State Terrorism
State terrorism refers to actions taken by governments that employ terroristic tactics to achieve political objectives, either by supporting terrorist groups or by perpetrating violence against their own citizens. This concept encompasses a range of activities, including secret arrests, torture, and extrajudicial killings aimed at suppressing dissent or instilling fear among populations. Countries designated as state sponsors of terrorism, such as Cuba, Iran, North Korea, and Syria, are noted for their involvement in supporting terrorist organizations or engaging in violent actions against their own people. The U.S. State Department identifies these nations and imposes various sanctions to limit their international dealings and military capabilities.
Historically, state terrorism has been associated with military dictatorships, particularly in Latin America during the 20th century, where tactics like "dirty wars" led to widespread disappearances and human rights violations. As geopolitical dynamics evolve, new countries are periodically added to the list of state sponsors of terrorism, reflecting ongoing concerns about global security. For instance, recent legislative efforts in the U.S. have sought to designate Russia as a state sponsor, particularly in light of its actions in Ukraine and its affiliations with North Korea. Overall, state terrorism remains a significant issue in international relations, highlighting complex interactions between governance, security, and human rights.
State Terrorism
Summary: It has been known for governments to have previously conducted terrorist operations or openly sponsored terrorists to achieve political ends. The US State Department, as of 2023, designated four "state sponsors of terror"Cuba, Iran, North Korea, and Syria. Sudan was previously on the list as well. Before the 2003 US invasion and overthrow of Saddam Hussein, Iraq was cited, as was Libya, until May 2006, when a settlement was reached in the 1988 bombing of a Pan-American airliner over Lockerbie, Scotland. Governments also conducted terrorist activities against their own citizens in the form of secret arrests or widespread killings outside the realm of courts. When such policies were conducted in the name of anti-communism, the United States often supported such regimes.
While governments were usually the targets of terrorists, they were also sponsors of terrorism. There were two definitions of state terrorismgovernments that supported terrorists as a tool of their foreign policy and governments that conducted terrorism against their own citizens.
When al Qaeda hijackers attacked New York and Washington D.C. on September 11, 2001, the US State Department marked seven countries as "state sponsors of terrorism"Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Syria, and Sudan. Following regime change in Iraq (2003) and Libya (2011) the countries were not longer identified in such a manner. In 2020, Sudan was also removed from this identifier.
According to the State Department, the cooperation of official governments provided "critical support" to terrorist groups, making it possible for them to obtain funding and weapons and to have operated in secure areas.
Countries officially designated as sponsors of terrorism were subject to four categories of sanctions under US law, including a ban on buying arms, controls on "dual-use" goods and services for military or civilian purposes, a ban on receiving economic assistance, and "miscellaneous financial and other restrictions," which included US opposition to World Bank loans, limits on diplomatic immunity from civil lawsuits, denial of duty-free exports to the United States, and limits on the size of private financial transactions between the designated country and US citizens.
As of 2024, these countries were designated as state sponsors of terrorism by the State Department:
Cuba (placed on the list January 12, 2021): Long a nemesis of the United States, Cuba was accused of failing to cooperate with the American "war on terrorism" by failing to track down terrorists, seize their assets, or extradite people wanted by the United States, such as the Americans wanted for hijackings carried out in the 1970s. Among other objections, the State Department noted that Cuba's government and press "rarely speak out against al Qaeda or other designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations" and that the government in Havana "maintains friendly ties with Iran and North Korea." Cuba also provided a safe haven to members of terrorist organizations. The State Department did not accuse Cuba of actively assisting terrorism, although in the past, Cuba has helped fund foreign terrorist groups such as the Montoneros in Argentina in the 1970s. In the late 1990 Cuba came under condemnation from the United States for using its Air Force to shoot down small civilian aircraft that were rescuing dissidents off the island. In the early 2020s, Cuba was left on the list of country's supporting state-sponsored terrorism due to their continued support of international terrorism and their unwillingness to extradite known criminals.
Iran (listed since January 19, 1984): In its 2022 Country Reports on Terrorism, the US State Department described Iran as "the leading state sponsor of terrorism." It said that Iran "increasingly encouraged and plotted attacks against the United States, including against former U.S. officials, in retaliation for the death of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) Commander Qasem Soleimani." Soleimani was killed by a US drone attack in Iraq in 2020. The Department also claimed Iran Iran "supported acts of terrorism in Bahrain, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen through proxies and partner groups such as Hizballah and al-Ashtar Brigades.
North Korea (since November 20, 2017): North Korea remained on the list of designated state sponsors of terrorism through 2024. The State Department declared that "the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) DPRK repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism, as the DPRK was implicated in assassinations on foreign soil. North Korea was removed from the list in 2008, but was reinserted in 2017 due to its support of acts of international terrorism, including being implicated in assassinations on foreign soil.
Syria (since December 29, 1979): Accused of providing political and material support to Hezbollah and several Palestinian groups, including Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PLFP), and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC). Syria's President Bashar al-Assad was accused of meeting with "rejectionist" leaders-Palestinians unwilling to enter into peace talks with Israel-along with the speaker of the Iranian parliament. The State Department declared that "Syrian officials publicly condemned international terrorism, but made a distinction between terrorism and what they considered to be "legitimate armed resistance" by Palestinians in the Occupied Territories and by Lebanese Hezbollah." the State Department noted that a UN investigation indicated "a strong likelihood of official Syrian involvement" in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri." In the 2020s, Syria remained on the list of countries allowing state-sponsored terrorism due to their continued support of terrorist groups like Hezbollah and their willingness to provide weapons and military support to terrorist groups.
State Terrorism Against Civilians
Spanish judge Ernesto Garzón defined "state terrorism" as:
a political system whose rule permits and/or imposes a clandestine, unpredictable, and diffuse application, even regarding clearly innocent people, of coercive means prohibited by the proclaimed judicial ordinance. State terrorism obstructs or annuls judicial activity and transforms the government into an active agent in the struggle for power.
His definition referred primarily to military dictatorships that applied secret, unpredictable, violent measures to assert and maintain control over the civilian population.
Under this definition, the United States supported several such governments in the past, especially in South Americagovernments that have been the targets of designated terrorist groups.
"State terror" tactics in such regimes included arrest, torture, and execution without trial. In some cases, the term "dirty war" was applied to cases of large-scale kidnappings of suspected opponents or "subversives" by the military or police. The Spanish word desaparecidos, meaning "disappeared ones," was used to describe the many thousands of victims of this form of official kidnapping who are never seen again. Governments accused of this form of terrorism include, at various times, Chile, Uruguay, Peru, and Argentina.
In other cases, such as in Iraq under Saddam Hussein, entire families were imprisoned or executed for alleged crimes of a husband or son. In other cases, suspected opponents of the regime were jailed indefinitely without trial. In the most extreme cases, as in Iraq, wholesale killings are carried out using poison gas or other weapons of mass destruction. Though the countries and tactics have changed, state terrorism has not gone away as the twenty-first century has progressed and will continue to evolve with changing global conditions.
Russia as a State Sponsor of Terrorism
In June 2024, in a bipartisan move, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut introduced a bill in the US Senate to designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism. The two senators used Russia's recently signed defense agreement with North Korea as the impetus for the move. In passing the Senate, it called for the US Secretary of State to carry forth the designation. This would then trigger the package of automatic sanctions against Russia. Ukraine, the subject of a Russian invasion that began in 2022, also urged the US to carry forth with the designation. In August 2024, Democratic Representative Ted Lieu from California, along with four co-sponsors introduced similar legislation in the US House of Representatives.
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