This document discusses different definitions and classifications of terrorism. It defines terrorism according to UK law and the UN as criminal acts intended to provoke terror in the public. Terrorism is difficult to define because armed conflicts often involve civilian casualties and strategic targets are near civilians. Terrorism can be religious, political, or ideological and motivated by individual, power, or group gains. It discusses different types of terrorism including political, religious, nationalist, state-sponsored, single-issue, and lone wolf. The document also discusses terrorist motivations, premeditated attacks, and how some attacks breach human rights by being indiscriminate.

1. ATLANTIAN BS
Martin Brown AIIRSM, Dip PI, BBA
Terrorism – The act of creating Mass Fear, Harm, Alarm and Distress in the name
of an ideology that only empowers individuals wishing to dominate others through fear
and violence, whilst encouraging the criminally minded & violent psychopaths to engage
in anti social behaviour in the name of a cause, with the belief of having a legitimate cause
through attacking purely civilian targets and endangering non combatants (MJB)

2. Terrorism - UK Definition
• There is currently NO universally accepted definition of terrorism
• However each nation has a legal definition
UK – “Terrorism” Means the use or threat of action were;
a) It involves serious violence against a person, involves serious damage to
property, endangers a persons life (other than that of the person
committing the action), creates serious risk to Health & Safety of the
Public, or section of the public, or is designed seriously to interfere with
or seriously to disrupt an electronic system;
b) It is designed to influence the government, or an international
government organisation, or to intimidate the public or a section of the
public and;
c) Is made for the purpose of advancing a political, religious, radical or
ideological cause
Section 1 of the Terrorism Act 2000

3. Terrorism – A Criminal Act
• The United Nations Definition "Criminal acts intended or calculated to
provoke a state of terror in the general public”
• The UK has adopted the perspective that terrorism is a Criminal Act and
can be defined in an English Court of Law that will stand up to the
scrutiny of European Law and the Human Rights Act 1998 under
legitimate use of National laws such as the Terrorism Act 2006 and the
Counter Terrorism Act 2008
• The United States of America has not signed up to the Human Rights Act
1998 nor to other European Laws, but also basses its perspective of
terrorism on a violation of it’s State and Federal Laws, whilst gaining
legitimacy for these Laws on compliance with United Nations definitions
• Islamic States operating under Sharia Law defines terrorism as any Act
against a legitimately elected Government/State "waging war against
God and society" (hirabah and fasad-fel-arz, uniquely known as
moharebeh/mofsed-e-filarz in Iran: armed robbery, terrorism, armed
violence)
Hudud crimes are crimes whose penalties were laid down by the Quran, and
are considered to be "claims against God".

4. Why is Terrorism difficult to define?
• Armed Conflict will always involve civilian casualties no matter how good
the weaponry or the motives of both sides
• There will always be a military rationale for a pre-emptive strike on a
civilian target – This maybe any target presumed to aid the opposing
forces in continuing it’s armed conflict such as an Ammunitions
Factory, Heavy Water Plant, Power Station and or Main Supply Route
(MSR) or simply to initiate an early surrender of the enemy
1. Dresden - Germany WW2
2. Hiroshima & Nagasaki – Japan WW2
3. London - England WW2
4. Pearl Harbour USA WW2
• Strategic Targets are often Populated by civilians.
• Civilians often mount resistance operations against invading
forces, therefore these defensive actions can not be termed universally as
terrorist activity irrespective of the legitimacy of the invading forces

5. Two Faces of Terrorism
Religion Politics Ideology
Individual Gain Power Group Gain

6. Religious – Political - Ideological
• Religious - Based on a false belief that their actions or deeds are based on a
divine request/order or right to wage war or to punish other members of the
Human Race for failing to believe in their system of Religious identity
* The problem here is that it is inconceivable that any Supreme Being (God) would
wish mere Humans to kill innocent Men, Women and Children*
• Political – This is far easier to understand and is divided into two main
categories;
a. Personal Political Gain – Individuals obtaining Personal Power, Wealth and Public
Favour through threats of Violence and Intimidation
b. National Political Gain – Party/Group Change in Political Power, wealth and Public
Favour – Where groups join together to further their aims outside of a
Democratic/Official process again using Violence, Intimidation & Fear
• Ideological – Is an organized collection of ideas to change the current order.
Understanding the context of a particular ideology will assist in combating the
justifications offered by these terrorists – These can be new, old or a mixture of all
three, as can be seen within Russian/Chinese Communism mutating into Korean
Communism with a distinct hardening of Ideological belief (This not an indication that North
Korea is a terrorist state but demonstrates how ideology changes)

7. Individual – Power – Group Gain
• Individual – Where the individual is the main recipient of the gain, from the
actions/deeds of themselves or others working on the orders of the
Individual, these persons generally have magnetic, inspirational or Prophetic
personalities or may have substantial resources available to entice the
criminally and greed motivated follower
• Power – These individuals are generally self proclaimed leaders, seekers of
adulation, feel powerless, weak, or scared inside. They seek control or power
over others because it makes them feel safe or less fearful. Sometimes their
fear is based in reality, because they're poor, victimised or physically weak
and maybe a result of up bringing through parental fear
• Group – Generally coming from a religious or criminal stand point using
paragraphs from the Bible or Quran that fit their personal group identity and
enforcing these unrealistic views on others through fear and ignorance and
from a criminal stand point creating the Robin Hood effect or the Mafia
Effect of power through fear, intimidation, violence and financial loss and
their personal gain

8. Classification of Terrorism
Extremism & Terrorism comes in many forms and from varying sources
including domestic terrorism within democratic societies. To counter the
threat it is often classified into seven distinct groups
• Political
• Religious
• Ideological
• Nationalist
• State Sponsored
• Single Issue
• Lone Wolf

9. Political & Religious
• Acting upon orders of a higher or divine authority
• Believe their actions are vindicated and morally justifiable of any wrong
doing whilst carrying out orders in the pursuit of Religious or Political
Objectives
• Misguided sense of Loyalty
• Use of Inhumane methodology
• Extremely subversive through mass media
• Control of information that fits their particular version of events
• Appearance of openness and transparency through stage managed or
directed events
• Allegiances to criminal leaders/bosses
• Brain washing techniques and systematic psychological abuse through
repetitious activities

10. Ideological
• Groups seeking to change social, political and economic systems of an
entire State or Nation
• These extremists or Terrorists are extremely violent and Zealous
• Extreme Right or Left Wing political views
• Objectives of these groups are very high & plan for large scale change
• Extremely well organised often supported from behind the scenes by
political or Religious figures who may have vested interest in such change
• Bring about Social Revolutions through inspiring youth, poor and the
disaffected by promising unrealistic social reform
• Generally begins within universities and spreads to poverty stricken areas
through young graduates seeking cheaper accommodation
• Attracts criminality to fund campaigns through drug/weapon dealing

11. Nationalism
• Generally criminally orientated – Criminals use Nationalism to vindicate
their use criminality to gain funds
• Generated by social disaffection within national regulations relating to
immigration or the removal of rights from localised communities
• Restoration of National Identity
• Present a blame culture for their lack of standing or work
• Unrealistic belief in a long protracted claim
a. Argentine claim to The Falkland Islands
b. Irish Republican Army (IRA) Restoration of North/South Ireland
c. Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA) Independent Basque Homeland
d. Kashmir militancy, Hizbul Mujahideen – Independence of
Kashmir & Jammu

12. State Sponsored Terrorism
• State sponsored terrorism supports activists, terrorist and criminal
activity to undermine the political systems of the host nation
• These activities can be supported by training insurgents/Spies/Terrorists
Locally, Nationally or Internationally
• State Sponsored Terrorism is often conducted in third world or
neighbouring countries to fulfil their operational activities without
implicating the supporting Nation therefore giving them plausible
deniability
• Disassociation from political wings or parties enables States to act
normally on the World platform whilst manipulating world opinion and
Local activity to suit their needs
• Western Nations have interfered with the Political systems and parties of
other nations for years resulting in the break down of the former Soviet
Union and the current problems in Afghanistan – due in part to the
excessive training of Mujahideen soldiers in the fight against communism
• Dependant on your point of view, the West is as guilty of State sponsored
Terrorism as any other Nation on Earth, even if it did not intend the
outcomes we currently have

13. Single Issue & Extremism
• The focus for Single Issue is a particular policy or activity by the
incumbent Political Party or Government
• This can be demonstrated through the activities of Green Peace, Animal
Liberation Front and other such groups that require changes in Political
Policy to ban experiments on Animals or to prevent perceived world
disasters (Rain Forest Destruction)
• Their aim is not to change the entire Political system but the parts that
they see as illegal, morally wrong or other wise necessary
• Extremism has many faces and can disrupt and erode even solid
democratic societies (Realised during the build up to WW2 and rise of
Nazism; resulting in the Deaths of Millions) and the partition of Nations
• Radicalisation is on par with extremism and requires monitoring for
criminality, subversion and terrorist infiltration

14. Lone Wolf
• Singular individuals acting separately from any groups or affiliations
• Often with visions of grandeur, believing they are apart of, or the head of
a larger organisation
• A true Lone wolf works without help or incitement from external sources
invariably acting originally on impulse prior to planning and becomes
extremely dangerous if their first assault is successful
• Lone Wolf psychopath – detailed military style planning often engaging in
a fantasy life with them acting as the saviour of mankind or the avenging
angel doing Gods work or purely acting on vengeance like the recent
Police Officer in the USA
• Extremely if not impossible to plan against or to identify using
intelligence gathering unless, tipped off, caught operationally planning or
completing a dry run
• Lone Bomber (Person Bourne Device) In built up area’s as seen in
Israel, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq

15. Premeditated, Indiscriminate &
Breaching Human Rights
• An Act of planning to maximise the Deaths, casualties and to increase the
fear amongst the general population, that is calculated to cause
maximum Harm, Alarm and Distress across the entire nation and world if
big enough which was the intent on the Twin Towers (7/11)
• All Western Nations went to a Critical Alert (Terrorist Attack Warning)
creating planetary wide fear
• The Loss of Life during the Twin Towers attack was one of the single
greatest losses in the History of modern Terrorism activity
• The Madrid Train Attack in 2004 claimed 191 lives and 1,800 injuries with
victims coming from 17 countries neither of these attacks made any
consideration for innocent women, the Old or Children breaching Human
Rights indiscriminately
• These activities where designed to intimidate, frighten and distress
nations into actions that would increase the pressure on Governments
• Being Indiscriminate means the terrorist cells gain a higher operational
success rate and a vast array of targets to choose from

16. Terrorist Motivations
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