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The term terrorism is used to refer to acts of violence, or the threat of violence carried out for Political motives by organisations/individuals who are not recognised as organs of the legitimate state within a given territory nor officially at war with that territory. "Terrorist attacks" are usually characterized as "indiscriminate," "targeting of civilians," or executed "with disregard for human life." The term "terrorism" is often used to assert that the political violence of an enemy is immoral, wanton, and unjustified. According to the Definition Of Terrorism typically used by states, academics, counter-terrorism experts, and non-governmental organizations, "terrorists" are actors who don't belong to any recognized armed forces, or who don't adhere to their rules, and who are therefore regarded as "rogue actors". Because of the above pejorative connotations, those accused of being "terrorists" rarely identify themselves as such, and instead typically use terms that refer to their ideological or ethnic struggle, such as: Separatist , Freedom Fighter , liberator, Revolutionary , Vigilante , Militant , Paramilitary , Guerrilla (from Spanish "small war"), Rebel , Jihad i or Mujaheddin (both meaning "struggler"), or Fedayeen ("prepared for martyrdom"). ETYMOLOGY See Also: Definition of terrorism Although the term is often used imprecisely, there have been many attempts by various law enforcement agencies and public organizations to develop more precise working definitions of terrorism. The associated with terrorist attacks transcends even that of Premeditated Murder ." {Link without Title} More precise definitions of terrorism tend to be Relativist , because views toward particular acts of political violence are often Subjective . For example, according to the United States Department Of Defense , terrorism is: :"the calculated use of unlawful Violence or threat of unlawful violence to inculcate fear; intended to coerce or to intimidate governments or societies in the pursuit of goals that are generally political, religious, or ideological." This definition is open to several points of criticism. First it fails to make mention of who the targets of terrorism are and who terrorist agents may be. Second, definitions of what precisely constitutes "unlawful violence" will vary with the law and precedent of each nation. The ambiguity does, however, leave open the possibility that violent actions by state actors can qualify as terrorism. The words "terrorism" and "terror" originally referred to methods employed by factions and regimes to control populations through violent reprisals and fear. Prominent historical examples of the use of these methods include the Russian Pogrom s and the Great Purge , Kristallnacht and the Holocaust , the CIA's Phoenix Program in Vietnam, and various Genocide s. The term "terrorism" comes from the French word ''terrorisme'', which is based on the Latin verb ''terrere'' (to frighten). It dates to 1795 when it was used to describe the actions of the Jacobin Club in their rule of post-Revolutionary France, the so-called " Reign Of Terror ". Jacobins are rumored to have coined the term "terrorists" to refer to themselves. Acts described as Jacobin Club "terrorism" were mostly cases of arrest or execution of opponents as a means of Coercing Compliance in the general public. Until comparatively recently, people who would now be known as "terrorists" were called "incendiaries," due to the fact that they started fires and set off Incendiary Device s. One such example is the 18th-century arsonist John The Painter , who has been described as the first modern terrorist, but was labelled as an "incendiary" in contemporary accounts. {Link without Title} The current use of the term is broader and relies more on the example of the 19th-century revolutionaries who used the technique of assassination, particularly the Anarchists and Narodniks in Tsarist Russia , whose most notable action was the assassination of Alexander II . In response to the September 11 Attacks , political leaders from Europe , North America , Asia , and the Middle East have placed the phenomenon of terrorism within the context of a global struggle against systems of government perceived by those accused of using terrorist tactics as harmful to their interests. The European Union includes in its 2002 definition of "terrorism" the aim of "destabilising or destroying the fundamental political, constitutional, economic or social structures of a country." {Link without Title} The United States defines "international terrorism" as activities that: # involve violent acts or acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State, or that would be a criminal violation if committed within the jurisdiction of the United States or any State; # appear to be intended: ## to intimidate or coerce a civilian population; ## to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or ## to affect the conduct of a government by assassination or kidnapping; and # occur totally outside the United States, or transcend national boundaries in terms of the means by which they are accomplished, the persons they appear intended to coerce or intimidate, or the locale in which their perpetrators operate or seek asylum. () In a landmark roundtable of strategic thinkers from the Middle East, North America, Europe and Asia organised by Strategic Foresight Group in New Delhi in June 2004, it was proposed to make a distinction between Terrorism and Acts Of Terror . While terrorism refers to both motives and acts of terror by a group or an individual for a political or ideological reason, the act of terror is a crime under the jurisdiction of most countries in the world as well as various United Nations protocols. Also, in 2004, UN High Level Panel proposed that acts of terror should be defined as those which are executed with an intention to cause bodily harm to non-combatants for the objective of influencing Public Policy . Thus, these developments have clarified the definition of terrorism, though its formal acceptance by the UN General Assembly still remains illusive. KEY CRITERIA Official definitions determine counter-terrorism policy and are often developed to serve it. Most official definitions outline the following key criteria: target, objective, motive, perpetrator, and legitimacy or legality of the act. Terrorism is also often recognizable by a following statement from the perpetrators.
:Frequently, a number of unassociated groups may claim responsibility for the action; this may be considered "free publicity" for the organization's aims. Because of its anonymous nature, it is not uncommon for the reasons for a terrorist action to remain unknown for a considerable period. Guerrilla Warfare is sometimes confused with terrorism, in that a relatively small force attempts to achieve large goals by using organized acts of directed violence against a larger force. But in contrast to terrorism, these acts are almost always against military targets, and civilian targets are minimized in an attempt to increase public support. For this reason, guerrilla tactics are generally considered military strategy rather than terrorism, although both terrorism and guerrilla warfare could be considered forms of Asymmetric Warfare . CAUSES Theories on the causes of terrorism include:
The existing social orders within countries, and the global order of states, include Structural compromises and agreements between various groups and interests, which often arose in resolution of past conflicts. Over time, these arrangements may become less relevant to the current situation, as unforeseen groups and interests arise. Liberal Democracy itself is intended to prevent small groups redesigning society according to their norms. Democracies may succeed in this respect, but will then create a society which these groups will reject. Some theories assume that groups resort to terrorism when other avenues for change, including economic campaigns, protest, public appeal, and standard warfare, hold no hope of success. This is related to the criterion of ''ultima ratio'' (last resort), in Just War Theory . From this perspective, terrorist acts are calculated to disrupt the existing order and provoke conflicts, in the expectation that the outcome will be a new order, more favourable to their interests. Applied to anti-terrorism policy, this approach suggests policies that will create and sustain an alternative, peaceful, avenue of problem resolution, particularly in the case of marginalized and oppressed populations. Ideological theories, on the other hand, often imply that nothing can be 'resolved', because the conflicting ideologies are logically incompatible. Separatism During much of the 20th century, the term terrorism was primarily applied to radical Nationalist movements of various types. Most of them were Separatist movements, seeking to create a new independent Nation-state on the territory of a larger, existing state. There were also some cases of non-state Irredentist violence, seeking to Annex territory. Classic counter-terrorist operations were a feature of the Decolonization in Africa and the Middle East. Some of these campaigns, such as the Mau Mau and the FLOSY , were well known in the Western media, but unlike Al-Qaeda , their violence was remote and confined to the disputed Colony . Irish Republican groups consistently targeted England, and the Basque ETA often targeted Madrid and other non-Basque parts of Spain , as well as the Felquistes in Québec. The motives of these groups derive from their nationalist ideology, and an underlying Territorial Conflict about which state should control what. In this respect, no separate theory of the causes is required, since violence is the standard instrument of geopolitical change. Democracy Research shows that terrorism is most common in nations with intermediate political freedom. The nations with the least terrorism are the most democratic nations. {Link without Title} {Link without Title} {Link without Title} PERPETRATORS Acts of terrorism can be carried out by individuals or groups. According to some definitions, clandestine or semi-clandestine state actors may also carry out terrorist acts outside the framework of a state of war. The most common image of terrorism is that it is carried out by small and secretive cells, highly motivated to serve a particular cause. However, some acts have been committed by individuals acting alone, while others are alleged to have had the backing of established states. Over the years, many people have attempted to come up with a Terrorist Profile to attempt to explain these individuals' actions through their psychology and social circumstances. Terrorist groups See Also: Terrorist groups Lone wolves See Also: Lone-wolf terrorism Law enforcement agencies such as the FBI have identified a pattern of lone-wolf terrorist acts carried out by individuals who appear not to be acting as part of a conventional group, although they may function with the tacit approval of a group, and protect it by operating alone. Terrorists cited as lone wolves include the Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski (1978-1995), Austrian letter-bomber Franz Fuchs (1993-1997), Cave Of The Patriarchs gunman Baruch Goldstein (1994), Oklahoma City Bomber Timothy McVeigh (1995), Centennial Olympic Park Bomber Eric Robert Rudolph (1996), "London Nailbomber" David Copeland (1999), and gunman Buford O. Furrow, Jr. (1999), and "Beltway Sniper" John Allen Muhammad (2002). State sponsors See Also: State sponsored terrorism See Also: False flag Some states have been accused of sponsoring terrorist actions in foreign countries, as an alternative to carrying them out directly and risking an open declaration of war. State-sponsored terrorism is widely denounced by the international community. When states do provide funding for groups considered by some to be terrorist, they rarely acknowledge them as such. For example, Iran has been linked to a number of organizations, including Hezbollah and the Popular Front For The Liberation Of Palestine - General Command , but maintains that where funds have been transferred, these have been legitimate. Iran itself has accused the British military, stationed in southern Iraq, of involvement in bombings in Iran; such claims have been denied by the British government. When proof of state sponsorship of a terrorist act is obtained, the response may include economic sanctions. Sometimes state sponsors are forced to back down by offering incentives. An example is that of Pakistan , which supported the Taliban until it was forced to sever its links after pressure from the U.S. However, India accuses Pakistan of continuing to incite, train, and support terrorist organizations that target India. Institute For Policy Studies scholar Professor Noam Chomsky and others have described the U.S as "a leading terrorist state," for example, for the CIA's support of death squads in Guatemala and of the Baathists in the violent overthrow of the government of Iraq in the 1960s. Chomsky insists on a universal moral standard which defines terrorism based on the action not the identity of the actor, and thus does not exempt some terrorists because they are "favored" states. After George W. Bush declared a "War on Terrorism", Chomsky stated: The U.S. is officially committed to what is called "). The CIA armed and financed the Contras , whose activities the U.S. State Department called "terrorist activities" ( Iran-Contra Affair ), thereby making the U.S. a state sponsor of terrorism. An example of a terrorist action conducted directly by the CIA was the disruption of shipping by planting underwater mines in Nicaragua's Corinto harbour, which resulted in the sinking of at least one civilian ship ( Nicaragua V. United States ). ). These terrorist actions were to be blamed on ). COMMON CHARACTERISTICS OF TERRORISTS Although terrorists come from varying backgrounds, the majority of recruits to most terrorist organisations have shared some or all of a group of certain sociological and psychological features in common. Terrorists are almost overwhelmingly male and between their late teens and early thirties, although there are some exceptions (see Barbara Windsor's book Army of Roses) and children are becoming increasingly used in suicide bombings. Sociological factors
Psychological factors
TACTICS Attack tactics Terrorists seek to demoralize and paralyze their enemy with fear, and also to pressure governments into conceding to the terrorist's agenda. Where terrorism occurs in the context of open warfare or insurgency, its perpetrators may shelter behind a section of the local population. Examples include the Intifada on Israeli-occupied territory, and the Occupation Of Iraq . This population, which is usually ethnically distinct from the counter-terrorist forces, is either sympathetic to their cause, indifferent, or acts under duress. Terrorist groups may arrange for secondary devices to detonate at a slightly later time in order to kill emergency-response personnel attempting to attend to the dead and wounded. Repeated or suspected use of secondary devices can also delay emergency response out of concern that such devices may exist. Examples include a (failed) cyanide-gas device that was meant to explode shortly after the February 26 , 1993 World Trade Center Bombing , and a second car bomb that detonated 20 minutes after the December 1 , 2001 Ben Yehuda bombing by Hamas in Jerusalem . Funding See Also: Terrorist Financing In the absence of state funding, terrorists may rely on Organized Crime to fund their activities. This can include Kidnapping , Drug Trafficking , or Robbery . But terrorists have also found many more sources of revenue. Osama Bin Laden , for example, invested millions in terrorism that his family made in the construction industry building luxury mansions for Saudi Arabia's Oil -millionaires. The Diamond industry emerged early in the twenty-first century as an important new source of funding for terrorism, and Islamist terrorist groups in particular have been very effective at procuring funding through a system of charitable contributions. Communication Islamic terrorists formerly communicated using satellite phones. When the media published the information the U.S. government was tracking Osama bin Laden by tracking his phone calls, he quit using that method to communicate. Terrorists have also successfully used the internet to communicate message and coordinate attacks. According to terrorism expert Christopher Brown, al-Qaeda signal attacks through video messages. After a pair of videos are released, a major attack is said to occur within 30 days. {Link without Title} RESPONSES TO TERRORISM Responses to terrorism are broad in scope. They can include re-alignments of the Political Spectrum and reassessments of Fundamental Values . The term counter-terrorism has a narrower connotation, implying that it is directed at terrorist actors. Terrorism and immigration in Europe Recent developments have seen a divergence in social and political responses to terrorism between the United States and western Europe. The September 11, 2001 Attacks were allegedly carried out by foreigners who entered the USA for that purpose, on behalf of a foreign organization, operating from bases in a remote country. Western European countries, on the other hand, are now confronted with a domestic terrorism based within a domestic religious minority, some recent immigrants, but many native-born citizens. Much of Europe has not experienced a domestic religious threat since the was the first to show that the electorate may see Muslim Immigrants as a Fifth Column at war with the country in which they live. Terrorism, according to this view, is a failure of Multiculturalism and not simply a security issue. Aggression against sections of the population regarded as associated with the perpetrators is an increasingly important issue in these communities. Defusing potential backlash is now a standard item of European counter-terrorism policy. The direction of European responses to terrorism is indicated by new policies, proposed by Tony Blair in August 2005:
Target-hardening Common targets of terrorists are areas of high population concentration, such as mass transit vehicles (metro, bus, and trains), aircraft, office buildings, and crowded restaurants. Whatever the target of terrorists, there are multiple ways of hardening the targets so as to prevent the terrorists from hitting their mark. Perhaps the single most effective of these is bag-searching for explosives, which is only effective if it is conducted before the search subjects enter an area of high population concentration. Another method is to place concrete barriers a sufficient distance outside buildings to prevent truck bombing. Aircraft cockpits are kept locked during flights, and have reinforced doors, which only the pilots in the cabin are capable of opening. Preemptive neutralization Some countries see pre-emptive attacks as a legitimate strategy. This includes capturing, killing, or disabling suspected terrorists before they can mount an attack. Israel , the United States , and Russia have taken this approach, while western European states are generally do not. In July 2005, Brazilian Jean Charles De Menezes was shot dead by police at Stockwell underground station in London , because he was misidentified as a suspected suicide bomber, and police feared he had a bomb ready for detonation. The shooting led to public concern and diplomatic protest. Another major method of pre-emptive neutralization is Interrogation of known or suspected terrorists to obtain information about specific plots, targets, the identity of other terrorists, and whether the interrogation subject himself is guilty of terrorist involvement. Sometimes methods are used to increase Suggestibility , such as Sleep Deprivation or drugs. Human rights objections apart, such methods may lead captives to offer false information in an attempt to stop the treatment, or because of confusion brought on by it. Domestic intelligence and surveillance Most counter-terrorism strategies involve an increase in standard police and domestic intelligence. The central activities are traditional: Interception Of Communications , and the tracing of persons. New technology has, however, expanded the range of such operations. Domestic intelligence is often directed at specific groups, defined on the basis of origin or religion, which is a source of political controversy. Mass Surveillance of an entire population raises objections on Civil Liberties grounds. Military intervention Terrorism has often been used to justify military intervention in countries where terrorists are said to be based. That was the main stated justification for the U.S. Invasion Of Afghanistan and one reason for the 2003 Invasion Of Iraq . It was also a stated justification for the second Russian invasion of Chechnya . Non-military Intervention Military Violence can be seen to exacerbate terrorist activity over time resulting in further retaliation and retribution. The Human Security paradigm outlines a non-military approach which aims to address the enduring underlying inequalities which fuel terrorist activity. Causal factors need to be delineated and measures implemented which allow equal access to resources and Sustainability for all peoples. Such activities empower citizens providing 'freedom from fear' and 'freedom from want'. This can take many forms including the provision of clean drinking water, education, vaccination programs, provision of food and shelter and protection from violence, military or otherwise. Successful human security campaigns have been characterised by the participation of a diverse group of actors including governments, NGOs , and citizens. HISTORY Although there are earlier related examples, terrorism in the modern sense seems to have emerged around the mid 19th-century. In the 1st Century , Zealot s conducted a fierce and unrelenting terror campaign against the Roman occupiers of the eastern Mediterranean . The Zealots enlisted Sicarii to strike down rich Jewish collaborators and others who were friendly to the Romans. In the 11th Century , the radical Islam ic sect known as the Hash-Ishiim (This word, derived from the word " Hashish ," which the Hash-Ishiim reputedly used to drug their victims, translates directly to the word "assassin" in the English language) employed systematic murder for a cause they believed to be righteous. For two centuries, they resisted efforts to suppress their religious beliefs and developed ritualized murder into a fine art taught through generations. Political aims were achieved through the power of intimidation. Similarly, the Christian warriors of the Crusades pursued political aims by means of assaults on Muslim civilian populations. During the French Revolution ( 1789 - 1799 ), the most severe period of the rule of the Committee Of Public Safety ( 1793 - 1795 ) was labelled "The Reign Of Terror " ( 1793 - 1794 ) to describe rule through a systematic use of terror exemplified especially by extensive use of the Guillotine . Historic references to the term "terrorism" first appeared during the Reign Of Terror . In 1867 the Irish Republican Brotherhood , a Revolutionary Nationalist group with support from Irish-American s, carried out attacks in England . These were the first acts of " Republican terrorism", which became a recurrent feature of British history, and these Fenian s were the precursor of the Irish Republican Army . The ideology of the group was Irish Nationalism . In Russia , by the mid-19th century, the Intelligentsia grew impatient with the slow pace of Tsar ist reforms, and sought instead to transform peasant discontent into open revolution. Anarchists like Mikhail Bakunin maintained that progress was impossible without destruction. Their objective was nothing less than complete destruction of the state. Anything that contributed to this goal was regarded as moral. With the development of sufficiently powerful, stable, and affordable explosives, the gap closed between the firepower of the state and the means available to dissidents. Organized into secret societies like the People's Will , Russian terrorists launched a campaign of terror against the state that climaxed in 1881 when Tsar Alexander II Of Russia was assassinated. In 1893 the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization was founded in Thessaloniki, now in Greece but then part of the Ottoman Empire . The organisation was driven by Slavic nationalism, and later acquired a reputation for ferocious attacks, including the 1934 assassination of Alexander I Of Yugoslavia during a state visit to France. The Fenians/IRA and the IMRO may be considered the prototype of all 'nationalist terrorism', and equally illustrate the (itself controversial) expression that "one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter". Both groups achieved their goal, an independent Ireland and an independent Macedonia . Today, modern weapons technology has made it possible for a "super-empowered angry man" ( Thomas Friedman ) to cause a large amount of destruction by himself or with only a few conspirators. It can be, and has been, conducted by small as well as large organizations. Some people considered at some point in their lives to be terrorists, or supporters of terrorism, have gone on to become dedicated peace activists ( Uri Avnery ), respected statesmen ( Yitzhak Shamir ) or even Nobel Peace Prize laureates ( Nelson Mandela , Yasser Arafat ). Global trends Since 1968, the U.S. State Department has tallied deaths due to terrorism. In 1985, it counted 816 deaths, the highest annual toll until then. The deaths decreased since the late 1980s, then rose to 3,295 in 2001, mainly as a result of the September 11, 2001 Attacks . In 2003, more than 1,000 people died as a result of terrorist acts. Many of these deaths resulted from Suicide Bombings in Chechnya , Iraq , India and Israel . It does not tally victims of state terrorism. Data from the MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base showed a similar decline since the 1980s, especially in Western Europe. On the other hand, Asia experienced an increase in international terrorist attacks. Other regions experienced less consistent patterns over time. From 1991 to 2003, there was a consistent increase in the number of casualties from international terrorist attacks in Asia, but few other consistent trends in casualties from international terrorist attacks. Three different regions had, in three different years, a few attacks with a large number of casualties. Statistically, distribution of the severity of terrorist attacks follows a Power Law , much like that for War s and also natural disasters like Earthquake s, Flood s and Forest Fire s. EXAMPLES OF MAJOR INCIDENTS ]] The , by the PIRA in an unsuccessful but lethal attempt to kill then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher ; the June 1985 double-bombing of Air India jets originating from Canada; the 1993 Mumbai Bombings ; the Oklahoma City Bombing by Timothy McVeigh on April 19 , 1995 ; the Omagh Bombing in Northern Ireland ( August 15 , 1998 ); the USS Cole Bombing on October 12 , 2000 ; the September 11, 2001 Attacks in New York , and Washington D.C. ; the Passover Massacre on March 27 , 2002 in Netanya, Israel ; the Munich Massacre of Israeli Olympic athletes in 1972 ; the Bali Bombing in October 2002, the destruction of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie , Scotland on December 21 , 1988 ; the attack on the Indian Parliament ( December 13 , 2001 ); the Centennial Olympic Park Bombing in 1996; the March 11 , 2004 Attacks in Madrid ; the July 7 , 2005 Bombings in London ; and the Second Bali Bombing on October 12 , 2005 . According to Definitions Of Terrorism which focus on the killing of innocents and the intention of affecting morale, there could be examples of State Terrorism such as the bombings of London by the Luftwaffe , of Berlin by the Royal Air Force or the Hiroshima And Nagasaki Atomic Bombings by the United States Air Force , the largest state terror attacks in history (though of course, the main difference being that under the Laws of Armed Conflict, a formal Declaration Of War had been made for each of the WWII incidents). The deadliest events described as terrorism and not known to have been sponsored by a state were the September 11, 2001 Attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and The Pentagon , in Arlington County, Virginia . So far as is known, the deadliest contemporary attack planned (but not executed) was '' Operation Bojinka '', which aimed to murder Pope John Paul II and blow up 11 airliners. The plot was aborted after an apartment fire in Manila , Philippines on January 5 , 1995 , exposed the operation to police. The militants who were planning it were just over two weeks away from implementing their plot. Other plots, such as the 1993 World Trade Center Bombing , were designed to kill thousands but failed to do so. SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
Multimedia Child victims of Terrorism - 28 die and 7 are injured when a terrorist organization mines explosives on a civilian road in Pakistan |
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