The term “terrorism” has been defined in a number of ways by a variety of scholars. For the most part, each definition has yielded a limited understanding of the actual phenomenon. This is especially true when analyzing the current wave of international situations in contemporary global affairs, such as those occurring in Central America. This article explores the various actors and motives operating in El Salvador in an attempt to clarify the meaning of terrorism. A case study approach is employed to analyze the evolutionary incidents, the hidden agendas, and the critical issues that characterize terrorism as an activity defined in regard to the perspectives of different political groups.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
1. Richard Schulz, “Conceptualizing Political Terrorism: A Typology,”Journal of International Affairs, 4:8 (Spring/Summer 1978).
3. Brian Jenkins, The Study of Terrorism: Definitional Problems (Santa Monica, CA: The Rand Corporation, 1980), p. 1.
4.
4. Ibid., p. 3.
5.
5. U.S. Department of State, “The Impact of International Terrorism” (Address by Frank H. Perez, Acting Director of the Office for Combatting Terrorism, before the Conference on Violence and Leadership Response, Baltimore, 29 October 1981). Reprinted by the Bureau of Public Affairs, Current Policy No. 340.
6.
6. Ibid., p. 1.
7.
7. John Brecher, “The Fire Next Door,”Newsweek, 9:17 (Mar. 1982).
8.
8. J. K. Galbraith, Economics and the Public Purpose (Boston: Houghton-Mifflin, 1973), p. 39.
9.
9. K. Lang and G. E. Lang, “The Mass Media and Voting,” in Reader in Public Opinion and Communication, eds. B. Berelson and M. Janowitz (New York: Free Press, 1966), p. 466.
10.
10. M. E. McCombs and D. L. Shaw, “The Agenda-Setting Function of the Mass Media,”Public Opinion Quarterly, 36:177 (Summer 1972).
11.
and H. Marshall McLuhan, The Medium is the Message (New York: Bantam Books, 1967).
12.
12. Jenkins, The Study of Terrorism: Definitional Problems, p. 2.
13.
13. Malcolm McNair, “McNair on Cases,”Harvard Business School Bulletin, 47:10 (Jul.-Aug. 1971).
14.
14. Andrew Towl, “Case-Course Development: The Case Method of Learning Administration” (Intercollegiate Case Clearing House mimeograph, Nov. 1971), p. 2.
15.
15. Dwight Smith, “ABSCAM and Criminal Justice: Case Studies Reconsidered” (Paper presented at the Academy of Criminal Justice Science Conference, Philadelphia, 1981), p. 3.
16.
16. The following section relies heavily on a draft of Tommie Sue Montgomery's forthcoming work, Revolution in El Salvador (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1982).
17.
17. Ibid., ch. 2, p. 16.
18.
and Roque Dalton, Miguel Marmol, Los Sucesos de 1932 en El Salvador (San Jose: EDUCA, 1972).
19.
19. Cited in Paul Heath Hoeffel, “The Eclipse of the Oligarchs,”The New York Times Magazine, 26 (6 Sept. 1981).
20.
20. Montgomery, ch. 5, p. 2.
21.
21. Richard L. Millett, “The Politics of Violence: Guatemala and El Salvador,”Current History, 80(463):72 (Feb. 1981).
22.
22. “A Revolution Brews,”NACLA Report on the Americas, 14(2):26-27 (Mar.-Apr. 1980).
23.
23. “Government Responsibility in El Salvador Killings,”Amnesty Action (a publication of Amnesty International), p. 8. Jan. 1981.
24.
24. “Testimony on El Salvador,” submitted by Amnesty International to the Subcommittee on Inter-American Affairs of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the U.S. House of Representatives (Hearings on 5 and 11 March 1981).
25.
25. Amnesty International 1980 Annual Report, p. 131.
26.
26. From a statement by Amnesty International at the 10th regular session of the General Assembly of the Organization of American States, 19-28 Nov. 1980.
27.
27. “Government Responsibility in El Salvador Killings,”Amnesty Action, p. 8.
28.
28. See Inter Alia, Amnesty International letter to Secretary of State Alexander Haig, 6 May 1981, especially pp. 10 and 11. After continuing U.S. pressure for an investigation, six soldiers were indicted for the crime. President Duarte later went on television to attest the guilt of the soliders and conveniently suggest that responsibility did not extend beyond the lowest level.
29.
29. Father Peter Hinde, as quoted in “Priest Charges Military Blocks Savadorian Aid,”The Florida Catholic, Friday, 1 May 1981.
30.
30. See Inter Alia, Amnesty International, special release on “El Salvador” issued by the London office on 11 August 1980.
31.
31. Colman McCarthy, “A Vicious Betrayal of the Poor,”St. Petersburg Times, 15 Jan. 1982.
32.
32. See “U.S. Diplomats in Central America See Gap Between Policy, Fact,”The Washington Post, 5 Mar. 1982.
33.
33. UN General Assembly Resolution 2675, 9 December 1970, as found in Leon Friedman, The Law of War, A Documentary History (New York: Random House, 1972), pp. 755-756.
34.
34. U.S. Department of State, “El Salvador: The Search for Peace” (pamphlet printed by the Bureau of Public Affairs, U.S. Department of State, Sept. 1981) p. 3.
35.
35. Letter from Amnesty International to U.S. Secretary of State Alexander Haig, 6 May 1981, p. 8.
36.
36. Ibid., p. 6.
37.
37. Tommie Sue Montgomery, “Next in El Salvador,”The New York Times, Op. Ed. Page. 31 Mar. 1982.
38.
38. Raymond Bonner, “Despite Salvadoran Vote, Killings Go On,”The New York Times, 25 Apr. 1982.
39.
39. Ibid.
40.
40. “Message to President Reagan,”Amnesty Action (a publication of Amnesty International), Mar. 1982, p. 1.
41.
41. Jeanne Kirkpatrick, “Dictatorship and Double Standards,”Commentary, 68(5):34-45 (Nov. 1979).
42.
42. Anonymous, “Introduction to Terrorism,” mimeographed handbook, p. 13.
43.
and Jenkins, The Study of Terrorism, pp. 1-17.
44.
44. Jerzy Waciorski, Le Terrorisme Politique (Paris: A. Peldone, 1939). p. 71.
