Page 249 - Encyclopedia Of Terrorism

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Media and Terrorism———227

of the Unabomber, an ecoterrorist who for years had
mailed bombs to people, killing three. The publication
of the manifesto generated tremendous controversy,
but among its readers was David Kaczynski, who
realized that his brother, Theodore, probably wrote it.
David Kaczynski contacted the FBI, and the Una-
bomber, who had eluded authorities for 18 years, was
arrested in Montana in 1996.
Indeed, not all terrorists seek media attention in the
first place. State terrorism, for example, is usually
conducted in secret. In countries where the govern-
ment relies on terrorism to maintain power, the media
are usually tightly controlled and prevented from
General Tommy R. Franks, commander in chief of U.S. publishing or broadcasting accounts of terrorist acts
Central Command, and Secretary of Defense Donald committed by government agents. Instead, the per-
Rumsfeld (right) brief reporters in March 2002 on petrators rely on word of mouth to spread the news
the progress of Operation Anaconda, a large combat among dissidents; consider, for example, the more than
operation against Taliban and Al Qaeda forces in 13,000 people killed or “disappeared” during Argen-
the Shahikot Mountains of eastern Afghanistan. tina’s “Dirty War” in the 1970s.
Source: U.S. Department of Defense photograph by R. D. Ward. Extremely radical groups dedicated to the elimi-
nation of a particular enemy tend to be more or less
had largely been ignored by the international indifferent to how the public perceives them, especially
community. if they consider the average consumer of the main-
Such terrorism was nothing new, but advances in stream media as the enemy. The 1990s saw the rise of
media technology meant that by the early 1970s, it such groups, which conduct attacks designed to maxi-
was occurring on a global stage. For example, the mize casualties and do not take credit for them.
1972 Olympic Games held in Munich, Germany, were But many terrorist groups deliberately seek media
the first to be televised live around the world, thanks coverage and attempt to manipulate that coverage so
to the now-commonplace use of satellites to broadcast they will appear in a positive light. Attacks by these
television signals. During the games, a radical splinter groups may be designed to attract maximum public-
group of Al Fatah called Black September raided the ity but result in relatively few casualties, since large
compound housing Israeli athletes. The group killed numbers of casualties will turn public opinion against
two athletes and took nine hostage; those nine were the group.
killed during a botched getaway. The horrific events Some groups have demonstrated considerable savvy
were broadcast worldwide as they happened, making in seeking media attention. In the 1970s, the left-wing
a formerly obscure group instantly famous, or infa- Red Brigades of Italy habitually released communiqués
mous—the group was even featured fictitiously plot- to newspapers on Wednesdays and Saturdays because
ting a blimp attack on the Super Bowl in the 1976 the Thursday and Sunday editions of Italian news-
movie thriller Black Sunday. papers have a wider circulation. The communiqués
But such media attention does not always benefit were released to several newspapers to create a com-
the group or its cause. Simply because the public now petitive pressure to publish, and they were released late
knows about a group does not mean that its cause in the day to give reporters less time to solicit a critical
will be embraced. Support for the Palestinian cause is response from people opposed to the Red Brigades.
tepid in the United States, for example, despite the The Red Brigades also engaged in another com-
relatively heavy coverage Middle Eastern terrorism mon tactic for manipulating the media: attacking crit-
receives in the U.S. media. ical reporters and editors. Especially in Latin America
In addition, disseminating information about terror- and Africa, journalists are likely targets for assassina-
ists through the media can lead to their apprehension. tion, kidnappings, and beating by terrorists, and ter-
In 1995, for example, the New York Times and the rorist groups have bombed newspapers and occupied
Washington Post newspapers printed the manifesto television and radio stations. In some cases, as with