Terrorism is a controversial issue which spans the globe, Terrorism is defined as using force to influence or change a political decision. This is a relevant definition which can easily be related to in this day and age. There are many ideas about how to deal with this menacing threat one being a diplomatic solution some believe that the United Nations (UN) should step in and resolve it peacefully. Others oppose this idea and believe that the only solution is violence. Many up hold the idea of violence and that joint North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and special forces operations should tackle the threat head on
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.
Counter-terrorism is a relatively new issue wish has just risen in the past fifty years. It has recently been brought to light the September the eleventh attacks on the pentagon and the world trade centres drew into sharp focus the need to understand and counter the threat of terrorism with extreme use of force to prevent innocent blood shed on British and American soil. Understanding the past lessons of counter-terrorism has never been more important, as the coalition of western super nations response to the th...
... middle of paper ...
...s the anarchists cook book a internet site dedicated to bomb making. The internet has opened a gateway for terrorism to take a more uglier and organised form. On the internet you can even find guides for making shoe bombs, reloading anti-tank guns and even how to shoot at American soldiers.
To conclude no matter how terrorism comes to a resolve whether it’s through diplomacy or violence or if it comes to a resolve at all. I believe that a global campaign against terrorism is a realistic option that should be used to tackle the issue. Just as Albert Einstein said “I do not know what weapons WWIII will be fought with but I assure you WWIV will be fought will sticks and stones” just as Einstein predicts the end of the world with some sort of apocalyptic nuclear or biological weapon will terrorism be the downfall of the 21st century?
Terrorism can be specifically classified as asymmetric conflict, or a ”war between political actors of equal strength, in which the weaker party tries to neutralize its opponent’s strength by exploiting the opponent’s weaknesses” (A16, Glossary, Mingst.) Terrorist groups pose a great security threat, on an international scale (278, Mingst.) As terrorist groups increase in size and influence, the threat on security grows as well. The question then arises as to how to eli...
Terrorism is focused on a one-sided belief that dictates massive destruction of institutions, foundations and national symbols. It represents a philosophy, which does not comply with common sense. Terrorism acts are a matter of individual psychology, relentless ideology, religious commitment, or political passion. The most devastating terrorism attack in the United States was on September 11, 2001. Other U S attacks were the Manhattan attack in 1997, the Anthrax attack in 2001, a prior World Trade Center attack in 1993, the Wall Street Bombing attack in 1920, and the Kalama City bombing in 1995 (Askshintala, 2013). Terrorism attacks have also taken place in Israel, Greece, Chechnya a border between Russia and European countries and India (Askshintala, 2013). All of these attacks and other attacks that were not as devastating have become much of an international legal debate on terrorism. Terrorism should be criminalized under international law.
The threat of global terrorism continues to rise with the total number of deaths reaching 32,685 in 2015, which is an 80 percent increase from 2014 (Global Index). With this said, terrorism remains a growing, and violent phenomenon that has dominated global debates. However, ‘terrorism’ remains a highly contested term; there is no global agreement on exactly what constitutes a terror act. An even more contested concept is whether to broaden the scope of terrorism to include non-state and state actors.
Counter-terrorism is a fairly new tactic that has emerged in the midst of escalation of non-state actors attacking nation-states in the protest of protecting world views as well as forward political ideologies in the interests of changes.
Terrorism has always been around and always will be around. Lately, though, terrorism has become more brutal. More and more people are being killed everyday because of it. Hundreds of terrorist organizations and entities exist all over the world. The deadliest, however, are from the Middle East or Africa. Their targets are as populous as the Earth. Nobody is off limits. Generally, they like to kill anyone and everyone who opposes them in any way, shape, or form. Since the mid- to late-1990s, the Middle Eastern nations especially have been under close watch because of all the terrorist organizations, their attacks on many non-Muslim groups and nations, and now national agencies, militant groups, and even the President are doing all they can to stop terrorism before it gets worse.
Terrorism is an affront to the world yet a consistent way of dealing with those that engage in terrorism has not been developed on the international level. Acts of terrorism can be loosely defined as acts perpetrated against citizens to instill terror, as acts that are committed by non-governmental bodies or representatives. This definition, of course, varies significantly according to the entity providing that definition. Furthermore, as our understanding and perception of terrorism evolves so do our definitions and the way that we attempt to legally deal with the phenomena. The fluid nature of the international response to terrorism can be attributed to this fact as can our failure to co...
Many people believe that terrorism is the biggest crisis facing us in the modern world. Consequently, legislation such as the Patriot Acts has been passed and the United States Department of Homeland Security has been formed to counteract terrorism. While these methods have been, in part, effective in fighting terrorism, there is still more the United States can do to solve the problem and prevent terrorist attacks.
The war on terror is at the peak and there are vivid indications that every stone will be turned to halt it. A central assumption is that terrorism is a religious war, apparently between Christians and the Muslims. This is just a moral claim that terrorists are using to attract more people over to their side, as well as create solidarity among the Muslims. As a result, the imagery and the reality of terrorism differ overwhelmingly. There are various terror occurrences around the globe that are similar and can be classified as terrorism. Otherwise, terrorism has been a means to carry on a conflict without the antagonist realizing the nature of the threat, mistaking terrorism for criminal activity. Terrorism should be a global concern because it is fast spreading around the globe raising terror. It has been facilitated by the use of religion as a justification for terrorist activities, proliferation of local terrorist groups, and political instability among and within various world wide nations.
Despite the end of the Cold War and the faltering beginnings of a peace process in the Middle East, terrorism still remains a serious threat in many countries, not surprisingly, given that the underlying causes of the bitter ethnic and religious struggles which spawn terrorism pre-dated the Cold War, and most of these conflicts remain unresolved.
Since the end of the Cold War, dramatic emerging shifts in the focus of international relations, from the world superpowers, have veered to that of terrorism and counterterrorism. Terrorism and in/direct threats to the order of international stability of sovereign states did not come to the forefront of significance and study until the 20th century with the events occurring on September 11, 2001 at the World Trade Center and the U.S. Pentagon. Immediately following these traumas, there “began a reorientation in foreign policy towards weak and failing states” (Skuldt, n.d., p. 1). The world of academia has traditionally focused on international relations as a discipline, with a sub-categorization on foreign policy. Historically, terrorism was not study specific. Focus on foreign policy allows for further exploration of policy analysis, theory and prescripts; however, the study of terrorism has been dotted through these areas disallowing the formulation of a concise framework for analysis. Because of these factors, building theories that focus on the connections between the two subjects has been difficult; and yet, in our current global society, they are critical. “Terrorism has [in fact] become a mode of doing politics” (Skuldt, n.d., p. 2) and can no longer merely be a subset to other areas of research and analysis.
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 has been around for as long as people can remember, but for the past ten years there's been a dramatic rise in activity. Terrorists use murder, kidnapping, hijacking, and bombings to pursue a political agenda. These criminals are not just subject to the United States, terrorism happens all over the world, in every way, shape and form. There are many types of terrorism and terrorists with many different purposes. The primary reason for terrorist actions is to force a change in their nation's government. If terrorists are not satisfied with their government's political positions, they may end up taking the matters into their own hands. Another reason for terrorist acts is because of hate towards a race, nationality, or religion. “Sociologically, terror is a practice that causes intense fear or suffering, whose aim is to intimidate and to subjugate, especially as a political weapon or policy. Politically, its main function is to intimidate and disorganize the government through fear, so that through these political changes can be achieved” (Taylor 19). The real terrorists of today are the world super powers for attacking other countries for revenge on 9/11 and other terrorist attacks, but these super powers blame other countries for starting it.
Since the 9/11 event, terrorism has been becoming more rampant and violent in nations of the world. Getting to the bottom and providing a solution has also been increasingly difficult and one of the main reasons is the lack of a confound definition. “Terrorism in the most widely accepted contemporary usage of term, is fundamentally and inherently political. It is also unavoidably about pow...
Since the beginning of 21st century the word “terrorism” became a popular issue nearly in all over the world. The incident at the world trade center in the United States on September 11, 2001 awoke the world about the peril of terrorism. Threatened by the attacks, the US called for the United Nations to be involved once again in the fight against terrorism. In response to the request, the United Nations launched its second, more extensive campaign against international terrorism (Cortright & Lopez, 2007). The Security Council adopted Resolution 1373 (2001) mandating a full-scale campaign consists of 191 UN member states to nullify any kind of assistance to terrorists and those who back them up, therefore forming the Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC). Three years afterward, Resolution 1535 (2004) concerning the establishment of the Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate (CTED) was adopted by the council in order to strengthen the CTC.
There are five major factors that terrorist are motivated by, “political ideology, racial/moral convictions, anarchism, religious, or nationalism” (Yancey, 2006). People choose terrorism when they feel there is no way out. They fight to defend what they believe is right. They believe that violence will be effective and will cause change. They believe that the means justify the ends. It is hard to give an exact reason of why