The Atlantic – Nick Lockwood: How the Soviet Union Transformed Terrorism

This post is part of a 12-part series exploring how the U.S.-Russia relationship has shaped the world since the December 1991 end of the Soviet Union. Read the full series here.

Source: The Atlantic, 23rd Dec 2011

ASP Adjunct Fellow Nick Lockwood is a featured author.

In the 1960s and 70s, the Soviet Union sponsored waves of political violence against the West. The Red Brigades in Italy and the German Red Army Faction both terrorized Europe through bank robberies, kidnapping, and acts of sabotage. The Soviets wanted to use these left-wing terror groups to destabilize Italy and Germany to break up NATO. State-sponsored terrorism was a deeply Soviet phenomenon, but its practice did not stop when the Soviet Union ended. While state sponsorship continues, terrorism has mutated into something even harder for us to understand and respond to. But some of the roots of today’s terrorism go back to the Soviet Union.

Whatever else it is, al-Qaeda was an inspiration, with an agenda easily adopted by willing “franchisees.” State support still continues. Elements of the Pakistani military continue to assist terrorist organizations in Indian Kashmir and in Afghanistan. Iran and Syria continued in a similar fashion, sponsoring operations in support of foreign policy objectives within their neighbors’ territories.

This article is available online .