Hello from the beautiful island of Rhodes, Greece, my ancestral home. My cousin Mark Kiriakou and I arrived this afternoon to take care of some family legal business, and I thought I’d drop you a few lines on the situation in Greece and on some other developments.
First, I’d like to thank all my new subscribers. I appreciate you very much. I’m now over 7,000!
Second, I wanted to give you an update on Political Misfits. As you likely know, the Biden Administration’s sanctions have been crippling. But to ensure that they could not be accused of being anti-press, the latest sanctions targeted Russian banks, not Russian media. As a result, the very act of receiving a paycheck became “money laundering” and we closed abruptly a few weeks ago. In the meantime, Michelle Witte, Ted Rall, and I have decided to reconstitute Political Misfits as “DeProgram.” The tentative plan is to do a one-hour show every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. And rather than cover daily breaking news, we will be able to get deeper into the news on fewer, more important, stories. We expect to be on all the major platforms, including YouTube, Rumble, Telegram, Spotify, and iTunes. And we hope to be up and running in the next two or three weeks.
Third, I’ve done a half dozen episodes of my new TV show “CIA Declassified,” where we use original and newly-declassified CIA documents to give you the background from important international events. Think the Berlin Airlift, the 1973 Chile Coup, the 1955 Iran Coup, and the Iran-Contra Affair. The show runs on Unifyd.tv. If you’re interested, here’s a link:
https://unifyd.tv
And finally, several people suggested that I share the class outline from my History of Terrorism class at Spain’s University of Salamanca. I’m happy to do that below.
Thanks again for subscribing. Be on the looking for more updates. Best regards, John
Course Title: The History of Terrorism: Ideological, Religious, and Political Movements
Course Objective: This course examines the historical, ideological, and political roots of terrorism, emphasizing key organizations, ideological movements, and case studies. Students will analyze terrorism as a tactic used by various groups across centuries, with a special focus on how the term has evolved and the fine line between terrorism and freedom fighting.
Class Schedule:
Session 1: What is Terrorism?
Objective: Define terrorism, understand its earliest examples, and differentiate between terrorism and freedom fighting.
Content:
Early terrorism: Zealots from the 1st century to the Gunpowder Plot.
First use of "terrorism" during the French Revolution.
20th-century terrorism: Algeria’s National Liberation Front, Viet Cong.
Analysis: Is one person’s terrorist another person’s freedom fighter?
Activity: Group discussion on whether specific groups from history should be considered terrorists or freedom fighters.
Reading:
Hoffman, Bruce. Inside Terrorism (Chapter 1: "What is Terrorism?"). https://www.amazon.com/Inside-Terrorism-Columbia-Bruce-Hoffman/dp/0231126999/
https://harvardlawreview.org/forum/no-volume/on-terrorists-and-freedom-fighters/
Session 2: Early 20th Century Terrorist Movements
Objective: Explore revolutionary nationalist movements and their impact on political violence.
Content:
Revolutionary nationalism: IRA’s fight for Irish independence, Zionist paramilitary groups.
Political assassinations and their use in nationalist movements (Gandhi, political Zionism).
Activity: Group analysis of the IRA’s and Irgun’s strategies and their moral implications.
Reading:
The Republic: The Fight for Irish Independence by Charles Townshend. https://www.amazon.com/Republic-Fight-Irish-Independence-1918-1923/dp/0141030046
https://archive.org/details/jewishterrorismi0000peda/mode/2up.
Session 3: Post-War Terrorism
Objective: Examine the rise of terrorism in the aftermath of WWII.
Content:
Muslim Brotherhood, ETA (Basque Homeland and Freedom), PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organization).
European and Asian groups: Japanese Red Army, Carlos the Jackal, Red Brigades.
Groups like the Tamil Tigers and their use of suicide bombings.
Activity: Class discussion on the global influence of these groups.
Reading:
https://www.amazon.com/Making-Terrorist-Rani-Mazzi/dp/074141676X/ref=sr_1_5?crid=XVJQRNCLBKUO&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.zM25ACFS4oHoMFSDPAsZfB5k1C-9Y9eKFjG8yEwuQgwYEf3uRIrFL6emevkzXJdvhwQU0hSkhbTRLHCdacrozTEw9jOGY1FTRbSsjpd2MUr530I1aU4cVgJSzdOrUSToZ0nG_b2F6toom-2N_a8c61NXT9HjdqI8wVn23boq-jrjkmQyzsXJ2LNINKyJ6kFNpSa2CuUrw4io3wQZfaYFmIe50gyXhuct3oeGajgR8qU.BIu1qpiiuAWmL8ilyeXov1csWm6R3gmhErrNAFED5RM&dib_tag=se&keywords=the+making+of+a+terrorist&qid=1726437608&sprefix=the+making+of+a+terrorist%2Caps%2C90&sr=8-5
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/116501.Jackal.
Session 4: Case Study: Revolutionary Organization 17 November & Popular Revolutionary Struggle in Greece
Objective: Analyze the ideological roots and key actions of 17 November and ELA in Greece.
Content:
Overview of these Greek terrorist organizations, their objectives, and notable attacks.
Government responses and public perception of these groups.
Activity: Group case study presentation on how 17 November affected Greece’s domestic politics.
Reading:
https://www.academia.edu/9552275/Greek_Urban_Warriors_Resistance_and_Terrorism_1967_2014
Session 5: Religious Terrorism
Objective: Discuss the rise of religiously motivated terrorist groups.
Content:
Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Quds Brigades: Ideological motivations and impact on Middle East politics.
The use of suicide bombings and asymmetric warfare.
Al-Qaeda’s origins in the Soviet-Afghan War and Osama bin Laden’s ideological beliefs.
Major attacks: 1998 U.S. embassy bombings, September 11 attacks.
Peter Bergen: "The Rise and Fall of al-Qaeda."
"The 9/11 Commission Report"
The formation of ISIS, its caliphate, and its strategy of territorial control.
Use of social media for recruitment and propaganda.
Activity: Discussion on the intersection of religion and terrorism in the Middle East.
Reading:
https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/what-hezbollah
https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/palestinian-islamic-jihad
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2011/08/9-11-2011-201108
Session 6: State-Sponsored Terrorism
Objective: Analyze how states use terrorism as a foreign policy tool.
Content:
Iran’s support for Hezbollah, Syria’s use of terrorism, North Korea’s involvement.
The U.S. designation of state sponsors of terrorism.
Activity: Debate on the efficacy of sanctions and military interventions to curb state-sponsored terrorism.
Reading:
https://www.congress.gov/event/115th-congress/house-event/108155/text
Additional Reading Suggestions:
Randall Law: Terrorism: A History.
Bruce Hoffman: Inside Terrorism.
Your planned format for "Deprogram" sounds great! I am also wondering how your students from Spain, who took your course, felt about ETA.
Several of the links didn't work.
Can you name any groups the US supports who are designated as "Terrorists" by other countries?
Where is the cutoff line between freedom fighter and terrorist?
Thanks