Essay on Terrorism

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Terrorism

The 21st century began on September 11, 2001. In June of 1914, the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand in Sarajevo precipitated the first war that would define the 20th century. The attacks of September 11 will be the precipitating moment of a new kind of war. The kind of war everyone will be on high alert. Everyone is the United States of America will come together and help each from this tragedy. The United States of America now sees a national security threat raised to an unbelievable level. However, the USA also sees an opportunity to solidify international support and national unity during this time. International cooperation and national unity will be critical to a sustained war against terrorism, and their prospects for success have never been better. The attacks on September 11 are just a few of the things that have been attacked. This is what we call Terrorism.

Terrorism is a special type of violence. It is a tactic used in peace, conflict and war. The threat of terrorism is ever present, and an attack is likely to occur when least expected. A terrorist attack means the event that marks the transition from peace to conflict or war. The definition of terrorism is “the calculated use of violence or the threat of violence to fear; intended to intimidate governments or societies in the pursuit of goals that are generally political, religious or ideological.”(US command & general staff College) Terrorism is calculated, terrorists generally know what they are doing and their selection of a target is planned and rational. “I agree with the definition of terrorism, because it can happen when you least not expect it too.” Terrorism is common practice in insurgencies, but insurgents are not necessarily terrorists if they do not engage in those forms of violence identified as terrorists acts. While legal distinction is clear, it rarely inhibits terrorists who convince themselves that their actions are justified on a higher law. In contrast, war is subject to rules of international law. Terrorists recognize no rules. No person, place, or object of value is immune from terrorist attacks. Modern terrorism offers it practitioners many advantages. First, by not recognizing innocents, terrorists have an infinite number of targets. They select their targets and determine when, where and how they attack. The range of choices gives terrorists a high probability of success with minimum risk. If the attack goes wrong or fails to produce the intended results, the terrorists can deny responsibility. The terrorist bombings of the New York World Trade Center and the Oklahoma City Federal Building prove how easy it is for terrorists to operate in a free and democratic society. As commanders and staffs address terrorism, they must consider several relevant characteristics that anyone can be a victim. Some terrorists may still operate under cultural restraints, such as the desire to avoid harming women

Terrorists are inspired by many different motives. Students of terrorism classify them into three categories: rational, psychological, and cultural. The Rational terrorist thinks through his goals and options, making a cost benefit analysis. They seek to determine whether there are less costly and more effective ways to achieve their objectives in terrorism. To assess the risk, they weigh the target’s defensive capabilities against their own capabilities. The essential question is whether terrorist will work for the desired purpose, given societal condition at the time.

Psychological Motivation for terrorism derives from the terrorist’s personal dissatisfaction with their life and accomplishments. Although no clear Psychopath is Found among terrorists, there is a nearly universal element in them that can be described as the “true believer.” Terrorists tend to project their own antisocial motivations onto others, creating a polarized “we versus they”(Thomas Hunter) outlook. They attribute only evil motives to anyone outside their own group. The other common characteristic of the psychologically motivated terrorist is the pronounced need to belong to a group. With Some terrorists, group acceptance are a stronger motivator than the stated political objectives of the organization. Such individuals define their social status by group acceptance.

Cultural Motivation cultures shape values and motivate people to actions that seem unreasonable to foreign observers. Americans are reluctant to appreciate the intense effect of culture on behavior. We accept the myth that rational behavior guides all human actions. Even though irrational behavior occurs in our own tradition, we seek to explain it by other means. The treatment of life in general and individual life in particular is a cultural characteristic that has a tremendous impact on terrorism. In societies in which people identify themselves in terms of group membership (family, clan, tribe), there may be willingness to self-sacrifice seldom seen elsewhere. However, American soldiers are less surprised at heroic sacrifice for one’s military unit; the difference among cultures is in the group with which one identifies. At times, terrorists seem to be eager to give their lives for their organization and cause. The lives of “others,” being taken in the terrorists value system, can be destroyed with little or no regret. A major cultural determinate of terrorism is the opinion of “outsiders” and anticipation of a threat to an ethnic group survival. Fear of cultural execution leads to violence, which, to someone who does not experience it, seems crazy. All human beings are sensitive to threats to the values by which they identify themselves. These include language, religion, group membership, and homeland or native territory. The possibility of losing any of these can cause defensive, even racist, reactions. Terrorism in the name of religion can be especially violent. Like all terrorists, those who are faithfully motivated view their acts with honest certainty and even great sanctions. What would otherwise be amazing acts of desperation becomes a spiritual duty in the mind of the loyally motivated terrorist. This helps explain the high level of commitment and motivation to risk death among religious extremist groups.

Terrorists organize to function in the environments where they carry out their acts. Organizational details are situation-specific. There are, however, a few general organizational principles. Because terrorists must operate in a hostile environment, security is their primary concern. Security is best served by a cellular structure in which members do not know and cannot identify more than a few of their social group in the event of capture or defection. Terrorist groups that are not supported by a government usually create a support structure of sympathizers and people who have been forced into helping them. The support structure may include energetic and inactive members. It furnishes the active terrorists with logistic support, intelligence, distribution of propaganda, recruiting, and money. Terrorist recruitment and training are, predictably, security-sensitive. Among groups that are not ethnic-based, the usual sources of recruits are high school and college students who show commitment to the cause. Culturally based terrorist groups recruit new members personally known to them, people whose backgrounds are known and who often have family ties to the organization. Intelligence penetration of organizations recruited in this way is extremely difficult. “I think that if a leader of a country is a terrorist like Oshama Bin Laden is obtained. People of the same country who idol him will try to take over his role, when he is taken down and punished. and do what he intended to do”. Terrorist training varies considerably. Typical training includes instruction in the use of small arms and explosives along with intelligence collection and training in the group’s cause. Terrorist actions include the traditional assassinations, bombings, arson, criminal taking, Hijacking, kidnapping, seizure and occupation of a building, attacks on a facility sabotage, and perpetration of hoaxes. Newer categories of operations include the still largely potential “high-tech” terrorism using nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons and materials. (The research center / basics) One form of biological terrorism is the distribution of Anthrax. It is mainly a disease of grazing animals. The spores on wool or hides usually cause a skin infection, nasty but treatable antibiotics are available. Symptoms of Anthrax include flu like- fever, headache, and muscle pains.

Patience and determination are the hallmarks of successful programs to combat terrorism. In any country or region, there are few terrorists relative to the population. Identifying and capturing them is difficult and requires deadly police and intelligence work. It is filled with frustration. Antiterrorism efforts are also low-key and unsuccessful, requiring patience and running contrary to American culture. Perhaps the most irritating Aspect of defense against terrorism is that success is hard to identify. Security is the most obvious requirement in fighting terrorism. Terrorists rely on surprise and the victim’s confusion at the time of an incident. Antiterrorism involves physical security, operational security, and the practice of personal protective measures by all personnel. Commanders and staffs must plan their response to terrorist threats and incidents. Fighting terrorism is an aspect of force protection and is the responsibility of commanders at all times.

Political violence will characterize the last years of this century and the early decades of the twenty-first century. One prominent form will be the practice of terrorism. “Possibly, we will see a relative decline, perhaps even extinction, of what we traditionally considered Ideological terrorism”. (Neal A. Pollard) The universal availability of weapons, explosives, and technically difficult timing and triggering devices, along with the total communication revolution, adds to the terrorists’ capabilities. Increased capabilities include coordinated, nearly simultaneous attacks in several countries; fax death threats, and comparison of target lists by computer. “Future terrorism is likely to include higher than ever levels of violence. Hijackings, kidnappings, and drive-by Shootings will continue, but their shock effect has decreased with familiarity.” (Neal A. Pollard) Since terrorists need publicity to inspire fear, familiarity causes them to seek more unusual events that capture and hold public attention. Although technology aids in the defense against terrorism, it also provides terrorists with increased opportunities. Terrorists can operate in cyber space to destroy or manipulate information for their own purposes. Skilled “hackers” with terrorist intent can access all but the most secure data banks, stealing or changing information, or destroying it. This gives them the potential, for example, of manipulating the stock market for their own profit or to sudden inflation or depression. There is evidence of large-scale counterfeiting of American money to purchase weapons. This could cause serious economic disruption. Access to police and other security files can keep terrorists one-step ahead of their government opponents. Chemical weapons have become increasingly powerful and easy to produce. Triggering devices have become more difficult. The potential for using weapons of mass damage, including biological and nuclear material, exists. US military personnel will continue to be targets for terrorists for the same reason they have in the past. Collectively and individually, they symbolize US power.

Overall, ever since September 11, 2001 with the attacks on America, terrorism is a huge threat. The United States of America has pointed its finger at Ohsama Bin Laden as the main suspect in the September 11 attacks on America. Terrorism has always been a huge topic but now it is probably the number one topic of people’s minds. In the future to come Americans will unite and come together as a major attempt to stop terrorism and to catch and punish all the suspects associated with terrorism.