The enemies list: the foreign terrorist organization list and its role in defining terrorism

Download
Author
Decker, Eileen M.
Date
2014-03Advisor
Bellavita, Christopher
Second Reader
Rollins, John
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
The United States defines terrorism through the lists it maintains identifying those who are engaged in, support, and/or facilitate terrorism. One such list is the Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) list. Because the FTO designation process occurs without the organization's knowledge or ability to challenge the evidence, uses classified information to make the determination, and has limited judicial oversight, concerns have been expressed that the Executive Branch has too much discretion in this process. The concerns are exacerbated by the perception that political motivations dominate the decision-making process. Using content analysis, the FTO list is analyzed using a quantitative and qualitative approach. First, the terrorist designation processes used in allied countries is examined, and the list is analyzed by reviewing FTO decisions made before and after 9/11. Through an analysis of the annual State Department country reports describing the FTOs, the nonstatutory factors that influence FTO decisions emerge, and include whether a group attacked Israel or other allied nation of strategic interest to the United States, attacked the United States or its citizens, or is affiliated with al Qaeda. These nonstatutory factors and their application to U.S. counterterrorism strategy, is how the United States defines terrorism at any point in time.
Description
CHDS State/Local
Rights
Copyright is reserved by the copyright owner.Collections
Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and its security implications for the United Kingdom and the United States
Sironi, Luke (Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School, 1998-12);The United Kingdom has signed and ratified the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. The United States signed the treaty in September 1996, and currently the decision on whether to ratify it is pending in the Senate. Key differences ... -
ENDING AN ENEMY: UNITED STATES–IRAN RELATIONS
McMurrey, William B. (Monterey, CA; Naval Postgraduate School, 2019-09);The Iran–United States relationship is often described by U.S. leaders as an intractable, zero-sum problem. In this view, the solution is to collapse the Islamic Republic by military threats and unyielding economic pressure. ... -
United Nations human and financial resources for peacekeeping in Africa
Seck, Alioune (Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School, 1994-06);The United Nations, as an international moral authority, will often be re- quested to intervene in Africa. The United Nations currently has six operations in the African continent (Western Sahara, ...