Counter-Terrorism

Throughout the world there have been many controversial ideas on how to prevent terrorism. Some people have the idea that the only way it can be handled is through military action and others say that only its people within the region can convince them to stop terrorist acts. Terrorism has been going on for many centuries and will continue for many centuries more. The real question is, is there other alternative methods besides military action to prevent terrorism and if not can the governments continue to fund the military to deal with the problem. From my point of view, I believe there are logical methods available other than just using military action. Even though terrorism will always be around, Terrorism is an ongoing crisis throughout the world and should be dealt without hesitation using the most logical method.

There are some questions that people fail to ask, like “What is the motive or goal of terrorists?” This question if answered could possibly help decide which action should be taken to prevent terrorism. Newman, E. (2006) stated that, “some analysts are reluctant to consider root causes because they refuse to accept that there may be any legitimate causes or grievances behind terrorism” (p. 749). These root causes can range from poverty to political grievances. Some may argue that a terrorist act is a terrorist act and should all be dealt the same way. I believe the analysts that are reluctant to consider root causes would rather use military action instead of another logical means of preventing terrorism. There are ways around military action depending on the root causes of the terrorist act. An example of pros and cons is the government that has a lot of people in poverty whom are conducting terrorist a...

... middle of paper ...

...could have been used to prevent this terrorist act would have been to tighten security on terrorist’s targets of opportunity (Government and Federal Buildings).

Terrorism may be prevented using more than one method, even though it may come back from time to time in different forms and in different parts of the world. In my opinion, I believe that more than one method can be used to prevent terrorist acts. I don’t believe that the military is the only means to prevent terrorism and the government needs to reconsider their alternative motives. There are many factors and root causes for terrorism and should be dealt with accordingly. The government should come up with certain levels of terrorism and within those levels actions to be taken accordingly. As tough as it may be to hold our military back, the government should look at other methods to prevent terrorism.