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
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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
Terrorism is an act that threatens or carries out violence with the intention to disrupt, kill or coerce against a body or nation in order to impose will. This means that a lot of groups use this method to get what they want. The groups use a variety of methods, groups such as:
After the first world war the leaders of europe came together to discuss the boundaries of europe. British rule decided to separate ireland into two sides. North Ireland was created when the british government of Ireland Act in 1920 divided Ireland into two areas; the Irish Free State and the Northern Ireland Roman Catholics, who made up around one-third of the population of Northern Ireland, were largely opposed to the separation. The British took over , but only after many revolts and riots against them from the people of ireland. In 1969 the IRA (Irish Republican Army) was formed. They were a Catholic Irish nationalist group that used guerrilla tactics like bombings and assassinations to oppose British rule and oppression in Ireland. Their main goal was to fight the british that took over their home. The IRA would Fight using guerilla and terrorist tactics including bombings, assassinations, kidnappings, punishment beatings, extortion, smuggling, and robberies. But over time the IRA became more of a dangerous militia then patriots defending their home.
Terrorism is a word that is widely used in modern society even though most people don’t know the real definition and the meaning behind it.
There is no single, universally accepted definition to define terrorism but the U. S. Code of federal regulations defines it as any violent act or acts dangerous to human life that violates the criminal laws of the U.S. or any State or that would be a criminal violation if committed within the jurisdiction of the U.S. or any State. (18 U.S.C § 2331). The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) divides terrorist attacks that face the U.S. into two broad categories - international and domestic. (18.U.S.C. § 2331).
There is no single, universally accepted definition to define terrorism but the U. S. Code of federal regulations define it as any violent act or acts dangerous to human life that violates the criminal laws of the U.S. or any State or that would be a criminal violation if committed within the jurisdiction of the U.S. or any State. (18 U.S.C § 2331). The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) divides terrorist attacks that face the U.S. into two broad categories - international and domestic. (18.U.S.C. § 2331).
When discussing terrorism, the groups which most frequently come to mind are those which operate either internationally or specifically in foreign countries, such as al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, Al Shabab. However, the United States has a number of domestic terror groups some well-organized, some loosely connected that have perpetrated serious attacks over the last few decades. Al-Qaeda's attacks on September 11th, 2001, and the subsequent wars born out of the United States' response to these attacks have meant that domestic terrorism is less widely discussed topic, this does not mean that domestic terrorist groups do not present a serious threat to the United States and its citizens. By examining known terrorist organizations within the United States and their classifications, it will be possible to demonstrate how and why the country has seen a rise in domestic terror over the last three decades, as well as some possible government responses to these groups that could help to prevent individuals from joining in the first place.
The Merriam Webster dictionary defines terrorism as the use of violence, or threatened use of violence, in order to achieve a political or religious goal. Terrorism is committed by groups that view themselves as victimized by a historical wrong. These groups of people will most likely have no formal connection to the government. Terrorism comes from the Reign of Terror initiated by Maximilen Robespierre during the French Revolution. The beginning of terrorism goes all the way back to the first
Terrorism has been around since at least the First Century. Terrorism is a crime in which people or groups of people use, or say they will use, violence in order to get what they want from the government or society. A terrorist is a person who uses violence and fear to achieve political
The overwhelming majority of the world’s nations, including United States are signatories to at least one international agreement that condemns terrorism. The question comes to mind as why terrorism is growing and not coming to an end, and what are the intentions of the terrorist groups. There are many factors in the development of domestic terrorisms, however, there are several causes on the growing terrorism and there is a need to find the principal factors responsible for causing this growing threat. In addition, it is important to save the world and to save our next generation from being victims in the hands of terrorism. Many are the risk factors involved in the development of domestic terrorism. Additionally, it is important to remember that terrorism is a tactic practiced by people from a wide array of ethnic and religious backgrounds who follow various ideologies extending from anarchism to
Due to its changing nature and different political viewpoints, terrorism is hard to define. Most definitions tend to include some form of fear created through an act of violence. While violence is the tactic, the goal is fear which will serve to create a desired change as a result. However, this definition has not always been appropriate for terrorism. Take for instance the words of Edmund Burke, a British philosopher, who described the situation in France in the 18th century French Revolution as a “Reign of Terror,” (White, Jonathan. 2013. "Defining Terrorism in Modern History." In Terrorism and Homeland Security 3-27, Wadsworth Centage Learning pp 7). In this time period terrorism was a word of the people in describing the brutal tactics of the government which were meant to keep the people in line. Because one time period is looking at
Al Qaeda believes in this thing called “The Oppressors” Meaning “The one who oppresses others should fear Allah and beware of transgression, because it will be counted as multiples of transgressions on the Day of Resurrection: one for him disobeying Allah, another for him oppressing his fellow Muslim, and a third for initiating and opening the gate of transgression and oppression for others to imitate. The wronged person could even eventually die as a result of the oppression, and the transgressor would bear the consequences of this.” (IslamWeb, Apr 2013, Ph.1) Al Qaeda basically believes if you are not with them, then you are against them meaning you support the oppressor. Al Qaeda has been and always will continue to attempt to create a revolution of the uprising of the oppressed through the masses of messages and threats. Religion is Al Qaeda’s main go to for any reasoning behind their violence. Goals and Objectives always seem to be based on the currently leader of Al Qaeda. Like mentioned previously, Osama Bin Laden was Al Qaeda’s last known leader and he was killed on May 22, 2011 in Pakistan. After being a huge wanted target for the United States of America for nearly a decade long, it has almost been about 5 years since a group of US Navy Seals assassinated him during a night-raid on a compound in Pakistan. “President Barack Obama, who monitored the raid in real
In 1999 there was said to be a huge increase that focused on the terrorism in the United States (fbi.gov). Even though this focus was on terrorism in general, it was mainly focused on the domestic terrorist. Eight of the ten terrorist incidents were those domestic terrorisms that year in the United States. There were seven plots that were prevented by law enforcers this year and in 1998 there were twelve. The seven that occurred in 1999 were because of the Animal Liberation Front also known as ALF. All of these led to financial damages that ended up being more than three million dollars (fbi.gov).
The IRA or ( Irish Republican Army ) is an organization that is Catholics and they are wanting freedom from the rule of England in Ireland. The IRA is small and deadly “shadow” paramilitary organization based in Ireland that is trying to fight back against England. Since 1969 there have been over 3,500 deaths under British rule. The majority of the deaths have been civilians. The British should not have control over Ireland.
So what is the definition of terrorism, they are many varied descriptions and ideas of what people have labelled as terrorism, for
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, terrorism is defined as “the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion.” Meaning, if one were to cause terror to achieve a specific goal,