Term Paper on "Middle East, Counter-Terrorism"

Term Paper 12 pages (3163 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Middle East, Counter-Terrorism and what the writer believes can be done in that area of the nation to promote peace. There were three sources used to complete this paper.

COUNTERTERROISM IDEAS AND THOUGHTS

Violence in the Middle East has been an issue for many years. For the most part the recent violence has been founded in the problems between militant Muslims and non-Muslims. The militant Muslims have come to believe that a government run by secular boundaries will fail the people of the nations (Terrorism and Homeland security pp. 154). The violence comes from disagreements about who shall govern the region and what regions shall be governed as one entity.

Militant Islamists' ideology is racist and anti-Semitic. Its origins date to the movement founded in 1928 called the Muslim Brotherhood. The Muslim Brotherhood's founder, Hassan al-Banna, expressed "considerable admiration for the Nazi Brownshirts. Like the Nazis who wanted to kill all Jews and enslave others who did not belong to the Aryan super nation, Osama bin Laden also calls for killing all Jews, Americans, and other infidels who prevent Islamists from building a pure Islamic state with global dimensions. In a statement made on February 23, 1998, bin Laden claimed that "to kill the Americans and their allies - civilians and military - is an individual duty for every Muslim who can do it in any country in which it is possible (Militant Islam (http://jamestown.org/terrorism/news/article.php?issue_id=2878)."

With militant Muslims the belief is that violence is a method to meet the ultimate goal, which the followers believe is the will of their God.

The militant Muslims bear the most responsibility for the current violence in the Middle East as they believe that it is the will of God and therefore something they are called to do.

If the violence in the Middle East is going to stop and have a lasting peace in the area it is more important than ever to insure that a secular governing body handle the area's political operations. If a secular non-religious body is chosen to run the nations it will reduce the possibility of religious persecution and will promote a fair and equal treatment of all people (Militant Islam (http://jamestown.org/terrorism/news/article.php?issue_id=2878).

If a Muslim or Christian-based governing body is installed there may be actual persecution of the opposite faith. Even if measures are taken to insure that does not happen, there will always be the perception that persecution is taking place which will destroy any hope of the area living in peace for a lasting amount of time (Militant Islam (http://jamestown.org/terrorism/news/article.php?issue_id=2878).

One of the issues surrounding the violence in the Middle East is the existence and operation of Hamas.

Hamas is an Islamic organization based in Palestine. It is recognized by many Western nations as a terrorist organization because of the involvement of its members in acts of violence and past terrorism events (Hamas (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamas).

The organization was founded in 1987 and is most well-known for the suicide bombings that some of its members have carried out at various public arenas in the world.

According to the U.S. State Dept, Hamas is funded by Iran, Palestinian expatriates, and private benefactors in Saudi Arabia and other Arab states. In a 2002 report, Human Rights Watch stated that Hamas' leaders "should be held accountable for the war crimes and crimes against humanity" that have been committed by its members. The same report quoted Reuven Paz, former head of research for the Shin Bet (Israeli intelligence agency), who described Hamas as "an authentic product of Palestinian society under Israeli rule, more so than the PA." (Palestinian Authority) (Hamas (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamas)."

The world was recently shocked when Hamas won 74 of the 132 available seats in the 2006 Palestine Legislative Council election. While the political alliance against Israelis was the basis for the election results it was interesting to world leaders that voters were willing to vote into office, people who are responsible for many killings (Hamas (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamas).

In 1992 the military area of the organization was formed and is active today.

Hamas regards the territory of the present-day State of Israel -- as well as the Gaza Strip and the West Bank -- as an inalienable Islamic waqf or religious bequest, which can never be surrendered to non-Muslims. It asserts that struggle (jihad) to regain control of the land from Israel is the religious duty of every Muslim (fard 'ain). This position is more radical than that now held by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which in 1988 recognized Israel's sovereignty (Hamas (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamas)."

The organization has 36 covenants that its members are expected to follow.

The covenants detail how the women and men are to behave and what is to be done with regards to non-Muslims. Its stated mission is to support the oppressed however, violence often becomes part and parcel of that support (Hamas (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamas).

One of its leaders summed it up with the following quote.

Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it (Hamas (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamas)."

The children of Hamas are raised with the belief that they must devote their life to exalting their God which includes fighting against anyone who is non-Islamic.

Another organization, or political movement in the Middle East is Hezbollah which is the "main political party representing the Shia community, Lebanon's largest religious bloc. Founded with the aid of Iran, it follows the distinctly Shiite Islamist ideology developed by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, leader of the Islamic Revolution in Iran. It calls for the establishment of an Islamic state in Lebanon, on the principle of sovereignty of the jurisconsult, although recognising that this could only come about with the consensus of the Lebanese people (Hizbollah (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hezbollah)."

The organization has a civilian section that is responsible for news services, running hospitals, and educational facilities. It also participates regularly in the Lebanese Parliament. It is recognized in the Arab world as a resistance movement. It is also a recognized political party. The United States along with several other western nations have declared the organization as a terrorist group. The European Union believes that the security wing of the organization is a terrorist-based group but the organization as a whole is not (Hizbollah (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hezbollah).

Hezbollah has been labeled a terrorist organization by the United States the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Canada, Israel and Australia; the U.S. Department of State accuses Hezbollah of killing up to 300 American citizens (over 230 of whom were U.S. Marines in Lebanon - though accountability for the Marine barracks bombing has never been thoroughly established or proven) (Hizbollah (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hezbollah).Hezbollah, however, denies any involvement in these attacks. The European Union has labeled Hezbollah's External Security Organization or international wing as "terrorist (Hizbollah (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hezbollah)."

Hezbollah and Hamas have a common goal and that is to spread the Islamic message as they see it and to fight against any non-Muslim cause.

Its primary focus has always been to expel Israeli forces.

The Islamic Jihad Movement was created in the 1970s and is a militant Palestine group. The United States has also designated this group as a terrorist group or organization based on past actions of its members (Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestinian_Islamic_Jihad).

This group defines jihad as acts of war against Israeli Jews. Palestinian Islamic Jihad also opposes many other Arab governments, whom they see as being insufficiently Islamic and too western. The PIJ's armed wing, the Al-Quds brigades, has claimed responsibility for numerous militant attacks in Israel, including suicide bombings (Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestinian_Islamic_Jihad)."

While the Islamic Jihad is smaller than the Hamas and does not have the wide network of support that Hamas has it is still considered a dangerous organization by home security agencies (Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestinian_Islamic_Jihad).

The group traditionally carries out attacks against groups of Israelis on the anniversary of the death of the group's leader.

Islamic Jihad is alleged to have used women and teens as suicide bombers. On March 29, 2004, 16-year-old Tamer Khuweir in Rifidia, an Arab suburb of Nablus was apprehended by Israeli security forces as he prepared to carry out a suicide attack. His older brother claimed he was brainwashed to do it by an Islamic Jihad cleric, and demanded the Palestinian Authority investigate the incident and arrest those responsible for it (Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestinian_Islamic_Jihad)."

While there are many similarities among the three groups including the hatred of Israelites and the use of suicide bombers for the "good" of the cause there are also several differences. The second group is primarily concerned with ejection from Lebanon while Hamas is interested in a worldwide eradication of Israelites. The third group is small but also stands alone in many of its beliefs.

All three of these groups are a threat to the United States for several reasons. Each of the groups has a hatred for anything not Islamic, with a special hatred for Christian lifestyles. Each of the three groups also has an anger toward the United States because they believe that… READ MORE

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