NEIU 315F Law and Terrorism

NEIU Justice Studies

Spring 2010

Just 315F

Law and Terrorism

Dr. June Terpstra

Course Description

Whether used by governments, militaries, corporations, religious institutions, gangs or individuals, terror is an intense, overpowering fear caused by the threat and use of violence. This course examines five categories of terrorism including the present imperialist war of terrorism waged by the US/UK/Israeli Axis and the manner in which the concept of "terrorism" and "terrorist" is used by elite capitalists, their corporations and their governments to foster their stated agenda for a new world order.  The course requires the student to analyze the constantly changing images, propaganda, and tropes manufactured by media to know how to distinguish between a terrorist and a group or individual defending themselves from aggression, invasion, and occupation. 

Course Texts: 

1.  Nemesis:  The Last Days of the American Republic by Chalmers Johnson

2.  The Mother of All Battles by Jeff Archer
http://malcomlagauche.com/id8.html

3.  Resistance: The Essence of the Islamist Revolution by
 Alastair Crooke

4.  Online Course readings are at http://juneterpstra.com/index.html

and/or Blackboard.

Course Objectives:

Define and analyze five categories of terrorism.

Decode state terrorism and its beneficiaries.

Examine US imperialism and its consequences.

Understand the perspectives of present day resistance to Western aggression.

Review and understand a wide range of international and domestic laws pertaining to murder, torture, rape, and war.

Course Requirements:

1. Weekly written Assignments. Drawing upon the texts and class discussions, you are to reflexively discuss your responses, thoughts, and opinions on the weekly readings.  This means that you analyze the manner in which your responses may be influenced by media, economic class, ethnicity, creed, orientation, gender and experience.  250 pts

2.  The Mother of all Battles book report.  Choosing three main claims from 3 different chapters you must refute or support the claims the author makes with supporting evidence from credible sources.  250 pts

3.  Mid-term Research Outline for the Final-see webpage below.  100 pts

4.  Final Research Presentation. You are required to complete and present a research project for our course of study.  Choosing one of the five categories of terrorism you are to research a military operation, a war, an uprising, a revolution, a gang, or an individual torturer or killer and laws preventing or legalizing the category of terrorism studied.  See the final grading form for all subjects required for your project.  A bibliography will be required with your 15-20 minute presentation.   250 pts  

5. Class attendance and participation. You are required to participate in formal classroom discussions and in-class exercises and discussions.         150  

Total Points =1000

Tentative Schedule

Week 1 State Terrorism 

1.  Read and Respond:

• Terrorism: Theirs and Ours by Eqbal Ahmad
• http://www.sangam.org/ANALYSIS/Ahmad.htm
• Definitions of Terrorism
• http://www.rense.com/general16/thenewlegaldefinition.htm
• and http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/awc-law.htm#terrlaw
• Laws of War Handbook, Chapters 1 and 2
• http://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/Military_Law/pdf/law-war-handbook-2005.pdf
• Making Islam synonomous with Terrorism at http://www.uruknet.de/index.php?p=m61671&hd=&size=1&l=e

2.  Write a 2-3 page reflexive response on this week's articles examining your responses to definitions and claims presented (Due Sunday).

Week 2 State Terrorism

1.  Read and Respond:

• Chapter 1-"Militarism and the breakdown of Constitutional Government" in Nemesis
• Chapter 3-"CIA--The Presidents Private Army" in Nemesis.

2.  Write a 2-3 page reflexive response on this week's chapters examining your responses to claims in both chapters (Due Sunday).

Week 3 Religious Terrorism

1.  Read and Respond:

• Deuteronomy 20 (King James Version) http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deuteronomy+20&version=KJV
• Chapter 1-"In the Service of God and the Interests of the People" in Resistance by Alastair Crooke.

2. In a 900-1000 word essay compare your ideas about religious terrorism with Crooke's claims about Western Christianity's historic aggression against Islamic nations and peoples.  Cite sources within the text and at the end in a reference section.   Due Saturday.
3. Choose group, state, or organization to research for your final presentation.  Choosing one of the five categories of terrorism you are to research a nation/state, military operation, a war, an uprising, a revolution, a gang, a torturer or serial killer, or an individual "terrorist" and laws preventing or legalizing the category of terrorism studied.  See the final grading form for all subjects required for your research project.  A bibliography will be required with your 15-20 minute presentation.   Due Sunday.

Week 4 Political Terrorism

1. Read and Respond
   • Chapter 2-"Comparative Imperial Pathologies: Rome, Britian, and America" in Nemesis.
   • Chapter 2.  "The Awakening of Resistance Political Shi'ism Social Revolution" in Resistance.

2.  Write a 2-3 page reflexive response on this week's chapters examining your responses to claims in both chapters (Due Sunday).

Week 5 State/Political/Religious Terrorism in Afghanistan

1.  Osama is Under Your Bed by William Rivers Pitt

http://www.alternet.org/story/14576/osama_is_under_your_bed/

2.  'Rivers of Blood:' The West Could Care Less for Deaths of Afghans
The Frontier Post, Pakistan  http://uruknet.info/index.php?p=m57719&hd=&size=1&l=e

3.  Ayman al-Zawahr Tells Obama Conditional Truce Offer Stands:  By Inal Ersan
http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102660627975&s=28136&e=001YYUApb3JYEtTVql-Z6zLUppxnZ1vB6Bx8qzyDY6fpizSR1jgpPUXd-FnMRbKAowD0Kpm_AOieEuTK7MUGX87wGppX5VToEPhWCs4SNDDja19OKmrS-18I_-dtatVBermLZ0lvSpnJN70vKUN2mSEg0CXyog5xm8A

4.  Obama lies to defend US War of Aggression in Afghanistan

Carl Herman http://uruknet.info/?p=m57109&hd=&size=1&l=e

Week 6 State/Political/Religious Terrorism in Iraq

1.  Read:   Mother of All Battles by Jeff Archer

2.  The Mother of all Battles book report. 

Choosing three main claims from 3 different chapters you must refute or support the claims the author makes with supporting evidence from credible sources.  Due Sunday in Week 7.

Week 7 State/Political/Religious Terrorism in Iraq

1.  Read:   Mother of All Battles by Jeff Archer

2. Midterm Book Report Due The Mother of all Battles book report.  Choosing three main claims from 3 different chapters you must refute or support the claims the author makes with supporting evidence from credible sources.  250 pts Due Sunday. 

Week 8 State/Political/Religious Terrorism in Palestine

1.  Read and Respond:

• Palestine Timeline http://qumsiyeh.org/palestinetimeline/
• Life in the Bubble: At Home in the Israeli Settler State By Ed Kinane http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102660627975&s=28136&e=001YYUApb3JYEuoRlHE1O1pJZqUjzG-mV1yuDj0M_9fgqPgIkMRhZwiQqvRJ5Gz9bukl4yaGIhPSCKCObmtYH7pTlRTFACUoTGUXD0Ppzg_H185_7OmUpAS8Yk4d_Tu0EiCUlMZiRpZ4_rTqX55alsVW-oWb9Bg5e4S
• Chapter III, "Refusing Subservience" in Resistance.

• 2. Write a 2-3 page reflexive response on this week's chapter and articles examining your what you understood about Palestine, Lebenon and Iranian resistance and what you learned in your reading material this week. (Due Sunday).

Week 9 Criminal Terrorism Organized Crime 

1.  Read and Respond

• Organized Crime At Answers.Com
•  http://www.answers.com/topic/organized-crime
• Money Laundering: Muddying the Macroeconomy by Peter J. Quirk
• https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/1997/03/pdf/quirk.pdf
• Chapter 4, "US Military Bases in Other People's Countries" in Nemesis.

2.  Write a 2-3 page reflexive response on this week's chapter and articles examining your critique about whether or not US Militarism is connected to money laundering and organized crime. 

Week 10 Pathological (Individual/Personal) Terrorism

1.  Read and Respond

• Bad to the Bone by Mark Gado at http://www.crimelibrary.com/criminal_mind/psychology/crime_motivation/1.html
• Violence Against Women in the USA http://www.now.org/issues/violence/stats.html
• Facts & Figures on Violence Against Women
• http://www.unifem.org/attachments/gender_issues/violence_against_women/facts_figures_violence_against_women_2007.pdf
• The Impressions of a Man by Brent Turvey
• http://www.corpus-delicti.com/impress.html

2.  Write a 2-3 page position paper on the root causes of individual terrorism.  Support your claims with material from this week's texts.  Remember to cite sources!

Week 11   Resistance

1.  Read and Respond

• Chapter 7, "The Crisis of the American Republic" in Nemesis.
• Chapter IV, "Resistance and the Normalization of injustice" in Resistance.

2.   Write a 2-3 page position paper reflecting on the ideas about the fighting of injustice in the Resistance book comparing it with the injustices described in Nemesis. 

Weeks 12-14

Final Presentations

Week 15 Exams Week

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NEIU JUST 315H: Law and Terrorism

COURSE CALENDAR