Anti-Western terrorism

Anti-Western terrorism is a classifiable ideology for those terrorist organizations that are formed to combat against or deter the spread of Western ideals, values or capitalism. Accordingly, these organizations often target the supply chain of multi-national, Western companies.

Typically, anti-Western terrorist organizations are more dangerous than traditional terrorists because of the severity and frequency of the attacks, which are often more catastrophic in nature. A number of specific incidents in South East Asia have targeted iconic Western brands that have global supply chains. Some of the targeted companies include Coke, IBM, Marriott, as well as the Embassies of  the United States, nations of the European Union, Australia, and New Zealand.

Many of the anti-Western terrorist organizations are especially active in supply chain terrorism. An example where both a supply chain and anti-Western terrorist attack occurred was the Yemen bomb plot, in which the terrorists used the supply chain to facilitate the movement of a PETN explosive device destined for two synagogues in Chicago. Another infamous incident was the attempt to attack container ships on the Suez Canal.

Anti-Western terrorism is one of the prime indicators governments look at for C-TPAT, PIP, and AEO compliance. Governments use these indicators from a risk-targeting perspective in order to determine which specific forms of validations should be conducted: for example, which containers to inspect, or which terrorist organizations are active in which countries that are likely to target the supply chain.