Terrorism Issue
The term ‘terrorism’ derives from Latin “to frighten”. Terror is the feeling of constant and intense fear. The United Nations Security Council gives the following definition of the term ‘terrorism’: “any act intended to cause death or serious bodily harm to civilians … with the purpose of intimidating a population or compelling a government or an international organization …” (Crime Museum). The act of terrorism itself has several components, namely: fear, cause, violence, targets.
Fear is the key factor as it may be used to force people to cooperate even against their will. Causes are usually either political or religious. Violence is a ground of the terrorist attacks, which is the main factor to cause fear. Terrorists use psychological tools to make a victim collaborate, but the most effective tool is pain. Under terrorist attacks, pain is literally unbearable as the aggressors aim to cause serious physical damages and kill people. Target is usually a large group of civilians.
There are various types of terrorism. There are six types, indicated by the National Advisory Committee on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals. The most common form is the civil disorder. It usually has political background and is supposed to inform the party that people are unsatisfied by their actions. These actions are mostly harmless, but the complications may appear when the transformation of the protest to the riot with harming the property and the citizens is done. Political terrorism is the activity insinuated by the opposing party, in which the citizens are still the ones to get hurt.
The non-political terrorism may have any other background but for a political one. Mostly often, the conflicts appear on a religious basis, however, the taken actions are same severe. The limited political terrorism has one difference – the aggressors to do not demand to removethe active government, but are willing to protest its single action. The state terrorism is the violent action taken by the present government for various purposes. The last type is a so-called quasi-terrorism.
In this case, the means are the same, though the goal is not. While any other kind of terrorism involves people as the victims, quasi – terrorism uses them as the tool of manipulation, for instance, as the hostages.Terrorism can appear not just in big crowded cities. Therefore, it is useless to seek for a small safe town to settle in. Moreover, whilst the international terrorism sets huge events, the other form, domestic terrorism, is not so spread. The definitions of terms ‘international’ and ‘domestic terrorism’ are given by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and are the following.
‘Domestic terrorism’ is not directed (financed, given instructions, etc.) from abroad. The international terrorism is the one that gets foreign organizations involved. The bright example of such organization is Al-Qaida. Thus, the terrorist attack from September, 1, 2001 can be classified as the international one; the Murrah Federal Building attack in Oklahoma is considered a domestic one. Domestic terrorism today covers the immense range of issues, for example, neo – Nazis, eco – terrorists, anti – government organizations, separatist groups.
As the USA is famous for its freedom of choice, there exist many peaceful organizations that deal with these issues. Therefore, if the person has not been accepted there the question of his or her adequacy rises. The ‘weapons terrorists’ use are classified as the WMD – Weapons of Mass Destruction and usually consist of explosive materials, chemical or biological weapons. Moreover, the nuclear and radiological ones may be involved. There is a classification of terrorist risks and warning systems, designned by the Homeland Security.
The codes colors match specific threat level: green with low, blue with guarded, yellow with the significant one, orange with high, and red with severe (Transnational Terrorism, Security and the Rule of Law). Terrorism became the US main concern after 9/11, however, terrorist attacks took place a long before it. The Earth Liberation Front and the Animal Liberation Front are responsible for more than 600 attacks during 1996 – 2002. In 1993 the Anti – Abortion groups killed a doctor dealing with the abortions. Moreover, the Islamist terrorist attacks are much more numerous (FBI).It is a disputable question whether the domestic terrorism is worse than the international one or simply is the opposite.
Personally, I would say that the international form is more dangerous. The extremist unions are growing fast and in huge quantities nowadays. Being located in the different parts of the world, they are too difficult to be tracked and followed. Furthermore, the fact itself that Osama Bin Laden got shot by the US soldier doesn`t guarantee the new leader won`t take his place the other day. On the other hand, the domestic terrorism possibilities increase for such a liberal worldview – wise country as the USA. Those environment – protecting organizations are supposed to be amicable, considering the goals they fight for.
It is scary and unfair that those people are willing to save the world from pollution and animal from extinction by killing human beings. I believe, though, the internal enemies are more dangerous than the external ones as they know how to plan each detail with the higher efficiency. It is horrifying to understand, that the terrorist attacks can be targeted at the country, where the organizing group has been living, moreover, the finance element comes from there too. How much can a person hate the country he or she could leave anytime to do so?
