The Victims of Terrorism: An Assessment of Their Influence and ...

More documents

Recommendations

Info

xviThe Victims of TerrorismSSCSkyscraper Safety CampaignTRIATerrorism Risk Insurance ActUDRUlster Defense RegimentVCFVictims Compensation FundVPAF 103 Victims of Pan Am Flight 103WTCWorld Trade CenterWTCUFGWorld Trade Center United Family GroupWVFAWidows’ and Victims’ Family Association
CHAPTER ONEIntroductionTerrorism has long been described as “theater”: violence choreographed by groups or personsseeking to effect fundamental political change. The violence that terrorists perpetrate is thereforedesigned not only to attract attention to themselves and their cause, but also to coerceand intimidate, to create an atmosphere of fear and alarm that the terrorists can exploit. Thedeliberate targeting of innocent persons generally plays a central role in the terrorists’ ability to“terrorize.” Therefore, as the fictional vampire requires blood to survive, the real-life terroristneeds victims. Yet, obvious as this might be, to date, little attention has been focused on thevictims of terrorist attack—whether the survivors themselves or the family members, friends,or colleagues directly affected by this violence. The purpose of this paper, however, is not toexamine the entire dimension of the suffering that terrorism causes. Rather, it focuses on oneimportant aspect in this neglected area of terrorism studies: the organized groups of familiesand friends that have emerged since 9/11 to become a powerful voice in U.S. counterterroristpolicy and legislation.The history of the victims’ movement in the United States goes back several decades andencompasses many more groups than just those related to terrorist attacks. The first organizationsidentified as victims’ groups appeared in 1972, 16 years prior to the bombing of PanAm flight 103. These organizations arose following a dramatic increase in crime during the1960s. They were facilitated by government initiatives to reduce the incidence of child abuse,the invention of state-funded victim compensation programs (first adopted by California in1965), and the genesis of the modern women’s movement. These groups, assisting victims ofcrime and civil negligence, organized around such objectives as providing victims with supportservices, demanding monetary compensation, and pushing for reform in the civil justicesystem (Ochberg, 1988, pp. 319–329). Discussion of the history of victims’ groups in thisbroader sense, however, has been deliberately omitted for the purpose of concentrating solelyon the victims of terrorism.The uniqueness of the subject of this paper explains the heavy reliance on Internet-basedresources and interviews with individuals closely involved with the creation and operation of9/11 victims’ groups. There is simply very little published material available on victims’ groupsformed specifically in response to terrorist attacks. However, the usefulness of the Internet faroutweighs its potential bias as a resource. Many of the articles in this paper that are used assupporting evidence came from newspapers and journals accessible online. Also critical to this1
Page 3: The Victims of TerrorismAn Assessme
Page 7: Center for Terrorism Risk Managemen
Page 11 and 12: SummaryTo date, little attention an
Page 13 and 14: SummaryxiThe 9/11 victims’ groups
Page 15: AcknowledgmentsThe results of our r
Page 20 and 21: 2 The Victims of Terrorismpaper was
Page 22 and 23: 4 The Victims of Terrorismful, orga
Page 24 and 25: 6 The Victims of TerrorismLemack an
Page 26 and 27: 8 The Victims of Terrorismgroups em
Page 28 and 29: 10 The Victims of Terrorism9/11 FSA
Page 30 and 31: 12 The Victims of Terrorismwhich ha
Page 32 and 33: 14 The Victims of Terrorismthe atta
Page 35 and 36: CHAPTER THREEPan Am 103: The Predec
Page 37 and 38: Pan Am 103: The Predecessor to 9/11
Page 43: Pan Am 103: The Predecessor to 9/11
Page 46 and 47: 28 The Victims of Terrorismparts, h
Page 48 and 49: 30 The Victims of Terrorismbeen abl
Page 50 and 51: 32 The Victims of TerrorismWave Res
Page 52 and 53: 34 The Victims of Terrorismto contr
Page 54 and 55: 36 The Victims of Terrorismdestruct
Page 56 and 57: 38 The Victims of TerrorismThe UK B
Page 58 and 59: 40 The Victims of Terrorismin the b
Page 60 and 61: 42 The Victims of TerrorismCohn, Ab
Page 62 and 63: 44 The Victims of TerrorismHudson,
Page 64 and 65: 46 The Victims of TerrorismPeaceful
Page 66: 48 The Victims of TerrorismWalsh, L

The Victims of Terrorism: An Assessment of Their Influence and ...

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?