Louise Richardson

Richardson, Louise. 1998. "Global Rebels: Terrorist Organizations as Trans-National Actors." Terrorism and Counter Terrorism. 2(2): 67-73.

I. The U.S. perceptions of terrorism.

A. The U.S. perceives terrorism as being international, instead of being trans- national.
1. The U.S. has listed seven states, including Cuba, Iran, Syria, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, and Sudan as supporting terrorism.
B. Second look suggests that terrorism is not just exclusive to harsh regimes.
1. Democracies have had incidents of home-grown terrorism.
C. The State can sponsor terrorism as a form of foreign policy.

II. Five degrees of separation.

A. There five levels at which a state can sponsor terrorism.
1. In the case of Iran, murdering dissidents.
2. Recruitment and training of operatives for overseas missions.
3. When a government closely controls the actions of a terrorist group.
4. Providing training, funds, and save haven.
5. When one terrorist group simply serves the ends of a state.

III. Exporting Revolutions.

A. Since the 1979, Iran has been trying to export its revolution overseas.
1. The revolution is not just pointed towards the West.
2. Iran is also focused on Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq.
B. Iran supports Shiite opposition groups.

IV. Terrorist Networks.

A. Terrorist movements are not purely trans-national, because the state is part of the equation.
B. Terrorist organizations are more trans-national in there relationship with each other.
1. It can be hard to find the extent to which these organizations are correlating.
2. Trans-national linkage can occur because two organizations share the same goal.
3. This linkage can occur anywhere, including Latin America.