Terrorism: Challenges Before Humanities

Terrorism: Challenges Before Humanities

What is Terrorism:

Terrorism is the use of fear and acts of violence in order to intimidate societies or governments. Many different types of social or political organizations might use terrorism to try to achieve their goals. People who do terrorism are called terrorists.

It is difficult to explain terrorism. Terrorism has no official criminal law definition at the international level. Common definitions of terrorism refer to violent acts which are intended to create fear (terror); are done for a religious, political, or ideological goal; and which target civilians. Some definitions now include acts of unlawful violence and war. The use of similar tactics by criminal gangs is not usually called terrorism, though these same actions may be called terrorism when done by a politically motivated group.

History of Terrorism:

Terrorist acts or the threat of such action have been in existence for millennia. Despite having a history longer than the modern nation-state, the use of terror by governments and those that contest their power remains poorly understood. While the meaning of the word terror itself is clear, when it is applied to acts and actors in the real world it becomes confused. Part of this is due to the use of terror tactics by actors at all levels in the social and political environment. Is the Unabomber, with his solo campaign of terror, a criminal, terrorist, or revolutionary?

 Can he be compared to the French revolutionary governments who coined the word terrorism by instituting systematic state terror against the population of France in the 1790s, killing thousands? Are either the same as revolutionary terrorist groups such as the Baader-Mienhof Gang of West Germany or the Weather Underground in the United States?

So we see that distinctions of size and political legitimacy of the actors using terror raise questions as to what is and is not terrorism. The concept of moral equivalency is frequently used as an argument to broaden and blur the definition of terrorism as well. This concept argues that the outcome of an action is what matters, not the intent. Collateral or unintended damage to civilians from an attack by uniformed military forces on a legitimate military target is the same as a terrorist bomb directed deliberately at the civilian target with the intent of creating that damage.

Simply put, a car bomb on a city street and a jet fighter dropping a bomb on a tank are both acts of violence that produce death and terror. Therefore (at the extreme end of this argument) any military action is simply terrorism by a different name. This is the reasoning behind the famous phrase "One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter". It is also a legacy of legitimizing the use of terror by successful revolutionary movements after the fact.

The very flexibility and adaptability of terror throughout the years has contributed to the confusion. Those seeking to disrupt, reorder or destroy the status quo have continuously sought new and creative ways to achieve their goals. Changes in the tactics and techniques of terrorists have been significant, but even more significant are the growth in the number of causes and social contexts where terrorism is used.

 Over the past 20 years, terrorists have committed extremely violent acts for alleged political or religious reasons. Political ideology ranges from the far left to the far right. For example, the far left can consist of groups such as Marxists and Leninists who propose a revolution of workers led by a revolutionary elite. On the far right, we find dictatorships that typically believe in a merging of state and business leadership.

Nationalism is the devotion to the interests or culture of a group of people or a nation. Typically, nationalists share a common ethnic background and wish to establish or regain a homeland.

Religious extremists often reject the authority of secular governments and view legal systems that are not based on their religious beliefs as illegitimate. They often view modernization efforts as corrupting influences on traditional culture.

Special interest groups include people on the radical fringe of many legitimate causes; e.g., people who use terrorism and extremism to uphold antiabortion views, animal rights, radical environmentalism. These groups believe that violence is morally justifiable to achieve their goals.

                    

Types of Terrorism:

Depending on the country, the political system, and the time in history, the types of terrorism is varying.

In early 1975, the Law Enforcement Assistant Administration in the United States formed the National Advisory Committee on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals. One of the five volumes that the committee wrote was titled Disorders and Terrorism, produced by the Task Force on Disorders and Terrorism under the direction of H. H. A. Cooper, Director of the Task Force staff.[73] The Task Force classified terrorism into six categories.

§  Civil disorder – A form of collective violence interfering with the peace, security, and normal functioning of the community.

§  Political terrorism – Violent criminal behavior designed primarily to generate fear in the community, or substantial segment of it, for political purposes.

§  Limited political terrorism – Genuine political terrorism is characterized by a revolutionary approach; limited political terrorism refers to "acts of terrorism which are committed for ideological or political motives but which are not part of a concerted campaign to capture control of the state.

§  Official or state terrorism – "referring to nations whose rule is based upon fear and oppression that reach similar to terrorism or such proportions". It may also be referred to as Structural Terrorism defined broadly as terrorist acts carried out by governments in pursuit of political objectives, often as part of their foreign policy.

§  Data-terrorism – "The unjust storage or use of private information for economic, political or personal gains". Commonly seen in governments and countries like the United States, Canada and Australia. Large corporations such as Facebook are also guilty of using user data without confirming explicit user knowledge and consent to do so when joining.

§  Passive terrorism - (passive + terrorism) is an, inert or quiescent behavior towards terrorism; an inaction, non-reaction, non-participation, non-involvement in countering terrorism. Passive terrorism describes a behavior of general public or government which silently allows the spread or promotion of terrorism by turning a blind eye or tolerating terrorism. Passive terrorism prevails when there is no deliberate effort or decision to either counter it or raise voice against it.

[Passive terrorism term hasn’t been widely defined or discussed openly as yet and has just been recently emerging in the wake of recent ongoing terrorism activities against or in the countries like Pakistan]

Causes of Terrorism:

All terrorist acts are motivated by two things:

n  Social and political injustice: People choose terrorism when they are trying to right what they perceive to be a social or political or historical wrong—when they have been stripped of their land or rights, or denied these.

n  The belief that violence or its threat will be effective, and usher in change. Another way of saying this is: the belief that violent means justify the ends. Many terrorists in history said sincerely that they chose violence after long deliberation, because they felt they had no choice.

Poverty and Economic Problems Due To Globalization:

A more important factor may be the social stratification Williams is referring to and inequalities in the distribution of scarce resources. Problems usually identified were notions on the lack of exactly defined economic factors influencing the decision to resort to political conflict and the "tolerance for inequality". Say, one dismisses the inconclusive research results and assumes that it is a (major) cause fuelling terrorism - proof by contradiction: roughly 15% of the population consumes 85% of the resources; UN statistics show that citizens in the Third World are worse off now than 30 years ago, while a small faction in those countries enriched themselves. If either one of them is true, the West ought to be continuously subject to terrorist acts by (a small group representing) people from these Third World countries. But there is no huge mass uprising of the vast majority of the world population against the few in Western states, nor continuous terrorist attacks carried out by Third World citizens against the West. In fact, the amount of terrorist incidents declined in the 1990s.

Proving injustice being done by structural violence is considerably more difficult than an overt assault on a country or discrimination of a target group, and even if one succeeds in convincing one's own group, they will likely stumble upon resorting to terrorist methods, not possessing sufficient assets to purchase and develop so-called 'weapons of mass destruction'. Exploration of Globalization, Inequality and the Third World from another direction and explores the possible links between economic affluence and a stable liberal democracy, thereby assuming that it would reduce incidence of terrorism. However, at the same time asserting the fact that liberal democracy "has proved little more successful than other forms of political systems in overcoming the relative weakness of the state in many Third World societies" and that economic development is a more important factor to maintain law and order.

Religion:

In line with either dehumanization, or with previously outlined ethnicity and democracy or both, is religion as a cause for terrorism put forward, 'Muslim fanatics in the Middle East' in particular. Research provides a simplification: democracy is declared un-Islamic by all ideologues of Islamic terrorism, Islamists hate capitalism and believe in a new Caliphate (who will lead the community of Muslims worldwide) and oppose individualism. Statistics reveal two relevant intriguing facets. People believed that the one social factor that does have some detectable correlation with war is religion and nations that differ in religion are more likely to fight than those that share the same religion. Moreover, some sects seem generally to be more bellicose, but these effects are not large.

Bear in mind though, that there are also a 'disproportionate' amount Christians. In turn, it can be argued that there are many Christians exactly because they 'seem generally to be more bellicose'.

9/11 (WTC)

On September 11, 2001, a succession of four coordinated assaults was launched by the al-Qaeda in the New York City and Washington DC areas. Four planes were hijacked by 19 men and two of those planes, American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175, collided into the north and south towers of the NYC World Trade Center, which collapsed within two hours and led to the destruction of nearby buildings as well. The third plane, American Flight 77, targeted the Pentagon in Virginia while the last one, United Airlines Flight 93 whose aim was the Capitol in DC, crashed into a field in Pennsylvania when the passengers tried to overpower the hijackers. These catastrophic events injured around 8,900 people and led to the deaths of 3,000 people.

1993 Bombay bombings

The 1993 Bombay bombings were a series of 13 bomb explosions that took place in Bombay (known now as Mumbai), Maharashtra, India on Friday, 12 March 1993. The coordinated attacks were the most destructive bomb explosions in Indian history. This was first of its kind serial-bomb-blasts across the world. The single-day attacks resulted in over 350 fatalities and 1200 injuries

Mumbai Train Bombings (2006)

On July 11, 2006, a series of 7 bomb blasts was heard on the Suburban Railway in Mumbai, which resulted in the death of 209 people and wounded 714 others. The bombs, which were inside pressure cookers to increase the after-burn thermo baric reaction were placed in the first-class compartments and exploded during the afternoon work rush-hour. Carried out by the Lashkar-e-Talban and the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI).

Terrorism is not affecting some of the countries in the world, terrorism is all over the world, in every way, shape, and form. Terrorism can be categorized in to two different groups, domestic and international. The biggest threat facing our nation is international terrorism. Terrorism can come in as many different styles as one can think and at any given time, usually when it is expected least. Terrorists attacks are not known to world recently, check below statistics for that:

Impact of Terrorism:

Terrorism poses a serious law and order problem and leads to disintegration of society. The incident of murder, torture, mutilation, kidnapping, arson and extortion create atmosphere of suspicion, fear and panic all around. Life becomes uncertain. The terrorists kill unarmed civilians including women and children.

Organized crime and violence cause social disharmony. The inter relationship among various insurgent groups and their foreign linkages bring illegal money and encourages smuggling. Many insurgent groups collect certain percentage of money from the employees and businessmen on regular basis. Economic development of the area comes to an end. Our government has to make heavy expenditure to meet the challenges of terrorism.

As you know after 9/11, there is big financial recession occurred who disturb the entire world.

Solutions for Terrorism

Terrorism is rather one of the most challenging problems now a day. The unfortunate reality is that terrorism has gone global and every world citizen is equally susceptible and vulnerable. It is difficult, perhaps impossible, to stop a determined individual who wants to commit an act of terrorism. There are various ways that can be used to reduce terrorism. Some of the methods are not viable solutions, but there are some things that can be done to limit the spread of terrorism/blunt the support for terrorism.

Stop the Flow of Terrorist Funds:

Stop the rich countries that fund construction of religious schools, without proper background checks. Pressure them through diplomatic channels to fund charities/religious schools only after proper verification and certification that they aren't indulging in any radical propaganda and brainwashing their students to wage holy wars. Also, improve banking laws at home as well as in developing countries to ensure that terrorists don't benefit from lax regulations and circumvent the system by getting funds to fund their terrorist plans.

Securing Defenses:

There is no alternative to this. Fact is there will always be people out there, who want to harm you, and it is upon you to defend your country/home by securing it as best you can. Stricter screening of people who come into your home would be required. This doesn't mean one has to close your doors to everyone; however, one should at least keep an eye out for undesirable radicals, who mean no good.

The Solution That Never will be:

 In closing, let's talk about a solution that never will be - that is a peaceful solution to terrorism. People who think that one can negotiate peace with terrorists are unfortunately living in a make-believe world. Honestly, what can you negotiate with terrorists? What are the negotiating points here? What can we offer to them, and what would they accept? Some terror groups, for example, want to see a world that is nothing like what we know of. Are we prepared to compromise and have them have their way on this? Should we turn back the clock and go back a few hundreds of years to a time when the dominant groups/peoples were different from those now? Many of these "brains" behind the most dangerous extremist groups want just that - their own utopian world governed by their own utopian laws. Some people just don't like the idea of "fighting." However, when you are confronted with an irrational enemy, who sees no sense or knows not what his/her aims really are, other than blowing up people because someone drilled that into them, what can you do but fight and fight hard and defend?

Counter-terrorism:

Counter-terrorism incorporates the practice, military tactics, techniques, and strategy that government, military, police, violent non-state actors and business organizations use to combat or prevent terrorism.

If terrorism is part of a broader insurgency, counter-terrorism may employ counter-insurgency measures. The United States Armed Forces use the term foreign internal defense for programs that support other countries in attempts to suppress insurgency, lawlessness, or subversion or to reduce the conditions under which these threats to security may develop.

Today, many countries have special units designated to handle terrorist threats. Besides various security agencies, there are elite tactical units, also known as special mission units, whose role is to directly engage terrorists and prevent terrorist attacks.

Such units perform both in preventive actions, hostage rescue and responding to on-going attacks. Countries of all sizes can have highly trained counter-terrorist teams. Tactics, techniques and procedures for man hunting are under constant development.

Most of these measures deal with terrorist attacks that affect an area, or threaten to do so. It is far harder to deal with assassination, or even reprisals on individuals, due to the short (if any) warning time and the quick infiltration of the assassins.

These units are specially trained in tactics and are very well equipped for CQB with emphasis on stealth and performing the mission with minimal casualties. The units include take-over force (assault teams), snipers, EOD experts, dog handlers and intelligence officers. See Counter-intelligence and counter-terrorism organizations for national command, intelligence, and incident mitigation.

The majority of counter-terrorism operations at the tactical level are conducted by state, federal and national law enforcement agencies or intelligence agencies. In some countries, the military may be called in as a last resort. Obviously, for countries whose military are legally permitted to conduct police operations, this is a non-issue, and such counter-terrorism operations are conducted by their military.

Conclusion:

Terrorism is a complex problem with many diverse causes. Consequently no single effective method to counter it exists. To combat terrorism, one must first understand the underlying motivations for each particular group's actions. Then a strategy needs to be developed based on those findings. Regardless, it is difficult to fight terrorism without endangering civil liberties, such as is the case in Northern Ireland. Many innocent people get caught in the cross-fire. Ending terrorist threats requires imaginative and fluid thinking, whether to attack the roots of terrorism or neutralize a particular group.