Terrorism And Its Effects On Terrorism

Preventing Terrorism in the United States is a hard thing to overcome, but the government is trying their best to control and prevent terrorist attacks from happening. “The terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, were a turning point in American history and demonstrated that the government must have the authority necessary to defend against future attacks, including the right to use the best technology to intercept potentially conspiratorial communications (Jacobs and Newton 1). Having advanced technologies in the United States can prevent Terrorism from happening.

Externally, states take into account any and all threats existing in their environment that may bring about conflict to its right to rule. As states spend resources and time parcipaniting in competing with its outside rivals in military and economically ways to neutralize the threats to its legitimacy. On the other hand, how about the internal threats to the state legitimacy. With that being the case, is it possible for a state to be as successful with neutralizing threats to its legitimacy imposed by its people, in the same way as its external threats? To answer this question, yes it is possible. Generally using violence is seen as the primary tool in achieving the goal of overthrowing the state, in the traditional forms of armed guerillas or violent protesters rioting and looting. In this situation, the response from the state consist of confronting the protesters with the army and police as a means of overwhelming the violence with using violence upon the people and crushing the uprising. This practices has been used for hundreds of years by states to protect their claim of legitimacy and is still today the ideal thinking for handling protest.

It was what citizens call a beautiful, normal, late September day in downtown Manhattan; Sun shining bright, leaves beginning to turn, and people commuting to their everyday jobs. Little did anyone know, America would forever be changed on this day. It’s now remembered forever by the title of 9/11. Terrorism has been involved in the U.S. for many years. This is one, sad example of the act. There are many parts to the dreadful, sad story, including terrorism in general, the planning behind the event, who was involved, the day of, and the aftermath.

Have you ever had a fear for your family, your town, your country, or your world. How about the fear to have everything taken from you, destroyed, and not caring if it has hurt you or not? What about your fear and pain is, and can be someone else’s happiness? The fear of you being terrorized? That is terrorism. Someone else bringing fear and terrorizing you. That is a terrorist’s goal. Terrorism is common and is very difficult to stop. The government promises protection for the people, and their home, but they can not give that protection if they can not stop terrorism. Terrorism needs to stop to protect the live of the people, and their country.

The Unabomber. The 2005 London Tube bombings. September 11th. These are just three of various tragic terrorist events that have occurred in the world. The word “terrorism” tends invokes feelings of fear, sadness, and regurgitates traumatizing memories for people affected. Terrorism as a concept has a very specific connotation, but, terrorism itself is more nuanced than individuals realize. Terrorism extends past the individual frame of reference and encompass a myriad of groups and organizations with differing ideologies, objectives, and methodologies. While the groups are inherently different, the constant that connects them all as acts of terrorism lies in the definition of the term itself.

According to Chomsky terrorism can be defined as “the calculated use of violence or the threat of violence to attain political or religious ideological goals through intimidation, coercion, or instilling fear.” (220). The terms terrorist or terrorism are relatively new, even though it has been going on for centuries. In early years (1st-14th century) there was what we would refer to today as a terrorist group called Assassins made up of different Muslim groups and a Jewish group known as the Zealots. Our history is filled with many acts of terrorism so, why is it much more prevalent today than it was back then? Well, for an act to be considered terrorism it must involve extraordinary violence, be intended to create mass fear, involve a planned attack, and have an audience. The key factor to keep in mind here is how an act of terrorism must have an audience and what do we have now that we didn't have years ago that's great at gathering audiences? The answer to this is abundant sources of media from the radio, TV, Newspapers, and social media it is basically a holy grail for terrorists. Not only do terrorist enjoy media attention, but also many of our political figures do as well.

Terrorist is among the most despicable labels a human being can have. Terrorism, by its very definition, means “the use violence or threats to intimidate especially for political purposes.” (Merriam Webster) There are many examples of this in American History: the Wall Street bombing in 1920 or the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995 (List 25). Terrorism is a tool used by deprived people to carry out nefarious acts of evil. Sadly, America has become very well acclimated to this evil in recent years. Ever since 9/11, nothing has been quite the same, especially when it comes to our safety. After the infamous attack, using a combination of Logos, Pathos, and Ethos, George W. Bush gave a message of reassurance to all Americans. He gave hope to those who thought they had none and a solemn promise that the American government would stop at nothing to extinguish the destructive forces of terrorism.

As we all know, the 9/11 attack has impacted our community as Muslims, that many people labeled us in the US as a threat to our country due to our Faith. Many Muslims in America still face discrimination and danger until today. I was born in Egypt, I came to the US approximately two months before the 9/11 incident happened. I was in the age of 11 months. I was raised in a way where we all believe that we’re supposed to follow the laws and the values of the land we live in as well as Freedom of Religion is included. As I began to grow, I realized that something was coming very slowly, and all of the sudden became very drastically. It all started by the 9/11 attack and everything took place afterwards, such as ISIS, Jihad, or even the racist comments that Trump stated about Muslims since his election.

In the context of the modern information era, the spread of horror and chaos among the population mainly depends on media coverage of terrorist threats and violent acts. Therefore, there is a real danger of making mass media the main weapon of terrorists. Terrorists can manipulate information through mass media pursuing own benefit. They do not only manipulate public opinion, but also attract new followers and supporters for their organization. Moreover, the media not only informs about terrorist acts, but also shows its own interpretation of the events. In this case, it creates subjective conclusions what can lead to a wrong interpretation of extremists’ actions. Methods of hidden influence on human behavior are already used by terrorists today. A striking example of the successful use of modern psychotechnologies of the impact by criminal groups is the extremist organization ISIS and its manipulative strategy of communication. ISIS skillfully uses social networks to spread its covert influence on public opinion, making the organization's influence more powerful in the European region. Young people from all over Europe join the ranks of the organization and fight for the establishment of a "caliphate". Taking into account the specifics of mass media, terrorist actions can be considered as specially designed for the use of a full range of means and methods of disseminating information in order to influence the behavior of the audience and to attract more followers.

The nature of terrorism and the goals associated with a terrorist attack make it a very broad term, and terrorism can take many forms. “Terrorism is defined in the Code of Federal Regulations as “the unlawful use of force and 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” (28 C.F.R. Section 0.85).” (Federal Bureau of Investigation Counterterrorism Division, 2005, p. iv) The definition from the Code of Federal Regulations identifies certain elements that are always present in a terrorist attack: the unlawful use of force or violence, a victim, and a political or social objective.

In the last century, terrorism seems not just more lethal but more common, but more widespread. This is leaving Citizens overwhelmingly in fear of their lives as they distress a Paris-style terror massacre will occur on our shores. With a news poll from “The Australian”, stating that more than half of the Australian population believing a large-scale event is likely and one- quarter convinced it is unavoidable. With a wide spread of events occurring this year, it is petrifying people across the globe.

A terrorist group is defined as an unlawful use of violence against the public or state with the intention of making a political statement by means of coercion or attack. The Sunni group, Hamas, which is an arabic acronym for “The Islamic Resistance Movement”, was created towards the beginning of the first Palestinian uprising during late 1987. This group was founded by Islamic activists, connected with the Muslim Brotherhood, in Gaza with the intention of offering Palestinians an alternative to PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization). Their goal is to have an Islamic-based Palestinian state in areas currently known as the West Bank, Gaza, and Israel. The United States and European union have both named Hamas a terrorist organization due to the fact Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s military wing, has conducted violent actions against Israeli civilian targets, improvised roadside explosives, rocket attacks, and small-arms attacks. All of these are performed with the intention of being seen as anti-Israeli and Palestinian territories. Governments such as those of Syria and Iran as well as wealthy private individuals in Saudi Arabia and others in the Arab world support this group. They also benefit from Iran’s financial and political backing since the opportunity was realized to increase their influence in the region along with exporting the Islamic Revolution outside Iran, similar to what happened in Lebanon.

Are the people of the Islamic faith prone to violence? Do they seek it? Is that their goal? Is that how they show their faith? For decades America has feared those who do not share the same likeness as it does. Of course it is the melting pot, but America’s media sure does make it difficult nowadays, even fifty years ago, to accept those of another race. America is always on it’s toes when it comes to those of different backgrounds, even when it seems so accepting. Muslims have caught this for years, especially after 9/11, people love to put every Muslims in one category…….. Terrorists. Not all Muslims are terrorist, but all terrorist are Muslims, everyone of us has heard this wild statement right? I wholeheartedly blame the media (not just news outlets) for this horrible misconception. They know the general public takes everything they say or do not say and make it a one hundred percent fact without any research. And yet they still continue to make such strong accusations/stereotypes.

Terrorism can be seen as a consolidation of war and theatre, which makes it a performance of the most arranged kind of violence that which is purposely executed on national non-combatant victims, frolicked in front of onlookers in the anticipation of generating a disposition of fear or for governmental purposes.

Module two highlighted the need for a greater understanding of how to recognize terrorism and what resources can be utilized to strengthen communities. A strong capability to perform hazard and threat assessments can go a long way in helping a community take preventive and protective measure in the fight against terrorism. Fighting terrorism is a combination of several tools and activities aimed at improving response capabilities and reducing the risks from attacks.