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PSC 371: World Politics and Terrorism
Outline by Adam Farquhar, April 2005
Dolnick, Adam. 2003. "All Gods Poisons: Re-Evaluating the Threat of Religious Terrorism as Respect to Non-Conventional Weapons." Terrorism and Counter Terrorism. 4(3): 159-177.
Followed by:
Hoffman, Bruce. 2003. "The Logic of Suicide Terrorism." Terrorism and Counter Terrorism. 6(2): 260-270.

1. The modern terrorist is interested in inflicting many casualties using chemical, biological, and radiological and nuclear weapons.

1. Ancient Chinese proverb describes it best, "Kill one, and frighten ten thousand."
2. These are new trends that have taken place over the course of twenty years.

1. Bruce Hoffman argues that while the number of terrorist incidents has decreased, the amount of casualties they inflict is increasing.

1. It claims the rise in religious motivation for these attacks is the cause of the higher deaths.
2. Religious terrorists should be set aside from traditional ones.

1. Using statistics in studying terrorism can be misleading because of representiveness of the data.

1. Data seems to only be recorded in the big countries, where terrorist incidents make headlines.

1. Many argue that the traditional argument, that religious terrorists are more lethal than secular terrorists, is not backed up by facts.

1. Many Jets have been downed by secular terrorists.

1. Religious rhetoric has become more prevalent from terrorist organizations.
2. Religious terrorists seem to be very similar to secular ones.

1. This is in contrast to Bruce Hoffman’s argument.

1. Today’s terrorist has to be able to obtain ways to kill many people.

1. It seems that some groups have the intrinsic desire to bring out Armageddon.
2. These groups are called super terrorists.

1. To be a super terrorist, a group has to be highly organized and has to have the ability to innovate.

Part I
Security

1. People in the United States have taken the security for granted.

1. They can sit in an open restaurant without being checked and searched for bombs.
2. Israel is the exact opposite.

1. Israel uses x-ray machines to check and see if anyone is bringing explosives on to a bus.

1. These are the weapons used in Israel today.

1. Suicide bombers are hard to identify and have become very innovative.

The Governments ability to fight terrorism

1. One of the goals of a terrorist organization is to undermine the publics’ confidence in the government’s ability to fight terrorism.

1. The terrorists seem to be focusing on the last few places where the people feel safe to go.

1. Many Palestinians feel they have effectively terrorized Israeli society by the empty streets and shops.
2. Palestinians see the materialism off the prospering Israel: State as a weakness.

1. This theory originated from within Hamas.

The Effects of Terrorism

1. Terrorism is meant to have mental effects on people well beyond the acts themselves.
2. The Israeli’s have responded with repeated attacks.

1. The IDF is one of those organizations fighting terrorism.
2. They depend heavily on intelligence they receive.

1. Many feel that Americans have the same threat as Israelis on a daily basis.

1. No society can regard itself as immune to terrorist attacks.

1. The US can take steps to increase security.

1. Understand the organizational environment of the terrorists.
2. Befriend the communities from which they came.
3. Put terrorists on the defensive.
4. Conduct more training.
5. Make sure everyday objects aren’t turned into weapons.