Misplaced Pages

State-sponsored terrorism: Difference between revisions

Article snapshot taken from[REDACTED] with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →Content deleted Content addedVisualWikitext
Revision as of 10:31, 5 February 2009 edit60.254.10.218 (talk) Islamic Republic of Pakistan← Previous edit Revision as of 10:32, 5 February 2009 edit undoPiano non troppo (talk | contribs)Rollbackers53,873 edits Reverted edits by 60.254.10.218 (talk) using MWTNext edit →
Line 21: Line 21:
Current issues include the recent ] which sources say originate from Pakistan leading to the ] ban on one such organisation, the ](which the ] government has yet to enforce)<ref>http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Pakistan_not_to_ban_Jamaat-ud-Dawa/articleshow/3838907.cms</ref> <ref>http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/rssarticleshow/3823910.cms</ref>, the lack of governance in the ] of Pakistan <ref>http://www.indianexpress.com/news/26-killed-in-pakistan-blasts-nwfp-tense/394762/</ref><ref>http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1954236.cms</ref>, past history of civil unrest and under world pressure to clamp down on terrorism within its borders believed to be sponsored by state run elements such as the Pakistani military and the ISI<ref>http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/12/04/india.pakistan.rice/index.html?eref=rss_world</ref>. Current issues include the recent ] which sources say originate from Pakistan leading to the ] ban on one such organisation, the ](which the ] government has yet to enforce)<ref>http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Pakistan_not_to_ban_Jamaat-ud-Dawa/articleshow/3838907.cms</ref> <ref>http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/rssarticleshow/3823910.cms</ref>, the lack of governance in the ] of Pakistan <ref>http://www.indianexpress.com/news/26-killed-in-pakistan-blasts-nwfp-tense/394762/</ref><ref>http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1954236.cms</ref>, past history of civil unrest and under world pressure to clamp down on terrorism within its borders believed to be sponsored by state run elements such as the Pakistani military and the ISI<ref>http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/12/04/india.pakistan.rice/index.html?eref=rss_world</ref>.


] in a recently televised campaign mentioned that majority of the funds being given to Pakistan to fight terrorism is being used to fund terror camps to launch pan-Islamic jihadi attack on Indian soil <ref> Infact Pakistan was being shamefully rewarded by past Bush regime to fight a mock war on terror.Mind it it was pakistan which had taliban regime to power in Afghanistan which in turn gave safe haven to Al Qaeda in Afghanistan, but for pakistan 9/11 tragedy was very much avoidable, earlier only India and Afghanistan were on its radar, and the world was shamelessly ignoring the same at its own peril.http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/Pak_misusing_US_aid_against_India/articleshow/3449772.cms </ref>. Pakistan, traditionally a ‘live in denial’ country is under severe international diplomatic pressure to deal with the terror camps virtually in every nook and corner of the country. The weak and virtually impotent civilian government lead by ] is said to have virtually no control over ] and ]<ref> http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1783698.cms </ref>. ] in a recently televised campaign mentioned that majority of the funds being given to Pakistan to fight terrorism is being used to fund terror camps to launch pan-Islamic jihadi attack on Indian soil <ref> http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/Pak_misusing_US_aid_against_India/articleshow/3449772.cms </ref>. Pakistan, traditionally a ‘live in denial’ country is under severe international diplomatic pressure to deal with the terror camps virtually in every nook and corner of the country. The weak and virtually impotent civilian government lead by ] is said to have virtually no control over ] and ]<ref> http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1783698.cms </ref>.


===Iran=== ===Iran===

Revision as of 10:32, 5 February 2009

This article or section possibly contains synthesis of material that does not verifiably mention or relate to the main topic. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. (September 2008) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
It has been suggested that this article be merged with State terrorism. (Discuss) Proposed since January 2009.
File:Collusion is not an illusion.jpg
A mural in Belfast graphically depicting the link perceived by Roman Catholics between the British Security Forces and Loyalist terrorist groups.
Part of a series on
Terrorism and political violence
By ideology
Religious
Special-interest / Single-issue
Related topics
Organizational structures
  • Methods
  • Tactics
Terrorist groups
Relationship to states
State terrorism
State-sponsored terrorism
Response to terrorism

State-sponsored terrorism is a term loosely used to describe terrorism sponsored by nation-states. As with terrorism, the precise definition, and the identification of particular examples, are subjects of heated political dispute. It is also frequently used in conjunction with state terrorism, which is terrorism committed by nation-states.

Islamic Republic of Pakistan

Pakistan has been accused by India, Afghanistan, and other nations (including the United States, the United Kingdom and of its involvement in Afghanistan, Satellite imagery from the FBI which shows the existence of terror camps and data produced by India's Research and Analysis Wing clearly suggest the existence of many terrorist camps in Pakistan with at least one militant admitting the help given by Pakistan in training them. Another militant outfit, the JKLF has openly admitted that more than 3,000 militants from various nationalities were still being trained. Other resources also concur stating that Pakistan’s military and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) both include personnel who sympathize with and help Islamic militants adding that "ISI has provided covert but well-documented support to terrorist groups active in Kashmir, including Jaish-e-Mohammed" Pakistan has denied any involvement in the terrorist activities in Kashmir, arguing that it only provides political and moral support to the secessionist groups. Many Kashmiri groups also maintain their headquarters in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, which is cited as further proof by the Indian Government. The normally reticent UNO has also publicly increased pressure on Pakistan on its inability to control its Afghanistan border and not restricting the activities of Taliban leaders who have been declared by the UN as terrorists. Both the Federal and State governments in India continue to accuse Pakistan of helping several banned militant organizations like ULFA in Assam without providing necessary evidence. Experts believe that the ISI has also been involved in training and supplying Chechnyan militants.

Until Pakistan became a key ally in the War on Terrorism, it dealt with the Taliban in a cordial fashion. Press editorials from around the world have consistently and strongly condemned Pakistan's "terror exports" This has also been referred to as 'escape-goating' Pakistan for NATO's failures in Afghanistan. Ted Galen Carpenter stated that Pakistan has "assisted rebel forces in Kashmir even though those groups may have committed terrorist acts against civilians" in a piece highly criticized for its cynicism.

Based on communication intercepts US intelligence agencies concluded Pakistan's ISI was behind the attack on the Indian embassy in Kabul on July 7, 2008, a charge that the governments of India and Afghanistan had laid previously and denied by Pakistan. The Afghan President Hamid Karzai who has constantly reiterated allegations that militants operating training camps in Pakistan have used it as a launch platform to attack targets in Afghanistan urged western military allies to target extremist hideouts in neighbouring Pakistan. In response to the growing extremism from Pakistani border, the US has started bombing selected terrorist hideouts within Pakistan.

Pakistan is accused of sheltering and training the Taliban in operations "which include soliciting funding for the Taliban, bankrolling Taliban operations, providing diplomatic support as the Taliban's virtual emissaries abroad, arranging training for Taliban fighters, recruiting skilled and unskilled manpower to serve in Taliban armies, planning and directing offensives, providing and facilitating shipments of ammunition and fuel, and on several occasions apparently directly providing combat support," as quoted by the Human Rights Watch. In fact, the US has stated that the next attack on US could originate in Pakistan. But this trend seems to have come to a halt as the Pakistan Army continues to mount massive military operations against Taliban & other militants in the country's Tribal Areas. This has resulted in the Taliban regularly attacking Pakistan Army convoys, encampments, even killing civilians that help Pakistan Army. In what was seen as a reversal of trends & failure of NATO forces in Afghanistan, 600 Taliban fighters crossed the border from Afghanistan in to Pakistan on January 11, 2009 but were made to retreat by the Pakistan Army contingent. The Islamic Republic of Pakistan has been branded frequently as a 'Haven for Terrorism', supporting Islamic terrorist organizations and is considered amongst the most dangerous nations in the world. . The country, with the second largest muslim population in the world, harbours some of the most dangerous islamic terrorist organizations in the world, The Lashkar-e-Toiba, The Jaish-e-Mohammed, The Harkat-ul-Mujahideen and The Hizbul Mujahideen . The Pakistani intelligence agency, the ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence) is believed to be aiding these organizations in eradicating the existing of perceived enemies or those opposed to their cause, including India, Russia, China, Israel, US, UK and other NATO nations .

The Pakistani government has come under fire for the alleged involvements of terrorist organizations operating from their soil in numerous bombings in India killing thousands over the last decade alone. Pakistan denies all allegations, stating that these acts are commited by non-state actors. The country has had a history of instability and military coups with General Pervez Musharraf coming to power after overthrowing Nawaf Sharif in 1999 and with Asif Zardari coming to power with the assasination of his wife Benazir Bhutto, allegedly by the Taliban and Al Qaeda, in 2008. The country also blames the US and India for inciting terrorism on their soil and supports the cause for Al Qaeda

Current issues include the recent Mumbai Fidayeen attacts which sources say originate from Pakistan leading to the UN ban on one such organisation, the Jamaat Ul Dawa(which the Pakistani government has yet to enforce) , the lack of governance in the North-Western Frontier Provinces of Pakistan , past history of civil unrest and under world pressure to clamp down on terrorism within its borders believed to be sponsored by state run elements such as the Pakistani military and the ISI.

Barack Obama in a recently televised campaign mentioned that majority of the funds being given to Pakistan to fight terrorism is being used to fund terror camps to launch pan-Islamic jihadi attack on Indian soil . Pakistan, traditionally a ‘live in denial’ country is under severe international diplomatic pressure to deal with the terror camps virtually in every nook and corner of the country. The weak and virtually impotent civilian government lead by Asif Ali Zardari is said to have virtually no control over Pakistani Armed forces and ISI.

Iran

Main article: Allegations of Iranian state terrorism

The governments of the United States, the United Kingdom, Israel, and Yemen have accused the Ahmadinejad administration of sponsoring terrorism either in their, or against their, respective countries. United States President George W. Bush has called Iran the "world's primary state sponsor of terror." Iran sponsors Hezbollah, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the al-Mahdi army, groups that Iran doesn't view as terrorist.

Libya

After the military overthrow of King Idris in 1969 the Libyan Arab Republic (later the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya) to the bewilderment of some supported with weapon supplies, training camps located within Libya and monetary finances an array of armed paramilitary groups both left wing and right wing. Leftist and socialist groups included the Provisional Irish Republican Army, the Basque Fatherland and Liberty, the Umkhonto We Sizwe, the Polisario Front, the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine while others were on the Far Right such as the Moro National Liberation Front, the government of Libya even had brief contacts with the Neo Nazi British National Front which attempted to enlist financial aid from Libya during the 1980s. These contacts were ended after the fascist nature of the NF was discovered during Nick Griffin's visit to Libya in 1986.

In 2006 Libya was removed from the United States list of terrorist supporting nations after it had ended all of its support for armed groups and the development of weapons of mass destruction.

Out of the armed groups Libya used to support the Provisional IRA, Umkhonto we Sizwe and the Moro National Liberation Front have completely abandoned terrorist tactics or political violence.

Apartheid South Africa

The government of Apartheid South Africa has been accused of involvement in a number of incidents. However, these incidents either remain unsolved, unproven or others have actually been convicted for the acts.

Soviet Union

The first official announcement, published in Izvestiya, "Appeal to the Working Class" on September 3, 1918 called for the workers to "crush the hydra of counterrevolution with massive terror". This was followed by the decree "On Red Terror", issued September 5, 1918 by the Cheka.

The terms "repression" and "terror" were normal working terms in the Soviet Union, since the "dictatorship of the proletariat" was supposed to suppress the resistance of other social classes. The entire "ruling class" was exterminated, including "rich people", and a significant part of the intelligentsia and the peasantry labelled kulaks. The numerous victims of extrajudicial punishment were called the "enemies of the people". The "mass terror" by the state included summary executions, torture, sending innocent people to the Gulags, involuntary settlement, and stripping of citizen's rights. Usually, all members of a family, including children, were punished simultaneously as "traitor of Motherland family members". The repressions were conducted by Cheka, OGPU and NKVD in waves known as Red Terror, Collectivisation, Great Purge, Doctor's Plot, and others. The terror against "ruling classes" and general population was practiced in Soviet republics and in the territories "liberated" by the Soviet Army during World War II, including the Baltic Republics, Eastern Europe and North Korea.

After the 1953 death of Stalin and subsequent destalinization, according to defector Ion Mihai Pacepa, the KGB continued its policy of supporting a number of terrorist organizations. KGB General Aleksandr Sakharovsky said that "In today’s world, when nuclear arms have made military force obsolete, terrorism should become our main weapon." He also claimed that "Airplane hijacking is my own invention". In 1969 alone 82 planes were hijacked worldwide by the KGB-financed PLO.

Lt. General Ion Mihai Pacepa also described operation "SIG" (“Zionist Governments”) that was devised in 1972, to turn the whole Islamic world against Israel and the United States. According to him, KGB chairman Yury Andropov explained him that "a billion adversaries could inflict far greater damage on America than could a few millions. We needed to instill a Nazi-style hatred for the Jews throughout the Islamic world, and to turn this weapon of the emotions into a terrorist bloodbath against Israel and its main supporter, the United States." Andropov also told him that "the Islamic world was a waiting petri dish in which we could nurture a virulent strain of America-hatred, grown from the bacterium of Marxist-Leninist thought."

According to Pacepa, the following organizations were assisted, at one period or another, by the KGB: PLO, National Liberation Army of Bolivia (created in 1964 with help from Ernesto Che Guevara); the National Liberation Army of Colombia (created in 1965 with help from Fidel Castro), Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine in 1969, and the Secret Army for Liberation of Armenia in 1975.

The PFLP was also claimed to have received support from the Soviet Union.

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom (UK) has been accused of supporting Loyalist terrorist groups, both within the UK and also in cross-border operations into the Republic of Ireland, namely the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and Ulster Defence Association (UDA). These groups support the territory of Northern Ireland remaining part of the UK. The UK is accused of providing intelligence material, training, firearms, explosives and lists of people that the security forces wanted to have killed. The UK security services have been accused of involvement in the Dublin and Monaghan Bombings by the UVF on 17 May,1974 which killed 33 and wounded nearly 300 civilians.

On the 17 April 2003, Sir John Stevens published his third inquiry into collusion between the British Army and the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) with Loyalist paramilitaries. It stated that there had been collusion in the murder of Pat Finucane by Loyalists.

A former RUC officer, John Weir, has admitted to colluding with Loyalist terrorists in the 1970s in activities that led to the death of ten Catholics and that his superiors had knowledge of 76 more killings carried out by the UVF in the same time period. He also alleges that members of the SAS killed Loyalists who may have planned to expose the collusion.

The UK has also been accused by Iran of supporting Arab separatist terrorism in the southern city of Ahwaz in 2006.

United States

Main article: Allegations of state terrorism committed by the United States

The United States has been accused of being more than twenty-five years ago a state sponsor of terrorism by Cuba, and Nicaragua . U.S. governments covertly sponsored anti-Soviet Afghan Mujahideen during the 1980s, supported the Contras in Nicaragua, intervened in other Central American and Caribbean conflicts.

See also

References

  1. International Terrorism: Threats and Responses: Hearings Before the Committee on the Judiciary By United States Congress House Committee on the Judiciary, ISBN 0-16-052230-7, 1996, pp482
  2. Overview of State-Sponsored Terrorism April 30, 2001 U.S. State Department
  3. Daily Times Story
  4. Pakistan's link to Afghan terrorism
  5. FBI identifies terror camp in Pakistan through satellite pictures
  6. 'Pak feared exposure of militant camps' - Rediff October 16, 2005
  7. Terrorism Havens: Pakistan - Council on Foreign Relations
  8. http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/01/09/news/afghan.php Pakistan should crack down on Taliban, UN official says]
  9. BBC Story
  10. Assam accuses Pakistan High Commission of helping ULFA
  11. Who Is Osama Bin Laden? by Michel Chossudovsky Professor of Economics, University of Ottawa hosted on Centre for Research on Globalisation
  12. Editorial: Terror exports made in Pakistan- The Australian
  13. Terrorist Sponsors: Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, China by Ted Galen Carpenter November 16, 2001 Cato Institute
  14. Pakistanis Aided Attack in Kabul, U.S. Officials say
  15. Karzai wants action by allied forces in Pakistan August 11, 2008 Dawn, Pakistan
  16. http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/09/12/asia/pakistan.php
  17. Crisis of Impunity - Pakistan's Support Of The Taliban
  18. http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008%5C09%5C12%5Cstory_12-9-2008_pg7_51
  19. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7822722.stm
  20. http://www.cfr.org/publication/9514/
  21. http://www.newsweek.com/id/57485
  22. http://www.tribuneindia.com/2001/20011217/main1.htm
  23. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/ISI_still_helping_terror_groups_against_India_Narayanan/articleshow/2902592.cms
  24. http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/india/states/jandk/terrorist_outfits/lashkar_e_toiba.htm
  25. http://www.cfr.org/publication/17882/
  26. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3181925.stm
  27. http://www.harkatulmujahideen.org/
  28. http://www.globalsecurity.org/security/library/news/2008/11/sec-081128-irna02.htm
  29. http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/mumbaiterrorstrike/Story.aspx?ID=NEWEN20080076673&type=News
  30. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22416009/
  31. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4797762.stm
  32. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/3330186.cms
  33. http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/07/11/al.qaeda.report/index.html
  34. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Pakistan_not_to_ban_Jamaat-ud-Dawa/articleshow/3838907.cms
  35. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/rssarticleshow/3823910.cms
  36. http://www.indianexpress.com/news/26-killed-in-pakistan-blasts-nwfp-tense/394762/
  37. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1954236.cms
  38. http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/12/04/india.pakistan.rice/index.html?eref=rss_world
  39. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/Pak_misusing_US_aid_against_India/articleshow/3449772.cms
  40. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1783698.cms
  41. Blair: Iran sponsors terrorism CNN
  42. Sharon calls Syria and Iran sponsors of terrorism Pravda
  43. Fighting breaks out in Yemen with Shi'ite group tied to Iran World Tribune
  44. "Rescission of Libya's Designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism". 2008-07-17. U.S. Department of State. 2006-05-16. Retrieved 2008-07-17.
  45. UN assassination plot denied
  46. "Mystery still surrounds Machel death". BBC News. October 19, 2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Text "http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6062196.stm" ignored (help)
  47. ^ Stephane Courtois; Nicolas Werth; Jean-Louis Panne; Andrzej Paczkowski; Bartosek, Karel; Margolin, Jean-Louis & Kramer, Mark (1999). The Black Book of Communism: Crimes, Terror, Repression. Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-07608-7.
  48. ^ Russian Footprints - by Ion Mihai Pacepa, National Review Online, August 24, 2006
  49. From Russia With Terror, FrontPageMagazine.com, interview with Ion Mihai Pacepa, March 1, 2004
  50. Courtois, Stephane; Werth, Nicolas; Panne, Jean-Louis; Paczkowski, Andrzej; Bartosek, Karel; Margolin, Jean-Louis & Kramer, Mark (1999). The Black Book of Communism: Crimes, Terror, Repression. Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-07608-7. Chapter 18
  51. ^ Text of Sir John Steven's Inquiry into collusion between the UK and Loyalist Terrorists
  52. "Stevens Inquiry: At a Glance". BBC News Online. 2003-04-17. Retrieved 2006-11-25.
  53. Dublin and Monaghan Bombings-Relatives for Justice
  54. ^ Connolly, Frank. "I'm lucky to be above the ground". Village: Ireland's Current Affairs Weekly. Retrieved 2006-11-16. {{cite news}}: More than one of |author= and |last= specified (help)
  55. "Iran accuses UK of bombing link". BBC News. BBC News. 2006-01-25. Retrieved 2006-11-25.
  56. CAstro, Chavez decry inequalities, condemn IMF
  57. AROUND THE WORLD; Nicaragua Accuses U.S. Of Role in Air Attacks - New York Times

Further reading

xDreyfus, Robert. The Devil's Game: How the United States unleashed Fundamentalist Islam. Pluto Press, 2005.

  • Lerner, Brenda Wilmoth & K. Lee Lerner, eds. Terrorism: Essential primary sources. Thomson Gale, 2006. ISBN 9781414406213 Library of Congress. Jefferson or Adams Bldg General or Area Studies Reading Rms LC Control Number: 2005024002.
  • Tarpley, Webster G. 9/11 Synthetic Terror, Made in USA -Progressive Press. ISBN 0-93085-231-1
  • Chomsky, Noam. The Culture of Terrorism ISBN 0-89608-334-9
  • Chomsky, Noam. 9/11 ISBN 1-58322-489-0
  • George, Alexander. Western State Terrorism, Polity Press. ISBN 0-7456-0931-7
  • Hindu Terrorism By Badri Raina

External links

Categories:
State-sponsored terrorism: Difference between revisions Add topic