cj406paper
Terrorism
Eric Vazquez
CRJS 406
Westwood College
April 28, 2014
Andersen, D. Ms/AJs
There are many definitions of the word terrorism. Most of the definitions of this word are meant to criticize those who commit certain actions and label them as evil doers. For most Americans, terrorists are known as those who bomb buildings and cause a large amount of civilian deaths and are just pure evil. That is simply one way of looking at it, a very American viewpoint one might say. The reality is, terrorism is simply how a small weak force fights a large powerful force. As long as there is conflict in the world, and there always will be, there will be tactics under the category of “terrorism.” I believe it to be a bad term however, these acts of terrorism, as we call them, are really just an act of war by a disgruntled and weaker force. It would be foolish for the smaller force to engage the powerful military forces head on if they want to have any success in their attacks against us or another powerful force. That force would be defeated far too easily.
There have been many acts of war in the past that are similar to the attacks that we call acts of terror today. This is the reason why there are various definitions of terrorism, there are those used by the U.S. government, there are the general definitions that one would find in the dictionary, and there are those used by other countries’ governments. Many of these definitions say that terrorism is an act of violence perpetrated against civilians and are meant to coerce a government. “The Federal Bureau of Investigation (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.’” (Ridgeway, 2011). The FBI has different definitions regarding domestic and international terrorism, they are not much different and they carry
Eric Vazquez
CRJS 406
Westwood College
April 28, 2014
Andersen, D. Ms/AJs
There are many definitions of the word terrorism. Most of the definitions of this word are meant to criticize those who commit certain actions and label them as evil doers. For most Americans, terrorists are known as those who bomb buildings and cause a large amount of civilian deaths and are just pure evil. That is simply one way of looking at it, a very American viewpoint one might say. The reality is, terrorism is simply how a small weak force fights a large powerful force. As long as there is conflict in the world, and there always will be, there will be tactics under the category of “terrorism.” I believe it to be a bad term however, these acts of terrorism, as we call them, are really just an act of war by a disgruntled and weaker force. It would be foolish for the smaller force to engage the powerful military forces head on if they want to have any success in their attacks against us or another powerful force. That force would be defeated far too easily.
There have been many acts of war in the past that are similar to the attacks that we call acts of terror today. This is the reason why there are various definitions of terrorism, there are those used by the U.S. government, there are the general definitions that one would find in the dictionary, and there are those used by other countries’ governments. Many of these definitions say that terrorism is an act of violence perpetrated against civilians and are meant to coerce a government. “The Federal Bureau of Investigation (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.’” (Ridgeway, 2011). The FBI has different definitions regarding domestic and international terrorism, they are not much different and they carry
References: Ridgeway, G. (2011)., “National Institute Of Justice” Retrieved from: www.nij.gov Jenkins, M. (1974),. “International Terrorism” Retrieved from: www.rand.org