Law - Terrorism: a history

Second Edition

Randall D. Law

polity

Copyright Randall D. Law 2016

The right of Randall D. Law to be identified as Author of this Work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

First published in 2016 by Polity Press

Polity Press
65 Bridge Street
Cambridge CB2 1UR, UK

Polity Press
350 Main Street
Malden, MA 02148, USA

All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purpose of criticism and review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

ISBN: 978-0-7456-9093-3

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Law, Randall David, author.
Title: Terrorism : a history / Randall Law.
Description: Cambridge, UK ; Malden, MA : Polity Press, 2016. | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2015047115 (print) | LCCN 2016003263 (ebook) | ISBN 9780745690896 (hardcover : alk. paper) | ISBN 0745690890 (hardcover : alk. paper) | ISBN 9780745690902 (pbk. : alk. paper) | ISBN 0745690904 (pbk. : alk. paper) | ISBN 9780745690926 (mobi) | ISBN 9780745690933 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Terrorism--History.
Classification: LCC HV6431 .L39 2016 (print) | LCC HV6431 (ebook) | DDC 363.32509--dc23
LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015047115

The publisher has used its best endeavours to ensure that the URLs for external websites referred to in this book are correct and active at the time of going to press. However, the publisher has no responsibility for the websites and can make no guarantee that a site will remain live or that the content is or will remain appropriate.

Every effort has been made to trace all copyright holders, but if any have been inadvertently overlooked the publisher will be pleased to include any necessary credits in any subsequent reprint or edition.

For further information on Polity, visit our website: politybooks.com

The publication of the second edition of this book gives me another chance to recount with great pleasure the support that has made it possible for me to write this text. My approach to teaching and scholarship reflects my abiding faith in the power of a liberal arts education. Thus it should not be a surprise that this book grew out of a course I began teaching in 2002; in fact, the course and the books growth have been closely intertwined. I thank my students at Northwestern College of Iowa, where I taught from 2001 to 2003, and Birmingham-Southern College, in Birmingham, Alabama, where I have taught since 2003. They have asked the questions that have in large part provoked the writing of this book.

I wish to thank the faculty, staff, librarians, and administrators of Birmingham-Southern for their extraordinary support. In particular, I want to thank my fellow historians at BSC: Guy Hubbs, Mark Lester, Matt Levey, Bill Nicholas, and Victoria Ott. I cannot imagine a more stimulating, friendly, and supportive group; every one of them read the manuscript in whole or in part and provided extensive critique and commentary. My newest colleagues, Will Hustwit and Mark Schantz, have also helped me in innumerable ways. The book is much better for the input from all of them, but, of course, any errors of fact or interpretation are mine alone. Other colleagues at Birmingham-Southern current and former read and commented on chapters or sparked my imagination with their ideas. They include Steve Cole, Amy Cottrill, Vince Gawronski, Gen. Charles Krulak (USMC, ret.), Mark McClish, Michael McInturff, Sam Pezzillo, Shane Pitts, David Resha, Gail Smith, and David Ullrich. While studying at BSC, Daniel Mauldin worked as my research assistant and developed ideas that I incorporated into my coverage of Irelands Troubles.

Those beyond my campus who have provided valuable information, advice, and/or support include Colonel Tony Abati (USMC), Laura Anderson, Mark Brighton, Stuart Finkel, Steven Isaac, Jack Owens (FBI, ret.), Lynn Patyk, Colonel Ed Rowe (US Army, ret.), and Thomas Sharp. I would particularly like to thank Gregory Miller and Stephen Shellman for twice inviting me to teach at the annual Summer Workshop on Teaching about Terrorism. I am convinced that I learned as much as I taught during those encounters with presenters and participants. While in graduate school at Georgetown University I worked with three outstanding teacher-scholars who continue to influence me twenty years later: Catherine Evtuhov, in whose course I first began to explore Russian and European terrorism in comparative perspective; David Goldfrank, who always helped me to see above, around, and behind every issue I sought to tackle; and Richard Stites, who filled me with a passion for scholarship and effective historical writing.

The good folks at Polity, especially Andrea Drugan, Jonathan Skerrett, Elliott Karstadt, Pascal Porcheron, Ellen MacDonald-Kramer, and Justin Dyer, have provided indispensable advice, generous support, and not a little bit of patience in working with me on this book.

Every member of my family has graced me not only with their considerably learned advice, but also with their unflagging emotional and logistical support. To my father, Elmo Adrian Law, and my in-laws, Barbara Delman Wolfson and Lewis Wolfson thank you. And despite her passing, the love and generosity of my mother, Patricia Law, still helps sustain me. My greatest thanks and debt are due to my wife, Hannah Wolfson, without whom this project would not have been conceived, sustained, and completed through two editions. This book is dedicated to our son and daughter, Alexander Ward and Vera Adrian Law, who are my source of so much happiness in the present and so much hope for the future.

ALFAnimal Liberation Front (US)ANFOAmmonium nitrate and fuel oil bombAQAPal-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (Saudi Arabia and Yemen)AQIMal-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (North Africa)ATFBureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (US)CIACentral Intelligence Agency (US)COINTELPROCounterintelligence program of FBI (US)ELFEarth Liberation Front (US)EOKANational Organization of Cypriot FightersETABasque Nation and Liberty (Spain)FARCRevolutionary Armed Forces of ColombiaFBIFederal Bureau of Investigation (US)FLNNational Liberation Front (Algeria)GALAnti-Terrorist Liberation Groups (Spain)GIAArmed Islamic Group (Algeria)GSG 9Border Guard Group 9, West German counterterrorism unitHSRAHindustan Socialist Republican Association (India)IMROInternal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (Balkans)IDFIsrael Defense ForcesIRAIrish Republican ArmyISIInter-Services Intelligence (Pakistan)ISIS/ISILIslamic State of Iraq and Syria/Islamic State of Iraq and the LevantKKKKu Klux Klan (US)KPDCommunist Party of GermanyLEHIFighters for the Freedom of IsraelLTTELiberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (Sri Lanka)MCPMalayan Communist PartyNAACPNational Association for the Advancement of Colored People (US)NATONorth Atlantic Treaty OrganizationNRBCNuclear, radiological, biological, or chemical weaponsNSANational Security Agency (US)OASSecret Army Organization (Algeria)PFLPPopular Front for the Liberation of PalestinePLOPalestine Liberation OrganizationRAFRed Army Faction (West Germany)RICRoyal Irish ConstabularyRUCRoyal Ulster Constabulary (Northern Ireland)SAStorm Division of Nazi Party (Germany)SDLPSocial Democratic and Labour Party (Northern Ireland)SDSStudents for a Democratic Society (US)SLASymbionese Liberation Army (US)SPDSocial Democratic Party of GermanySRsSocialist Revolutionary Party (Russia)UNUnited NationsUnabomberUniversity Airline Bomber (US)UUPUlster Unionist Party (Northern Ireland)UVFUlster Volunteer Force (Northern Ireland)