NCJ Number
214855
Journal
Studies in Conflict & Terrorism Volume: 29 Issue: 4 Dated: June 2006 Pages: 323-342
Date Published
June 2006
Length
20 pages
Annotation
This analysis of the terrorist attacks in Madrid on March 11, 2004, and the killing of filmmaker Theo Van Gogh in Amsterdam on November 2, 2004, by an al Qaeda-inspired terrorist network focuses on the level of importance of the invasion and occupation of Iraq in March 2003 as motivation for these two 2004 terrorist attacks.
Abstract
The author concludes that the terrorist attacks in Madrid and Amsterdam reflect the theory of so-called "spillover" effect from armed conflicts to the energizing of Islamic jihadists throughout the world. The author argues that the Iraq war was a significant motivation factor for the terrorists involved in both incidents; however, the terrorists linked the Iraq invasion with perceived injustices against Muslims in Europe and globally. In Madrid, the terrorists primarily wanted to punish the Spanish Government for deploying troops to Iraq. They intended to influence elections in Spain in order to pressure Spain to pull out of Iraq. For the Madrid terrorist plotters, the Iraq war was the most significant motivational factor. The motivations for the killing of Van Gogh were more complex. Both at the terrorist group and individual levels, motivational factors for the killing were related to domestic issues in Holland as well as to global factors. Apparently the terrorists who planned the killing linked grievances against domestic policies in Holland with grievances linked to responses to the September 11 attack in the United States, the global war on terrorism, and the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. The analysis of these two terrorist attacks in two countries of Western Europe addresses the method of the attack (target selection and timing); the profiles of the terrorists; statements on behalf of the terrorists; and contextual analysis related to the local, regional, and global levels of analysis. 77 notes