Kosovars and Kurds

I was reading an Economist article about Kosovo's declaration of independence, and I wondered why Kosovars seem to be so different from other ethnic minorities who have sought, or are seeking, independence. All things considered, Kosovo's transition has gone pretty smoothly. I haven't heard of any terrorist attacks in connection with Kosovar independence. But then look at the Kurds; obviously their quest for an independent state has been violent. Why the difference? Both involve minority groups of Muslims seeking independent states for their people. Was it just because Kosovo was a UN protectorate before its declaration--so ethnic Albanians were basically already running Kosovo? I shy away from giving too much credit to international presence, because the skirmishers in northern Iraq are undoubtedly aware of the US and British presences in the state. Does the terrorism with the Kurds and lack thereof with the Kosovars have anything to do with international opinion? It's been pretty clear for a while that many powerful states would back Kosovo's independence, but there's less support--as far as I'm aware--for an independent Kurdistan. This change in the international system not only presents the question of terrorism differences with Kurds and Kosovars, but also presents a question about future terrorism ties. With previously existing Muslim states supporting this new Muslim state in Europe, will terrorism ties and activity in Kosovo increase?

Does killing the leader kill the group ?

Top Farc leader killed
In the hunt to stop terrorists groups many times we hunt persons of interest or the leaders of these groups. In this case the leader was killed as a result of anti-terrorism efforts. My question is what difference does this make ? For example, if we caught Osama would al queda stop attacking ? One thing the article brings up is

"The killing of such a leading figure within Farc's secretariat, whose members are renowned for dying of natural causes, means the group's aura of invincibility has evaporated, our correspondent adds. "

So does the decapitation method they use work just as well against them ?

Hezbollah--acting from legitimate government position

A recent report out of the BBC cited a Hezbollah MP condemning the US for placing the USS Cole off the coast of Lebanon as a threat to independence and sovereignty. I find it fascinating that Hezbollah has come out against the US action through legitimate channels, but I wonder if such declarations represent a prelude to any violent activity from Hezbollah. Will the deployment of the USS Cole create a discontent which will promote more US targeted terrorist activity in the area? The MP, Hassan Fadlallah, told reporters, "We don't succumb to threats and military intimidation practised by the United States to implement its hegemony over Lebanon."

The US maintains that it deployed the ship to show support for regional stability--not to send a signal to any one country. Keeping the ship out of visible range of Lebanon may limit Hezbollah's ability to arouse popular discontent with the action, but then again, maybe not.

Exam question bleg

The study guide for the next exam (3/7-3/8) has been posted to the Blackboard course website. I'm still looking for a couple of good questions, though, so I'd like to see what you all come up with.

So, what questions would you ask on this exam? I generally look for questions that require students to demonstrate their understanding of ideas presented in multiple readings. And I generally list some of those authors in parentheses after the question. But I'm open to trying new kinds of questions.

If you have a good idea, attach it in the comments to this post. Thanks!

Fatwas Online

If anyone's interested in reading some fatwas online, I found a really good site. Enjoy!

Note- Please do not count this as my post for the week.

Kurds' terrorism threat to Turkish cities

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/02/24/wturkey124.xml
After bring up the discussion in class on Friday about Turkey crossing the Iraqi border I figured I could look up to see if there was any information for the class. In this article I found it. I found out that Kurdish separatists are threatening a new campaign of violence against Turkish cities as the country's army pressed on with its latest offensive against guerrilla positions in northern Iraq. The PKK, or Kurdistan Workers Party, vowed to "move the theatre of combat to the heart of Turkish cities" unless Ankara ends the military campaign, which began on Thursday. in the article it said, "The rebel group is believed to have numerous "sleepers" within Kurdish communities in cities such as Istanbul and Ankara, who are primed to carry out bomb attacks on military and government targets. Unleashing them, however, could raise tensions with the Turkish majority and lead to reprisals against Kurds." Even with the possiblity of the increase of tension the US is backing Turkey as long as it goes after PKK known members. I think that this could cause major problems in the Middle East, more then there already is. This problem needs to be solved soon, because these terrorist could have a possiblity of creating nuclear war. I hope you like the article let me know what you think.
Austin Conners

Misinterpretation of Islam

Here is an interesting article that I found in a Pakistani newspaper (You gotta love Google News). You can find the article here

The article states that students of various educational institutions, misinterpretation of Islam is one of the main causes of terrorism in Pakistan. Some Muslims in Pakistan misunderstand their own religion and believe that it promotes jihad against the West.

The article also says that several external forces contribute to the problem. One scholar said that poverty, illiteracy, poor leadership, lack of development programs, and a poor economy also influence the situation. Another scholar cited internal instability as a cause of terrorism.

This is an interesting article and I would recommend that you all check it out.

-Chris

Kosovo Liberation Army

With everything going on in Kosovo right now, I thought it would be a good idea to brush up on the KLA, or Kosovo Liberation Army. Here's a good description of the group. I also found a very interesting article on the KLA and other terrorist groups in Kosovo. While I disagree with the premise of the article, the information on al Qaeda's presence in Kosovo and the Balkans is interesting. (Sidenote- Bosnia was a part of my mission, but missionaries were not allowed to serve there. One of the main reasons we were told for this was because of the presence of radical Islamic fighters that stayed after fighting in the war.)From what the articles suggest, even though the KLA is officially disbanded, if Serbia really tries to prevent Kosovo from becoming independent, it wouldn't take long before Kosovars rally to the cause again.