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Why Has Terrorism Become Such an Important Issue over the Last 40 Years?

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WHY HAS TERRORISM BECOME SUCH AN IMPORTANT ISSUE OVER THE LAST 40 YEARS?

There are many reasons why terrorism has become such an important issue over the last 40 years. In this paper I will be exploring the answers to this question through three related topics; 1) the threat from terrorism; 2) why people join terrorist groups and; 3) dealing with terrorism. I will be using the sources provided and historical facts related to three groups; the IRA, the PLO and Al-Qaeda.
Section 1 – The threat from terrorism
Terrorism has been defined in many ways and not everyone agrees with any one definition. The UK government defines it as: “The threat of, for the purpose of advancing a political, religious or ideological cause, of action which involves …show more content…

Although both are personal opinions, they are from opposite sides of the conflict and support each other.
It also is well documented that the people who joined the IRA wanted Northern Ireland to be independent just like Southern Ireland after it became independent in 1916. The IRA‘s own stated aims were to defend their nation, to remove British troops from N. Ireland and to make it a part of the rest of Ireland as one country.
People join al-Qaeda for various reasons loosely connected with fighting foreign occupiers, political motivations and religious ideology. One of the main reasons why people join al-Qaeda is to fight America and other western governments who are seen as invaders or aggressors against Muslim lands and their populations. They also strongly focus on the US backed occupation of Palestine and the Al-Aqsa mosque (in Jerusalem) by Israel and the US troops that are based in Saudi Arabia home to the holiest mosque in Islam. This has been supported by statements from al-Qaeda itself. This is also supported by source 10 a statement by Osama bin Laden made in 1998. After pointing out the political and military injustices of the ‘Americans and their allies’ he quotes verses from the Quran to back his argument for Muslims to kill Americans and their allies. Source 4 is a similar statement made by al-Qaeda which further proves the motives. Whilst these are

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