The following is an excerpt from the new book, “9/11: The Unfinished Battle: Why Jihadi Terrorism Is Stronger, Wider, and Far From Over,” by Canadian intelligence veteran Phil Gurski, published by Optimum International Publishing.
It is of course true to state that terrorism did not start in September 2001. While there is no single agreed-upon definition of terrorism, it is nevertheless accepted that modern-day terrorism—the word “terrorism” itself in English only dates to the latter part of the 19th century—appears to have gone through four stages or “waves” as described by UCLA scholar David Rapoport.
A complete discussion of Rapoport’s paradigm is beyond the scope of this book and a short synopsis suffices. According to Rapoport the world has endured four waves of terrorism since the mid-19th century: the anarchist, anti-colonialist, new left, and religious periods. The anarchist wave included several assassinations of heads of state. The anti-colonial period included movements and groups in nations such as Ireland, Kenya, Algeria, and Palestine. The new left was marked by groups in the West (the Baader Meinhof Gang in Germany, the Red Brigade in Italy, and the Weather Underground in the U.S., among many others) which engaged in kidnappings and hostage-taking, assassinations, and bombings. Lastly, the religious manifestation, which is largely concentrated in jihadist groups (Rapoport wrote that “Islam is at the heart of the wave,” although he added that Sikh, Jewish, and Christian terrorists were inspired by the Islamists)….