Geography of Terrorism

 

Afghanistan The U.S.S.R. invaded Afghanistan (1979-1989) to protect the civilian regime from overthrow by several militant mujahideen, supplied and supported by the U.S. over the Pakistani border. Political chaos followed the Soviet withdrawal and the fundamentalist Taliban eventually gained control. Only Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirate have recognized the Taliban as the legal government of Afghanistan.
Iran Known as Persia until 1935, Iran became an
Islamic republic in 1979 when the U.S. under Carter withdrew support for the current shah Reza Pahlavi. Militant Iranian students seized the US Embassy in Tehran on November 4, 1979 and held it until January 20, 1981. Iran is currently ruled by a conservative clerical government that supports various terrorist groups. [LOC Country Study]
Iraq Iraq gained its independence from Turkey in 1932. Since 1958 it has been controlled by the military, the latest being Saddam Hussein. Attempts at territorial expansion led to a costly war with Iran (1980-1988) and the Gulf War with the U.S when it seized Kuwait. It is now under U.N. sanctions which make it strongly anti-U.S. [LOC Country Study]
Israel Following World War II, the British withdrew from Palestine and the U.N. partitioned it into Arab and Jewish sectors over vociferous objections by the Arabs. In 1967 Israel expanded its territories at the expense of Palestine, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan and occupied Jerusalem, a holy city for Jews, Christians, and Muslims. In 1982 Israel took over southern Lebanon but has since withdrawn. Israel has borne the brunt of Middle Eastern terrorist attacks. [LOC Country Study]
Jordan From its independence from Britain in 1946, Jordan was ruled by King Hussein (1953-1999) with his wife Queen Noor, the former Lisa Halaby of the U.S., at his side. Hussein resumed parliamentary elections in 1989 allowing the growth of some political freedoms. In 1994 he signed a peace accord with Israel. Jordan has navigated a tricky channel between Western and Middle Eastern powers and remains moderate and progressive. His son assumed the throne following his father's death in February 1999. [LOC Country Study]
Kazakhstan Kazakh's president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, was one of Gorbachev's closest supporters during the dissolution of the U.S.S.R. He was a strong advocate of slow democratic change and has attempted to guide his new nation in that way. Currently Kazakhstan one of the most democratic of the the five Central Asian republics. There are a dozen or so recognized political parties that are elected to the legislature and they oppose some of Nazarbayev's programs. Islamic insurgent groups few are kept in check. Uzbekistan has been active in establishing relations with Islamic nations around the world and has a strong international economic network already. [LOC Country Study]
Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan has perhaps moved closer to democracy than any other of the five Central Asian Soviet Republics except Kazakhstan since gaining independence. There are dozens of political parties and a government with separation of powers. However, after his election in 1995, President Askar Akayev pushed through parliament an amendment to the constitution that increased his powers materially at the expense of the legislature. Islamic insurgent groups are currently small and weak. [LOC Country Study]
Lebanon In 1991, a 16-year civil war between the Christian-dominated militias and rulers and the Muslim coalition paired with Palestinian groups (who had earlier flooded into the country from Israel) ended. Since the end of the war, the Lebanese have conducted several successful elections and most militias are disarmed. Hizballah, the radical Shi'a group keeps its weapons, however, and continues to use Lebanon as a home. [LOC Country Study]
Libya The Libyan government is a form of Islam combined with socialism foisted on the nation by Colonel Mu`ammar al-Qadhafi, who rose to power in 1969 in a military coup. Libya was a suspected haven for terrorists until the U.N. imposed sanctions in 1992, which were suspended in 1999. Qadhafi opposed Arab unity and has created his own form of government, called Jamahiriya "people power" based on the sharia, Islamic law, mixed with socialist principles. [LOC Country Study]
Pakistan In 1947 the United Kingdom separated India into the Muslim state of Pakistan (West and East) and the largely Hindu state of India. A series of wars between these two states resulted in the secession of East Pakistan, which became the nation of Bangladesh. Pakistan allowed the U.S. to supply arms to the mujahideen in Afghanistan to embarrass the Soviet Union (1979-1989). In response to Indian nuclear weapons testing, Pakistan conducted its own tests in 1998, despite the objections of the Western European alliance. [LOC Country Study]
Qatar The Al Thani family has ruled this moderate Arab nation since the mid-1800s. In 2001, border disputes with Bahrain and Saudi Arabia were resolved. Qatar is totally dependent on oil and gas resources but these keep the standard of living not far below that of the leading industrialized nations. [LOC Country Study]
Saudi Arabia In 1902 Abdul al-Aziz Ibn Saud captured Riyadh and attempted to unify the Arabian peninsula. But when oil was discovered in the 1930's, the country was transformed into one of the richest in the world but reliant on customers in Europe and the Far East. The Saudi government now is considered moderate and does not allow terrorist organizations on its soil but this position has cost it friends in the Arab world. [LOC Country Study]
Syria After World War I, Syria fell under the control of France until granted independence in 1946. In 1967 Syria lost the Golan Heights to Israel. Since 1976, Syrian troops have been stationed in Lebanon, ostensibly in a peacekeeping capacity. Israeli settlements in the Golan Heights remains a sticking point in Syrian-Israeli relations. [LOC Country Study]
Tajikistan Tajikistan has experienced the most troublous history of the five Central Asian republics since gaining its independence from the USSR in 1991: 3 changes in government and a 5-year-long civil war. A peace accord among the rival factions in 1999 as led to little stability. The Communist Party of Tajikistan retains what power their is to retain. This governmental weakness permits Islamic extremist parties to thrive in Tajikistan as in none of its neighbors and interferes with normal foreign relations. [LOC Country Study]
Turkmenistan The 1992 Turkmeni constitution provides for a democratic separation of powers but the old Communist Party, now called the Democratic Party, remains firmly in control and president Saparmyrat Niyazov is unlikely to face opposition in the near future. The government is secular and resists religious opposition, which is currently weak. Its foreign policy is "positive neutrality"—neutrality toward all countries and a desire to maintain a wide net of relations. Gas and oil are its primary foreign exports. [LOC Country Study]
Uzbekistan During the Soviet era, irrigation policies designed to increase production of Uzbeki cotton and grain left farmlands poisoned by sodium and water supplies greatly reduced. Since gaining independence in 1991 the country has attempted to shift its economy from agriculture to the development of its oil and mineral reserves. It is an secular authoritarian state with all power vested in the executive branch, which has to power to suppress dissent. President Islam Karimov's current concerns include insurgency by Islamic militants based in Tajikistan. [LOC Country Study]
Glossary Home

Glossary of Terrorist Organizations
Abu Sayyaf The smallest and most radical of the Islamic terrorist organizations. It operates in the southern Philippines but some members have studied in the Middle East and developed ties to mujahideen in Afghanistan. The group split from the Moro National Liberation Front in 1991. Engages in bombings, assassinations, kidnappings, and extortion to promote an independent Islamic state in the southern Philippines heavily populated by Muslims. Raided the town of Ipil in Mindanao in April 1995 and kidnapped more than 30 foreigners in 2000.
Al-Jihad "The Holy Struggle." Leader, Ayman al Zawahiri. A close partner of bin Laden, its goal is to replace the Egyptian government with an Islamic state, but it suffered from recent arrests of operatives. Responsible for assassinating Egyptian President Sadat in 1981, bombing the Egyptian embassy in Pakistan in 1995; an attack on the U.S. embassy in Albania in 1998 was thwarted. Camps in Egypt, Yemen, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sudan, Lebanon, U.K. Supported by bin Laden and probably Iran.
Al Qaeda "The Base." Formed by bin Laden to fight against the Soviets in Afghanistan. Issued a fatwa in 1998, claiming it is the duty of Muslims to kill U.S. citizens. Responsible for the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, and known to have plans to kill influential Western leaders, including the U. S. president and the Pope. Supported by bin Laden's billion-dollar empire. Major camps in Afghanistan but also throughout the world.
Armed Islamic Group Led by Ayman al Zawahiri. Radicalized when the Algerian government voided the 1992 election of an Islamic opposition party. Now eclipsed by a splinter, the Salafi Group
for Call and Combat. Supported by Algerians in western Europe; perhaps Iran and Sudan. Camps in Algeria.
Gama'a al-Islamiyya Led by Ayman al Zawahiri. Egyptian militant group that killed 58 tourists in Luxor in 1997. Its goal is to overthrow the Egyptian government, but it is connected to bin Laden. Supported by Iran, bin Laden, and militant Afghan groups. Camps in Egypt, possibly in Sudan, U.S., Afghanistan, Austria, Yemen.
Hamas Mahmoud al-Zahar heads this group whose aim is to establish an Islamic Palestinian state in place of Israel. Responsible for many suicide bombings of Israeli collaborators. Supported by Palestinian expatriates, Iran, and individuals in Saudi Arabia. Camps in Israel and occupied territories.
Palestine Islamic Jihad Committed to an Islamic Palestinian state. Also stages suicide bombings in Israel and threatens attacks on U.S. if it moves its embassy to Jerusalem. Supported by Iran and Syria. Camps located in Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria.

Al-Fatah

 Headed by Yasser Arafat, Fatah joined the PLO in 1968 and won the leadership role in 1969. Its commanders were expelled from Jordan in 1971. When Israel entered Lebanon in 1982, the group dispersed to Tunisia, Yemen, Algeria, Iraq, and others.

Harakat ul-Mujahideen
(HUM)

 A militant Islamic group based in Pakistan operating in Kashmir. Its leader, Fazlur Rehman Khalil, has been linked to Bin Laden and his February 1998 fatwa has called for attacks on US and Western interests. HUM training camps located in eastern Afghanistan suffered casualties in the US missile strikes on Bin Ladin training camps in 1998. HUM has promised revenge on the U.S. for those attacks.
Hizballah Hizb'Allah means "Party of God" in Arabic. Radical Shi'a group centered in Lebanon. Their aim is to create an Islamic republic in Lebanon. Involved in anti-US terrorist attacks, e.g. the suicide bombing of US Marine barracks in Beirut in 1983. Camps in Bekaa Valley, Beirut, and around the world. Supported by Iran and Syria. In some Islamic countries the English transliteration "Hezbollah" is used.
Palestinian Liberation
Front (PLF)		 Broke off from the PLO when it agreed to suspend terrorist activities. Later it split into several other factions. A faction sympathetic to the PLO was led Abu Abbas, was responsible for the 1985 attack on the cruise ship Achille Lauro and the murder of US citizen Leon Klinghoffer. Camps are now based in Iraq who provides the main source of support, though Libya has supported it in the past.
Popular Front for
the Liberation of
Palestine (PFLP)		 Founded in 1967 by George Habash and joined the Alliance of Palestinian Forces (APF). Opposed the Declaration of Principles signed in 1993 and suspended participation in the PLO. Participated in meetings with Fatah party and PLO in 1999 to discuss national unity, but continues to oppose negotiations with Israel.
Palestine Liberation
Organization (PLO)		 On September 9, 1993, PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat committed the PLO to cease all acts of terrorism. This was codified on September 13, 1993 in Washington, D.C. in the Declaration of Principles between the Israelis and Palestinians. It is therefore not considered a terrorist organization at this time.
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