Other People's Wars: A Review of Overseas Terrorism in ... - Edocr

Groups in the World Today
Other Peoples’ Wars -- Chapter Two
Terrorism is a common phenomenon, and there are numerous groups scattered around the
world. Some are nationalist groups with a quasi-Leftist ideology (Marxist, Maoist, or
Trotskyite) that claim to be working to advance the fortunes of a particular ethno-cultural group
– usually despite having very little support from the people they purport to represent. Other
terrorist organizations are (or were) definitively revolutionary in character, hoping to overthrow
the government inside a particular country, and supplant it with some kind of brave new society.
Most (but not all) of these groups employ Marxist credos of some kind.
The Palestinians created a number of groups in the 1960s and ‘70s, working for the
overthrow of Israel specifically, if not for a larger revolution altogether. Some of these groups
are still in existence, nursed by sponsoring governments in the Middle East. Since the 1980s,
Islamic Fundamentalism has supplanted these older variations of nationalist/socialist/Marxist
thinking as the inspiring ideology for dissent in the Muslim world and dozens of new groups
appeared – most of the Sunni Muslim fundamentalists have become laced into the al Qaeda
network, except for the newer Palestinian groups.
There are other groups as well, ranging from an apocalyptic Japanese religious cult, to animal
rights extremists, to ‘right wing’ extremists with a predilection for racial warfare. It also appears
that the radical left’s resurgence in anti-globalization protests has rekindled some vanished
groups such as the Italian Red Brigades.
A partial list of existing international terrorist groups in the world today would include:
Palestinian Marxist/Socialist Groups:
The Abu Nidal Organization (aka Black September, Fatah Revolutionary Council): A
dwindling group based in Lebanon, Iraq (where its leader recently died under mysterious
circumstances), Sudan, and Syria; it was once one of the most aggressive and feared groups in
the world, having killed or injured some 900 people -- including Canadians -- in 20 countries.
It is doubtful if they have a presence in Canada, although some members were rumored to be
here in 1975 to plan an attack on the Montreal Olympics. 4 The group is banned in Canada.
The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP): Likewise a fading group
based in Lebanon, it survives (barely) with Syrian support. A Canadian presence, if any, is
unknown
The Palestine Liberation Front (PLF): Another tiny residual group from the 1960s and ‘70s,
it survives with Iraqi support, but has not committed any actions lately. Again, it is doubtful if
they are present in Canada.
The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO): Currently ‘respectable,’ given its presence as
the governing authority in the West Bank, Yasser Arafat’s bodyguards, police and Militia
(especially the Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade) still commit acts of terrorism against Israeli targets.
4 Newspaper stories in 1975 reported on the speculation about their presence, but no confirmation has ever
been made public.
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