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Salem Press

The 1990s in America

Terrorism

by Michael W. Cheek

Definition Terrorist activity in Canada and the United States

The 1990’s saw a shift from the “old” terrorism to “new” terrorism, utilized not for political reasons but for a truly international system aimed at destruction of the Western world.

Terrorism during the 1990’s was an interplay between domestic terrorists pushing a political agenda on the one hand and the rise of stateless international terrorism with the goal of committing acts of terror for terror’s sake. The prevalence of radical religious groups, animal rights activists, racist organizations, and ethnic groups that continued the struggle from their country of origin defined terrorism in the 1990’s on the North American continent.

1990-1992

In its 1991 annual public report, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) stated that Canadian citizens and Canada itself are not generally regarded as targets by terrorists. Therefore, the broader concern in Canada was the financial support for terrorists overseas by ethnic or religious groups living in Canada. However, in October, 1991, five members of the Pakistan-based Islamic group Jamaat ul-Fuqra were arrested while attempting to cross into Canada to bomb a Hindu temple and Indian movie theater in Toronto.

The United States experienced largely domestic terrorist attacks between 1990 and 1992. In 1990, the organization Up the IRS, Inc. detonated a car bomb outside a building in Los Angeles, California, that housed Internal Revenue Service (IRS) offices. The same organization later bombed the National Treasury Employee Union and detonated pipe bombs in an IRS parking lot in Fresno, California. In 1992, the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) set fire to a research facility at Michigan State in protest of its supposed mistreatment of animals.

Beyond domestic terror, most of the other attacks that occurred between 1990 and 1992 were religious elements carrying out the struggle from their native country. In 1990, Rabbi Meir Kahane was assassinated in New York City, supposedly by El Sayyid A. Nosair (who was found guilty of coercion, assault, and weapons charges but was found not guilty for murder in 1991). In 1990 and 1991, Jamaat ul-Fuqra attacked two separate Islamic cultural centers, the first in Massachusetts and the second in California. Also, in 1992, members of the Mujahideen-e-Khalq, an organization that is against the Islamic Republic of Iran, attacked the Iranian mission to the United Nations. However, the incident ended without any casualties, and the members who took part in the attack were arrested.

In Canada, the Iranian embassy in Ottawa was also occupied, but no injuries occurred. The most prevalent attacks in the United States stemmed from domestic terrorist organizations. Within Canada, immigrant communities largely played out their sectional differences on the Canadian stage.

1993-1995

The year 1993 saw a growing dichotomy between domestic terrorist attacks and so-called new terrorism in the United States. New terrorism is characterized by the shift to an international, non-state actor that is usually not sponsored by any particular government. In January of 1993, the Serbian National Defense Council was set on fire by three Molotov cocktails. However, no organization claimed responsibility for the incident. Also in January, Mir Aimal Kasi, a Pakistani, shot five Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) employees outside the CIA headquarters during rush hour. He fled and was eventually caught in Pakistan in 1997. In February, 1993, a car bomb exploded at the World Trade Center, killing six and injuring more than one thousand people. Four individuals responsible were arrested and convicted in 1994. Other conspirators were convicted later in the decade.

On the domestic side, 1993 saw the Waco, Texas, standoff at the Branch Davidian compound, which eventually was ended when the building caught fire. This incident drew widespread public condemnation because of the high casualties to women and children. Also, in June of 1993, Theodore Kaczynski, also known as the Unabomber, sent mail bombs to professors at the University of California and Yale University. The Unabomber sent numerous mail bombs to university officials and airline workers during his reign of terror. In Tacoma, Washington, members of the American Front skinhead group bombed a National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) building and a homosexual bar called the Elite Tavern. ALF also firebombed various stores in Chicago, extending their activities in support of fair treatment of animals.

In early 1994, explosives were discovered outside buildings housing Jewish American organizations in New York City that supported the peace process in the Middle East. Also, a Lebanese man fired at a car carrying Jewish rabbinical students in New York City, killing one individual. Both of these incidents are attributed to sectarian and religious violence carried over from the Middle East.

The U.S. government also cracked down on terrorist fund-raising in the United States, convicting five individuals for violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act because of their attempts to participate in the Abu Nidal Organization, a split from the Palestine Liberation Organization.

Canada experienced a relatively quiet period in terrorist activity. However, in 1995, the Militant Direct Action Task Force, an antifascist organization, mailed four pipe bombs to various individuals, some white supremacists. Also, in 1995, letter bombs were sent to the McKenzie Institute and the Alberta Genetics Laboratory. No organization claimed responsibility for the bombs.

In April, 1995, Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols bombed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, in which 168 individuals were killed. This was the deadliest terrorist attack on U.S. soil until September 11, 2001.

1996-1999

In April of 1996, Kaczynski was finally apprehended by federal agents, ending close to two decades of domestic terrorist activity. The Phineas Priesthood, a right-wing Christian Identity movement, bombed a newspaper office (The Spokesman-Review) and robbed a Spokane Valley bank. In July of 1996, a pipe bomb exploded at Planned Parenthood in Spokane, Washington. Three individuals subsequently attempted to rob the same Spokane Valley bank. In April, 1996, President Bill Clinton signed the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act. The act attempted to halt terrorist fund-raising inside the United States and banned U.S. aid to countries that support terrorism. In Washington, Arizona, and West Virginia, members of domestic militia units were arrested in 1996 for planning the bombings of various government complexes. Also, during the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, a pipe bomb exploded in Centennial Park, killing one and injuring over one hundred people.

In early 1997, letter bombs were mailed in the Washington, D.C., area, New York City, and Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. The domestic terrorist, Army of God, bombed an abortion clinic in Georgia and a nightclub for homosexuals. The 1997 public report by CSIS stated that while Canada and its citizens were not directly threatened, the fact that Canada is used as a safe haven and a staging ground for terrorism could result in retaliatory action against Canada and its citizens.

In 1998, the Army of God also bombed an abortion clinic in Alabama, resulting in one fatality. In Canada, a Sikh editor of the Indo-Canadian Times, known for his pro-human rights stance, was shot dead in Vancouver outside his home. The police stated that it appeared to be an assassination (the individual killed, Tara Singh Hayer, had already survived one previous assassination attempt in 1988).

During 1999, members of ALF were responsible for six separate instances of terrorism in which they bombed vehicles and buildings. In July, 1999, Benjamin Nathaniel Smith, a member of the World Church of the Creator, fired upon numerous religious and ethnic minorities in Illinois and Indiana.

The United States and Canada, throughout much of the 1990’s, had been a haven for terrorists to acquire funds and in some cases (like the Irish Republican Army) weapons. In July, 1999, the British intercepted shipments of weapons destined for the Republic of Ireland that came from South Florida. Later that month, members of the Miami Joint Terrorism Task Force arrested three individuals in connection with the incident. In the late summer of 1999, members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) apprehended Alfred Heinz Reumayr, who had planned to bomb the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System.

Impact

The trend in terrorist activity during the 1990’s in the United States consisted largely of two components. Domestic terrorism was ever-prevalent, often in the form of ecological terrorists and other extremists attempting to demonstrate a political agenda. The attack on the World Trade Center in 1993 exhibited the first real shift in international terrorism from attacks designed to present political positions to those designed to intimidate the population and take as many lives as possible.

An examination of Canada and its relationship to terrorism provides a different picture. While domestic terrorism certainly existed in Canada during the 1990’s, it had largely been in decline since the Quebec separatist movements of the 1960’s and 1970’s. Canada’s prime concern with terrorism was the use of Canada as a staging ground for attacks as well as a convenient place to hide. Canada also provided an arena to collect funds and support actions abroad. Canada’s other main experience with acts of terrorism within its borders had to do with the extension of foreign tensions into the country because of immigration.

Further Reading

1 

Bell, Stewart. Cold Terror: How Canada Nurtures and Exports Terrorism Around the World. Etobicoke, Ont.: John Wiley & Sons, 2004. An interesting argument maintaining that Canada provides a safe haven for terrorists and that politicians have neglected to actively address the issue.

2 

Chaliand, Gérard, and Arnaud Blin, eds. The History of Terrorism: From Antiquity to Al Qaeda. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2007. A comprehensive study of terrorism, its origins, and its evolution over time.

3 

Davies, Barry. Terrorism: Inside a World Phenomenon. London: Virgin Books, 2003. A look at modern terrorism, terrorist organizations and attacks, and counterterrorism.

4 

Hewitt, Christopher. Understanding Terrorism in America: From the Klan to Al Qaeda. New York: Routledge, 2003. A detailed study examining the politics of terrorists in the United States, the organization of terrorist groups, and the impact of terrorist acts on American life.

5 

Kushner, Harvey W. Terrorism in America: A Structured Approach to Understanding the Terrorist Threat. Springfield, Ill.: Charles C Thomas, 1998. An examination of “new” terrorism in America, the threat from international organizations as well as domestic terrorists. Provides an examination of what terrorism is.

6 

McCann, Joseph T. Terrorism on American Soil: A Concise History of Plots and Perpetrators from the Famous to the Forgotten. Boulder, Colo.: Sentient, 2006. An examination of specific terrorist incidents, from the 1865 assassination of President Abraham Lincoln to the anthrax letter attacks after September 11, 2001.

7 

Maxwell, Bruce. Terrorism: A Documentary History. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 2003. A compilation of reports and papers discussing various terrorist incidents and issues from the early 1970’s to 2002.

Citation Types

Type
Format
MLA 9th
Cheek, Michael W. "Terrorism." The 1990s in America, edited by Milton Berman, Salem Press, 2009. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=1990_1557.
APA 7th
Cheek, M. W. (2009). Terrorism. In M. Berman (Ed.), The 1990s in America. Salem Press. online.salempress.com.
CMOS 17th
Cheek, Michael W. "Terrorism." Edited by Milton Berman. The 1990s in America. Hackensack: Salem Press, 2009. Accessed October 22, 2025. online.salempress.com.