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123-426: Because of the nature of their occupation, federal air marshals (FAMs) travel often. They must also train to be highly proficient marksmen. A FAM's job is to blend in with other passengers on board aircraft and rely heavily on their training, including investigative techniques, criminal terrorist behavior recognition, firearms proficiency, aircraft-specific tactics, and close quarters self-defense measures to protect

246-622: A budget shortfall and right after DHS issued a July 26, 2003 warning that terrorists were planning to smuggle weapons onboard aircraft leaving the U.S. East Coast, United Kingdom, Italy, and Australia with the intention of hijacking them. After Congressional outrage, this plan was cancelled before going into effect. This plan was also at odds with the Aviation and Transportation Security Act (ATSA), whose Section 105 states that "Deployment of Federal Air Marshals... [on] nonstop, long distance flights, such as those targeted on September 11, 2001, should be

369-485: A congressional hearing on aviation security, U.S. Congressman Ted Poe of Houston questioned then-Assistant Secretary for the TSA, Kip Hawley , about some of the investigation's findings, saying, "there are some concerns about criminal record, criminal violations while they're in air service, and then what happens to them when they're on light duty still receiving full pay." On August 6, 2006, two air marshals were sentenced in

492-528: A divine duty with no consideration for political efficacy―their aim is transcendental and "holy terror" constitutes an end in itself. Hoffman's concept has since been taken up and developed by a number of other writers, including Walter Laquer, Steven Simon and Daniel Benjamen, and rebranded as the "New Terrorism". Arguably, the first organization to use modern terrorist techniques was the Irish Republican Brotherhood , founded in 1858 as

615-610: A military response and welcomed it as a provocation that would result in more Muslims fight the United States. Some commentators believe that the resulting anger and suspicion directed toward innocent Muslims living in Western countries and the indignities inflicted upon them by security forces and the general public also contributes to radicalization of new recruits. Despite criticism that the Iraqi government had no involvement with

738-563: A particular cause and many of the most deadly operations in recent times, such as the September 11 attacks , the London underground bombing , 2008 Mumbai attacks and the 2002 Bali bombings were planned and carried out by a close clique, composed of close friends, family members and other strong social networks. These groups benefited from the free flow of information and efficient telecommunications to succeed where others had failed. Over

861-467: A passenger of American Airlines Flight 924, on a boarding bridge at Miami International Airport . According to initial media reports of the incident, a fight broke out between Alpizar and his wife, after which Alpizar suddenly ran up the aisle from the back of the plane. Lonny Glover, national safety coordinator for the Association of Professional Flight Attendants , said, "As the man came forward it

984-472: A passport check for cruise ship passengers. He was aboard a cruise ship that had crossed Rhodes , Santorini and Mykonos. Mykonos was the last stop before returning to Turkey . He was later released after police determined it was a case of mistaken identity. Hezbollah reportedly denies culpability in the TWA Flight 847 hijacking, among its denials of numerous other attacks that have been attributed to

1107-498: A priority." MacLean was fired for "Unauthorized Disclosure of Sensitive Security Information " as a result of his whistleblower disclosure. Sensitive Security Information (SSI) is a label used for unclassified information that could compromise aviation safety. After challenging this charge in the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which found that Maclean was protected under the Whistleblower Protection Act , he

1230-498: A religious agenda. Before 2000, it was nationalist separatist terrorist organizations such as the IRA and Chechen rebels who were behind the most attacks. The number of incidents from nationalist separatist groups has remained relatively stable in the years since while religious extremism has grown. The prevalence of Islamist groups in Iraq , Afghanistan , Pakistan , Nigeria and Syria is

1353-554: A revolutionary Irish nationalist group that carried out attacks in England. The group initiated the Fenian dynamite campaign in 1881, one of the first modern terror campaigns. Instead of earlier forms of terrorism based on political assassination, this campaign used timed explosives with the express aim of sowing fear in the very heart of metropolitan Britain , in order to achieve political gains. Another early terrorist-type group

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1476-402: A single, all-encompassing, legally binding, criminal law definition of terrorism. These difficulties arise from the fact that the term "terrorism" is politically and emotionally charged. The international community has instead adopted a series of sectoral conventions that define and criminalize various types of terrorist activities. Counterterrorism analyst Bruce Hoffman has noted that it

1599-412: A strategic tool to influence decision makers. By targeting densely populated public areas such as transportation hubs, airports, shopping centers, tourist attractions, and nightlife venues, terrorists aim to instill widespread insecurity, prompting policy changes through psychological manipulation and undermining confidence in security measures. The terms "terrorist" and "terrorism" originated during

1722-437: A successful high-profile attack. The attacks prompted some criticism from domestic and international observers regarding perceived injustices in U.S. foreign policy that provoked the attacks, but the larger practical effect was that the United States government declared a War on Terror that resulted in substantial military engagements in several Muslim-majority countries. Various commentators have inferred that al-Qaeda expected

1845-692: A tactic because it can: Attacks on "collaborators" are used to intimidate people from cooperating with the state in order to undermine state control. This strategy was used in Ireland, in Kenya , in Algeria and in Cyprus during their independence struggles. Stated motives for the September 11 attacks included inspiring more fighters to join the cause of repelling the United States from Muslim countries with

1968-478: A universally accepted, legally binding definition. Title 18 of the United States Code defines terrorism as acts that are intended to intimidate or coerce civilians or government. The international community has been slow to formulate a universally agreed, legally binding definition of this crime, and has been unable to conclude a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism that incorporates

2091-580: Is a result of the court's consideration of his cooperation with the United States ." FAMS effectiveness against crime and terror, has also been questioned. According to Congressman John J. Duncan , the air marshal program has led to only 4.2 arrests a year, at an average cost of $ 200 million per arrest. He argued that this represents a win of the perceived dangers of terror, supported by a profit center-type approach, over realistic spending priorities. On August 20, 2018, two air marshals were detained at

2214-486: Is no longer the case due to changes in capabilities and training. Before the September 11, 2001 attacks , the Federal Air Marshal Service consisted of varying numbers of FAMs dependent on government funding. Although 50 positions were authorized by Congress, only 33 FAMs were active on September 11, 2001. As a result of the 9/11 attacks , President George W. Bush ordered the rapid expansion of

2337-522: Is not only individual agencies within the same governmental apparatus that cannot agree on a single definition of terrorism; experts and other long-established scholars in the field are equally incapable of reaching a consensus. In 1992, terrorism studies scholar Alex P. Schmid proposed a simple definition to the United Nations Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ) as "peacetime equivalents of war crimes", but it

2460-511: Is politically charged and over-simplified. The underlying historical assertions have received less critical attention. According to The Oxford Handbook on the History of Terrorism : Since the publication of Rapoport's article, it has become seemingly pre-requisite for standard works on terrorism to cite the three case studies and to reproduce uncritically its findings. In lieu of empirical research, authors tend to crudely paraphrase Rapoport and

2583-405: Is reviving in new and unusual forms". He is the first to propose that religious doctrines were more important than political rationales for some terrorist groups. Rapoport's work has since become the basis of the model of "New Terrorism" proposed by Bruce Hoffman and developed by other scholars. "New Terrorism" has had an unparalleled impact on policymaking. Critics have pointed out that the model

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2706-581: Is to provide both seen (random, unannounced, and unpredictable) and high-visibility (seen) presence in mass transit or passenger rail environments. The level of assistance transit systems request depends on a transit system's local political and security environment. Beginning in July 2007, TSA significantly increased the number and frequency of VIPR deployments from an average of one exercise per month to one or two per week. There were issues with Federal Air Marshals and early VIPR deployments. TSA field officials said

2829-563: Is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war against non-combatants (mostly civilians and neutral military personnel ). There are various different definitions of terrorism , with no universal agreement about it. Different definitions of terrorism emphasize its randomness , its aim to instill fear , and its broader impact beyond its immediate victims. Modern terrorism, evolving from earlier iterations, employs various tactics to pursue political goals, often leveraging fear as

2952-480: Is usually accompanied by anti-government sentiments. Adherents of Christian Identity are not connected with specific Christian denominations , and they believe that whites of European descent can be traced back to the " Lost Tribes of Israel ". Adherents have committed hate crimes , bombings and other acts of terrorism, including the Centennial Olympic Park bombing . Its influence ranges from

3075-893: The Hamas Charter 's apparent advocacy of genocidal aspirations . In the periods of 1994–1996 and 2001–2007, Hamas orchestrated a series of suicide bombings , primarily directed at civilian targets in Israel, killing over 1,000 Israeli civilians. Five of the terrorist groups that have been most active since 2001 are Hamas, Boko Haram , al-Qaeda , the Taliban and ISIL . These groups have been most active in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nigeria and Syria. Eighty percent of all deaths from terrorism occurred in these five countries. In 2015 four Islamic extremist groups were responsible for 74% of all deaths from Islamic terrorism: ISIS , Boko Haram,

3198-457: The Hezbollah group, an allegation Hezbollah rejects. The passengers and crew endured a three-day intercontinental ordeal. Some passengers were threatened and some beaten. Passengers with Jewish-sounding names were separated from the others. United States Navy diver Robert Stethem was murdered, and his body was thrown onto the airport apron . Dozens of passengers were kept hostage during

3321-655: The International Conference of Rome for the Social Defense Against Anarchists , the first international conference against terrorism . According to Bruce Hoffman of the RAND Corporation , in 1980, 2 out of 64 terrorist groups were categorized as having religious motivation while in 1995, almost half (26 out of 56) were religiously motivated with the majority having Islam as their guiding force. Depending on

3444-696: The International Red Cross to the Sheraton Hotel and a press conference in Damascus . The hostages then boarded a U.S. Air Force C-141B Starlifter cargo plane and flew to Rhein-Main AB , Hesse , West Germany , where they were met by U.S. Vice President George H. W. Bush , debriefed, given medical examinations, then flown to Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland and welcomed home by

3567-504: The Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazi groups to the anti-government militia and sovereign citizen movements . Terrorist acts frequently have a political purpose based on self-determination claims, ethnonationalist frustrations, single issue causes (like abortion or the environment), or other ideological or religious causes that terrorists claim are a moral justification for their violent acts. Individuals and groups choose terrorism as

3690-502: The Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport after one of them allegedly showed their gun to the air crew during the flight, instead of their badge, as is required. The flight crew became suspicious and declared an emergency and landed the aircraft. Terrorism Terrorism , in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term

3813-1298: The Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists in pre-war Poland , the Shining Path in Peru under Alberto Fujimori , the Kurdistan Workers Party when Turkey was ruled by military leaders and the ANC in South Africa. According to Boaz Ganor, "Modern terrorism sees the liberal democratic state, in all its variations, as the perfect launching pad and a target for its attacks. Moreover, some terrorist organizations—particularly Islamist-jihadist organizations—have chosen to cynically exploit democratic values and institutions to gain power and status, promote their interests, and achieve internal and international legitimacy". Jihadist militants have shown an ambivalent view towards democracy, as they both exploit it for their ends and oppose it in their ideology. Various quotes from jihadist leaders note their disdain for democracy and their efforts to undermine it in favor of Islamic rule. Democracies, such as Japan,

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3936-753: The Palestinian airplane hijackings in 1970 and the 1975 Dutch train hostage crisis . Specific political or social causes have included: Causes for right-wing terrorism have included white nationalism , ethnonationalism , fascism, anti-socialism, the anti-abortion movement , and tax resistance . Sometimes terrorists on the same side fight for different reasons. For example, in the Chechen–Russian conflict secular Chechens using terrorist tactics fighting for national independence are allied with radical Islamist terrorists who have arrived from other countries. Various personal and social factors may influence

4059-587: The Southern Poverty Law Center released a report on domestic terrorism in the United States. The report (titled The Age of the Wolf ) analyzed 62 incidents and found that, between 2009 and 2015, "more people have been killed in America by non-Islamic domestic terrorists than jihadists ." The "virulent racist and antisemitic " ideology of the ultra-right wing Christian Identity movement

4182-839: The United Kingdom and Germany to having individuals carrying firearms entering their countries, the coverage of international flights was initially limited. Resistance to the entrance of armed personnel to their countries was overcome through negotiations and agreements about the terms and handling of weapons when they were brought in country. Hence, the FAMs could operate worldwide in carrying out their mission to protect U.S. aviation from hijackings. Air marshals were originally designated as U.S. Customs security officers assigned by order of President Kennedy on an as-needed basis, and later were specially trained FAA personnel. The customs officers were phased out in 1974. Many of them transferred to

4305-598: The University of Maryland, College Park , has recorded more than 61,000 incidents of non-state terrorism, resulting in at least 140,000 deaths between 2000 and 2014. Various organizations have used terrorism to achieve their objectives. These include left-wing and right-wing political organizations, nationalist groups , religious groups , revolutionaries , and ruling governments . In recent decades, hybrid terrorist organizations have emerged, incorporating both military and political arms. The term "terrorism" itself

4428-690: The William J. Hughes Technical Center in New Jersey at the Federal Air Marshal Service Training Center. Their training is tailored to their role. Some of the subjects covered in this training include constitutional law, marksmanship, physical fitness, behavioral observation, defensive tactics, emergency medical assistance and other law enforcement techniques. On April 7, 2023, the first instructional textbook on aviation-specific tactics used by Federal Air Marshals

4551-755: The 16th century has also been described as a reign of terror. The terms "terrorism" and "terrorist" gained renewed currency in the 1970s as a result of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), the Irish Republican Army (IRA), the Basque separatist group, ETA , and the operations of groups such as the Red Army Faction . Leila Khaled was described as a terrorist in a 1970 issue of Life magazine. A number of books on terrorism were published in

4674-466: The 1970s later became a joint effort between the then United States Customs Service and the FAA and was led by General Benjamin O. Davis Jr., a former Tuskegee Airman . On September 11, 1970, in response to increasing acts of air piracy by hijacking to Cuba and Islamic radicals, President Richard Nixon ordered the immediate deployment of armed federal agents on United States commercial aircraft. Initially,

4797-427: The 1970s. The topic came further to the fore after the 1983 Beirut barracks bombings and again after the 2001 September 11 attacks and the 2002 Bali bombings . No definition of terrorism has gained universal agreement. Challenges emerge due to the politically and emotionally charged nature of the term, the double standards used in applying it, and disagreement over the nature of terrorist acts and limits of

4920-587: The 1985 skyjacking of the American airliner, were among the original 22 fugitives announced by President George W. Bush to be placed on the newly formed FBI Most Wanted Terrorists list. Rewards of $ 5 million for information resulting in the arrest and conviction of Atwa and Izz-Al-Din are still being offered by the United States. Mohammed Ali Hammadi was arrested in 1987 in Frankfurt , West Germany , while attempting to smuggle liquid explosives , two years after

5043-655: The Associate Administrator for Civil Aviation Security, hired Greg McLaughlin as Director of the Federal Air Marshal Program. McLaughlin was hired as an air marshal after the hijacking of TWA 847 and was working in Frankfurt, Germany, investigating the bombing of Pan Am 103 . McLaughlin turned the Federal Air Marshal Program into an all-voluntary program. The voluntary nature of the program and efforts by McLaughlin and Steele turned

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5166-553: The Department of Homeland Security complaining that policies prevented air marshals from speaking out that current policies (such as their strict dress code, "Federal Air Marshal discount" mandatory grouping hotel policy, airport policies that force air marshals to walk up security checkpoint exit lanes, and priority aircraft pre-boarding before handicapped passengers and passengers flying with small children) make marshals easy targets for any possible hijackers, making them stand out as

5289-491: The Department of Homeland Security whose special agents investigate criminal organizations illegally exploiting America's travel, trade, financial and immigration systems. HSI special agents would be cross trained to serve as supplemental FAMS in the event of a national emergency or in response to intelligence requiring additional marshals on flights. Ultimately, one of Asa Hutchinson 's final decisions before resigning as head of DHS's Border and Transportation Security Directorate

5412-499: The FAA peace officers were referred to as Sky Marshals internally within the FAA, although the term would not be used by the media for nearly a decade. Many years after their initial inception, personnel were given firearms and some close quarters combat training at the FBI Academy located on the U.S. Marine Corps training grounds at Quantico, Virginia . In October 1969, due to the increasing violence of hijacked aircraft in

5535-487: The FAA starting in 1974. The personnel trained under this program was limited to 10–12 people. For the next several years after customs security officer disbandment, the FAA air marshals rarely flew missions. In 1985, President Ronald Reagan requested the expansion of the program and Congress enacted the International Security and Development Cooperation Act , which expanded the statutes that supported

5658-485: The FAA's Civil Aviation Security Division to serve as aviation security inspectors and also in the volunteer FAM program directed by the FAA's Civil Aviation Security Division (later renamed the Office of Civil Aviation Security ). This program later became non-voluntary, required of all FAA Inspectors, breeding other problems within the FAA's Office of Civil Aviation Security. In 1992, Retired Major General Orlo Steele , then

5781-526: The FBI to the list. Several news outlets reported the announcement by Hezbollah of the death of Imad Mughniyeh in a car bomb explosion in Syria on February 13, 2008. The remaining three fugitives from TWA Flight 847 remain on the list, and at large. On September 19, 2019, Greek police arrested a 65-year-old Lebanese man who was accused of involvement in the hijacking. The man was arrested at Mykonos during

5904-515: The Federal Air Marshal Service announced that it would be transitioning to the Glock 19 Gen 5 9mm handgun, and it awarded SIG Sauer the contract for ammunition. Early in the program in the 1970s, Air Marshals carried the Charter Arms .44 Bulldog revolver loaded with Glaser Safety Slugs (a type of frangible bullet ). This was designed to stop the threat without penetrating either the target or

6027-422: The Federal Air Marshal Service has been the subject of controversies related to the number of flights that air marshals actually fly on and of criminal activities involving air marshals. CNN conducted an investigative report by Drew Griffin that included current and former air marshals that accused TSA of exaggerating the numbers of flights with on-board air marshals and of poor quality training. The TSA has rejected

6150-664: The Federal Air Marshal Service. Many new hires were agents from other federal agencies, such as the United States Secret Service, United States Border Patrol , the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), the DEA , NPS , FBI , ATF , INS , U.S. Housing and Urban Development Office of the Inspector General (OIG), U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), IRS CID , and many others. Immediately after

6273-544: The Federal Air Marshal Service. The FAM program was begun in response to domestic hijackings and FAM operational flights were almost exclusively conducted on domestic U.S. flights until 1985. After the hijacking of TWA Flight 847 in 1985 and the enactment of the International Security and Development Cooperation Act, the number of FAMs was increased and their focus became international U.S. air carrier operations. Due to resistance of several countries including

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6396-667: The French Revolution of the late 18th century but became widely used internationally and gained worldwide attention in the 1970s during the Troubles in Northern Ireland, the Basque conflict and the Israeli–Palestinian conflict . The increased use of suicide attacks from the 1980s onwards was typified by the 2001 September 11 attacks in the United States. The Global Terrorism Database , maintained by

6519-501: The Hezbollah Special Security Apparatus, with assisting Hezbollah operatives in the "supervision and planning of the incident itself and as an active participant in the defusion and resolution". On October 10, 2001, in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 , three of the alleged hijackers, Imad Mughniyeh , Ali Atwa, and Hassan Izz-Al-Din, having been indicted earlier in United States district courts for

6642-586: The Mediterranean Sea to Algiers , where 20 passengers were released during a five-hour stop before heading back to Beirut that night. Beirut International Airport was surrounded by a Shia neighborhood. It had no perimeter security and had been overrun by Islamist militias, and nearby residents could simply drive onto the runway. The hijackers had systematically and regularly beaten all the military passengers, but during this stop, they selected U.S. Navy diver, Robert Stethem , beat him, shot him in

6765-532: The Middle East, the U.S. Marshals Service started a Sky Marshal Division out of the Miami Field Office. The program was run by John Brophy and staffed with a handful of deputies. Since the majority of hijackings were occurring out of Florida in the late 1960s, the U.S. Marshals Service started their program to try and combat air piracy given their broad jurisdiction. The "Sky Marshal Program" of

6888-582: The Middle East. Their activities in Lebanon during the 1980s garnered support among local Shiites , leading to the rise of smaller terrorist groups, notably the Islamic Jihad . Hamas , the main Islamist movement in the Palestinian territories , was formed by Palestinian imam Ahmed Yassin in 1987. Some scholars, including constitutional law professor Alexander Tsesis , have voiced concerns over

7011-548: The September 11 attacks, Bush declared the 2003 invasion of Iraq to be part of the War on Terror. The resulting backlash and instability enabled the rise of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and the temporary creation of an Islamic caliphate holding territory in Iraq and Syria, until ISIL lost its territory through military defeats. Attacks used to draw international attention to struggles that are otherwise unreported have included

7134-507: The Southern District of Texas (Houston) after having been convicted of conspiring to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and also on bribery charges. According to a Department of Justice press release, "Shawn Ray Nguyen, 38, and Burlie L. Sholar, 33, were sentenced to 87 months and 108 months in federal prison , respectively, by United States District Judge Kenneth Hoyt on Monday, August 28, 2006. Nguyen's lesser sentence

7257-850: The TSA Office of Law Enforcement (OLE), which houses nearly all TSA law enforcement services. In March 2014, Director Robert Bray announced six of the service's twenty-six offices would be closed by the end of 2016. Bray attributed the cuts to a reduction of operating budget from $ 966 million to $ 805 million and the Transportation Security Administration stated no positions would be eliminated. Since July 2004, TSA has provided supplemental personnel, including federal air marshals, to assist mass transit systems during major events, holidays and anniversaries of prior attacks. These TSA personnel deploy as Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response Teams (VIPR teams), whose goal

7380-462: The TSA created tension between funding for airport screeners versus the FAMS, and in time the FAMS was realigned to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The reasoning was that the FAMS could be re-designated as criminal investigator/ special agents and would have a career path. ICE has an investigative division, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), that is the critical investigative arm of

7503-463: The TWA Flight 847 attack. In addition to the West German charge of illegal importation of explosives, he was tried and convicted of Stethem's 1985 murder and was sentenced to life in prison. However, he was paroled and released by German officials on December 20, 2005, and returned to Lebanon. There has been speculation that his parole was granted as part of a covert prisoner swap, in exchange for

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7626-506: The Taliban, and al-Qaeda, according to the Global Terrorism Index 2016. Since approximately 2000, these incidents have occurred on a global scale, affecting not only Muslim-majority states in Africa and Asia, but also states with non-Muslim majority such as United States , United Kingdom , France , Germany , Spain , Belgium , Sweden , Russia , Australia , Canada , Sri Lanka , Israel , China , India and Philippines . Such attacks have targeted both Muslims and non-Muslims, however

7749-443: The United Kingdom, the United States , Israel , Indonesia , India , Spain , Germany , Italy and the Philippines , have all experienced domestic terrorism. While a democratic nation espousing civil liberties may claim a sense of higher moral ground than other regimes, an act of terrorism within such a state may cause a dilemma: whether to maintain its civil liberties and thus risk being perceived as ineffective in dealing with

7872-594: The afternoon of June 17, the 40 hostages remaining had been taken from the airplane and kept captive throughout Beirut by Hezbollah. Nabih Berri was the chief of the Amal militia and the minister of justice in the fractured Lebanon cabinet. One of the hostages was released on 26 June when he developed heart trouble. The other 39 remained captive until June 30 when they were collected in a local schoolyard after an intervention by U.S. President Ronald Reagan along with Lebanese officials. The released hostages then met with international journalists and were driven to Syria by

7995-399: The age—such as the invention of dynamite, which they were the first anarchist group to make widespread use of —enabled them to strike directly and with discrimination. In 1920 Leon Trotsky wrote Terrorism and Communism to justify the Red Terror and defend the moral superiority of revolutionary terrorism . The assassination of the Empress of Austria Elisabeth in 1898 resulted in

8118-410: The aircraft was retired on September 30, 2000. It ceremoniously operated the airline's final revenue flight of their Boeing 727 fleet. Hezbollah specialist Magnus Ranstorp of the University of St Andrews credits "leading" Hezbollah members Hassan Izz-Al-Din (later involved with the Kuwait Airways Flight 422 hijacking in 1988) and Mohammed Ali Hammadi , whose brother was one of the commanders of

8241-467: The aircraft. The air marshals may be deployed on as little as an hour's notice and at high-risk locations. Undercover air marshals were deployed on flights in and out of New Orleans during Super Bowl XXXVI in 2002; flights coming near Salt Lake City during the 2002 Winter Olympics ; and cities visited by the President. Federal Air Marshal Frank Terreri of the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA) successfully sued senior executives of

8364-462: The airplane was diverted from its original destination of Rome, in airspace over Greece, to the Middle East and made its first stop, for several hours, at the Beirut International Airport in Lebanon, where 19 passengers were allowed to leave in exchange for fuel. Shortly before landing, air traffic control initially refused to let them land in Beirut. Captain Testrake argued with air traffic control until they relented. When Beirut ATC tried to talk to

8487-417: The assumed relevance of "Thuggee" to the study of modern terrorism is taken for granted. Yet the significance of the article is not simply a matter of citations―it has also provided the foundation for what has become known as the "New Terrorism" paradigm. While Rapoport did not suggest which late 20th century groups might exemplify the implied recurrence of "holy terror", Bruce Hoffman, recognized today as one of

8610-485: The attacks on 9/11, then-Director McLaughlin was tasked with hiring and training 600 air marshals in one month. A classified number of applicants were later hired, trained, and deployed on flights worldwide. As of August 2013, this number is estimated to be approximately 4,000. Currently, these FAMs serve as the primary law enforcement entity within the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). On October 16, 2005, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff approved

8733-407: The country, the political system, and the time in history, the types of terrorism are varying. In early 1975, the Law Enforcement Assistant Administration in the United States formed the National Advisory Committee on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals. One of the five volumes that the committee wrote was titled Disorders and Terrorism , produced by the Task Force on Disorders and Terrorism under

8856-926: The deployed personnel were federal agents from the U.S. Department of Treasury . Subsequently, the United States Customs Service formed the Division of Air Security, and established the position of Customs Security Officer (CSO). Approximately 1,700 personnel were hired for this position and were trained at the Treasury Air Security Officer (TASOS) training complex at Fort Belvoir, Virginia . Customs security officers were deployed on U.S. flagged commercial aircraft, flying on both domestic and international routes in an undercover capacity in teams of two and three. Customs security officers also handled ground security screening on selected flights at domestic U.S. airports. Following

8979-637: The direction of H. H. A. Cooper, Director of the Task Force staff. The Task Force defines terrorism as "a tactic or technique by means of which a violent act or the threat thereof is used for the prime purpose of creating overwhelming fear for coercive purposes". It classified disorders and terrorism into seven categories: Other sources have defined the typology of terrorism in different ways, for example, broadly classifying it into domestic terrorism and international terrorism , or using categories such as vigilante terrorism or insurgent terrorism. Some ways

9102-685: The first 18 volunteers from the FAA's Flight Standards Division graduated training. They received training from the U.S. Border Patrol at Port Isabel, Texas , and later went through recurrent yearly training in Brownsville, Texas . These initial FAA peace officers were named by FAA Administrator Najeeb Halaby . Later, it became an integral part of the Civil Aviation Security Division of the FAA. As early as 1963, after an article in FAA Horizons Magazine,

9225-503: The flying public. In 1961, Gen. Benjamin O. Davis Jr. , presented the idea of armed security forces on commercial flights. President John F. Kennedy ordered federal law enforcement officers to be deployed to act as security officers on certain high-risk flights. The Federal Air Marshal Service began on March 2, 1962, as the Federal Aviation Administration 's (FAA) FAA Peace Officers Program. On this date,

9348-437: The following cities: Starting in 2014 and ending in 2016, the following field offices were closed: Federal Air Marshals go through an intense, two-phase training program. The first phase of the program is a twelve-week basic law enforcement course. This training is completed at one of two Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers : either Artesia, New Mexico or Glynco, Georgia . Air marshals also receive follow-on training at

9471-641: The government agents concealing firearms, and thus eliminating their effectiveness. A policy change in August 2006 allowed air marshals to wear whatever clothing they want, in addition to staying at any hotel of their choice to protect their anonymity. On May 30, 2013, the first book on the history of the air marshals was published in the United States by Federal Air Marshal Clay Biles, who resigned three days after its publication. The book, entitled The United States Federal Air Marshal Service: A Historical Perspective, 1962–2012, gave never-before-released information on

9594-486: The hijackers during a fuel-quantity incident during the first leg to Beirut, because she spoke German, the only European language which either hijacker spoke. Notably, she interrupted an attempt to end the hijacking in Algiers when airport officials refused to refuel the plane without payment by offering her own Shell Oil credit card , which was used to charge about $ 5,500 for 22,700 L (6,000 gal) of jet fuel, for which she

9717-490: The hijackers, Testrake interrupted, "He has pulled a hand-grenade pin and he is ready to blow up the aircraft if he has to. We must, I repeat, we must land at Beirut. We must land at Beirut. No alternative." At the time, Lebanon was in the midst of the Lebanese Civil War , and Beirut was divided into sectors controlled by different Shia Amal militia and Hezbollah. That afternoon, the aircraft continued on across

9840-507: The initial exercises put their safety at risk. TSA required Federal Air Marshals to wear raid jackets or shirts identifying them as air marshals, which potentially compromised their anonymity. In response to this concern, TSA changed the policy such that Federal Air Marshals began attending VIPR exercises in civilian clothes or jackets that simply identify them as DHS officials. Some transit security officials reported that Federal Air Marshals were unfamiliar with local laws, local police procedures,

9963-565: The main driver behind these trends. The emergence of Hezbollah in 1982 marked a pivotal moment in terrorism's history. The Shiite Islamist group, rooted in Lebanon , drew inspiration from the Iranian Revolution and Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini 's teachings , responding to the 1982 Lebanon War . Beyond pursuing revolutionary goals, Hezbollah members were deeply concerned about the social conditions of Shiite communities across

10086-571: The majority affect Muslims themselves. Terrorism in Pakistan has become a great problem. From the summer of 2007 until late 2009, more than 1,500 people were killed in suicide and other attacks on civilians for reasons attributed to a number of causes—sectarian violence between Sunni and Shia Muslims ; easy availability of guns and explosives; the existence of a " Kalashnikov culture"; an influx of ideologically driven Muslims based in or near Pakistan , who originated from various nations around

10209-444: The mandatory passenger screening enacted by the FAA at U.S. airports beginning in 1973, the customs security officer force was disbanded and its personnel were absorbed by the U.S. Customs Service. By 1974 armed sky marshals were a rarity on U.S. aircraft. The former customs security officers were reassigned as customs patrol officers, customs inspectors, and customs special agents. A small force of Federal Air Marshals were retrained at

10332-511: The more than fifty years of Federal Air Marshal Service. On July 1, 2014, a new book and personal memoir was published by Biles. The book, titled Unsecure Skies, gave a behind the scenes look at the inner workings of the Federal Air Marshal Service under the Transportation Security Administration , including discussions on alleged bureaucratic strain and favoritism within the agency. Budgeting issues within

10455-413: The next day, 15 June, where an additional 65 passengers and all five female cabin crew members were released. The initial demands of the hijackers included: The Greek government released the accomplice, Ali Atwa , and in exchange the hijackers released eight Greek citizens, including Greek popular singer Demis Roussos , to be flown by a Greek government business jet from Algiers back to Athens. By

10578-760: The next two weeks until released by their captors after some of their demands were met. Flight 847 was operated with a Boeing 727–200, registration N64339. The flight originated in Cairo on the morning of June 14. After an uneventful flight from Cairo to Athens, a new crew boarded Flight 847. The new crew in Athens were Captain John Testrake, First Officer Phil Maresca, Flight Engineer Christian Zimmerman , flight service manager Uli Derickson , and flight attendants Judy Cox, Hazel Hesp, Elizabeth Howes, and Helen Sheahan. At 10:10, Flight 847 departed Athens for Rome. It

10701-413: The number of bystanders. Candidates who successfully complete this training are assigned to one of 20 field offices, where they begin their missions. Federal Air Marshals carry the following equipment: According to an anonymous marshal, they are trained to "shoot to stop", typically firing at the largest part of the body (the chest) and then the head to "incapacitate the nervous system." In early 2020,

10824-653: The personal choice of whether to join a terrorist group or attempt an act of terror, including: A report conducted by Paul Gill, John Horgan and Paige Deckert found that for "lone wolf" terrorists: Ariel Merari , a psychologist who has studied the psychological profiles of suicide terrorists since 1983 through media reports that contained biographical details, interviews with the suicides' families, and interviews with jailed would-be suicide attackers , concluded that they were unlikely to be psychologically abnormal. In comparison to economic theories of criminal behaviour, Scott Atran found that suicide terrorists exhibit none of

10947-451: The populace. To avoid detection, a terrorist will look, dress, and behave normally until executing the assigned mission. Some claim that attempts to profile terrorists based on personality, physical, or sociological traits are not useful. The physical and behavioral description of the terrorist could describe almost any normal person. The majority of terrorist attacks are carried out by military age men, aged 16 to 40. Groups not part of

11070-460: The president. Over the next several weeks, Israel released over 700 Shia prisoners, while maintaining that the prisoners' release was not related to the hijacking. A famous image of this hijacking was a photograph showing a gun being held near Captain Testrake, sticking out of the cockpit window, while he and the other pilots were being interviewed by ABC News reporter Charles Glass . The scene

11193-411: The problem; or alternatively to restrict its civil liberties and thus risk delegitimizing its claim of supporting civil liberties. For this reason, homegrown terrorism has started to be seen as a greater threat, as stated by former CIA Director Michael Hayden. This dilemma, some social theorists would conclude, may very well play into the initial plans of the acting terrorist(s); namely, to delegitimize

11316-564: The propaganda tactics used by terrorists. Some security organizations designate these groups as violent non-state actors . A 2007 study by economist Alan B. Krueger found that terrorists were less likely to come from an impoverished background (28 percent versus 33 percent) and more likely to have at least a high-school education (47 percent versus 38 percent). Another analysis found only 16 percent of terrorists came from impoverished families, versus 30 percent of male Palestinians, and over 60 percent had gone beyond high school, versus 15 percent of

11439-520: The range of behavior encountered on public transportation and the parameters of their authority as federal law enforcement officers. In 2011, Amtrak temporarily banned VIPR teams from its property after screenings at the Savannah, Georgia station because Amtrak Police chief John O'Conner called their activities illegal and violations of Amtrak policy. The Federal Air Marshal Service uses the following rank nomenclature, introduced in 2011. Previously,

11562-588: The release of Susanne Osthoff . Taken hostage in Iraq a month prior, Osthoff was released the week of Hammadi's parole. On February 14, 2006 the United States formally asked the Lebanese government to extradite Mohammed Ali Hammadi for Stethem's murder. On February 24, 2006, he appeared as well on the FBI Most Wanted Terrorists list, with the name Mohammed Ali "Hamadei" (sic). He was among the second group of indicted fugitives to be named by

11685-569: The report and pursued investigations into personnel who gave interviews to the media. They also responded to the accusations. Another investigation was conducted by reporter Amy Davis of Houston news station KPRC into the possibility that air marshals with criminal convictions were still being employed by FAMS. The investigation discovered that 28 had been hired with pre-existing misdemeanors and that several current air marshals had been convicted of or were awaiting trial for offenses including disorderly conduct, DUIs, and sexual crimes against children. In

11808-467: The right temple, and dumped his body out of the plane onto the ramp and shot him again, seeking permission from other Shia Muslims operating the control tower to obtain more fuel. Seven American passengers, alleged to have Jewish-sounding surnames, were taken off the jet and kept captive in a Shia prison in Beirut. Nearly a dozen heavily armed men joined the hijackers before the airplane returned to Algiers

11931-455: The right to self-determination . Harvard law professor Richard Baxter , a leading expert on the law of war, was a skeptic: "We have cause to regret that a legal concept of 'terrorism' was ever inflicted upon us. The term is imprecise; it is ambiguous; and above all, it serves no operative legal purpose." Different legal systems and government agencies employ diverse definitions of terrorism, with governments showing hesitation in establishing

12054-672: The secular Irgun were among the Zionist groups labelled as terrorist organisations by the British authorities and United Nations , for violent terror attacks against Britons and Arabs. Another extremist group, the Lehi , openly declared its members as "terrorists". Historian William Cleveland stated many Jews justified any action, even terrorism, taken in the cause of the creation of a Jewish state. In 1995, Yigal Amir assassinated Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin . For Amir, killing Rabin

12177-497: The small force of Federal Air Marshals into an extremely capable one. From 1992 to just after the attacks on 9/11, the air marshals had one of the toughest firearms qualification standards in the world. A study from the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) later came out with a classified report during this time period, placing Federal Air Marshals among the top 1% of combat shooters in the world. This

12300-600: The socially dysfunctional attributes—such as fatherless, friendless, jobless situations—or suicidal symptoms. By which he means, they do not kill themselves simply out of hopelessness or a sense of 'having nothing to lose'. Abrahm suggests that terrorist organizations do not select terrorism for its political effectiveness. Individual terrorists tend to be motivated more by a desire for social solidarity with other members of their organization than by political platforms or strategic objectives, which are often murky and undefined. Michael Mousseau shows possible relationships between

12423-469: The state and cause a systematic shift towards anarchy via the accumulation of negative sentiments towards the state system. The perpetrators of acts of terrorism can be individuals, groups, or states. According to some definitions, clandestine or semi-clandestine state actors may carry out terrorist acts outside the framework of a state of war. The most common image of terrorism is that it is carried out by small and secretive cells , highly motivated to serve

12546-800: The state apparatus of in opposition to the state are most commonly referred to as a "terrorist" in the media. According to the Global Terrorism Database, the most active terrorist group in the period 1970 to 2010 was Shining Path (with 4,517 attacks), followed by Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN), Irish Republican Army (IRA), Basque Fatherland and Freedom (ETA), Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), Taliban , Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam , New People's Army , National Liberation Army of Colombia (ELN), and Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). Israel has had problems with religious terrorism even before independence in 1948. During British mandate over Palestine ,

12669-609: The supervisory ranks had different naming. A SAC was known as a Special Agent in Charge as were the Assistant and Deputy SACs and a Supervisory Federal Air Marshal was known as an Assistant to the Special Agent in Charge or ATSAC. The rank change was introduced in 2011 to reduce an "us versus them" perception between supervisory and non-supervisory air marshals. The Federal Air Marshal Service has field offices located in or near

12792-469: The transfer of the Federal Air Marshal Service from U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) to TSA as part of a broader departmental reorganization to align functions consistent with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) "Second Stage Review" findings for the following: As part of this realignment, the director of the Federal Air Marshal Service also became the assistant administrator for

12915-495: The type of economy within a country and ideology associated with terrorism. Many terrorists have a history of domestic violence. Terrorism is most common in nations with intermediate political freedom, and it is least common in the most democratic nations. Some examples of terrorism in non-democratic nations include ETA in Spain under Francisco Franco (although the group's activities increased sharply after Franco's death),

13038-498: The typology of terrorism may be defined are: According to the Global Terrorism Index by the University of Maryland, College Park , religious extremism has overtaken national separatism and become the main driver of terrorist attacks around the world. Since 9/11 there has been a five-fold increase in deaths from terrorist attacks. The majority of incidents over the past several years can be tied to groups with

13161-640: The world and the subsequent war against the pro-Soviet Afghans in the 1980s which blew back into Pakistan; the presence of Islamist insurgent groups and forces such as the Taliban and Lashkar-e-Taiba. On July 2, 2013, in Lahore , 50 Muslim scholars of the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) issued a collective fatwa against suicide bombings, the killing of innocent people, bomb attacks, and targeted killings declaring them as Haraam or forbidden. In 2015,

13284-437: The world's leading terrorism experts, did not hesitate to do so. A decade after Rapoport's article. Hoffman picked up the mantle and taking the three case studies as inspiration, he formulated a model of contemporary "holy terror" or, as he defined it, "terrorism motivated by a religious imperative". Completely distinct from "secular terrorists", Hoffman argued that "religious terrorists" carry out indiscriminate acts of violence as

13407-517: The years, much research has been conducted to distill a terrorist profile to explain these individuals' actions through their psychology and socio-economic circumstances. Some specialists highlight the lack of evidence supporting the idea that terrorists are typically psychologically disturbed. The careful planning and detailed execution seen in many terrorist acts are not characteristics generally associated with mentally unstable individuals. Others, like Roderick Hindery, have sought to discern profiles in

13530-455: Was Narodnaya Volya , founded in Russia in 1878 as a revolutionary anarchist group inspired by Sergei Nechayev and " propaganda by the deed " theorist Carlo Pisacane . The group developed ideas—such as targeted killing of the 'leaders of oppression', which were to become the hallmark of subsequent violence by small non-state groups, and they were convinced that the developing technologies of

13653-664: Was a modern phenomenon until David C. Rapoport published his seminal article Fear and Trembling: Terrorism in Three Religious Traditions in 1984. Rapoport proposed three case studies to demonstrate "ancient lineage" of religious terrorism, which he called "sacred terror": the "Thugs" , the Assassins and the Jewish Sicarii Zealots . Rapoport argued religious terrorism has been ongoing since ancient times and that "there are signs that it

13776-488: Was a regularly scheduled Trans World Airlines flight from Cairo to San Diego with en route stops in Athens , Rome , Boston , and Los Angeles . On the morning of June 14, 1985, Flight 847 was hijacked soon after take off from Athens. The hijackers demanded the release of 700 Shia Muslims from Israeli custody and took the plane repeatedly to Beirut and Algiers . Later Western analysis considered them members of

13899-467: Was an exemplary act that symbolized the fight against an illegitimate government that was prepared to cede Jewish Holy Land to the Palestinians. Members of Kach , a Jewish ultranationalist party, employed terrorist tactics in pursuit of what they viewed as religious imperatives. Israel and a few other countries have designated the party as a terrorist group. TWA Flight 847 TWA Flight 847

14022-584: Was hijacked soon after takeoff by two Arabic -speaking Lebanese men who had smuggled a pistol and two grenades through the Athens airport security. One was identified later as Mohammed Ali Hamadi , who was eventually captured and sentenced to life imprisonment in Germany. Hamadi is an alleged member of Hezbollah. The hijackers assaulted Derickson, breaching the cockpit and dragging her with them before attacking and pistol-whipping Testrake, Maresca, and Zimmerman. With Captain Testrake being held at gunpoint,

14145-504: Was interrupted by one of the French-speaking Hezbollah guards left by the hijackers to hold the crew after most passengers and the cabin crew had been released in Algiers, and the remaining men were held in captivity elsewhere in Beirut. The young militiaman may have unloaded the gun before entering the scene, as he primarily wanted to be on television. Flight attendant Uli Derickson was credited with calming one of

14268-454: Was not accepted. In 2006, it was estimated that there were over 109 different definitions of terrorism. Early published studies like Paul Wilkinson considered terrorism a product of 19th-century revolutionary politics. Technological developments like the pistol and dynamite made possible the relentless onslaught of successful attacks and assassinations that shook the 19th-century. Scholars of terrorism had largely assumed that terrorism

14391-431: Was obvious that he was upset ... That's when one of our attendants at the front of plane told him, 'Sir, you can't leave the plane.' His response, she said, was implying that he had a bomb in his backpack. It was at that point that the air marshals gave up their cover and pursued him out the door and up the jet bridge ." On December 8, 2005, White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan said that President George W. Bush

14514-609: Was originally used to describe the actions of the Jacobin Club during the " Reign of Terror " in the French Revolution . "Terror is nothing other than justice, prompt, severe, inflexible", said Jacobin leader Maximilien Robespierre . In 1795, Edmund Burke denounced the Jacobins for letting "thousands of those hell-hounds called Terrorists ... loose on the people" of France. John Calvin 's rule over Geneva in

14637-408: Was published by CRC Press, Routledge. The second phase trains the candidates for tasks that they will be expected to carry out in the field. This training places an emphasis on perfecting marksmanship skills, including tactics for close-quarters combat and active-shooter situations, as well as close-quarters defensive skills. This is a necessity of the job due to both the confines of aircraft and

14760-407: Was reimbursed. She also refused to cooperate with the hijackers in identifying for them the passports of any passengers with Jewish-sounding names so they could not be singled out. USS  Stethem , an Arleigh Burke -class destroyer commissioned in 1995, was named in memory of Robert Stethem. The aircraft involved in the hijacking was put back into service. It remained in service for TWA until

14883-652: Was satisfied that air marshals acted appropriately in the Alpizar shooting. On July 29, 2003, the FAMS Agency Executive Vice President for the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA), FAM Robert MacLean , disclosed that the FAMS planned to remove air marshals from long haul flights in order to avoid the cost of an overnight hotel stay. The plan was ordered when TSA was faced with

15006-431: Was the issuance of a memorandum determining that air marshals would not be HSI special agents. In 2005, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff conducted a second-stage review of DHS' organization and ordered the FAMS to be moved from ICE and back to the TSA. This move to TSA was effective October 1, 2005. On December 7, 2005, two Federal Air Marshals shot and killed 44-year-old U.S. citizen Rigoberto Alpizar ,

15129-526: Was unconditionally reinstated as air marshal. The New York Times quotes: "Several air marshals said they took medication or drank alcohol to stay awake — despite a policy prohibiting alcohol consumption within 10 hours before work." Thirteen marshals received DUIs between 2016 and 2018. One marshal who was a recovering alcoholic, saw himself featured in a TSA alcohol awareness promo video and subsequently died by suicide. TSA opted to monitor whether employees were sober before boarding flights. In recent years,

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