Central Station and Leeds Train Station for example, there are no bins at all.

Architects encouraged to think of security

All new big sports stadiums and shopping centres in London are to be bombproofed in a counter-terror drive. Store windows will be relocated so they do not shatter in a blast and developers will be refused permission for underground car parks at public buildings

Arsenal football club’s Emirates Stadium has been at the cutting edge of the new techniques. The Gunners' ground features a pair of huge cannons near the entrance, which are actually cleverly disguised 'tank traps' to stop car bombers. Concrete blocks spelling out the club's name serve a similar purpose.

The Scottish Parliament was built to withstand any possible attack, with the windows being blast-proof and the walls being designed to collapse outwards instead of inwards. Furthermore the Scottish Parliament spent £1.25m on designer anti-terror barriers to protect the outside of the building. The new defences can stop a 7.5 tonne truck going at 50mph

Detention without Charge

Suspects can be held for 14 days which is much longer than the 24 hour window in England and Wales or 12 hour period in Scotland for suspects of other crimes to be detained without formal charges being brought against them.

The Impact of Terrorism

The most obvious impact of terrorism is that many innocent people lose their lives.

Often the main aim of many terrorist groups is to kill as many people as possible to try to scare the population of a country.

For example, in May 2017 22 people were killed when a suicide bomber set off explosives at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester.

In 2015 there were over 11000 terror attacks worldwide and over 28000 deaths.

An impact of terrorism is that it often leaves victims with permanent disabilities.

These injuries have long term consequences for the victims as they have to adjust to life with a disability and all the problems that entails.

For example Martine Wright had both of her legs blown off at the knee in the July 7 bombings in London and then went on to represent Britain in the 2012 Olympic games.

Airport security has increased lots in recent years, impacting lots of people travelling abroad on holiday.

Before 9/11, passengers were allowed on planes with hand luggage containing objects such as scissors or large bottles of water. Now there are restrictions on hand luggage to avoid the threat of a terrorist boarding a plane with explosives.

For example Heathrow Airport in London operates a biometrics system that scans passengers’ eyes and can identify them against a database.

One other impact of terrorism is that it fuels racist attitudes and this can lead to individuals being unfairly labelled and treated.

The rise of groups such as ISIS and Al Qaeda has led to increased Islamophobia (type of racism targeted at the Muslim faith).

The increase in these racist attitudes often divides communities.