Terrorism Reference library
Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern World
... [ This entry includes two subentries, an overview and discussions of terrorism in the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia and South Asia and Southeast Asia .] Overview Defining terrorism can be controversial and elusive. As the cliché goes, one side's terrorist is the other side's freedom fighter. The resort to violence by the state that causes collateral civilian casualties may be perceived as terrorism by the victims, no less than deliberate violence conducted by individuals and groups against civilians. In March 2005 , political leaders and...
War on Terrorism Quick reference
A Dictionary of Contemporary World History (6 ed.)
...terrorism was by its nature without established, visible structures, it was impossible to define. This meant that the war aims were elusive, and that the war could in theory be carried on forever. (2) From the start, Bush struggled to define where the War on Terrorism would go after Afghanistan. In early 2002 , the Bush administration extended the rhetorical War on Terrorism to Saddam Hussein of Iraq, but this proved very divisive amongst America's allies. (3) As shown by the examples of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan, the War on Terrorism...
Pervez Musharraf
Northern Alliance
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
Cayman Islands
Binyamin Netanyahu
Good Friday Agreement
Socialist Workers' Party of Spain
Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani
Northern Alliance Quick reference
A Dictionary of Contemporary World History (6 ed.)
... 1999 and 2001 . It received a further blow in early September when its leader, Ahmed Shah Masood , was killed. A few days later, the September 11 attacks changed the position of the Northern Alliance. As the principal opposition army against the Taliban in the War on Terrorism , it became the principal ally of the USA. After weeks of sustained bombing of Taliban positions by US missiles and bombs, Taliban resistance collapsed, and on 13 November the Northern Alliance captured the Afghan capital, Kabul . Under US pressure, the Northern Alliance agreed...
anarchism Quick reference
A Dictionary of Contemporary World History (6 ed.)
...supported decentralized, local/communal forms of authority, and promoted the self-help of workers. In a change of emphasis, at the turn of the century many anarchists focused on the revolutionary ideas of Bakunin to create a new social order through violent action and terrorism. This led to the assassinations of the Austrian Empress Elizabeth ( 1898 ), the Italian King Umberto I ( 1900 ), and US President McKinley ( 1901 ). In the early twentieth century, anarchists achieved some influence through syndicalism in France, despite their repression by...
Arab League Quick reference
A Dictionary of Contemporary World History (6 ed.)
...again in 2001 , in support of the Palestinians. However, the Arab League was again thrown into disarray by the response to September 11 and President Bush 's War on Terrorism . While denunciation of the attacks was universal, US action against Bin Laden in Afghanistan was less popular. In particular, the League was uncertain how to respond to a broadening of the War on Terrorism to its own members, notably Iraq. Following the ‘Arab Spring’ of 2011 , it supported the UN-backed intervention against Gaddafi in Libya and suspended Syria’s membership,...
Interpol Reference library
Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern World
...international terrorism, but the organization was nonetheless often regarded as an ineffective organization and not widely trusted. In 1989 the Interpol headquarters were moved to a new building in Lyon. With increased vigor since the 1980s and especially after several highly visible terrorist attacks in the 1990s, such as the World Trade Center bombing in 1993 , Interpol stepped up its activities against international terrorism. In 1984 a new Interpol resolution encouraged the member agencies to cooperate on matters of terrorism, and by the late...
Entebbe Hijacking Reference library
Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern World
...the Israeli assault unit at Entebbe and was the only Israeli soldier to die in the raid. In the 1990s his brother Benjamin became the prime minister of Israel. [ See also Israel and Terrorism . ] Bibliography Goldberg, Michel . Namesake . New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1982. Netanyahu, Iddo . Entebbe, a Defining Moment in the War on Terrorism: The Jonathan Netanyahu Story . Green Forest, Ark.: Balfour Books, 2003. Stevenson, William . Ninety Minutes at Entebbe . New York: Bantam Books, 1976. Kathryn...
Bin Laden, Osama (1957) Quick reference
A Dictionary of Contemporary World History (6 ed.)
...of millions of dollars. This, and the willingness of his followers to die in the jihad, made him such a potent foe of the US and of Western civilization. Video evidence captured his admission of responsibility for the September 11 attacks, which sparked the US War on Terrorism . It also turned the US security apparatus against him, though his whereabouts remained elusive until he was killed in a US military raid on a secure compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan...
Council of Europe Quick reference
A Dictionary of Contemporary World History (6 ed.)
..., it is served by a Committee of Ministers, a Parliamentary Assembly at Strasbourg, the European Court of Human Rights ( ECHR ), and the European Commission of Human Rights. Although without legislative powers, agreements between its members have covered the suppression of terrorism, the legal status of migrant workers, and the protection of personal data. The judgments of the ECHR in Strasbourg have been non‐binding on its member states, but they have been incorporated into national law by many member states. Through the ECHR, the Council has therefore...
9/11 Reference library
Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern World
...American schools. In the early morning, three of the hijacked planes were used as blunt-force missiles loaded with jet fuel. Two of these struck the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in lower Manhattan, a symbol of American financial might and long a target of international terrorism. The third struck the side of the Pentagon building in Washington, D.C., which houses the Department of Defense. The fourth jet crashed into the rural Pennsylvania countryside—brought down, it seems, during a fight between the hijackers and passengers who had been in...
Aum ShinrikyŌ Reference library
Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern World
... ( b. 1954 ), known also by his religious name Asahara Shōkō. Aum gained notoriety when on 20 March 1995 several of its leaders released sarin gas into the Tokyo subway system, killing twelve and injuring six thousand. This incident gave the world a preview of a new form of terrorism, one involving chemical weapons with deadly effects. Aum's theology was an eclectic mix of various Asian religious traditions, including elements of yoga and Tibetan Buddhism and several Hindu motifs and practices associated with devotion to the god Shiva. There was a strong...
nationalism Quick reference
A Dictionary of Contemporary World History (6 ed.)
...identities. One manifestation of this was the creation of more stable transnational structures, such as the WTO , as well as firmer structures within the EU such as the euro . A more sinister manifestation was the growth of international terrorism, which led to the September 11 attacks and the War on Terrorism . Since 2010, there has been a resurgence in right-wing nationalist movements, incorporating opposition to immigration and to regional and international bodies and agreements. Glib campaigning slogans such as ‘Take Back Control’ (for Britain leaving...
