The only Lesson from History is no one Learns from History

Hello delegates:

There is a lot of history behind terrorism. I am going to try and sum it up, but I strongly recommend you look into some of the examples. Even a brief run through of the Wikipedia articles on these historical conflicts will be a great way for you to prepare yourself for discussing terrorism. Reading through your position papers (thanks to all who submitted!), it seems that a lot of you are on the right track. Terrorism is as much a social and political problem as a military one. It's also pretty important to note, that similar themes always pop up in history. Sectarianism, poverty, oppression; these are not new concepts. The driving forces for modern terrorist groups are the same as those 50 years ago. Learning about what has and hasn't worked, empathising with the groups you're facing and understanding their historical context, these are important things to do.

You can find some history, some favourite examples, and a bit of analysis by your's truly: here.

I also hope you are all paying close attention to what's happening in Egypt! It has nothing to do with this council, but it's pretty awesome.

If you haven't submitted a position paper, feel free to do so, though late submissions will not be considered for the award, we will still provide feedback.

"I'm not so naive or simplistic to believe we can eliminate war. We're not going to change human nature anytime soon. It isn't that we aren't rational. We are rational. But reason has limits." - Robert McNamara