The Algerian War for Independence

The country of Algeria is located in Northern Africa near the Mediterranean Sea and between the nations of Tunisia and Morocco (Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, 2007, Geography, People). The land in Northern Africa (including that of modern-day Algeria) had experienced numerous invasions from neighboring powers throughout history, and in 1830, the last wave of invaders hit Algeria: the French. French colonists flooded into the northern regions of this country seeking wealth and land, eventually taking complete control of Algeria in the early 1900s (Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, 2007; GlobalSecurity.org, 2008). During this time, the French colonists exploited the native Algerians. They required the "Muslims, who made up almost 90 percent of the population but produced 20 percent of Algeria's income, [to pay] 70 percent of direct taxes and 45 percent of the total taxes collected" (GlobalSecurity.org, 2008, para. 4). Yet, despite their heavy tax burden, the native people were given few rights under the French colonial government. In modern day Algeria, however, the population is now comprised of less than one percent of Europeans and about one percent of individuals who identify themselves as Christian or Jewish (Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, 2007).

Rising Tension & Anger Toward the French

From the beginning, the native Algerians were discontented with French control, and the more the French exploited these people, the more anger and hatred burned within them. Ultimately, it was just a matter of time before outright violence would erupt in Algeria between the natives and the colonists. At first, more affluent Algerians attempted to break the nation free from French control through political activism. However, little progress was made. In fact, the French colonial government often blocked the reformers' activities, so tension continued to rise between the French and Algerians (GlobalSecurity.org, 2008). Eventually, this tension caused a number of violent outbursts between the two sides, the first of which erupted on May 8, 1945 when Algerian leaders decided to use Europe's liberation from communism to march for their liberation from French domination. This violence marked the end of all peace between the Algerians and the French colonists and lead to many similar skirmishes between the two groups that eventually grew into total revolution on November 1, 1954. This day is now celebrated every year as Revolution Day in Algeria (Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, 2007; GlobalSecurity.org, 2008).

Algeria's Bloody War for Independence

Although the Algerians' cause was just and noble, the Algerian War for Independence proved to be an ugly scar in both French and Algerian history. In the end, both the French and Algerian forces chose to attack civilians and employ brutal tactics to try to win the war. Massacres military and civilian targets were a common method for both sides of this conflict. Attacks on homes, businesses, and entire communities occurred regularly against French and Algerian. In fact, the Algerian freedom fighters were even known to attack their own countrymen if it was suspected that they sympathized with the French colonials or were opposed to the group's brutal actions. And the generations of rage and hatred between the Algerians and French fueled ritualistic murders, horrific mutilations, countless bombings, and savage torture of captives (Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, 2007; GlobalSecurity.org, 2008).

Obviously, all of these violent acts of war easily fit into the U.S. Department of Defense's definition of terrorism-"the calculated use of violence or threat of violence to inculcate fear: intended to coerce or to intimidate governments or societies in the pursuit of goals that are generally political, religious or ideological" (Howard & Sawyer, 2006, p. 19). Both sides ultimately used these horrific tactics to spread fear and violence throughout Algeria to try to gain complete political control of this nation. In the end, they had no respect or regard for human life or the principles of just warfare.

The Outcome of Algeria's War for Independence

Today, the Algerian War for Independence is "still considered one of the bloodiest and bitterest wars of independence in modern times" (Grouse, 2007, para. 1). It seemed as though each time one side of the conflict came up with a new atrocity, the other side came up with a tactic even more brutal and violent as their hatred and need for revenge mounted. And eventually the atrocities against the Algerians drove more and more natives into the conflict with the French as the terrorism made them realize that there would never be reconciliation for the two sides (GlobalSecurity.org, 2008; Howard & Sawyer, 2006, p. 60).

After eight years, the Algerian freedom fighters accomplish their political goals of an Algeria independent from France. However, the cost was great. First, this bloodthirsty conflict resulted in a death toll that might be as high as a million lives (Grouse, 2007). Also, more than one million individuals lost their homes once Algeria became independent since they were French citizens and thus, had to move to France because of the lingering hostility between the two countries (Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, 2007). Moreover, many of the modern terrorist organizations, including Al-Qaeda, have modeled many of their tactics after this war terrorism (Grouse, 2007).

Additionally, when an area suffers a tragic natural disaster, it must take action to rebuild residential and business structures and repair and reconstruct the infrastructure within the area. However, with the devastating and demoralizing nature of terrorism, large amounts of money must be used to deal with the psychological effects of terrorism on its victims, their families, and anyone connected to the area. Millions of dollars where used in one year alone to help our nation begin recovering after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks (Bullock et al, 2006, p. 382-383). Therefore, you can imagine how great the cost of recovery has been for the Algerians and French after living through eight years of shocking terrorism. In fact, Algeria still has not completely recovered from its war for independence. For instance, since its independence, it has witnessed political turmoil as different groups have fought each other to gain power (GlobalSecurity.org, 2008). Ultimately, terrorism continues to be considered an acceptable means for political and religious change by many Algerian groups. Shockingly, this terrorism "resulted in more than 100,000 deaths during the 1990s" (Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, 2007, Political Conditions, para. 1).

In the end, this terrorism has become such a regular presence in Algeria that it has become like a "day-to-day genocide" (Boudjemaa, 2002). The people in many parts live in fear on a daily basis, unsure where radical Islamic terrorists might strike next. Sadly, these terrorists are not afraid to utilize any type of brutal violence in their efforts to establish theocratic government, including bombings, rape, civilian massacres, sabotage, torture, mutilations, attacks on children, assassinations, and arson. And this country continues to remain in an unstable, almost hopeless state, since there never seems to be an end to this brutality (Boudjemaa, 2002).

References:

Bullock, J. A., Haddow, G.D., Coppola, D., Ergin, E., Westerman, L, & Yeletaysi, S. (2006). Introduction to homeland security (2^nd ed.). Amsterdam: Elsevier.

Boudjemaa, M. (2002, July). Chapter 6-Terrorism in Algeria: Ten years of day-to-day genocide. In Monograph no. 74: Africa and terrorism, joining the global campaign. Retrieved January 13, 2008, from Institute for Security Studies Web site: http://www.iss.co.za/PUBS/MONOGRAPHS/No74/Chap6.html

Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs. (2007, October). Background note: Algeria. Retrieved January 13, 2008, from U.S. Department of State Web site: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/8005.htm

GlobalSecurity.org. (2008). Algerian National Liberation (1954-1962). Retrieved January 13, 2008, from http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/algeria.htm

Grose, T. K. (2007, August 13). The terrorist playbook. U.S. News & World Report, 143(5). Retrieved January 13, 2008, from Colorado Technical University Online Library, Articles & Books, EBSCOhost, Business Source Premier: https://campus.ctuonline.edu

Howard, R. D., & Sawyer, R. L. (2006). Terrorism and counterterrorism: Understanding the new security environment (2^nd ed.). Dubuque, IA: McGraw Hill.