Terrorism is a Means of Serving Political Goals

Right-wing terrorism, also referred to as vigilante terrorism is defined as “Vigilante terrorism includes right-wing terrorism aimed at "restoring" the political relationships of an earlier time or realizing social objectives that are neglected or discounted in the contemporary world” (Professor Cadigan, 2015, Week 4 lecture). There is also left-wing terrorism, which is referred to as insurgent terrorism is explained as “forcing change through terrorist acts” (Professor Cadigan, 2015, Week 4 lecture). Left-wing terrorism has been around since the 1960s to 1970s.

Domestic terrorism has played a major part in shaping the societies of the United States. The ideologies of individuals can become radicalized. This can lead to a movement. This movement involves the infliction of fear upon the communities, in attempt to make it a better world. It is critical to examine the events created by one man’s extreme ideologies in effort to better understand.

Maureen, who immigrated from Montreal, Quebec in 1995 moved to the United States for personal, political, and economic reasons. She was in pursuit of a better life for herself and her family and wanted to escape the growing linguistic and cultural intolerance of Quebec society.

The perpetrators of terrorism have changed over time. Domestic terrorism has its roots in the United States going back to the Colonial Era, where some argue that patriots such as in the Boston Tea Party used terror tactics to spread their message (Zalman, 2015). Many argue that the acts patriots took were

The word “terrorism” was first used during the French Revolution when British statesman Edmond Burke used the term to describe the actions of the Jacobin-dominated French government. Under the leadership of Maximilien Robespierre, thousands of people that were said to be enemies of the state were put on trial and then executed by use of the guillotine (O 'Connor, 2006). However, since the inception of the word, it has taken on a new meaning. One can now hear the word “terrorism” and be overcome by anger or even fear. Terrorism now seems to have turned to attacks against a government rather

Sparked by the Versailles Peace Treaty, the second wave of terrorism began. The second wave, also known as the anti-colonial wave, is where terrorism campaigns were fought over political problems where it would look too weak to back out. The third wave, or “New Left,” began after the Vietnam War. The New Left was the beginning of hijackings with the mix of the first wave’s radical and nationalistic intentions. The second wave includes groups, such as the PLO and FLN, whereas the New Left includes the Weather Underground and the Red Brigades. Each group has their own objective, strategy, and support which made them stronger.

In acquiring an accurate perspective of terrorist threats to the United States it is ease to forgo the concept of terrorist threats prior to September 11th, 2001, or that domestic terrorism exists. Prior to the current onslaught of religiously fanatical terrorist threats that the United States is facing a different form of terrorist threat existed in the form of political ideology. While some domestic terrorist groups are well known such as the KKK and the Black Panthers, other groups such as the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA) and the Weather Underground Organization (WUO) terrorist organizations have faded with time. Due to the current turmoil and political divides facing the nation, a rejuvenated understanding of these less mainstream

In the late Nineteenth Century, Europe, and to a more limited extent the United States, was beset by various acts of terror perpetrated by people broadly identifying or identified as anarchists in some form. While individual motives and ideologies often varied wildly from instance to instance of anarchist terror, the anarchists (as well as more thoroughly derived utopian ideologues like socialists and communists) were driven by desire to radically change the deplorable societal conditions facing the masses of the working class poor. While many anarchists were not violent in nature, taking more academic and traditional political routes in their quest for change, terrorists were prevalent among those who fell under the anarchist umbrella, and

Dailymail.co.uk says that over 32,000 people died in 2014 alone (Dailymail 1). Terrorism can be interpreted many different ways. From the terrorist’s standpoint, terrorism is a helpful tool used to promote their way of life and to keep their people in line. From a pacifist’s point of view, terrorism is a dangerous thing, but should be left alone unless it is targeted toward them. From an activist’s point of view, terrorism is too dangerous to be left alone and must stop before it spreads. No matter what point of view it is being seen at, terrorism is dangerous and has ended the lives of too many citizens and soldiers.

Acts of terrorism are typically political oriented and ideologically motivated, ranging from specific goals expressed in terms of the might of political nation-states to more general purposes connected to the dilemma of certain people and groups. Therefore, terrorism can result from demands made by ethnic groups to receive representation in an existing political community or have its own state be formed, while terrorism can also be part of ideological fights for the acknowledgment of diminished expressions of ideas and ways of life. Because of the essentially political ideological objectives of terrorism, the fundamental ideas of terrorism are important to consider as the inspiring forces that fuel terrorist groups and individuals.

The Weatherman, an organization that is now known as the Weather Underground, was organized in 1969 as a faction of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) that broke with Progressive Labor. They had a specific goal which was to create a clandestine revolutionary party for the overthrow of the U.S. government. The attempts to achieve this was having campaigns of bombings on government buildings through the 1970’s and then it was taking part in actions of Timothy Leary’s jailbreak. Leary has been described as the “most dangerous man in America”. He has been arrested enough to see the inside of 29 different prisons worldwide. With some early events contrived in a three day chaos called the Days of Rage, a series of direct actions by the WUO in

Terrorism is the systematic use of violence and intimidation in the pursuit of the political aims. The events that have occurred in the 1700's turned the patriots into a party of rebels that began sending alarming threats to the colonists and the King.

In order for the United States of America and its allies to live a life free of terrorist threats, they need to counter violent extremism and terrorism with swift and deliberate prevention efforts world-wide.

In the 20th century, terrorism continued to be associated with a vast array of anarchist, socialist, fascist and nationalist groups, many of them engaged in ‘third world’

Political terrorism, or right-wing militants, tend to follow an extreme authoritarian ideology and conduct anti-government activities. "Political terrorists in the United States tend to be heavily armed groups organized around such themes as white supremacy, Nazism, militant tax resistance, and religious revisionism."(5) Two of the more famous incidents in the United States are the Oklahoma City Bombing and the Branch Davidian cult standoff in Waco, Texas.