Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
by the early 1970s. British authorities were absolutely certain that the group
was stealing weapons from British military bases, but the PIRA was using
commercial explosives that were acquired under the auspices of the 1875
Explosives Act, which allowed the import of commercial explosives, such as
gelignite, into Northern Ireland, shipped from English manufacturers. It was
using ammonium nitrate-based bombs by 1972, bombs that were made even
more lethal with experimentation in regards to dual switches and the acquisi-
tion of Semtex.
Terrorists also have to factor in security measures as seen in Iyman Faris'
aborted attempt to attack the Brooklyn Bridge as a result of security being “too
hot.” In other cases, the symbolism of a possible target may result in the terrorist
losing possible empathy or engendering a massive retaliation against them.
In 1994, the Landmarks Plot targeted multiple targets in New York City that
included the United Nations, 26 Federal Plaza, the New York home of the
FBI, and others. When cell leader Siddiq Ali asked the Blind Sheikh, Omar
Abdel Rahman, for permission to target the UN, the Blind Sheikh replied,
“It is not forbidden but it will put Muslims in a bad light. The UN is not a
force of pressure. It will hurt Islam before the UN. Think of something else
because the UN is considered to be a presence for peace. People will say that
Muslims are against peace.”
When told of plans to attack 26 Federal Plaza and asked for a blessing,
Abdel Rahman told Siddig, “It doesn't matter. Slow down. Slow down a little
bit. The one who killed Kennedy was trained for three years.”
Source
: Laurie Mylroie, “The War Against America,” Regan Books, New
York, 2001, p. 189.
Sometimes terrorist groups do not consider the effects of their strikes carefully
enough. At the beginning of the 1970s the PIRA conducted a number of attacks in
Northern Ireland aimed at Nationalists and British forces in an attempt to make
Northern Ireland ungovernable and force the British to leave the territory. On July
21, 1972, in what was to be known as “Bloody Friday,” the PIRA detonated 22
bombs within two and a half hours in a small area of Belfast. Two of the bombs
killed two people and wounded 130 others. Many of the victims were wounded
by multiple devices as the kill zone was a small area.
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Although the PIRA phoned
ahead of the attack, many of the warnings did not reach the proper authorities in
time and the group miscalculated the impact of the operation.
