Terrorism As An International Phenomenon Essay
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Terrorism as an International Phenomenon
International terrorism, intelligence gathering and covert operations are all phenomenon, which intrigue the minds of many people both young and old. This paper is a historical recount and study on the various elements that comprise an international operation. It is also a vehicle for discussing the effects of intelligence agencies around the world, with particular interest in the CIA, Mossad, and KGB. This paper will show the various results of failed missions on the international community, examining whether the end justified the mean. Furthermore, it will also provide a deeper understanding to the way in which an operation works as developed through the mind of the agent, as well as the underlying reason for a particular action.
In order to comprehend the following paragraphs one must have a knowledge of the terms which may be used when discussing espionage, international terrorism and intelligence agencies throughout the world. First is the spy, agent or combatant. This is the person who carries out a mission. He/she does not necessarily work alone. Depending on the mission one or many spies may contribute in various ways. The entire team of spies, combatants or agents is called a pod . These pods can act in a plethora of ways. One such way is a clandestine operation, where the actions are taken on foreign soil, specifically in the State, or Country where the result will occur. Generally there are two different types of combatants: those who work in the in the field actually performing operations and those who infiltrate another government, posing as a citizen of that country, in order to provide his/her home country with secret information. The latter is called a mole, or a double agent. He is one who pretends to be from the Country in which he is spying, in order to gain the confidence of that government before he enters it, usually as a spy.
Now that the reader has a basic knowledge of the vocabulary necessary to understand the information to be read, this person must first comprehend the history of espionage and terrorism. Although espionage dates as far back as biblical times when Moses sent spies into the land of Israel, this paper is only concerned with more contemporary organized espionage operations. The first of such operations were done in Germany, accomplished during the dawn of the Cold-War-Era.
It was then and there that the American Central Intelligence Agency, known as the CIA, and the Russian Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti (Committee of State Security), known as the KGB , had secret campaigns being waged daily in the attempt to reveal various information concerning the making of nuclear weapons. The CIA, established in 1947, and the KGB, established in 1954, used Berlin as the battlefield for espionage.
It was not a very intricate system; although, the results were of great importance. The CIA operated from its Berlin Operations Base, BOB , which was an experimental entity. It had approximately 250 agents spying on Russian troop movement, fortification, ammunition dumps, and training grounds . From there information was gathered concerning the making of a Russian nuclear weapon.
Despite the fact that both intelligence agencies existed in Germany at the same time, their respective goals were not the same. The CIA concerned itself with the aforementioned goal of uncovering details about foreign nuclear weapons. They were a true counter-intelligence organization. However, the KGB focused their attention on bringing German scientists back to Russia in order to build a weapon of mass destruction .
The KGB worked endlessly to try to thwart the CIA s intelligence actions. However, they underestimated the CIA s determination and in doing so failed many times. Finally, the CIA discovered that it could tap the telephone line used by the KGB s headquarters by digging a tunnel under the border between East and West Berlin. This yielded over 50,000 reels of tape with over 440,000 conversations recorded to the Americans containing information concerning the development of a Russian bomb .
An interesting insight to this operation, which gives a revelation of the operating of all intelligence agencies, is that the Russians already were aware of this tunnel. However, they allowed the mission to continue because if they had attempted to stop it, the CIA would have realized that information had leaked through a mole. This would then have started a search for the mole, and if found, the punishment could be capital. This would compromise the life of their agent, any secret information he has knowledge of, and the chance of further intelligence being gathered from him . The Russians weighed this given knowledge against the probable deterioration of the CIA s immediate operations due to international backlash.
When an operation fails, or is revealed before it has an opportunity to be accomplished, there is a potential for a crisis in the international community. The Russians compared the outcome of both and decided not to compromise the life of their spy, even though he being caught was not a definite fate. The international backlash will be discussed at greater lengths later in this paper.
In light of the recent terrorist activities, the CIA has been busy trying to stop the antics of terrorists in the Middle East and other Islamic countries. Hosts of actions were taken by the CIA recently in order to accomplish the goal of stopping international terrorism. One very public operation was the missile strikes on various plants in Sudan and bases in Afghanistan. The preparation going into this attack was immense. The paths of each missile was charted and checked to ensure none collided in air. Further intelligence was gathered via satellite in the form of digital photographs. Also, the CIA had uncovered that a large meeting of known terrorists were going to meet at a base in Afghanistan. Therefore, it was decided that special missiles that would disperse shrapnel over a large area were to be used. This was in an attempt to kill as many terrorists as possible. The orchestration of these attacks took a surprisingly short amount of time .
Osama bin Laden is the terrorist accused of organizing the original terrorist bombings of the two American Embassies. The CIA, through intercepted communication has gathered substantial information on him, almost enough to bring him to trial . But, in between the developing information for his capture and indictment, the CIA has toyed with a few ideas that would bring bin Laden to a halt. The most prominent idea was that of freezing his financial accounts. Through the aid of a Saudi Arabian agent, the CIA has discussed the action but still needs further evidence before proceeding . Notwithstanding, this should soon arrive at the feet of the CIA through the Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI. They had a US informant in the Kenya cell of Osama bin Laden's terrorist network when the Embassy blew up with him inside. The mole, identified as CS-1 (confidential source) for security reasons, has given the FBI substantial evidence to the inner workings of bin Laden .
Another prominent member of the world s counter-terrorism organizations is Israel s Mossad. The Mossad has been attempting to curb terrorist actions since its statehood was declared in 1948. It is almost a doppelganger of the CIA. However, Israel s reliance on Mossad is substantially greater because of their hostile neighbors. The Mossad, together with the CIA, have combined in reducing terrorist activity by innumerable quantities.
Unfortunately, Mossad has had many opportunities to thwart a terrorist attack. Many attacks actually are discovered and are stopped by G-d in the form of blundered operations. Nevertheless, the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad has had a manifold of successful peacetime and war operations which hampered Arab nations in damaging and killing...
Bourgholtzer, Frank. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Spy vs. Spy . Volume: 54 Issue: 2 March 1998. Pgs. 62-63.Central Intelligence Agency," Microsoft Encarta 97 Encyclopedia. 1993-1996 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Chabin, Michelle. USA Today. Israel Swaps Hamas Leader for two Agents . Sec.: A Pg.: 1 Col.: 6 October 7, 1997.
Cooperman, Alan. US News and World Report. When Spies and Poison Go Awry . Vol.: 123 Issue: 14 October 13, 1997. Page 42.
Draper, Theodore. New York Review of Books. Is the CIA Necessary? . Vol.: 44 Issue: 13 August 14, 1997. Pages 16-22.
Kornbluh, Peter. Nation. Beyond the Bay of Pigs . Vol.: 266 Issue: 15 April 27, 1998. Pages 25-26.
Makovsky, David. US News and World Report. Israel s Mossad Blushes Again . Vol.: 124 Issue: 9 March 9, 1998. Page 39.
Newsweek. A Spy in the Network . November 9, 1998. Page 2.
Persico, Joseph E. New York Times Book Review. Spy vs. Spy . Sec.:7 Page: 15 Col.: 1. September 28, 1997.
US News and World Report. America Fights Back . August 31, 1998. Page 42.
US News and World Report. The Recruiter for Hate . August 31, 1998. Page 48.
Westerby, Gerald. In Hostile Territory: Business Secrets of a Mossad Combatant. Harper Business: New York, 1998.
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