The Truth Behind Terrorism

841 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: essay on the definition of terrorism

When the word “terrorism” is mentioned, one might think about weapons of mass destruction such as bombs and nuclear weapons. But that is not the case presently; terrorism now taken different forms. Terrorism could be observed on a small scale: bullying at school, or on a much larger scale: kidnappings and suicide bombings. Terrorism is defined as “the deliberate use of violence or threat of its use against innocent people with the aim of intimidating them” (Primoratz 129). Terrorism does not bring any positive aspects to society; it kills a person or his/her spirit and also bring great fear and worry to others. For these reasons, terrorism must be stopped before the population of the world declines, people become scared to leave their homes, and countries of the world are not able to make any progress.
According to the National Counterterrorism Center, about 79,466 people were killed as a result of worldwide terrorism. Victims of these terrorist acts are usually unlucky people at the wrong place at the wrong time. The 1998 United States embassy bombings in Tanzania and Kenya resulted in a lot of deaths to lives of innocent civilians. Most victims, civilians in the area at the time and workers in the embassy had no connection to the government of the United States (Fridell 13). This proves that most people who get killed in terrorist attacks do not deserve their lives cut short as they likely pose no sort of threat to the terrorists. These people are innocent citizens. Osama Bin Laden, former leader of Al Qaeda admitted that terrorists do kill innocent citizens: “We do not have to differentiate between military or civilian. As far as we are concerned, they are all targets” (Fridell 13). This shows that terrorists are just interes...

... middle of paper ...

...ec. 2013.
Fridell, Ron. Terrorism: Political Violence at Home and Abroad. New Jersey :
Enslow Publishers, Incorporated, 2001. 112. Print.
Gabriel, Mark. ISLAM and TERRORISM. Florida: Front Line, 2002. 33-41. Print.
Hartocollis, Anemona. “10 Years and a Diagnosis Later, 9/11 Demons Haunt Thousands.” New
York Times 09 August 2011, n. pag. Web. 8 Jan. 2014.
Jamieson, Alison. Terrorism. New York: Thomson Learning, 1995. Print.
National Counterterrorism Center: Annex of Statistical Information." U.S. Department of
State. U.S. Department of State, 31 July 2012. Web. 06 Jan. 2014.
Primoratz, Igor. “What Is Terrorism?.” Journal of Applied Philosophy 7.2 (1990) : 129–
138. Web Document.
"Post-traumatic Stress Disorder." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 08 Jan. 2014.
Stewart, Gail B. Understanding Issues: Terrorism. California: KidHaven Press, 2002. Print.

Show More
Related

  • Terrorism is Wrong

    615 Words  | 2 Pages

    To support his claim, McPherson argues there is nothing morally relevant to make a distinction between terrorism and conventional war waged by states. In other words, from the moral angel, there is no difference between terrorism and conventional war. Both two types of political violence have some common natures related to morality like posing threat to civilian lives. McPherson argues that conventional war usually causes more casualties and produces fear widely among noncombatants. He focuses on defending the claim that terrorists sometimes do care about noncombatants and proportionality. This viewpoint infers that terrorists do not merely intent to do harm to civilians. As a matter of fact, they sometimes put civilian interests in the first place. Those terrorists caring the victims would not resor...

    Read More

  • The World Trade Center Bombing

    1597 Words  | 4 Pages

    It’s a normal day at work when suddenly there is an explosion, trapping hundreds of people inside collapsing buildings covered in rubble. Coworkers, friends, and family are gone, never to be seen again, lost to senseless acts of terrorism. In 1993, 1998, and 2000, these events came to pass in the form of terrorist bombings on U.S. targets across the globe. The World Trade Center complex was a symbol of wealth and prosperity, but quickly became the target for radical Muslims and was attacked early in 1993. Despite this attack, the American people did not think that the terrorist organization behind the attack, al-Qaeda, was much of a threat, failing to properly respond to the attack and prepare for the future. Five years later and across the globe, another bombing occurred. This attack targeted the U.S. embassies in the African countries of Kenya and Tanzania. Again, the U.S. was distracted from the incident and did not react in a proper manner. Finally, in 2000, the U.S. was again subjected to a terrorist attack, this time on a naval warship docked in Yemen. The country again looked on in horror as the unthinkable happened, leaving people to again question their safety. Although these attacks on American targets were devastating, the United States should have learned from its mistakes to better prepare and defend against the September 11th attacks.

    Read More

  • Historical Significance Of Flight 93

    1244 Words  | 3 Pages

    19 militants from al-Qaeda carried suicide attacks towards the United States. Two of the planes hit the towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, making the towers to fall down. A third plane hit the Pentagon just outside Washington, D.C., and the fourth plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania which didn’t reach its goal which was the Capitol. As a result from this tremendous attack over 3,000 people died in New York City and Washington D.C.

    Read More

  • The Death Penalty: A Violation of 8th Amendment

    640 Words  | 2 Pages

    For example, Ted Bundy and terrorists like Oklahoma City bomber, Timothy McVeigh who have committed serious crimes. Furthermore, during the first decade of the 21st century there were 26 percent more executions in the U.S. than in the 20th century. For instance, during the same time period, the U.S. murder rate decreased by 24 percent (Marquis, 22). However, how would you know if someone was innocent or not? What if they had been framed by the actual killer? That’s why it would take a long and complex process to find out whether that person had not committed such crime. Therefore, innocent people could be put to death for doing no such crimes.

    Read More

  • Emile Durkheim Ideas on Terrorism

    662 Words  | 2 Pages

    I will start with what the terrorists did. The negative feeling they had against the American people did not develop over night. These feelings had been simmering for a long period of time to form what Durkeim would call their “collective consciousness”. A collective consciousness is the collective representations and sentiments that guide and bind together any social group. (Allan p. 109) They committed suicide. Durkeim would call this Altruistic Suicide. The people who committed these horrible acts had a high group attachment. They took their own life for what they thought was to the benefit of their own group. Durkeim says that when there is high group attachment the life of the individual is not as meaningful. The group becomes his or her only reality. The terrorists obtained their effervescence or emotional energy from a common misinterpretation of their religious text, the Koran. They believed they were doing what they needed to do to please their GOD, Allah. Allah and the misinterpreted Islamic faith became their symbol that gave them the necessary effervescence to not only kill millions...

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On 9/11

    520 Words  | 2 Pages

    3,000 people were killed in the attacks(CNET). The government would not plot to kill 3,000 people on their own country. The world trade center was the largest loss of life from a foreign attack(CNET). That is what terrorists do, target busy places to try and kill as many people as possible, not something the government does. Out of the 3,000 victims, 1200 have yet to be identified(CNN). When the bombings were occurring, they weren't just hurting the victims, they were also hurting friends, kids, family, parents, that is something that terrorists would want to do.

    Read More

  • Understanding Terrorism: International and Domestic Perspectives

    1108 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Module one, I learned that terrorism is a result of physical harm or deadly acts of force with the intent of a political outcome by the use of terror for coercion. There are various types of terrorism such as international terrorism and domestic terrorism. International terrorism occurs outside of the United States with a purpose to influence the policy of a government by intimidation. International and Domestic terrorism both involve violent acts dangerous to human life that violate federal and state laws. Domestic terrorism occurs within the United States with the intention of coercion or intimidation by way of mass destruction, etc. Some forms of terrorism include Improvised explosive devices (IED), kidnappings, suicide bombings and

    Read More

  • Is State Terrorism '?: Is State Terrorism A Valid Concept?

    1279 Words  | 3 Pages

    The threat of global terrorism continues to rise with the total number of deaths reaching 32,685 in 2015, which is an 80 percent increase from 2014 (Global Index). With this said, terrorism remains a growing, and violent phenomenon that has dominated global debates. However, ‘terrorism’ remains a highly contested term; there is no global agreement on exactly what constitutes a terror act. An even more contested concept is whether to broaden the scope of terrorism to include non-state and state actors.

    Read More

  • Organized Crime And Terrorism Essay

    1166 Words  | 3 Pages

    Terrorism has successfully been able to flourish due to the three main types of terrorism (Revolutionary, Religious and Separatist/Anti-colonist). By means of a bigger purpose, these various reasons for terrorism have created a bigger sense of fear for the public. Knowing what is happing, how it can be explained is a good way of assessing the issue of terrorism. It forms a coping organism for the government in regarding to creating prevention legislation. But unlike organized crime, terrorism has been proven to be difficult to control due to the foreign powers controlling it. It is a serious issue in America, and the World that America is a part

    Read More

  • What is the Definition of Terrorism?

    420 Words  | 1 Pages

    The word terror dates back to the French Revolution. “A terrorist was, in its original meaning, a Jacobin who ruled France during la Terruer” (Moeller 20). Terrorism has clearly become much broader in the years since its origination. Since the concept was first birthed in France it has been used for separatist, nationalistic, political and religious ends, etc. In the book “Packaging Terrorism”, author Susan Moeller states that, “the goal of terrorism is to send a message, not to defeat the enemy”.

    Read More

  • Research Essay: Can Terrorism Ever Be Justified?

    1685 Words  | 4 Pages

    Justifying innocent slaughter suggests that terrorists believe that political or religious conflicts are more prominent than a segment of typically uninvolved humans. Not only does terrorism cause deaths, but it also negatively affects a country’s economy and religion. Terrorism causes more problems than “solving” problems terrorists may have. The first reason for asserting that terrorism cannot be justified is the slaughter of innocent people, which isn’t moral. Whether people uninvolved are killed isn‘t a concern to terrorists.

    Read More

  • Terrorism in the 21st Century

    3445 Words  | 7 Pages

    The word terrorism was first used during the French Revolution from the reign of terror inflicted by the French from 1784-1804 ("International Affairs"). It was used to describe the violent acts perpetrated on the French that inflicted terror on the various peoples and instilled fear within them. However, at the time it had a more positive connotation than the term that instills fear today. During the French Revolution this was because it referred to state-sponsored terrorism in order to show the need of state instead of anarchy, sometimes promoted by other groups (Hoffman 2). Therefore, even though terrorism has taken a new nature, terrorism can refer to official governments or guerrilla groups operating outside national governments ("International Affairs"). In order to encompass terrorism’s various sectors and explain it to the public, in both positive and negative aspects, many analysts have tried to put it into a few words. Terrorism is a method used by tightly of loosely organized groups operation within states or international territories that are systematic in using deliberate acts of violence or threats in order to instill...

    Read More

  • Political Violence

    2055 Words  | 5 Pages

    Terrorism has many forms, and many definitions. “Elements from the American definitional model define terrorism as a premeditated and unlawful act in which groups or agents of some principal engage in a threatened or actual use o...

    Read More

  • The Methodology of Terrorism

    4279 Words  | 9 Pages

    Terrorism is one of the most extensively discussed issues of our time and at the same time it is also one of the least understood. The term itself “terrorism” means many different things to different people, cultures, and races. As a result, trying to define or classify terrorism with one universal definition is nearly impossible. The definition of terrorism used in this research is a reflection of much of the Western and American way of defining it. The definition of terrorism is,

    Read More

  • The Issue Of Terrorism: Terrorism As A Controversial Issue

    1303 Words  | 3 Pages

    In this world there are many different topics of controversy. With every controversial topic comes different views and arguments explaining why people believe what they do. There are problems that can be just within one country or throughout the entire world. Terrorism affects everyone in the world, specifically us as Americans, which is why it is one of the biggest controversial topics. Of course with a topic as big as terrorism, there are emic and etic perspectives involved. With past history, there are specific countries and religions that we think of when we hear the word terrorism, specifically Afghanistan, located in the Middle East and the Muslim religion in that general area. Being part of the American

    Read More

More about The Truth Behind Terrorism

Open Document