The biggest challenge that the United States faces, according to the members within the United States National Security establishment, is terrorism. While suicide terrorism is not the only form of terrorism the United States has been faced with, it has recently been growing into the more common type of terrorism in this age. There are several theories that are associated with suicide terrorism, such as those of Robert Pape and David Horowitz, and it is interesting to analyze and compare the theories and ideas of these intellectuals.
First, it is important to understand what exactly suicide terrorism is. Suicide terrorism is an attacking tactic involving one or more persons sacrificing their own life or lives in a violent method that affects another society with the overall intentions of intimidation and coercion of the particular society or government that was attacked. A fairly recent and national example of suicide terrorism is the September 11th attack on the United States in 2001. The United States was the victim of a series of four terrorist attacks that were made by the Islamic terrorist group, al-Qaeda, in New York City, and near Washington D.C. Several members of the terrorist group forfeited their lives in order to make this attack take place.
Even though suicide terrorism has been a part of international politics for a long period of time, there are still many questions that are left unanswered about the tactic. One of the most interesting and obvious questions for suicide terrorism, is simply as to why groups use this as a terrorism tactic. Many believe that this form of terrorism is a result of religious beliefs. However, this is mainly due to the western focus on the Islamic group of terrorists. The Islamic terrorist...
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...ved with a religion that take part in suicide terrorism, does not mean that every member of that religion is in support of it. This is comparable to the religious hatred that was present during the Holocaust. While Horowitz is not suggesting that we should contain all of the members of the Islamic organizations as the Jews were in the concentration camps, he is making it obvious that he has a hatred for these groups, and that all that believe in and practice the Muslim faith are to be held accountable for the terrorist actions that have taken place. Making a religious prejudice apparent is not only incredibly unfair, but is going to also cause further problems and will most likely lead to more violence and suicide terrorism for the discrimination. Robert Pape’s theories do not discriminate and give a logical explanation as to why these terrorist assaults take place.
In Brym’s article he discusses what research has shown about the motivations of suicide bombers. Brym and my fellow classmate explained to me how suicide bombers may be motivated by politics, religion, or retaliatory aims (Brym, Kyra Howard). Both Brym and Howard helped me view the issue of suicide bombers in multiple
In Robert Pape’s Dying to Win: The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism he investigates the three hundred and fifteen suicide terrorist attacks that have occurred from its beginning in 1980 up until 2003. By examining these attacks he explains the three logics behind suicide terrorism, the strategic, the social, and the individual logic. Pape uses Dying to Win as a tool to educate the public on suicide terrorism. He hopes people will begin to understand that it is not irrational, but requires reason and strategy. He brings to light that suicide terrorism is not directly correlated with Islamic fundamentalism, but rather political objectives, trying to put to rest many preconceived notions. By understanding the logic behind suicide terrorism people can work together to prevent it from happening in the future. After reading this book it is clear that suicide terrorism is not random, but does demand some thought in order for it to work.
In the paper, Economic Conditions and the Quality of Suicide terrorism , the authors study the relationship between economic conditions with the characteristics of terrorists and the targets they attack. The poor economic conditions coupled with high unemployment in regions have enabled terrorist organizations to recruit individuals who are more educated, mature and experienced for their suicide attacks. This gives the terrorist organizations the ability to attack more important targets which are located closer to their district of residence. Nevertheless, he also shows that there is no correlation between the qualities of terror attacks and bad economic conditions but rather affect groups that provide excludable public goods by increasing their ability to commit terror attacks during difficul...
Emile Durkheim’s theory paints a clear narrative for the type of suicide used by suicide bombers, so the question is - is suicide acceptable under Islamic religion; one answer is how it is illustrated and how you interpret the Qur’an. Radical Islamists have convoluted the traditional Islamic laws of warfare to make suicide bombings reasonable. According to the website TheReligionofPeace.com, “the point of the bomber isn’t suicide – it is to kill infidels in battle. This is not just permitted by Muhammad, but encouraged with liberal promises of earthly rewards in heaven, including food and sex.” Zarein Ahmedzay pleaded guilty to terrorist charges involving a possible suicide mission on the United Sates in 2009. He quoted the Qur’an during his plea to justify his decision, “Allah has purchased of the believers their lives and wealth for the price of Paradise, to fight in the way of Allah, to kill and get killed. It is a promise binding on the truth in the Torah, the Gospel and the Qur’an.” (New York Post) Some Muslims feel suicide bombings are a sin and a recent development of the twentieth century. They claim suicide bombings are not
This paper will talk about three different types of terrorism. A background of each type will be provided to understand the motivations and goals. The first type that will be discussed is religious terrorism. The second type that will be discussed is suicide terrorism. The third and last type that will be discussed is nationalist terrorism. Each type of terrorism has distinct differences in their goals, motivations, strategy, use of violence, etc. However, the main focus of this paper will be on the difference between each type’s tactics and/or strategy.
Suicide bombers have a distinct image in western media and in academic literature. Gilbert Burnham articulates that suicide bombers arise where there is widespread suffering and anger with a desire for retribution from those who have experiences personal or communal losses . U.S. Senator ...
Robert Paper argues that, in a way, suicide terrorism can be a logical choice for the individual carrying out the attack. When contemplating whether or not suicide terrorism can be a logical choice, you must be able to put yourself in the place of the “terrorist”. Whether or not someone is considered a terrorist can be a very subjective view, especially from the viewpoint of the person or group that is being terrorized. This requires the observer to exude empathy.We may look at Osama Bin Laden as a terrorist, but to him, he was doing the work of his “God”. The person considered to be a terrorist could be revered as a martyr in their community; someone who ultimately gave their life to perpetuate a particular faith or ideal. While, being a citizen of a country that has endured many tragedies, both on the homefront and abroad; makes these actions disgust me, there are two sides to view from. This subjectiveness is at the heart of figuring out whether or not this is a logical choice. Exploration of this topic shall lead to a greater understanding of the “how” and “why” terrorists commit these devastating activities, and allow those defending from such attack be able to do so. This would allow further safety in the area of homeland security.
During the 21st Century acts of domestic and international terrorism have significantly increased. Thus the international community of nations has the challenge to adopt a common approach to the treatment of terrorism as an international crime. The challenge at present is for the international community of nations to adopt a common approach to the treatment of terrorism as an international crime (Lawless, 2008). In fact, terrorism is an international crime it requires the international community to act in the prevention of terrorism and the sanction of individuals perpetrating acts of terrorism(Lawless, 2008). The September 2011 attack on the United States has presented an opportunity for the internationalist forces to come to the forefront of the global political agenda. ...
Deducing from all the readings it appears that the major cause of suicide terrorism is being occupied by a foreign power and the loss of identity. Though there are several causes to what may inspire someone to commit such acts the focus will be on this one. Pape states that suicide terrorism is a response the requires strategy and more often than not is employed by groups whose sole goal is t...
Townsend, Ellen. "Suicide Terrorists: Are they Suicidal?" Suicide & Life - Threatening Behavior 37.1 (2007): 35-49. ProQuest. Web. 14 Nov. 2013.
Pape believes that suicide terrorism is focused around democracies and occupation. After conducting his research, Pape discovered that from 1980 to 2001, records of suicide terrorism have had three main reoccurring, necessary properties: timing, nationalist goals, and target selection. Pape (2003) explains that, when it comes to timing, “nearly all suicide attacks occur in organized, coherent campaigns, not as isolated or randomly timed incidents” (347). Thus, Pape infers there is strategic reasoning behind this way of terrorizing the masses. He further states campaigns of suicide terrorism focus on gaining oversight of territory terrorists deem as their national homeland.
Terrorism did for the sake of the faith has for some time been an element of human undertakings. The histories of individuals, civic establishments, countries, and realms are packed with illustrations of radical genuine devotees who take part in brutality to advance their conviction framework. A few religious terrorists are propelled by protective thought processes, others look to guarantee the transcendence of their faith, and others are inspired by a forceful amalgam of these propensities. Religious terrorism can be mutual, genocidal, agnostic, or progressive. It can be submitted by solitary wolves, covert cells, expansive dissenter developments, or governments. Also, contingent upon one 's point of view, there is regularly discuss about whether the culprits ought to be named terrorists or religious opportunity contenders.
This suicide occurs when there is an extreme ruling of people by social forces. This is seen as a “Heroic” form of suicide because the individual takes their life more for others than themselves. This form of suicide can be seen in an Indian practice called Sati. Sati is a Hindu practice where a widow will throw herself into her husband’s funeral pyre. Jumping into the pyre, the widows are seen as loyal and would mean that they will acquire a greater life for offering herself. A current example would be suicide terrorism. Terrorists give up their lives in order to make some type of political statement. An example would be the terrorist attack that occurred on September 11th 2001 when the World Trade and Pentagon were attacked by Islamic terrorists who were a part of a group named al-Qaeda. The attack had individuals from the group take over planes and fly them into buildings. The terrorists that engaged in this act, were thought, due to religion would be seen as heroes in their native area. Al-Qaeda had control over these individuals and made them believe that by giving up their lives to commit this act, they would be doing what’s best for
The belief that Islam encourages terrorist activities first began after the catastrophic events on September 11, 2001. On this day, Islamic extremists hijacked four planes that were flying above America, which caused approximately 3,000 deaths (Kean). Our nation as well as the attitude towards Muslim individuals have changed since this unforgettable day in history. The initial understanding and perception of Muslims often root from stereotypes that concern Middle Easterners as a whole. Unfortunately, the word “terrorist” is a label given to those of an Muslim or Arab descent and typically, wear long beards. Although there have been many other forms of terrorist attacks by several ethnic groups, the emphasis
When looking at individual events it is important to consider the facts rather than the assumptions and swayed opinions that come to us through the news and other media sources. It is easy to make connections between religions and events that occur due to extremists from that religion but in order to fully understand the nature of terrorism events all details need to be considered. Passing judgments about an entire religion based off the actions of few only adds to social issues that rule events like this in the first place. An article published by the IDSA entitled Terrorism, Ideology and Misconceptions, they write, “however, in our times, Islam is often being portrayed in association with violence, aggression and terrorism. This is largely due to the media, both national and international, which has constantly depicted Muslims in such stereotypical ways”. This quote demonstrates the power that the actions of few have over the impression of