Terrorism

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• Terrorism Research Paper

  ...Is Terrorism Ever Morally Defensible? The term terrorism has many different definitions. The most accurate definition of terrorism is defined as the use of violence and intimidation, especially for political purposes.1 Terrorism is based on an act of violence. It kills, hurts or injures many people who are innocent for the reason of making a point or for political objectives. Most of the acts of violence caused from terrorism is either manipulated by another person or leader or is intended to make a strong point from the act of violence. The term ethnocentrism can also influence terrorists because they may feel that their views or culture should over rule or power of everybody else. For example, the Ku Klux Klan was a terrorist group that was formed originally from six confederate Caucasian men who manipulate their group into violent acts costing lives of innocent people ("Spartacus Educational: Ku Klux Klan" 10/20/2011). The act of terrorism causes violence, deaths, conflicts or wars, devastation, mourning of the deaths of innocent people, loss for families, damage to our environment and society etc. There are not many arguments that conclude to why terrorism is understandable or justifiable in our society. The violent act of terrorism is not and will not ever be morally defensible. Terrorism evidently proves how it affects innocent...

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• terrorism Essay

  ... Mid-term Paper Ryan M. Faught Arkansas Tech University Terrorism has been a major topic of research for many years. We’ve learned a lot about terrorism and terrorist groups, but there are still major questions to be answered. What exactly is a terrorist? What causes ordinary people to become terrorists? What attracts people to terrorism? How do terrorist groups in the Middle East recruit and radicalize people from all over the world? In this paper I will discuss these questions and more according to the knowledge I’ve gained from reading these five research papers. Terrorism is the use, or threat, of action which is violent, damaging or disrupting and is intended to influence the government or intimidate the public and is for the purpose of advancing a political, religious or ideological cause (De Zulueta, 2006). This or any definition of terrorism is still subjective depending on the “terrorist” and the situation. For instance, most Americans don’t consider the founding fathers as terrorists, but freedom fighters. In the same way, radical Muslims may look at al Qaeda as freedom fighters, although most of the world would view them as terrorists. The deciding factor that separates freedom fighters from terrorists appears to be the intentional murder of innocent people. Terrorist groups, such as al Qaeda are well known for such murders. Rather than merely fighting for freedom, they wish to create a...

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• Is Terrorism Justified ? Essay

  ...Is Terrorism Justified ? Is terrorism ever justifiable ? The answer is no, terrorism is never justifiable. I will argue that terrorism is not justifiable because it does not contribute to a goal of a more peaceful society. Terrorism contributes to conflict, no matter what reason is used to legitimize it. But in order to argue that terrorism is unjustifiable I must first decide on a definition of terrorism. This definition encompasses all the acts that we would determine as terrorism. This includes acts that one side would label as “freedom fighting” and another would label as terrorism. Terrorism is violence set against non-combatants in order to intimidate a side to submit to a particular goal. For something to be justifiable, it needs to be morally right and it can never be morally right to intimidate people with violence whose sole purpose is to shock, intimidate and/or cause fear. What is terrorism ? The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy presents several definitions from different thinkers: The performance of violent acts, directed against one or more persons, intended by the performing agent to intimidate one or more persons and thereby to bring about one or more of the agent's political goals (Bauhn 1989: 28). The tactic of intentionally targeting non-combatants [or non-combatant property, when...

  1991  Words | 6  Pages

• Terrorism in Pakistan Essay

  ...Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, often violent, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no legally binding, criminal law definition.[1][2] Common definitions of terrorism refer only to those violent acts which are intended to create fear (terror), are perpetrated for a religious, political or, ideological goal; and deliberately target or disregard the safety of non-combatants (civilians). Some definitions now include acts of unlawful violence and war. The use of similar tactics by criminal organizations for protection rackets or to enforce a code of silence is usually not labeled terrorism though these same actions may be labeled terrorism when done by a politically motivated group. Perhaps,[3] it is less oppressive in itself than through the effects of the precautions taken to protect its likely victims.[4] Terrorism has been practiced by a broad array of political organizations for furthering their objectives. It has been practiced by both right-wing and left-wing political parties, nationalistic groups, religious groups, revolutionaries, and ruling governments.[10] An abiding characteristic is the indiscriminate use of violence against noncombatants for the purpose of gaining publicity for a group, cause, or individual. The symbolism of terrorism can leverage human fear to help achieve these goals. [11]...

  1872  Words | 6  Pages

• Is the War on Terrorism a War? Essay

  ...“Is The War On Terrorism A War?” The Global War on Terrorism is a military campaign that began shortly after the terrorist attacks of September 11th 2001. First used by George W. Bush, the phrase ‘war on terror’ has become to be conceptualized as a term used to signify ‘global military, political, lawful, and conceptual struggle targeting both organizations designated as terrorists and regimes accused of supporting them.” The war on terror main focus has been with Islamist militants and Al-Qaeda. The war in Afghanistan and Iraq are both considered to be part of the war on terrorism. There is much speculation on whether the war on terror is actually a war. This essay will argue that both points of view are valid. There are reasons which validate the war on terrorism as being considered an actual war such as the fact that an actual decelaration of war was waged by both the US and Al-Qaeda, it can be considered a new way of war, and that ultimately like war, terrorism is a mean to a political end. On the other side of the spectrum, it may not be considered a war because it does not have a clear end or possible victory, it does not have a confined battle space as regular wars, and it is a ‘war’ against an immaterial concept such as the wars on poverty, drugs, and crime. There is an extensive amount of literature on the subject of terrorism and especially the war on terror. Mia Bloom...

  1936  Words | 5  Pages

• Justifiable Terrorism in Total Wars Essay

  ... Justifiable Terrorism in Total Wars The word ‘terrorism’ instantly makes people shudder; the negative connotations and controversies surrounding terrorism in modern society are enough to spark a discussion of whether it is justifiable or not. In order to determine whether or not terrorism can be justified, a clear definition must be decided upon. Decades before the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City on September 11, 2001, the definition of the word terrorism was hard to define. Political figures around the globe argued and disagreed on what they thought should have determined the act of terrorism.1 Now, there are multiple different definitions originating from distinct cultures and societies, suggesting that terrorism is in the eye of the victim. One definition of terrorism is “any violent or criminal act planned for a political or ideological purpose2”; while another claims that terrorism is understood to be a direct attack on innocents3. Since both of these definitions have important components to them, it can be assumed that both traits are essential to defining terrorism. For the purpose of this paper, the definition of terrorism will be understood as ‘a violent attack on innocents for the purpose of political change’. It can be hard for most people to...

  1726  Words | 5  Pages

• "Ethics and the War on Terrorism Essay

  ..."Ethics and the “War on Terrorism” 1. The definition of terrorism is problematic. How does this affect our view of terrorism? a. There exist a number of “official” and legal definitions as well as those suggested by researchers and commenter’s. Some explanations of the meaning of terrorism focus only on terrorism cared out by individuals and groups and ignore state terrorism altogether, others emphasize the political objective of terrorist acts, and still other frame terrorist acts of criminal events and downplay the political motivations. One clearly understood factor amongst all of these approaches is that terrorism is a method or means of achieving by objective. 2. Which is the better approach—to treat terrorism as a criminal activity or to fight terrorists as if they were enemies in a war? Explain. a. Terrorist are motivated by political objectives, and while criminals employ violence (often similar to that of terrorists like kidnapping, murder, arson) to achieve their ends, their motivation is quite different from that of terrorist, because of criminals commonly act solely to secure a material gain. b. The U.S. administration has indicated that the War on Terrorism will continue until terrorism is ultimately defeated. Given that the War on Terrorism is neither a metaphorical as like those concerning...

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• Israel s Counter-Terrorism Policies and Influences Essay

  ...and researching various materials I was very interested in the aspect terrorism on a global scale and its history in other countries. One of the main sources that were cited many times in the text came from Israel. This paper will identify some of Israel’s counter-terrorism policies and how they could either apply or hurt our current policies in America. In relation to this paper we will also look at Palestine and the terrorist group Hamas and their struggle for their objectives. I will center on this group as a comparative way to show selected counter terrorism methods, and will be examining the width and depth of these methods as well as their consequences on the Palestinian society in general and on Hamas in particular. This will give the reader a better understanding and perspective as we compare it to our current situation in American society. I hope to show by the end of the paper that the Israeli counter-terrorism policy works and show how certain aspects could be beneficial to our nation while others that are beneficial to Israel but not to our nation. Understandable that our two nations both have a very different history and diverse makeup there are similarities that we can extract and apply to our current terrorism threat and apply certain aspects of the Israeli counter-terrorism policy to ours without the same consequences that they suffered while trying to adapt a...

  2270  Words | 6  Pages