Since the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, “terrorism” has been a word that every American has used daily. It has been eleven years since these attacks, and our country is still at war, and we use terms like “acts of terror” to justify our invasion of their civilian space. Personally, I do not care much for conspiracy theories, but I was interested to know a little bit more about the Islamic culture that these “terrorists” stem from. While the majority of the population of Iraq and Afghanistan are practicing Muslims, they can not all be defined as “terrorists.” In all actuality, a lot of them may define Americans and other westernized countries with seemingly unlimited war powers as “terrorist” …show more content…
(“Various Definitions of Terrorism”)
The United States has many different definitions of terrorism in almost every government organization’s code. In Federal Criminal Code Title 18 of the United States defines terrorism and lists the crimes associated with terrorism. In Section 2331 of Chapter 113(B), defines terrorism as: …activities that involve violent… or life-threatening acts… that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State and… appear to be intended (i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population; (ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or (iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping; and…(C) occur primarily within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States…”
FBI definition of terrorism: The unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a Government, the civilian
The term terrorism is used widely in present day especially in the United States. Terrorism is a double standard, the people who commit those terrorist acts, commit the acts out of beliefs and in their eyes ok. Terrorism can be described as the illegitimate use of force to achieve a political objective by targeting innocent people (Laqueur, 1987). To me the definition mention above is a great definition to describe terrorism as a crime. To aim for innocent people to prove a point which lead major injuries or death in most cases is to most people would be a crime, no questions asked. According to Martha Crenshaw (1995), “Terrorism cannot be defined unless the act, target and possibility of success are analyzed”. So to think, terrorist are people who commit these acts as a way to get their political or religious point across. If we look at the some of the most famous terrorist acts they are automatically labeled crimes. 9/11 was a crime because the persons affiliated with the act, targeted the
International terrorism aspires to intimidate or coerce a civilian population, influence the policy of a government, or affect the conduct of a government and transcend national
What is Terrorism? The FBI definition of Terrorism is the unlawful use of force and violence against persons or property to intimate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives. The goals and objectives of terrorism can vary. They can used terrorism to gain money and power, or control over a government, or it can be used as a form of hate crime. There goal depends on what there objects is? For example if a small group is unhappy with there government they can use terrorism to try and change the government or take control of it. Another form of terrorism is the use of force to intimidate a certain group of people for money or power. Terrorism can also be used to
There are many different definitions of terrorism. Encyclopedia.com defines it very broadly as “the use of violence to further a political or social cause”. (2003). Another source states “Terrorism has been described variously as both a tactic and strategy; a crime and a holy duty; a justified reaction to oppression and an inexcusable abomination” (Terrorism Research, n.d.). Our unit one lecture reminded us of the adage “One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter” and pondered whether the Boston Tea Party could be viewed as an act of terrorism (Bethel University, 2017). Regardless of the exact definition one chooses to use, our nation faces a wide range of threats from those who intend to do us harm. The individuals and organizations who threaten us are as
What is considered terrorism? There are two definitions for terrorism in the FBI website. The first definitions we get is for International Terrorism “International terrorism: Perpetrated by individuals and/or groups inspired by or associated with designated foreign terrorist organizations or nations (state-sponsored).” The FBI also gives an example that being “the December 2, 2015 shooting in San Bernardino, CA, that killed 14 people and wounded 22 which involved a married couple who radicalized for some time prior to the attack and were inspired by multiple extremist ideologies and foreign terrorist organizations.” To explain the definition that is in the website, what they really mean is International Terrorism is when a group or individual,
The Central Intelligence Agency defines terrorism as “premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents” (CIA). This term was specifically created to differentiate terrorism between other acts of violence. These doings of terrorism are not just any act but are specific acts of violence. A dominant reason behind terrorism tends to fall upon religious beliefs and culture ties.
As defined by the Federal Bureau of Investigations, acts of terrorism can fit into one of two ways, domestic terrorism and international terrorism (FBI.gov). Although, there are two types, overall the FBI defines terrorism in general as a violent act intended to manipulate the civilian body, the government, and/or to involve putting people in danger on a federal or state level (FBI.gov). Meaning that someone (organization, government, institution, etc.) violently attacks someone else (government,
Furthermore, the term "terrorism" is defined by the Federal Bureau of Investigations 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 segment thereof in furtherance of political or social objectives” (Maniscalco, Christen, 2011).
The easy definition of terrorism is “the use of violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political aims.(Webster’s)” However the Federal Bureau of Investigation(FBI) uses more in depth definitions to define to separation between International terrorism verse Domestic terrorism. Domestic is defined by the FBI as “Activities involving acts dangerous to human life that violate federal or state law while
It is difficult to define the word terrorism because it means something different to everyone. The term has become controversial because terrorism contains violence and it is hard to determine when the use of violence is legitimate. One person may think an event was an act of terrorism while the group that committed the act felt they were justified in doing it. Within the United States, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Federal Emergency Management
Joseph Fitsanakis, there is also a comprehensive list of things that an act must fit to be terrorism by being: pre-planned, organized, methodical, rational, involve threat or violence, the targets must be indiscriminate, it achieves something concrete, has far-reaching goals, and it must support political or idealogical views, and have clear objectives. If any act of violence lacks one of these characteristics, then it can not be terrorism. After 9/11, an attack on American soil that took 2,977 lives in a series of hijacked airliners crashes into two U.S. landmarks, terrorism was given a broader definition, which outside of its original context has been a word formed to describe mostly people from the Middle East, unike the definition of terrorism points out. Historically, it would be impossible for all terrorists to be Muslims, and fear or ignorance keeps educated people from making well founded remarks about those that use terrorism. While it is true that there are those out there that are both Muslim and terrorists, it is untrue historically that all Muslims are terrorists.
There is not one commonly used definition for terrorism. Within the US government, each agency has its own definition, and around the world there are countless others. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) defines terrorism as “the unlawful use of force or 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.” (Federal Bureau of investigation 2016) This definition does a good job of using language that is all encompassing of the different types of terrorism that exist. Additionally, this definition is favorable because it makes mention of violence against civilians, not just the government.
We define terrorism as using force to influence or change a political decision. Given that there may be an array of situations the U.S. government and the American people are faced with on a daily basis, most would probably agree in saying that terrorism is the most imperative issue we are not only becoming victims to, but are interminably asked to deal with as well as finding a solution for.
Think of the word terrorism. What is the first thing that comes to mind? One might think of kidnapping, assassination, bombing, or even genocide and guerrilla warfare. Because it is such a broad and complex issue, an all-encompassing definition is hard to formulate. The United States Department of Defence defines terrorism as…
From the lips of the FBI, “Terrorism is the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objective.” On September 11, 2001 the United States of America experienced such actions, it was the largest terror attack experienced by any country. The affect this had on America was tremendous,