Whew the last one seems like it might’ve been a doozy.
Might’ve been a little more of a curveball because I was covering some “blind spots”.
Let’s check them answers!
1) In the late 19th and early 20th century, this terrorist group assassinated or attacked several world leaders:
A) Anarchists
B) Communists
C) Socialists
D) Muslim Brotherhood
Hard to believe Anarchists could ever be organized enough to be a “group” but at one time they were.
Depending on who you call an “official” Anarchist, members killed or attempted to kill several heads of state in this period, especially in Europe.
Unrelated but also worth mentioning is the fact that “Anarchists” played a hand in forming the Paris Commune in 1871, one of the most under-reported significant historical events.
2) In the United States, this group was responsible for assassinating how many Presidents?
A) None
B) One
C) Two
D) Three
William McKinley was shot in 1901 by Leon Czolgosz, who was an Anarchist and great admirer of Gaetano Bresci, the man who had earlier assassinated the King of Italy.
Although not an Anarchist, it’s worth mentioning that Charles Guiteau, the man who assassinated President Garfield 20 years earlier, had been a member of some fringe religious groups.
3) The perpetrator(s) of these attacks were:
A) Detained indefinitely but never charged
B) Executed on the spot
C) Tortured until they confessed
D) Given a regular trial in a regular court
Somehow even the threat to the President himself was not enough of a reason to dismantle the Constitution in those days.
4) As a result of these attacks worldwide and domestically, the United States government:
A) Suspended habeas corpus
B) Declared members of suspect group(s) were “unlawful combatants”
C) Detained members of suspect group(s) indefinitely
D) Authorized torture or “coercive interrogation
E) Gave law enforcement organizations sweeping new powers
F) Prosecuted the offenders normally under existing criminal law
Although the trial lasted just 8 and one half hours, the laws used to prosecute (and convict with the death penalty) the assassin of President McKinley were ordinary criminal statutes.
5) The United States gained use of Guantanamo Bay (Cuba):
A) By purchasing it from the Cuban government for 12 million dollars
B) By seizing it in a military action and annexing it as part of the United States
C) By defeating Spain, installing a puppet President in Cuba and then being “offered” a perpetual lease over the area.
What happens if you invade a country, install a President and then sign legal agreements with his administration and then a few years later the government wants to modify the agreements? And what happens if the invading country seemingly repeals its own agreements yet doesn’t? You get Guantanamo Bay.
Well if it wasn’t so tragic it would be Seinfeldian – apparently unless both parties agree to break up, they still remain together. And so the U.S. continues to “lease” Guantanamo Bay and send checks to Fidel Castro for the “rent” but Castro never cashes them so the U.S. is now operating its one and only international military base completely rent-free on the southeastern tip of Cuba.
Bonus note: The President of Cuba the United States installed after “liberating” the country from Spain, Tomas Estrada Palma, had earlier advocated Cuba’s complete annexation to the United States.
6) Approximate number of “detainees” in the “War on Terror” currently housed in Guantanamo Bay:
A) 10
B) 50
C) 100
D) 500
E) None
Approximate because even the number of detainees is deemed too sensitive of knowledge for the American people to know about.
Nor does this statistic reflect the number who used to be there but no longer are, which is also unknown.
7) Approximate number of “detainees” in Guantanamo Bay tried by a military commission:
A) 10
B) 50
C) 100
D) 500
E) None
Despite this being a mandatory requirement in the Geneva Conventions for anyone who is not deemed a POW or “lawful combatant”.
8) Approximate number of “detainees” in Guantanamo Bay found proven guilty by military commission:
A) 10
B) 50
C) 100
D) 500
E) None
Not a one.
9) The first terrorist group to regularly and systematically employ suicide bomber attacks:
A) Al-Qaeda
B) Muslim Brotherhood
C) Jemaah al-Islamiyah
D) Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
E) Islamic Jihad
Also known as the Tamil Tigers, who operate primarily in Sri Lanka. The Tigers have entire departments and the suicide bombing department is called the “Black Tigers”. More here.
10) The group in Question #9 has assassinated this many heads of state:
A) None
B) One
C) Two
D) Three
They killed Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi as well as Sri Lankan President Ranasignhe Premada. They severely injured but did not kill Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga in 1999.
11) Most of the members of the organization in Question #10 are adherents to this religion:
A) Shi’ite Islam
B) Sunni Islam
C) Buddhism
D) Hinduism
The Tigers are not organized on theological or ideological lines so the distinction is much different than Al-Qaeda. That being said, most Tamils are practicing Hindus or “secular” Hindus from a Hindu-dominated culture.
12) In the last 15 years, which of the following nations/regions suffered regular terrorist attacks:
A) Indonesia (Aceh)
B) Northern Ireland
C) Senegal
D) Burundi
E) Nepal
F) Sudan (South)
G) All of the above
Plus many, many more unfortunately…
13) The nations/regions in Question #12 that continue to be plagued by terrorist attacks:
A) Indonesia (Aceh)
B) Northern Ireland
C) Senegal
D) Burundi
E) Nepal
F) Sudan (South)
G) All of the above
Actually should’ve been none of the above. My mistake!
Although nothing guarantees permanent peace, the majority of the fighting ended in Indonesia (Aceh) last year, Northern Ireland approximately 10 years ago, Senegal 2 years ago, Burundi last year, Nepal just a month ago and Sudan (the South) a year ago.
14) The process that stopped terrorist attacks in the countries/regions listed in Question #13 was:
A) Overwhelming military force
B) Bribes, death squads and extra-judicial killings
C) Mass detentions of suspected terrorists or sympathizers
D) Political negotiations
E) Thousands of paid contractors/mercenaries
Every last time. Torture has been used in all of the above named regions (including N. Ireland) at one time or another by the government’s forces but it never worked. Not once.
Sadly to say, most of the governments involved used A-C quite extensively before going to D.
15) Terrorist group with the largest number of armed members worldwide:
A) Al-Qaeda
B) Jemaah al-Islamiyah
C) FARC
D) Abu Sayyaf
E) Islamic Jihad
F) NPA
The estimates are just that – estimates. But both the FARC and NPA are organized along the lines of a state-within-a-state. They have both been around for decades and have well-organized systems of financing, arming and equipping their activities.
The FARC has an estimated “army” of between 12,000 and 18,000 “soldiers”. The NPA has approximately the same amount although it was estimated that they had 25,000 armed “soldiers” in the 1980’s.
Since the FARC and NPA are fighting what is essentially a civil war, they have far more full-time armed members than any of the “international” groups like Al-Qaeda.
16) Currently there are terrorist groups whose members are all Christian:
A) True
B) False
Most of the terrorist groups based on Christian ideology are fighting for separatist issues in India. The main groups are in the “Seven Sisters” region of NE India, particularly Nagaland. It is possible some of these groups have received funding from American churches, particularly Baptist sects.
17) According to the United States and Israel, there are terrorist groups whose members are all Jewish:
A) True
B) False
Most definitely true. The group listed on both countries’ (and the EU’s) official list is Kahane Chai.
18) The FARC terrorist group fights predominantely in:
A) Philippines
B) Indonesia
C) Iraq
D) Colombia
E) Kosovo/Serbia
Established in 1964 and has been fighting the government ever since.
19) The NPA terrorist group fights predominantely in:
A) Philippines
B) Indonesia
C) Iraq
D) Colombia
E) Kosovo/Serbia
Formed in 1969 out of the remnants of Filipino resistance units that fought against the Japanese during their control of the islands previous to and during World War 2.
20) The Abu Sayyaf terrorist group fights predominantely in:
A) Philippines
B) Indonesia
C) Iraq
D) Colombia
E) Kosovo/Serbia
Founded in 1991, they fight from and are based in the predominantely Muslim southern islands in the Philippines.
21) The relation of the United States government and the FARC is:
A) None
B) The U.S. government is allied or sympathetic to this group
C) The U.S. government funds the government to fight this group and has military “advisors” in country
The United States government has spent billions of dollars, particularly on Plan Colombia, to aid, fund, arm and train the Colombian government military to fight the “War on Drugs”, which in many ways consists of fighting the FARC.
Click on the link for more details but in 2006 approximately 82% of the funding for Plan Colombia was military spending while originally economic and social aid was supposed to compromise over half of spending.
Technically, American troops are only allowed to advise and train the Colombian military. It is worth noting however that much of the money given to Colombia to spend is turned around and used to hire American mercenary/contractor companies, particularly the vile Dyncorp.
It’s also worth noting here that the Plan Colombian money has gone to both regular military troops as well as quasi-governmental paramilitary units who have been accused of grevious human rights abuses. It’s also worth noting that the “School of the Americas” has trained many of the people involved.
22) The relation of the United States government and Abu Sayyaf is:
A) None
B) The U.S. government is allied or sympathetic to this group
C) The U.S. government funds the government to fight this group and has military “advisors” in country
The United States has thousands of troops in the southern Philippines to “advise” and train the army in fighting Abu Sayyaf.
This is almost never reported in the press and therefore I know very little about how much money the Philippine government gets in aid directly tied to fighting Abu Sayyaf, how much military equipment, etc.
23) The acronyms UDN, FARN and MILPAS refer to:
A) American code names for terrorist leaders in Colombia
B) Economic agreements to block funding for terrorist groups in Iran
C) The different groups who collectively became known as the “Contras” in Nicaragua
D) American military operations against Islamic terrorists in Africa
From 1972-1979, Nicaragua was run by an American-trained and supported dictator. He was overthrown in a mostly peaceful revolution in 1979, headed by the Sandinistas.
As the Sandinistas had some socialist or potentially Communist-friendly elements, the United States spent money and effort uniting those “contra” (Spanish for “against”) the Sandinistas. The UDN, FARN and MILPAS were various militias who became collectively known as the Contras.
24) The ARENA was a terrorist group operating in:
A) Honduras
B) Colombia
C) Nicaragua
D) El Salvador
In 1981, the ARENA was formed to oppose the military dictatorship ruling the country at that time.
For most of the rest of that decade, ARENA fought an irregular “war” against the FMLN that displaced thousands of people, including the family of Markos Moulitsas. The FMLN were considered the “bad guys” since they had pro-Communist elements and so the United States supported ARENA.
The ARENA was perhaps more accurately less a terrorist “group” than a political party that used death squads to terrorize its opponents.
25) The relation of the United States government and the “Contras” was:
A) None
B) The U.S. government was allied or sympathetic to this group
C) The U.S. government funded the government to fight this group and had military “advisors” in country
Despite the legitimacy and popularity of the Sandinista government (especially in the beginning), the U.S. spent significant sums to arm, equip and support the Contras’ engagement in acts of terrorism to destabilize the Nicaraguan government.
26) The relation of the United States government and the ARENA was:
A) None
B) The U.S. government was allied or sympathetic to this group
C) The U.S. government funded the government to fight this group and military “advisors” in country
The country was in turmoil and civil war from 1980-1992. Some of the funding from the United States initially went to the military before the ARENA candidate won the presidency in 1984 but the initial coup in 1979 was also supported by the American government.
27) Today the “Contras” are:
A) Disbanded and no longer in existance
B) A legitimate political party which has renounced violence
C) Still a terrorist group
As their sole reason to be united was their opposition to the Sandinistas, they have fragmented. Some elements of the Contras form political parties while others are completely disbanded.
28) Today the ARENA are:
A) Disbanded and no longer in existance
B) A legitimate political party which has renounced violence
C) Still a terrorist group
While no one is perfect, today the ARENA is a political party and nothing else. Its candidates have won many of the recent presidential candidates (including the current President Antonio Saca) and they have a significant bloc in the parliament.
It’s worth noting that since the ARENA was heavily backed by the American government in the 1980’s, today’s ARENA party is one of the few Latino governments that remains very pro-American.
29) The Boland Amendment was:
A) A Congressional resolution that passed unanimously in 1982 that froze funding and outlawed assistance to the “Contras”
B) A Congressional resolution that passed unanimously in 1982 that froze funding and outlawed assistance to the Muslim Brotherhood
C) A Congressional resolution that passed unanimously in 1982 that froze funding and outlawed assistance to the ARENA
D) A Congressional resolution that passed unanimously in 1982 that froze funding and outlawed assistance to the FARC
Passed the House 411-0 and signed by President Reagan. See more here.
30) The “Iran-Contra Affair” primarily concerned:
A) Iran’s funding and arming of the “Contras”
B) The sexual involvement of the “Contra” leader with Ayatollah Khomeini’s daughter
C) The Reagan administration’s illegal sale of weapons to Iran in exchange for money to arm and equip the “Contras”
D) The various Shi’ite insurgencies in Central America inspired by Iran’s 1979 revolution
Wikipedia link here.
31) The “Iran-Contra Affair” first came to light as a result of investigative reporting by:
A) Newsweek magazine
B) The New York Times
C) The Washington Post
D) Lebanese magazine Ash-Shira’a
If you forgot your history, reading about the I-C affair might shock you because so many of the players are still active in today’s political scene – including neocon Michael Ledeen and new Defense Secretary Robert Gates.
None of the vaunted American media cracked this case.
32) Number of people convicted in the American government for participation in the “Iran-Contra Affair”:
A) 24
B) 12
C) 3
D) None
Oliver North was indicted on 12 charges and was found guilty of three of the minor charges.
John Poindexter was finally convicted in 1990, predominately on charges of lying to Congress and concealing/destroying evidence.
Caspar Weinberger was indicted for lying to the independent counsel, Lawrence Walsh but was not technically “convicted”.
33) Number of convictions overturned or pardoned:
A) 24
B) 12
C) 3
D) None
Oliver North’s convictions were vacated on appeal.
John Poindexter’s convictions were vacated on appeal.
Caspar Weinberger was simply pardoned by President George H.W. Bush.
34) Number of “Contras” shielded from prosecution by the Reagan administration for selling narcotics in the United States:
A) None
B) 5
C) 10
D) 50
At least. As Gary Webb discovered.
35) Which of the following countries is not currently officially designated as a State Sponsor of Terrorism by the United States government:
A) North Korea
B) Iran
C) Cuba
D) Sudan
E) Syria
F) Libya
G) None of the above
Although nothing has changed in Libya and the same dictator is still running the place, now he’s our friend.
The last report of state sponsors of terrorism still lists Libya but the re-listing has since relapsed so right now Libya isn’t officially off the list but isn’t on the list either. Make sense?
36) This country was removed from the United States official list of State Sponsors of Terrorism in 1982:
A) Soviet Union
B) Libya
C) Iran
D) Cuba
E) Iraq
F) Syria
G) None of the above
This was about the time the United States started ramping up its military and financial support for Saddam Hussein’s war against Iran. You can’t sell anthrax and missiles to a state sponsor of terrorism, can you?
37) Who is Orlando Bosch?
A) Former CIA operative
B) A member of an FBI-designated terrorist organization
C) A convicted terrorist who killed people in many countries, including the United States
D) A permanent legal resident of the United States
E) A man pardoned of all crimes by President Bush
F) All of the above
And more. One man’s cold-blooded terrorist is the Bush family’s friend.
38) Who is Luis Posada Carriles?
A) Former CIA operative
B) A member of an FBI-designated terrorist organization
C) A convicted terrorist who killed people in many countries, including the United States
D) A legal resident of the United States
E) A close friend of Roger Noriega, former Asst. Sec of State for Bush
F) All of the above
More here. It’s likely he would be living the good life like Bosch if it hadn’t been for some intrepid bloggers and independent journalists shedding attention on the case. Also worth noting is Hugo Chavez’ participation, as Carriles was convicted on terrorism charges in Venezuela but escaped from prison there.
It’s also worth noting that Carriles worked with U.S. Maj. Gen. Richard Secord to deliver military supplies to the Contras in Nicaragua.
39) Who is Iyad Allawi:
A) Iraq’s first head of government after Saddam Hussein was deposed
B) Iraq’s first Prime Minister of the American-installed “Iraqi Interim Government”
C) A founder of the Iraqi National Accord terrorist organization
D) A British source for “intelligence” about Saddam Hussein’s “possession” of WMD prior to 2003
E) A citizen and resident of Britain
F) A man related to Ahmed Chalabi
G) Former CIA operative
H) All of the above
And so much more. If only he and Chalabi could’ve been properly installed, the Iraqi government wouldn’t be quite so troublesome and incalcitrant…
40) What is/was “Operation Gladio”:
A) A secret CIA/British intelligence operation in Italy
B) An alliance with neofacists to influence, sabotage and control post-WW2 elections
C) An alliance with secretive Masonic groups to create covert operatives high up in Italy’s government
D) An organization operating illegally in neutral or Communist countries to sabotage Communist and Socialist movements
E) An organization of paramilitary units to carry out clandestine acts in democratic nations without the knowledge of the respective governments
F) A plan to create and operate shadow right-wing governments in democratic nations
F) All of the above
If anybody else would’ve done this, the United States would have been apoplectic.
Reads like a bad novel or tinfoil hat website but yet it’s all true and more that nobody knows even today.
41) Who is Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman:
A) A prisoner in Colorado who was convicted and sentenced in an ordinary court of law
B) A man who participated in terrorist activities in the United States
C) The leader of an Egyptian terrorist group
D) A legal resident of the United States
E) A man closely aligned with Egyptian Islamic Jihad, the organization which assassinated Egypt’s president in 1981
F) All of the above
Somehow a fundamentalist, completely blind Islamic preacher/terrorist, who was tied to Egyptian Islamic Jihad since the early 1980’s, whose name was ON the U.S. State Department terrorist watch list, flew to the United States in 1990.
Three years later, despite the FBI having a mole inside the small group, the blind cleric orchestrated the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
Yes despite this hideous act of terrorism, he was not indefinitely detained. He was arrested under existing criminal law, prosecuted and convicted while simultaneously he had full legal rights even though he was a fundamentalist, Islamic preacher and not an American citizen.
And then for good measure, his own lawyer was sentenced to 2 years in jail by the hyper-vigilant Bush administration.
42) Sheikh Abdel-Rahman spent time in jail in Egypt and was an associate of:
A) Ibn Taymiyah
B) Sayyid Qutb
C) Osama bin Laden
D) Ayman al-Zawahiri
E) Abdullah Azzam
F) Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
G) None of the above
Worth mentioning here that not only did he know and spend time in jail with Ayman al-Zawahiri (now Al-Qaeda’s #2 leader), but Zawahiri too came to the United States afterwards to fundraise and preach fundamentalist messages.
Abdel-Rahman and Osama bin Laden together founded the organization Maktab al-Khadamat (MAK), the predecessor organization that became Al-Qaeda. This was done in conjunction with Abdullah Azzam, who was the ideological founder and inspiration for the movement.
Abdel-Rahman also had close ties with Gulbuddin Hekmatyar in Afghanistan as well.
43) Who is Gulbuddin Hekmatyar:
A) Pashtun warlord who was allied with the Taliban
B) Associate and ally of Sheikh Abdel-Rahman
C) A designated terrorist and war criminal by the United States
D) Former recipient of billions of dollars from Pakistan’s ISI and American CIA
E) Former recipient of extensive funding from Saudi Arabia
F) Former ally of current Afghan military chief Abdul Rashid Dostum
G) Former Prime Minister of Afghanistan before the Taliban
H) All of the above
While he is now considered one of the most wanted criminals in Afghanistan, at one time he received billions of dollars in CIA/ISI money to fight the Soviets and had deep operational ties with Osama/Zawahiri/Abdel-Rahman’s group of non-Afghan fighters.
44) Al-Qaeda is an Arabic term meaning:
A) Death to Infidels
B) The Holy Sword of the Prophet
C) Defender of the Faith
E) The Base
F) The Database
The word “Qaeda” has several meanings, including these two. It is also known sometimes as the “Foundation”.
Osama himself said the name arose out of what they used to call the training camp/base in Afghanistan for the mujahedeen who were fighting the Soviets.
Others state it means “database” or “base” (of names) that listed all of the incoming foreign fighters the mujahedeen were using against the Soviets.
45) Al-Qaeda became an organization approximately in:
A) 1954
B) 1988
C) 1993
D) 1999
E) 2001
This is debated. Azzam was killed in 1989 and it’s not likely the term was used until after that, although one reference to the name was found from 1988.
The most commonly accepted theory is American federal prosecutors coined the term (or made that particular name stick) because they needed to charge Osama as a leader of a (named) group to charge him (in absentia) for the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in Africa.
In other words, the MAK existed until 1989 for sure and then Osama began running his own operation (with Zawahiri bringing in Egyptian jihadi elements). When that name “Al-Qaeda” became “the” name is unknown.
46) The name Al-Qaeda was first used by Osama bin Laden in:
A) 1954
B) 1988
C) 1993
D) 1999
E) 2001
He spoke to Al-Jazeera journalist Tayseer Allouni in an interview in October 2001 when he first used the name.
47) The predecessor organization that Al-Qaeda grew out of was:
A) Islamic Jihad
B) Muslim Brotherhood
C) MAK
D) MILF
E) NPA
F) FUKDUSA
More here. MAK was essentially an Afghanistan-based organization to get Muslims from around the world to fight the Soviet occupation.
Abdullah Azzam, the ideological leader, was killed in 1989 in a car bomb. After that, Osama bin Laden (along with al-Zawahiri) took over the organization and it later became known as Al-Qaeda.
48) The majority of the 9/11 hijackers were nationals of:
A) Israel
B) Iran
C) Iraq
D) Syria
E) North Korea
F) Saudi Arabia
G) None of the above
Of the official list of hijackers, 15 of the 19 were from Saudi Arabia.
49) Which of the following are currently officially designated terrorist groups by the U.S. government:
A) Lord’s Resistance Army
B) Committee for Eastern Turkistan
C) United Liberation Front of Assam
D) Hamas
E) Eastern Shan State Army
F) None of the above
The official list is here (PDF).
Although the United States does not consider the others terrorist groups, the respective governments these groups exist in do.
Committee for East Turkistan = western China
Eastern Shan State Army = Myanmar/Burma
50) What was Operation Condor:
A) A plan by the San Diego zoo to save baby condors
B) A PAC set up to support Condoleezza Rice’s presidential bid
C) An American military plan to kill Fidel Castro with an exploding cigar
D) A campaign financed and organized by the United States to kill, abduct and torture tens of thousands of people in Latin America
E) A campagin financed and organized by the United States to promote literacy, democracy and freedom in authoritarian countries in Latin America
Lasting over 30 years, one of the most shameful things the American government has ever done. Over 50,000 people were murdered, 30,000 “disappeared” and half a million arrested.
Literally sickening, the entire thing. Many of the dictators involved were of course trained at the School of the Americas.
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Ok, hope you’re still finding these things fun and not frustrating… I hope you did well!
Peace
