Suicide Terrorism: A Logical Choice?

1443 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Why people take suicides ielts topic

Robert Paper argues that, in a way, suicide terrorism can be a logical choice for the individual carrying out the attack. When contemplating whether or not suicide terrorism can be a logical choice, you must be able to put yourself in the place of the “terrorist”. Whether or not someone is considered a terrorist can be a very subjective view, especially from the viewpoint of the person or group that is being terrorized. This requires the observer to exude empathy.We may look at Osama Bin Laden as a terrorist, but to him, he was doing the work of his “God”. The person considered to be a terrorist could be revered as a martyr in their community; someone who ultimately gave their life to perpetuate a particular faith or ideal. While, being a citizen of a country that has endured many tragedies, both on the homefront and abroad; makes these actions disgust me, there are two sides to view from. This subjectiveness is at the heart of figuring out whether or not this is a logical choice. Exploration of this topic shall lead to a greater understanding of the “how” and “why” terrorists commit these devastating activities, and allow those defending from such attack be able to do so. This would allow further safety in the area of homeland security.
Unfortunately, the United States has experienced such attacks far too many times. One of the darkest of these experiences may be that of the terrorist attacks on 9/11. Including the attacks on both World Trade Centers, the Pentagon, and the failed attempt that crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. These attacks were later found to be the work of Al Qaeda under the leadership of Osama Bin Laden. These attacks would lead us on a crusade that would continue long over a decade, known as...

... middle of paper ...

...speration will cause the “illogical” to seem logical.

Works Cited

Coll, S. (2005, December 12). Young Osama. The New Yorker. Retrieved April 6, 2014, from http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2005/1
Esterbrook, J. (2002, April 3). Salaries for Suicide Bombers. CBS News. Retrieved April 6, 2014, from http://www.cbsnews.com/news/salaries-for-suicide-bombers/
Gilbert, P. (1994). Terrorism, security, and nationality an introductory study in applied political philosophy. London: Routledge.
Lamb, R. (2009, March 11). How Suicide Bombers Work. HowStuffWorks. Retrieved April 6, 2014, from http://science.howstuffworks.com/suicide-bomber1.html
Pape, Robert A. "The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism." American Political Science Review 97.3 (2003): n. pag. American Political Science Association. Aug. 2003. Web. 4 Apr. 2014. .

Show More
Related

  • Analysis of Michael Walzer's View on Terrorism

    1574 Words  | 4 Pages

    Michael Walzer is an esteemed retired professor from the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. Walzer has written many books, essays, and articles. His essay, Excusing Terror, is one that best relates to the current events happening around the world. In this essay, Walzer talks about different reasons that people would want to resort to terrorism. In this essay I will argue Walzers view on Terrorism is correct in that terrorism is wrong because it is akin to murder, it is random in who it targets, and no one has immunity. I will also offer an objection to Walzer’s theory and explain why it is not a valid one.

    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

  • Fahrenheit 451 in Today’s World

    1343 Words  | 3 Pages

    Johnson, David. “Osama bin Laden: Wealthy Saudi exile is a terrorist mastermind.” Infoplease.com. 1 April 2008.

    Read More

  • Dalton Conley You May Ask Yourself Analysis

    395 Words  | 1 Pages

    In Brym’s article he discusses what research has shown about the motivations of suicide bombers. Brym and my fellow classmate explained to me how suicide bombers may be motivated by politics, religion, or retaliatory aims (Brym, Kyra Howard). Both Brym and Howard helped me view the issue of suicide bombers in multiple

    Read More

  • Boston Marathon Bombings

    1908 Words  | 4 Pages

    Retrieved from http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1305304 NOVA (2013, May 29). NOVA | Manhunt—Boston Bombers [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/tech/manhunt-boston-bombers.html Speckhard, A. (2013). The Boston Marathon Bombers: the Lethal Cocktail that Turned Troubled Youth to Terrorism. Perspectives On Terrorism, 7(3).

    Read More

  • Terrorism and Morality by Haig Khatchadourian

    1814 Words  | 4 Pages

    In “Terrorism and Morality,” Haig Khatchadourian argues that terrorism is always wrong. Within this argument, Khatchadourian says that all forms of terrorism are wrong because the outcome deprives those terrorized of their basic humanity. To this end, Khatchadourian says that even forms of terrorism that are designed to bring about a moral good are wrong because of the methods used to achieve that good. Before Khatchadourian spells out why terrorism is wrong, he defines what terrorism is, what causes terrorism, and what people believe terrorism to mean. With a working definition in place, Khatchadourian examines terrorism’s role in a just war and shows that terrorism is never just, even during war. With the assertion that terrorism, even during wartime is unjust, Khatchadourian analyzes the variations of innocence and non-innocence surrounding the victims of a terrorist attack. The analysis of innocence and non-innocence is accomplished through review of the principal of discrimination and the principal of proportion and how each relates to terrorism. From these philosophical and ethical standpoints, Khatchadourian finds that terrorism is unjust and wrong because of the way it groups and punishes the innocent with the guilty, not allowing the victim to properly respond to the charges against them. Finally, Khatchadourian looks at how terrorism is always wrong because of the way it denies a person their basic human rights. In examination of person’s human rights, Khatchadourian finds that terrorism specifically “violates its targets’ right to be treated as moral persons,” as it inflicts pain, suffering and death to those who are not deserving (298).

    Read More

  • 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

  • Osama bin Laden

    1684 Words  | 4 Pages

    Bergen, Peter. "The Last Days of Osama Bin Laden." TIME 7 May 2012: 16-33. Print.

    Read More

  • Safety vs. Freedom

    773 Words  | 2 Pages

    America has had 21 terrorist attacks, from 2000 to 2009 consisting mostly of al-Qaeda and suicide bombers (infoplease.com). Osama Ben Laden, leading al-Qaeda’s attacks is fed up with the way America treats the world. Blaming America for global warming and determined to stop them by sending suicide bombers and hijacking planes. After the 9/11 attack America changed the way they looked at security, putting into effect; Airport Security Federalization Act of 2001: To deter and punish terrorist acts in the United States and around the world, to enhance law enforcement investigatory tools (The Library of Congress).

    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

  • The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism by Pape, Bloom, and Horowitz

    1414 Words  | 3 Pages

    Pape believes that suicide terrorism is focused around democracies and occupation. After conducting his research, Pape discovered that from 1980 to 2001, records of suicide terrorism have had three main reoccurring, necessary properties: timing, nationalist goals, and target selection. Pape (2003) explains that, when it comes to timing, “nearly all suicide attacks occur in organized, coherent campaigns, not as isolated or randomly timed incidents” (347). Thus, Pape infers there is strategic reasoning behind this way of terrorizing the masses. He further states campaigns of suicide terrorism focus on gaining oversight of territory terrorists deem as their national homeland.

    Read More

  • Causes of Suicide

    837 Words  | 2 Pages

    Townsend, Ellen. "Suicide Terrorists: Are they Suicidal?" Suicide & Life - Threatening Behavior 37.1 (2007): 35-49. ProQuest. Web. 14 Nov. 2013.

    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

  • What is the Definition of Terrorism?

    420 Words  | 1 Pages

    The concept of terrorism is exceedingly difficult to define. Author Gerald Seymour first said in his book Harry’s Game that, “One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter”. Each individual may view terrorism in a different light. Because of this, there is currently no universal definition of terrorism. However, in recent years, it has become increasingly more important to form a definition of terrorism, especially while working in the media.

    Read More

  • Religious Terrorism Essay

    1360 Words  | 3 Pages

    Suicide violence is definitely a form of violent terrorism that receives an amount of attention, especially since it’s been noted that it “Violates two of society’s primary taboos, the prohibition against killing innocent men, women, and children, and the ban against killing oneself” (Pape, 2005, p.

    Read More

More about Suicide Terrorism: A Logical Choice?

Open Document