Methods and Motives Behind Terrorist Attacks

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The 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 (fbi.gov).” By this definition, terrorism can be classified as internal or international based on the overall intent of the attack. Terrorism has been around since the beginning of time, but it’s only since 2011 that the world has come to fully understand the meaning of terrorism. The following paragraphs will highlight four different types of terrorist attacks that all took place within the United States spanning over a 40 year time period.
One of the more famous stories of our times is the 1996 arrest of Theodore Kaczynski, also known as the unibomber. From 1978 until his arrest April 3, 1996, the unibomber killed three, injured 22, and terrorized millions more. The unibomber, which actually comes from the case name assigned to him by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), was known as UNiversities and Airlines BOMbings (UNABOM) as Kaczynski targeted universities and airlines specifically (FBI.gov). Kaczynski left his “signature” in every pipe bomb he sent out; every bomb contained wood fragments along with the initials FC standing for Freedom Club (Crimelibrary.com). The motives for t this reign of 17 years is still uncertain as a plea bargain was reached before the trial started. Kaczynski was not a supporter of technology and thus targeted those professors at universities in New York, California and Utah that not only used this new technology, such as computers, he targeted those who were advocates and supporters of it. Kaczynski admitted to having a troubled childhood filled with mental and ...

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