Terrorism
The Good, the Bad, the Terrorist? Terrorism by nature is difficult to define.
Acts of terrorism conjure emotional responses in the victims as well as in the
practitioners. No two writers agree on what is terrorism. Even the U.S.
government cannot agree on one single definition. The old adage, "One man's
terrorist is another man's freedom fighter" is still alive and well today
("Terrorism Research Center: Definitions" 1). Although many people believe
that terrorism is evil, it is merely misunderstood because there is no set
definition. Terrorists are responsible to most of the freedom movements in
every country. Terrorists have used violence to get their point across to the
public. These acts are often necessary for the success of the movement or
cause. The use of this violence can be justified in several ways. You can't
make an omelet without breaking some eggs has been used by terrorist to
describe their actions.
A United States citizen turning against one’s own government and embracing an ideology to kill another citizen or commit an act of violence is a growing phenomenon commonly known as homegrown terrorism. This transition or radicalization process that transforms an individual into an adversary has intensified since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The problem continues to persist in other parts of the world such as Canada, United Kingdom and even in Saudi Arabia, a Non-Western country. This form of extremism has shown its propensity in the United States since the turn of the century when Muslim extremism had its early beginnings as a venue to support a black separatist movement. Today, the threat emerges more rampantly with the accessibility and excess of information technology; as well as the political and socio-economic environment influencing many spectrums of perception and intent.
“One person’s terrorist is another’s freedom fighter (Barash 2014: 174).” This one statement explains every war to ever be fought and also the delicate subject of terrorism. The line between who is the bad guy and the good guy will always be difficult to draw because everyone fights for a different reason. In this same sense every “terrorist” has his or her own story. Rarely can one blaring reason can be found to explain why attacks happen. Every soldier has a different reason for fighting, no matter what side of the front they are on. The same is true of terrorists. People the Western world may hold up as a hero the Eastern may condemn as the worst kind of terrorist, we know the opposite is true. Many people the West proclaim to be terrorists
What is “terrorism”? Terrorism is a hotly contested term that is subjected to the reader’s political alignments. Most readers can agree that “terrorism” is a form of political action through violence that seeks to instill fear into a population, but defining “terrorism” becomes more complicated when being applied to groups and organizations. Lisa Stampnitzky’s “Can Terrorism Be Defined?” addresses this issue by drawing three important questions from the difficulty of defining “terrorism”: first, who is the enemy? Second, when is violence legitimate? Third, what is political? These three questions are instrumental in understanding terrorism while also understanding why certain groups are labeled terrorists and why others are not. This bias of
Many analysts, researchers, and professors have tried to define the purpose of terrorism. Some believe that can only be achieved when we know how the mind of a terrorist works. The Encyclopedia Britannica describes terrorism as, “The systematic use of violence or threat of violence by organized groups to achieve specific goals. Terrorist activities may be directed against individuals, organizations or governments. Terrorism is employed by radical groups to obtain concessions from established governments, such as a change in policies unfavorable to them or the release of imprisoned members of their organizations…” (Encyclopedia Britannica. “Terrorism” 1987 T-169)
The definition of political violence is ‘violence [that is] outside of state control that is political motivated’ (O’Neil 2011, par. 1). One way to study political violence is to interpret the way a group participates in collective action to solve political dilemmas, and why groups choose violence as a means to achieve their political goals. As P. Schmid Alex wrote, “conflict itself is not illegitimate but part of the human existence and can be a positive mechanism of social and political change” (Schmid 2004, 199). Another aspect of violence that is commonly debated and discussed within the political arena is terrorism. Specifically, how state actors and policy-makers distinguish terrorism from other forms of political violence.
The quest to establish a universal definition of terrorism is entangled in questions of law, history, philosophy, morality, and religion by nature, a subjective one that eludes large-scale consensus. Terrorism is defined differently by different countries, nations and even department’s federal or state law enforcement. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) defines terrorism as “the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives (NIJ).
The concept of terrorism is exceedingly difficult to define. Author Gerald Seymour first said in his book Harry’s Game that, “One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter”. Each individual may view terrorism in a different light. Because of this, there is currently no universal definition of terrorism. However in recent years, it has become increasingly more important to form a definition of terrorism, especially while working in the media.
Terrorism is one of the most extensively discussed issues of our time and at the same time it is also one of the least understood. The term itself “terrorism” means many different things to different people, cultures, and races. As a result, trying to define or classify terrorism with one universal definition is nearly impossible. The definition of terrorism used in this research is a reflection of much of the Western and American way of defining it. The definition of terrorism is,
Dipak K. Gupta, in his book Who Are the Terrorists? (2006), illustrates what terrorism is and its origin, as well as arguing what is an act of terror. Dipak sates that the term terrorism has always had a negative connotation and the word terrorism originated from the French Revolution during the “Reign of Terror”. During this time period guiltiness were used to kill vast amounts of people who for the most part did no wrong. These ghastly acts were purposely used to install terror and fear into people which is where the term terrorism originated. Gupta’s purpose is to inform the reader on what terrorism is and what qualifies as an act of terror (5).
The history of terrorism can be traced back as far as the French revolution and Guy Fawkes. These acts of terrorism only seem distant reminders of our bloody past but are not a far cry from today’s brutal acts of terrorism. Just as the French government starved their people into submission, Saddam Hussian dropped chemical and biological weapons on thousands of his own people to show that uprisings and political crimes will not be tolerated. Terrorism can be driven in many ways whether its hate, religion or occupation. Most are hell bent on fulfilling their dreams of dying for their cause or religion.
The word terrorism was first used during the French Revolution from the reign of terror inflicted by the French from 1784-1804 ("International Affairs"). It was used to describe the violent acts perpetrated on the French that inflicted terror on the various peoples and instilled fear within them. However, at the time it had a more positive connotation than the term that instills fear today. During the French Revolution this was because it referred to state-sponsored terrorism in order to show the need of state instead of anarchy, sometimes promoted by other groups (Hoffman 2). Therefore, even though terrorism has taken a new nature, terrorism can refer to official governments or guerrilla groups operating outside national governments ("International Affairs"). In order to encompass terrorism’s various sectors and explain it to the public, in both positive and negative aspects, many analysts have tried to put it into a few words. Terrorism is a method used by tightly of loosely organized groups operation within states or international territories that are systematic in using deliberate acts of violence or threats in order to instill...
Terrorism: Causes and Effects On Tuesday, September 11, 2001, terrorists hijacked four airliners and crashed them into different spots in the United States, resulting in nearly 3,000 deaths (9/11 Commemorations and Memorials). This tragedy had triggered a continuous battle held by governments, especially the United States, against terrorist groups. Ever since, terrorism, the act or threat of violence causing serious damage for political aims (TERRORISM), has commenced to attract global attention. The causes and impacts of these actions are various and complex. The Twin Towers were crashed into by two airliners in the September 11 attack.
Terrorism…This is a very common word in today’s society. What does it mean? Or more importantly how do “we” prevent it and if necessary combat it? The word most commonly used to explain this is counter terrorism, but is also known as anti-terrorism. The military is a great force in combating terrorism with specialist groups in nearly each branch of the armed forces. Prior to the September 11 attacks the United States Armed Forces worked hand in hand with NATO and the United Nations combating terror. However after these attacks, the United States Military has become a widely utilized entity on fighting terrorism.
There is no set definition for terrorism, this is because each country has a different definition of terrorism, but it is commonly recognized as violence from groups with political, religious or ideological ideas. Terrorism tries to bring about change with violence and their targets are usually unsuspecting civilians. However, freedom fighters understand terrorism to be violence against the government and government policy to bring about political, and social change to better their way of life. There are two major categories of terrorism, International and Domestic terrorism (Yancey, 2006).
Terrorism is a strategic violence or acts against civilians for certain parties to attain ideological, political or religious goals. The term refers to unlawful use of violence or force against property or people in the effort of coercing the government or civilians to meet their political or social goals (Kellner, 2015a). Terrorism is one of the most challenging issues facing the world as dissatisfaction and objectives are changing every day in various regions. Technology and modernity have fastened the spread of terrorism globally thus emerging as a world number challenge. Currently the world is experiencing a growth and expansion of terrorists groups in various parts of the world focused to meet their goals through violence in coercing government