Shanim,+Will,+and+Drew

= International Terrorism and Domestic Terrorism = By: Shanim, Drew, and Will

Hezbollah-
Literally translated into "Party of God' Hezbollah is a Shi'a Muslim group based in Lebanon. Hezbollah first arose in response o the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon. Hezbollah's four main goals are: "Israel's final departure from Lebanon as a prelude to its final obliteration," ending "any imperialist power in Lebanon," submission of the Phalangists to "just rule" and bringing them to trial for their crimes, and giving the people the chance to choose "with full freedom the system of government they want," 

Hamas-
A Palestinian Sunni group that currently rules the Gaza Strip. They have ruled since the summer of 2007 and have been labeled by most countries as a terrorist group. Their Ultimate goals is to liberate Palestine from Israel and establish an Islamic State on the Gaza Strip. Their most recent activities came when 2 charity founders were convicted of funneling large sums of __money__ to the Hamas. 

Al Qaeda-
Translated in English to "the base" Al Qaeda is a global terrorist organization founded by Osama Bin Laden who was killed on May 2nd, 2011 Hoorah. They believe they are following Sharia Law when they carry out what most see as terrorist activities. They strive to remove America and all western influence from all of the Muslim nations of the Middle East. Al Qaeda is very __active__ and just two weeks ago had a second underwear bomb plot foiled by counter terrorist forces.



Al Shabaab-
The African branch of the previously mentioned Al Qaeda. Based in Somalia and the surrounding countries, Al Shabaab's goals align with Al Qaeda in removing western influence from neighboring countries. Al Shabaab is moderately active and claimed responsibility for the __Christmas__ Day Bomber.

Jundallah-
A more recently created terrorist group, just springing up in 2003, their goals include to free the Baluchi's that live under oppression is majorly Islamic countries. This group is know for suicide bombings and has claimed credit for recent double digit bombings and kidnappings in Iran. The group accuses the west of backing the leaders who are currently oppressing the Baluchi's.



Klu Klux Klan-
The Klu Klux Klan is a white supremacy group who's motives are anti-immigration, anti-communist and white nationalism. The Klan has been a very active domestic terriorist group in America. Their most recent event was when a member named Daniel James Schertz pleaded guilty to building pipe bombs designed to blow up buses carrying Mexican and Haitian migrant workers from Tennessee to Florida.

Fort Hood Shooting-
Nidal Malik Hasan murdered several people and wounded others and the grounds of Fort Hood. These shootings occurred on November 5, 2009. Hasan was an army shrink and listened to the horror stories that returning soldiers had. He was angered at the killing of Muslims being Muslim himself. That coupled with his strong dislike of US occupation of Middle Eastern countries have been attributed to these shootings.

Army of God-
A domestic terrorist group, that has been descried as extremely conservative Christians, the Army of God is a strong anti-abortion supporter. They use violence to combat the act of an abortion in the United States. Recently in 2001, the group sent upwards 500 envelopes containing white powered to various abortion providers. Another member was jailed for shooting a doctor outside his abortion clinic.

Earth Liberation Front-
Also known as ELF, its a large domestic terrorist group that was created in the year 1992. Their goals are based around the exploration of large corporations of the environment for financial profits. Some recent activities include, tree spiking, defacing property, vandalism, and freeing test animals from labs.



Animal Liberation Front-
Also known as ALF, similar to ELF it is a large domestic terrorist group whose concerns mainly include the environment. ALF is however more focused on the treatment of animals by companies that need to test products. Sabotage, vandalism, and attempting to free animals are all tactics that are employed by this group. Recently they have been attributed to the burning of a slaughterhouse and are always part of rallies and protest.



Conclution:
 * 1) Based on our research of the various terrorist groups and their activities we have deduced that the main threat to America lies mostly outside of our borders. Most the more violent and radical groups are contained in other countries. These groups harbor a deep hatred of not only America but of most of Westernized Society. This hatred makes them much more dangerous to the safety of American citizens.
 * 2) There is always two sides to every story so it is reasonable to assume that most if not all of these groups believe they have legitimate reasons to support their activities. While they have these beliefs it seems hard for us to see the reasoning of the extreme groups we researched. Groups like ALF and ELF however do seem to have legitimate reasons to carry out their actions whether the responses are effective is questionable.
 * 3) The US media influences how most Americans view many parts of the world. In the end the Media in America's main goal is not to educate the public but it to obtain more viewers. This leads to certain slants to be reported in any type of news story. Due to this we do believe that the fact that we are American Citizens shades the way we view terrorist activities.