From Freedom Fighters To Terrorists

Women have participated in political violence throughout history, yet the concept of women as active proponents and perpetrators of political violence and terrorism is not widely accepted. Viewed as being forced by partners, sexually abused or brainwashed, the possibility of political motives is not often considered. Paige Whaley Eager addresses this to establish whether the stereotypical view is misplaced. She utilizes a framework to analyze women engaged in political violence in different contexts in order to examine structural variables, ideological goals of the organization and personal factors which contribute to involvement. Case study rich, this informative book provides an indispensable guide to examining women's role in left/right wing engagement, ethno-nationalist/separatist violence, guerrilla movements and suicide bombers.

Foreword by Ward Churchill; cover design by Sue Coe The first anthology of writings on the history, ethics, politics and tactics of the Animal Liberation Front, Terrorists or Freedom Fighters? features both academic and activist perspectives and offers powerful insights into this international organization and its position within the animal rights movement. Calling on sources as venerable as Thomas Aquinas and as current as the Patriot Act--and, in some cases, personal experience--the contributors explore the history of civil disobedience and sabotage, and examine the philosophical and cultural meanings of words like "terrorism," "democracy" and "freedom," in a book that ultimately challenges the values and assumptions that pervade our culture. Contributors include Robin Webb, Rod Coronado, Ingrid Newkirk, Paul Watson, Karen Davis, Bruce Friedrich, pattrice jones and others.

At the start of the Syrian conflict in 2011, thousands of pro-democracy rebel groups spontaneously formed to fight the Assad regime. Years later, the revolution was unrecognizable as rebel opposition forces had merged into three major groups: Jabhat al-Nusra, Ahrar al Sham, and the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Why did these three groups rapidly increase in size and military strength while others simply disappeared? What is it about their organizational structure and their Islamist ideology that helped group manage their fighters so successfully? With these questions at the forefront, this book examines the internal organization of armed groups and, in particular, their human resources. Analyzing the growth of these groups through the prism of a labor market theory, this book shows that extreme Islamist groups were able to attract fighters away from more moderate groups because they had better internal organization, took better care of fighters both physically and monetarily, experienced less internal corruption, and effectively used their Islamist ideology to control recruits. With unparalleled access and extensive ethnographic research drawn from her interviews and her year embedded with Iraqi Special Operation forces, Mironova delves deep into the ideological and practical nexus of some of the most radical groups in the Middle East. This book brings together more than 600 survey-interviews with local civilians and fighters on the frontline in Syria and a dataset of human resource policies from 40 armed groups; it is an invaluable resource for anyone who wants insight into the on the ground functioning of rebel organizations.

The ability of terrorist groups to inflict death and destruction has markedly increased with technological advances in the areas of communication, transportation, and weapon capability. Using these new tools and networks, terrorists now seek to inflict mass casualties worldwide. Given these realities, it is essential to research the factors that underlie a terrorist group’s origins, grievances, and demands. Such insights might help others respond more effectively to insurgencies, especially when military campaigns to capture or kill every terrorist have proven unsuccessful. The Freedom Fighter: A Terrorist’s Own Story explores why so many Kurdish people—especially young adults—join the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and conduct terrorist acts. Inspired by the ground-breaking classic, The Jack-Roller: A Delinquent Boy’s Own Story, by Clifford R. Shaw, the author explores the issue of radicalization into terrorist organizations through the life-history method, enabling a PKK terrorist—or “freedom fighter”—to tell his story. Over a five-month period, the author interviewed “Deniz,” a high-level PKK terrorist in a Turkish prison, who during his time in the PKK rose from the lowest level to near the top in terms of terrorist operations. This riveting life history, told in Deniz’s own words, provides unique insights into why someone becomes a “freedom fighter” and what such a life entails. The account provides extensive information on the PKK, including the group’s recruitment, ideological and military training, armed strategies, internal structures and code of ethics, treatment of women, and goals for peace. Deniz’s story not only explains why more Kurdish “freedom fighters” will be recruited to engage in terrorist acts, but also facilitates understanding of how “normal people” can become involved in conflict and organizations that are designated as “terrorist groups.” A foreword by renowned criminologist Francis T. Cullen helps contextualize the material. This book will interest students of criminology, terrorism/counterterrorism, political violence, and security.

"As ye sow, so also shall ye reap. My father chastised you with rods, but I shall chastise you with scorpions. The Evil that men do lives after them, the good oft lies interred with their bones. In intelligence circles they have a name for it: BLOWBACK." 1980s Afghanistan, invaded by the Soviets, was an awkward place. An altruistic and intrepid team of volunteer surgeons from a British hospital need a trouble-shooter by their side on the ill-defined frontier with Pakistan. Part One - Foreign Bodies charts their manoeuvres through the diplomatic barriers. The mostly unflappable Chetwynd makes anecdotes rather than crises out of the drama. Part Two - The Enemy Within leads the team in shalwar kameez to the war-torn border regions, dodging local militia and fields of landmines, ever nearer the front-line casualties. But allied to the threat of largely invisible fighting is a growing awareness that their mission is being thwarted, not by military obstacles, but by an unseen third force - before accidentally stumbling on the revelation that the party-political cottage hospital where they are operating on war casualties is simultaneously a conduit for Saudi and Kuwaiti middle-class funding for 'illegal' fundamentalist political activities, investing long-term in the expectation of re-importing less autocratic Home Rule, either by osmosis or backlash. Part Three - Conspiracy of Silence takes Chetwynd out of the clear air of Aghanistan to the unlikely Chancelleries of Bonn where he unearths the documentary evidence he needs. He gets behind the smoke and mirrors which conceal an international fraud: Afghan drug-dealers and gun-runners are co-operating with a fund-raising charity which is defrauding the German Public, the EEC and the US State Department. Millions of dollars, raised for bogus hospital installations which will never be completed, are being siphoned off. Has Chetwynd detected the roots of the new funding of the new terrorism? YESTERDAY'S ENEMY discloses how this racket, together with another know as the "by-pass operations" was being facilitated by its very clandestine nature. It charts how a new breed of terrorism, aided and abetted, funded and equipped in the West, spawned in Afghanistan, was to result in bombings from Peshawar, Islamabad, Riyadh, Cairo, Algiers - all the way to the World Trade Centre in New York. "As sure as hell, one's man's freedom fighter turns out to be the next man's terrorist. It could hardly have been contrived but there was no denying it is what happened." On a more positive note, the book tells of the outstanding contribution made by some exceptional expatriate women in their war effort for a society not renowned for honouring their sex. Relentlessly detailed, the story is embellished with humorous anecdote, since, at the time, humour went hand-in-hand with survival.

Durba Ghosh uncovers the critical place of revolutionary terrorism in the colonial and postcolonial history of modern India.

Winner of the National Jewish Book Award Winner of the Washington Institute Book Prize One of the Best Books of the Year St. Louis Post-Dispatch * Kirkus Reviews In this groundbreaking work, Bruce Hoffman—America’s leading expert on terrorism—brilliantly re-creates the crucial thirty-year period that led to the birth of Israel. Drawing on previously untapped archival resources in London, Washington, D.C., and Jerusalem, Anonymous Soldiers shows how the efforts of two militant Zionist groups brought about the end of British rule in the Middle East. Hoffman shines new light on the bombing of the King David Hotel, the assassination of Lord Moyne in Cairo, the leadership of Menachem Begin, the life and death of Abraham Stern, and much else. Above all, he shows exactly how the underdog “anonymous soldiers” of Irgun and Lehi defeated the British and set in motion the chain of events that resulted in the creation of the formidable nation-state of Israel. One of the most detailed and sustained accounts of a terrorist and counterterrorist campaign ever written, Hoffman has crafted the definitive account of the struggle for Israel—and an impressive investigation of the efficacy of guerilla tactics. Anonymous Soldiers is essential to anyone wishing to understand the current situation in the Middle East.