Terrorism: Past, Present, and Future
Terrorism: Past, Present, and Future
The best response to this network of terror is to build a network of our own -- a network of like-minded countries and organizations that pools resources, information, ideas, and power.
Taking on the radical fundamentalists alone isn’t necessary, it isn’t smart, and it won’t succeed.-
Joe Biden
Revolutions come only when the public can be stirred into action. The status quo of a region or nation cannot be broken unless there is a large public calling for radical changes to the current regime. Since changing the psycho-emotional balance of the people is paramount to a revolution’s momentum, it is commonplace for revolutionary groups to take drastic measures for attention and sympathy. From these drastic measures, the concept of terrorism has evolved- the concept of violence and public intimidation to engender politics favored by the offending group.
Terrorism is any political activity that relies on violence or the threat of violence to achieve its ends. Much of the time terrorism targets ordinary citizens rather than government organizations.
Terrorists aim to create a climate of fear as a catalyst for political change or restructuring. The goal for the terrorists is to demoralize the population, and at the same time to provoke the government into a disproportionate response. An overreaction from the government would ideally make the government look bad and give life to sympathy for the group’s cause. This sympathy aspect is almost as important as the intimidation; recruitment is a large part of a terrorist group’s priorities. Al Qaeda focuses on recruiting young boys, sometimes as young as five or six, and sponsoring their elementary education, only to replace it with memorizations from the Quran (which the little boys are quite unable to read) and with indoctrinating messages that groom them to become the next generation of foot soldiers for the organization. Terrorism as a concept and in practice has
The best response to this network of terror is to build a network of our own -- a network of like-minded countries and organizations that pools resources, information, ideas, and power.
Taking on the radical fundamentalists alone isn’t necessary, it isn’t smart, and it won’t succeed.-
Joe Biden
Revolutions come only when the public can be stirred into action. The status quo of a region or nation cannot be broken unless there is a large public calling for radical changes to the current regime. Since changing the psycho-emotional balance of the people is paramount to a revolution’s momentum, it is commonplace for revolutionary groups to take drastic measures for attention and sympathy. From these drastic measures, the concept of terrorism has evolved- the concept of violence and public intimidation to engender politics favored by the offending group.
Terrorism is any political activity that relies on violence or the threat of violence to achieve its ends. Much of the time terrorism targets ordinary citizens rather than government organizations.
Terrorists aim to create a climate of fear as a catalyst for political change or restructuring. The goal for the terrorists is to demoralize the population, and at the same time to provoke the government into a disproportionate response. An overreaction from the government would ideally make the government look bad and give life to sympathy for the group’s cause. This sympathy aspect is almost as important as the intimidation; recruitment is a large part of a terrorist group’s priorities. Al Qaeda focuses on recruiting young boys, sometimes as young as five or six, and sponsoring their elementary education, only to replace it with memorizations from the Quran (which the little boys are quite unable to read) and with indoctrinating messages that groom them to become the next generation of foot soldiers for the organization. Terrorism as a concept and in practice has
Bibliography: Orr, Robert. "Chairman 's Statement." United Nations Website. (2012): n. page. Web. 16 Apr. 16 Apr. 2012. http://www.towson.edu/polsci/ppp/sp97/terror/intro.html Husain, Ed Web. 16 Apr. 2012. Web. 12 Apr. 2012. http://www.terrorism-research.com/history/early.php Chaliand, Gerard, and Arnaud Blin Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2007. Print. Walsh, Kevin. "Future Trends in Terrorism." Terrorism Research Resource . (2009): Web Zalman, Amy. "The History of Terrorism." Terrorism Issues. (2009). Web. 10 Apr. 2012. http://terrorism.about.com/od/whatisterroris1/p/Terrorism.htm