Forum: Security Council

Issue: STEPS TO BE TAKEN TO CURB THE ONGOING THREAT OF ISIS &

BRING BACK PEACE & STABILITY TO THE MIDDLE EAST REGION

Introduction

Hardly a week goes by without an act of terrorism taking place somewhere around the world,
killing hundreds and even thousands of innocent civilians. Whether it be aircraft highjacks,
street shootings or suicide bombings, international terrorism causes hundreds of blameless
victims every year. Although many different treaties have been agreed upon, resolutions have
been passed and measures have been applied, terrorism still takes place every few days
somewhere around the world. Because of this, international terrorism has remained on the
United Nations agenda for decades. It is in the interest of all countries to drastically reduce or
eliminate international terrorism in order to ensure safety and political and economic
stability.

Violence has been part of human civilization for thousands of years. Most violence among
countries is usually targeted against military forces. However, terrorism is specifically
characterized by its intention to cause terror or panic in the people. Terrorism is an issue that
is particularly hard to tackle because of the strong feelings it evokes in the groups suffering
from it. It is usually the effect of an underlying conflict related to injustice, poverty, misery,
starvation, nationalism, politics or religion. Thus, most terrorist attacks and terrorist groups’
foundations can be traced back to either a long-term, underlying issue such as poverty or to a
disagreement between two or more groups with different ideologies. More and more often,
terrorism is associated with the religion of Islam. This is mostly due to the amount of terrorist
attacks carried out by Sunni Muslim extremists in the name of Islam in foreign countries.
According to a report by the USA National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), about 70% of
the world’s terrorist attacks in 2011 were planned and carried out by Sunni Muslim. The most
well-known Sunni Muslim terrorist group is Al-Qaeda – formerly led by Osama bin Laden –
which claimed responsibility for the September 11th attacks in New York City and
Washington DC. Due to the large number of international attacks being carried out by Sunni
Muslim groups or organizations, increasingly large numbers of people have become
prejudiced about the religion of Islam altogether.

However, as above-mentioned, it is not only religion that serves as a cause for international
terrorism. In numerous instances, it is other issues that need to be addressed first. More often
than not, these issues or disagreements are caused by injustice and poverty, and terrorists
emerge from countries or backgrounds that lack proper living conditions and education, or
political and economic stability. Therefore, in the cases of these terrorist groups or attacks,
the underlying problems are usually the real cause of the conflicts.
Key Terms Defined

Terrorism
The illegal use of force or violence against any people or property to intimidate or terrorize a
government, population, or any other group of people due to political or social objectives.

International Terrorism
Terrorism carried out in a country by people that are not native to that country.

Ideology
The beliefs, values and/or principles by which a group identifies itself and its objectives.
These are defined in many cases by factors such as politics or religion.

Shariah
Translates to “the way” in English. It is the religious law of Islam, based on the traditions of
the Koran and the sayings of the Prophet. Like many aspects of the Islamic religion, it can be
interpreted in an extreme manner.

Jihad
“The struggle” in English, also known as “holy war”. It is the religious duty of Muslims. As
it is open to individual interpretation, there are two main accepted meanings for Jihad: an
inner, psychological struggle or an outer, physical struggle that would translate into a violent
or nonviolent conflict with those that do not believe in Islam. This meaning is mostly
accepted by Shiah Muslims.

War on Terror
The international military campaign put into action against terrorist groups, governments and
organizations as a result of the September 11th attacks on the USA. Most NATO nations –
such as the United Kingdom – participate in the War on Terror as well as several other non-
NATO nations – such as Pakistan. So far, the greatest achievement of the War on Terror is
the assassination of AL Qaeda former leader Osama bin Laden.

Background Information

Although it has been a more prominent issue in the 20th and 21st centuries, terrorism is not
unique to the last 150 years. However, mostly due to the September 11th attacks,
international terrorism has been given more attention by the populations and governments of
the affected countries, such as the United States and Israel. The specific causes of
international terrorism are boundless, but most attacks can be divided into two major groups
according to their purpose: ideological or strategic. Ideological purposes Many times terrorist
groups act in the name of an element of their ideology – which encompasses factors such as
religion and political or social philosophies or demands – in an attempt to justify their
actions. Examples of relevant international terrorist groups that act for ideological purposes
are:

Abu Nidal Organization (ANO) An international terrorist group led by Sabri al-Banna which
has carried out attacks in twenty countries including Israel, the United Kingdom, France and
the Palestinian territories, although it has attacked several other Arab countries, too. Its major
attacks were inflicted upon the Rome and Vienna airports in 1985. It has a particularly strong
presence in Libya and Sudan and has received state support from Iraq, Syria and Libya. Its
goal is to eliminate the State of Israel, preferably through an international Arab revolution.

Japanese Red Army (JRA) A Japanese international terrorist group founded after breaking
away from the Japanese Communist League Red Army Faction. Fusako Shigenobu originally
led the group until her arrest in 2000. The group’s goal was to overthrow the Japanese
government and to impulse a worldwide communist revolution. It acted in many countries
such as Italy, the United States, Japan and Malaysia. After she was arrested, Shigenobu
announced she would pursue the group’s goal by creating a legal political party rather than by
resorting to terrorism, and claimed the JRA would dissolve in 2001.

Irish Republican Army (IRA) A separatist Irish terrorist organization whose goal is to
achieve an Ireland completely independent from the United Kingdom’s rule. With the Anglo-
Irish Treaty in 1921, it achieved the complete freedom of Southern Ireland while the UK still
retained authority over Northern Ireland. However, some members found the treaty
unacceptable and continued to act in an attempt to achieve the complete independence of
Ireland.

Al-Qaeda The most well-known international terrorist organization, formerly founded and led
by Osama bin Laden, who was killed by USA troops and CIA operatives in 2011. The group
was created during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan but then evolved and developed new
goals. Its current purposes are to establish one solid, Islamic Arab Nation ruled under the
Shariah, to eliminate American influence from all Arab countries – especially in Saudi
Arabia, to destroy the entire state of Israel, and to overthrow all Arab state supporters of
Western countries. Its most important attacks were the September 11th attacks in 2001, the
Madrid bombings in 2004 and the London bombings in 2005. It receives financial aid mainly
from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ) A group of factions acting to create an Islamic state in the place
of Israel through Jihad. The PIJ is also against moderate Arab governments influenced by
Western culture and against strong supporters of Israel such as the USA. It lacks organization
and a single leader, but has previously threatened to attack the USA and Jordan and it has
carried out bombings in the Gaza Strip, the West Banks and Israel. It is supported by Iran and
Syria.

HAMAS (Islamic Resistance Movement) An offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, HAMAS

is since 2005 the ruling authority in the Gaza Strip. Its goal is to eliminate Israel and to
establish a Palestinian Islamic state in its place. It is very loosely structured, with some
members working in and recruiting new people in mosques and social institutions and
distributing propaganda; and with others performing attacks mostly in the Gaza Strip and the
West Bank to achieve their goals. It receives aid from Iran and Saudi Arabia, as well as
humanitarian aid from many Western powers.

Hezbollah (Party of God) Shi’ite international terrorist group which receives support and aid
mostly from Iran and Syria. The group was formed as a response to Israel’s invasion of
Lebanon and was quickly strengthened due to training provided by the Iranian Revolutionary
Guard Corps. It began to popularize and encourage suicide terrorist attacks such as the one it
carried out in the US Marine Barracks. It has also acted in countries such as Argentina and
the United Kingdom, mostly against United States and Israeli entities. It is usually credited
with popularizing suicide terrorist attacks, just like AL Qaeda, and firing small rockets at the
State of Israel.
ISIS

Founded in 1999 by Jordanian radical Abu Musab al-Zarqawi as the Organization of

Monotheism and Jihad, the group first gained notoriety during the early stages of the Iraqi
insurgency. In October of 2004, the group pledged allegiance to Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda
network, changing its name to the Organization of Jihad’s Base in Mesopotamia. After
merging with the Mujahideen Shura Council in January 2006, the Islamic State of Iraq was
founded, finally becoming the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria after expanding into Syria in
2013. The group was catapulted into the international spotlight with the start of the Syrian
Civil War. In the months after the start of the conflict, the group began supplying men, arms
and money to the al-Nusra Front, a group opposed to the Assad government. The group’s
former leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, embarked on a mission to merger ISIS with the al-
Nusra Front beginning in April of 2013. This sparked a power struggle between al-Baghdadi
and al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri which resulted in calls by the latter to disband ISIS,
putting al-Nusra in charge of ongoing efforts in Syria, and the total disavowal of ISIS by al-
Qaeda leaders. With the split from al-Qaeda, ISIS began an active campaign to conquer
portions of central and northern Syria. 2014 marks the year that ISIS truly became a name
known around the world, as on June 29, 2014, the organization proclaimed itself a worldwide
caliphate, making al-Baghdadi is caliph, claiming religious, political and military authority
over all Muslims worldwide. Between June and July of 2014, the situation along the
Syrian/Iraqi border became destabilized, with ISIS gaining control over various crossing
points and towns. At the same time the number of war crimes committed by the group began
to increase as well, with kidnappings and beheadings becoming frequent events, as well as
the targeting of religious minorities in the area. By August the major city of Mosul had been
taken by ISIS fighters in northern Iraq, marking a dramatic turning point for the worse, with
United States becoming involved in order to halt the advance of ISIS into the capital city of
Baghdad.

Since then, ISIS has continued to war with groups in Syria and Iraq, trading little ground, and
has committed some of the worst violations of human rights in modern history. The group
has begun to recruit from all across Africa and the Middle East, claiming to have fighters in
Europe and North America as well. The group has also begun to make inroads into Libya,
successfully capturing several towns in the already war torn country and further destabilizing
the situation there. The main goal of ISIS is to found a Sunni, Salafi, Islamic caliphate
encompassing many of the traditionally Muslim inhabited areas of North Africa, the Middle
East and Europe. Their main ideological differences with other terrorist group’s worldwide
centers around their belief that the ‘Day of Judgement by God,’ a literal apocalypse, is
drawing near, and as such Islamic society must be purified according to their beliefs. This has
led to the persecution of religious minority groups in the areas that they control, namely
Christians and Yazidis. Also of concern are its treatment of civilians, use of child soldiers,
sexual violence, slavery, mass beheadings and executions, as well as the destruction of
numerous significant historical sites. In all, this conflict has caused one of the greatest
movements of people in recent memory and forced millions out of their homes, causing an
international refugee crisis.
Strategic purposes

According to the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), “terrorism is the result of a logical
analysis of the goals and objectives of a group, and their estimate of the likelihood of gaining
victory. […] States may sponsor terrorist groups, especially when the objectives of the state
and the terrorist group are similar”. Most of the aforementioned terrorist groups are supported
by states whose interests are similar to those of the groups. Countries such as Palestine or
Saudi Arabia support some terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda, the PIJ or Hamas, because of their
common interest in the elimination of the state of Israel. Thus, groups that operate with the
support of state governments usually also operate for strategic purposes such as the
reclaiming of formerly owned lands. However, government support or sympathy for terrorist
groups and organizations isn’t common worldwide, with most cases located in the Middle
East – the powder keg of international terrorism. Major Countries and Groups Involved State
of Israel Israel occupies a major role in international terrorism as it is the target of many
terrorist groups such as HAMAS or Hezbollah. In response to terrorist attacks by groups such
as these, Israel enacted plans like the Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance (PTO), which
addressed the issue of terrorism head on and thus ensured Israeli citizens’ security. Some
measures implemented by the PTO include the confiscation of any property belonging to or
being used by terrorist organizations and “taking away rights and freedoms of an individual
who has damaged the rights and freedoms of innocent members of society” (Buhler 4). This
is a particularly controversial aspect of the ordinance, as it involves restricting the rights and
freedom of certain members of society. However, the PTO has proved useful so far for
Israel’s response towards international terrorism.

United States of America

As a very strong supporter of Israel, it is often involved or attacked by Islamic terrorist
groups in events such as the September 11th attacks, after which it declared the War on
Terror. With the help of many other nations, the War on Terror – led mostly by the USA – is
able to cause the fall of the Taliban government in Afghanistan, destroy several Al-Qaeda
camps and kill Osama bin Laden, a major terrorist leader. However, with these actions,
Islamic extremist resentment towards the USA grows.

Islamic Republic of Iran

“Iran [has] remained the most active state sponsor of terrorism in 2010. Iran’s financial,
material, and logistic support for terrorist and militant groups throughout the Middle East and
Central Asia had a direct impact on international efforts to promote peace, threatened
economic stability in the Gulf, and undermined the growth of democracy,” states the 2010
State Department Country Report on Terrorism. As mentioned before, Iran has a common
enemy – Israel – with terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda, whose main goals are to establish
Shariah and eliminate the state of Israel. It has long been a sponsor of Islamic terrorism and
its policy towards the issue of international terrorism is problematic, as it slows progress in
detaining and bringing major terrorist leaders to justice. Un-cooperative countries such as
Iran are sometimes seen as a major obstacle in eliminating international terrorism.

Syrian Arab Republic “Syria in 2010 continued its political support to a variety of terrorist
groups affecting the stability of the region and beyond. Syria provided political and military
support to Hezbollah in Lebanon and allowed Iran to resupply the terrorist organization with
weapons. […] Statements supporting terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah consistently
permeated government speeches and press statements,” the 2010 Country Report on
Terrorism states. As is the case with Iran, Syria is a supporter of several anti-Israeli terrorist
groups such as Hezbollah and the PIJ because of common interests. As was mentioned
before, un-collaborative countries like these halt the progress in eliminating or reducing
international terrorism and ensuring peace in conflictive areas.

Sudan
Viewed by many terrorist organizations – such as Hezbollah, the PIJ, Abu Nidal and
HAMAS – as a safe haven in which to plan and organize future attacks or events due to its
weak government and law enforcement system. While few terrorist groups actually carry out
attacks in the country of Sudan itself, many recruit and train new members in the safe
grounds of Sudan.

Palestinian National Authority (PNA)

As its territories border Israel, numerous terrorist organizations seek a foothold in Palestinian
soil. Over the last few years, Palestine has become increasingly similar to Sudan – a place
where terrorist organizations plan, train and recruit new members due to the proximity of
their target: Israel. Furthermore, although several terrorist groups such as HAMAS or the PIJ
claim they fight for the destruction of the state of Israel as a means to an end – the
establishment of a Palestinian Islamic state – they continue to attack Israel soil despite their
political gains in Palestinian grounds. This suggests that their goals have recently shifted to
the mere destruction of the state of Israel.

Taliban
An Islamic political movement that spread from Pakistan into Afghanistan, the Taliban were
able to form a government but were only recognized by three other states. It enforced a strict,
brutal interpretation of Shariah law. In many cases, the Taliban have been said to use
terrorism to achieve their social and political goals, and were responsible for most Afghan
civilian deaths during their years in power. After the September 11th attacks, they were
overthrown by American troops.

Previous attempts to solve the issue Use of force and violence Although it is a common
strategy used against terrorism, the use of force and violence often causes feelings of
resentment and bitterness in the nations involved, potentially producing more terrorists and
more confrontation between the conflicted groups. However, it does hinder terrorists’ ability
to operate and is sometimes effective in eliminating certain terrorist groups. An example of
the use of force and violence would be the War on Terror. After being a silent supporter of
the Taliban government because of its pro-Western ideology, President George W. Bush puts
the War on Terror into action, its main target being the Afghan Taliban, which harbored the
Al-Qaeda terrorist organization. In collaboration with numerous NATO and non-NATO
members, the War on Terror overthrows the Taliban government and kills bin Laden.
However, as was mentioned above, it creates Arab feelings of bitterness towards the USA
and American distrust of Islam. Negotiation Although most nations refuse to negotiate with
terrorist groups in the public eye, negotiations sometimes take place out of public view in
order to organize and sign treaties. An example of negotiation to eliminate terrorism is the
Good Friday Agreement. After publicly refusing to negotiate with the terrorist group IRA, the
UK puts an end to several decades of terrorist attacks in Ireland and the UK by creating and
signing the Good Friday Agreement. Although some members of the IRA remained unhappy
with the Treaty, it eliminated most terrorism by the group as a whole.
International agreements Organizations such as the United Nations engage in diplomatic
debate and discussion to pass resolutions and make progress in the issue of eliminating
international terrorism. Specifically, the issue is usually brought up in the Security Council
where the countries represented agree on and pass a resolution such as Resolution 1373,
called “Improving International Cooperation”. Possible solutions providing strength to
unstable countries as was mentioned in the introduction, countries that lack political and
economic stability, proper education and have high poverty and starvation rates usually
become safe havens or training grounds for terrorist groups. Sudan is a very unstable country
with all of the characteristics mentioned above, and it has become one of the countries with
most terrorist groups and organizations in the world. Because there is no proper legislation or
law enforcement, terrorist groups thrive and are able to train and prepare for their attacks. If
the safe grounds of terrorist groups are eliminated, they lose much ability to carry out their
plans. Intercultural communication Because many of the issues that emerge between groups
are due to ideologies, intercultural communication and acceptance is key to ensure world
peace and to eliminate international terrorism. By providing better education to countries in
need, new generations would learn the importance of global acceptance and interdependence,
thus preventing future terrorist groups. Ending pseudo-imperialism and exploitation Much
bitterness is created when one country invades and abuses the resources of another. Countries
like Afghanistan have been raided for resources, something that has created resentment
among many Arabs towards countries like the USA, leading to – in extreme cases – the
formation or expansion of terrorist groups that promise the fall of imperialist countries.
Regulating the resources that are exported from conflictive countries could be a way to
ameliorate international relationships and drastically lower terrorist attack rates.

Giving international organizations effective power The creation of an effective legislative and
executive power could be a solution to stop terrorist supporting countries such as Syria and
Iran from sponsoring and financially aiding terrorist organizations. Eliminating state support
would reduce the resources of terrorist organizations such as PIJ and Al-Qaeda to a
minimum, supported only by private donations. This would drastically hinder their progress
and international terrorism would be greatly reduced.

PRIOR UN ACTION TIMELINE

1. Security Council Resolution 2043 established UNSMIS to oversee the peacekeeping

mission in Syria.

2. Security Council Resolution 2139 addressing access to humanitarian aid in Syria.

3. Security Council Resolution 2169 condemning ISIS.

4. Security Council Resolution 2170 officially condemning human rights abuses in Iraq and
Syria.
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER

1. What can the United Nations Security Council do to curtail the Syrian refugee crisis?

2. What can the United Nations Security Council do to stop violence against religious and
ethnic minorities?

3. What can the United Nations Security Council do to ensure the stability of Middle East?

4. What can the United Nations Security Council do to establish peace between the various
rebel factions and the Assad regime in Syria?

5. What steps can the United Nations Security Council take to eliminate the threat of ISIS?

FURTHER INFORMATION AND WORKS CITED

http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/12/world/meast/who-is-the-isis/index.html
http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/08/world/isis-fast-facts/index.html
http://abcnews.go.com/WN/fullpage/isis-trail-terror-isis-threat-us-25053190
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alastair-crooke/isis-wahhabism-saudi-
arabia_b_5717157.html http://www.newrepublic.com/article/119259/isis-history-islamic-
states-new-caliphate-syriaand-iraq