Origins and Evolution of Terrorism

1. Why was the hostage crisis at the Munich Olympics a turning point in terrorism? 

     The hostage crisis at the Munich Olympics was really the trigger of the advance of terrorism from 1972 and on. It showed how significant the use of a powerful image could be when it came to instilling fear in enemies, which the hostage crisis did very well. So much so actually, that after that event  Americans became more aware of the dangers of terrorism. It also showed the importance of making a terrorist attack widely viewed. The hostage crisis occurred at a very symbolic event too, which taught future terrorists the importance of targeting places with symbolic value.

2. The reading says that state-sponsored terrorism increased after the U.S. hostage crisis in Iran. What did many governments learn from that event?

     Many governments, including the Iranian, learned that the state support of terrorist groups could prove very beneficial to weaker states who were targeting more powerful states. Terrorists would also benefit from state support because it gave them more lethal weapons, more money, more training, more recruitments, diplomatic immunity, ways of transportation, and false identification.

3. The past fifteen years have seen a sharp rise in religious terrorism. What motivates these terrorists? 

      Religiously motivated terrorists usually feel like their society's original traditions are vanishing, and that a foreign enemy's influence has caused this. Therefore, they feel as though the only way to preserve their original beliefs and values is by making a change, through violence. Since, especially in the past fifteen years, the world has been going through dramatic changes, the rise in religious terrorism makes sense. Many terrorists, such as Yigal Amir (who assassinated the Israeli Prime Minister Rabin), claim their actions were carried out on God's orders. Sometimes, it simplifies down to an interpretation of a battle between good and evil (God and the devil).

4. How have these new terrorists changed the way terrorism is carried out? 

     Originally, experts on terrorism believed the terrorists just wanted a lot of people to be watching, not killed. But as religiously motivated terrorism increased, it seemed terrorists wanted a lot of people killed as well. Also, terrorists have been trying to plan attacks with the use of nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons, which are much, much larger threats and could mean potential destruction of the United States.