This article is about terrorism sponsored by the United States. For allegations of American State terrorism, see United States and state terrorism .
Terrorism
Definitions
History Incidents
By ideology
Anarchist Communist Conservative Left-wing Narcotics-driven Nationalist Right-wing
Religious
Buddhist Christian ( Mormon ) Hindu Islamic Jewish Sikh
Special-interest / Single-issue
Anti-abortion
Environmental
Related topics
Ethnic violence Militia movement Resistance movement
Structure
Financing Fronting Training camp Death squad Clandestine cell system Leaderless resistance
Methods Tactics
Agro-terrorism Aircraft hijacking ( list ) Animal-borne bomb attacks Beheading Bioterrorism Car bombing ( list ) Cyberterrorism Dirty bomb Dry run Explosive Hostage-taking Improvised explosive device (IED) Individual terror Insurgency Kidnapping Letter bomb Lone wolf Mass shooting Nuclear Paper terrorism Piracy Propaganda of the deed Proxy bomb School shooting Suicide attack ( list ) Rockets and mortars
Terrorist groups
Designated terrorist groups
Charities accused of ties to terrorism
Adherents
Violent non-state actors
State terrorism
Kazakhstan Soviet Union Sri Lanka United States Uzbekistan
State-sponsored terrorism
Iran Israel Pakistan Qatar Russia ( Soviet Union ) Saudi Arabia Syria United States
Fighting terrorism
Counter-terrorism
International conventions
Anti-terrorism legislation
Terrorism insurance
v t e
The United States of America has at various times in recent history provided support to terrorist and paramilitary organizations across the world. It has also provided assistance to numerous authoritarian regimes that have used state terrorism as a tool of repression. [1] [2]
United States support to non-state terrorists has been prominent in Latin America , the Middle-East , and Southern Africa . [1] From 1981 to 1991, the United States provided weapons, training, and extensive financial and logistical support to the Contra rebels in Nicaragua, who used terror tactics in their fight against the Nicaraguan government. [3] At various points the United States also provided training, arms, and funds to terrorists among the Cuban exiles, such as Orlando Bosch and Luis Posada Carriles .
Various reasons have been provided to justify such support. These include destabilizing political movements that might have aligned with the Soviet Union during the Cold War , including popular democratic and socialist movements. [4] Such support has also formed a part of the war on drugs . [2] Support was also geared toward ensuring a conducive environment for American corporate interests abroad, especially when these interests came under threat from democratic regimes. [4] [5] [ page needed ]