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Terrorism refers to the use of violence for the purpose of achieving a political, religious, or ideological goal
through intimidation or by instilling fear. The targets of terrorist acts can be government officials, military personnel, people
serving the interests of governments, or civilians. Acts of terror against military targets tend to blend into a strategy of
guerrilla warfare. According to one view, one person's terrorist is another person's freedom fighter - but these two terms are not mutually exclusive and not all freedom fighters are
considered terrorists. Random violence against civilians (noncombatants) is the type of action most widely condemned as
"terrorism."
Acts of terrorism can be perpetrated by individuals, groups, or states, as an alternative to an open declaration of war. They
are often carried out by states, or those who otherwise feel powerless. States that sponsor or engage in the use of terrorist
tactics tend to use more neutral or positive terms to describe their own combatants, – such as freedom fighters, patriots, or
paramilitaries, while the state or states being fought tend to use more
negative terms like terrorism.
On the surface, the popular definition of 'terrorism' represents a shift from previous means of defining an enemy from
territorial or cultural disputes over ideology or religion, to the acts of violence against the public.
Many people dispute this definition however as ideological and simplistic, arguing instead that 'terrorism' is simply another in
a long lists of enemy terms —that underneath any current conflict lies the same materialistic and ethnocentric reasons of
which most past wars were based and now freely explained. The use of the terms terrorism and terrorist are politically weighted, and are often used to polarizing effect, where 'terrorism' is
simply a relativist term for the violence committed by an enemy,
from the point of view of the attacked. As political violence can be generally categorized as either 'violence in support of an
establishment' or 'violence in opposition to an establishment,' 'terrorism' can be simply defined as the common euphemism for the
latter.
The violence, i.e., terrorism, committed by state combatants is also considered more acceptable than that of the 'terrorist,'
who by definition does not follow the self-serving laws of war, and hence
cannot share in the acceptance given to establishment violence. Thus the term is impossible to apply by its rational definition
—states who engage in warfare often do so outside of the laws of war
and often carry out violence against civilian populations, yet rarely receive the label of 'terrorist.' The common public
distinction between state violence and terrorism is based on a perception that terrorism is random, and therefore more irrational
than state violence, which is assumed to be more considerate of human life. History does not always bear this out however, and
language reflects this: few would question that deliberate attacks on civilian refugee columns and camps is an attempt to induce
terror in the enemy population and is therefore a terrorist act. As such the most accurate definition of "terrorism" must be
based in its abstract nature as a term for characterising the violence of an enemy as conforming to an immoral code of
conduct.
A terrorist' is, strictly speaking, one who is personally involved in an act of terrorism. The term "terrorism" comes
from the French 18th century word terrorisme (under the Terror),
based on the Latin language verbs terrere (to tremble) and
deterrere (to frighten from). The use of the term "terrorist" has had broader applications however, ranging in application
from disgruntled citizens to common political dissidents. The term "eco-terrorist" for example was coined to apply to those who damage or destroy property as a symbolic act of
resisting envionmental impactful economic trends and policy.
Definition
Main article: Definitions of
terrorism
Many definitions of terrorism exist, from various locations within the political spectrum. Most definitions of terrorism recognize and explain four primary criteria, these
being the target, the objective, the motive, and the legitimacy of the action.
In November, 2004, a UN panel defined terrorism as: "Any action intended to cause death or serious bodily harm to civilians,
non-combatants when the purpose of such act, by its nature or context, is to intimidate a population or compel a government or an
international organization to do or to abstain from doing any act."
History and causes
In the 1st century, Zealots
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 Islamic sect known as the Assassins 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.
During the French Revolution (1789 - 1799), the most severe period of the rule of the Committee of Public Safety (1793 - 1795) was labelled "The
Terror" (1793 - 1794) and described Jacobin extensive use of death
penalty by guillotine. Some argue that this period is an example of
state terrorism. Certainly, it induced fear and outrage not only in
the domestic population of France, but also throughout the European aristocracy. This period is the first known use of the term "terrorism".
By the mid-19th century, Russian intelligentsia grew impatient with the slow pace of Tsarist 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. Also, a revolutionary
Irish-American group called the Fenian Brotherhood planted
explosive devices around the city of London in particular and the British mainland in general in the mid 1800's, in protest to
the British occupation of Ireland. This is often seen as the first act of 'republican Terrorism'
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 believe that individuals or groups resort to terrorism when other avenues for change, including economics, protest,
public appeal, and organized warfare, hold no hope of success (also see rioting).
Therefore some argue that one approach to reduce terrorism is to ensure that where there is a population feeling oppressed, some
avenue of problem resolution is kept open, even if the population in question is in the minority.
Others, for example the American intellectual Noam Chomsky, believe that
terrorism is typically sponsored by governments through the organisation, funding or training of death squads and similar paramilitary groups, often under the banner of counter-terrorism. In his view the causes of terrorism include attempts
to gain or consolidate power either by instilling fear in the population to be controlled, or by stimulating another group into
becoming a hardened foe, thereby setting up a polarizing us-versus-them paradigm (also see nationalism and fascism). (Nicaragua v. United States is often cited by Chomsky as
an example.)
In the absence of state funding, terrorists often rely on organized
crime to fund their activities. This can include kidnapping, drug trafficking, or robbery.
But terrorists have also found many more legitimate sources of revenue. Osama bin Laden, for example, invested millions in terrorism that his family made in the construction
industry building luxury castles for those making their money from selling the country's oil.
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. Recent activity by Islamic terrorists has resulted in the unfortunate sarcastic
label of Islam as the Religion of Peace, by pundits.
It should be noted that social psychologists, evolutionary psychologists, and sociologists who have studied ethnoreligious
conflicts via controlled experimentation have a very different view of the etiology of terroristic violence. For them, terrorism
is almost invariably the result of an interaction between genetic and environmental variables. Terrorists are most easily created
when a person with a genetic predisposition to violence and to unquestioning acceptance of authority comes into contact with an
ideology that dehumanizes another group of people. Given sufficiently strong ideological indoctrination (known in common parlance
as brainwashing ), a large segment of virtually any group of people will
engage in acts of violence against civilians. Examples of this behavior include the Holocaust and the widespread mass-murders that have occured in recent years in Sudan.
Terrorists often seek to demoralize and paralyze their enemy with fear. This sometimes works, but it can also stiffen the
enemy's resolve.
In general, retribution against terrorists can result in escalating tit-for-tat violence. It is often felt that if the
consequences of engaging in terrorism are not swift and punitive, the deterrent to other terrorist groups is diminished.
Terrorism relies heavily on surprise. Terrorist attacks can trigger sudden transitions into conflict or war. Frequently, after
a terrorist attack, a number of unassociated groups may claim responsibility for the action; this may be considered "free
publicity" for the organization's aims or plans. Because of its anonymous and sometimes self-sacrificial nature, it is not
uncommon for the reasons behind the terrorist action to remain unknown or murky for a considerable period.
The existing order within countries or internationally depends on compromises and agreements between various groups and
interests that were made to resolve past conflicts. Over time, these arrangements become less relevant to the current situation.
Some terrorist acts seem calculated to disrupt the existing order and provoke conflicts in the expectation that it will lead to a
new order more favorable to their interests. Some people considered to be terrorists, or supporters of terrorist actions, at some
point in their lives have gone on to become dedicated peace activists (Uri
Avnery), respected statesmen (Yitzhak Shamir) and even Nobel Peace Prize laureates (Nelson Mandela, Yasser Arafat, Menachem Begin). This illustrates the plasticity of the term.
Examples of terrorism
The following incidents have been described as domestic and international terrorism: the Oklahoma City bombing in the USA
(April 19, 1995); the Omagh bombing in Northern Ireland (August 15, 1998); the September 11, 2001
attacks in New York, and Washington DC, USA; the Munich Massacre of
Israeli Olympic athletes in 1972; the Bali bombing in October 2002 and the destruction of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland on December 21, 1988. See List of terrorist incidents for more examples.
The deadliest attack ever committed, not known to have been sponsored by a state and described as terrorism was 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 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.
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 over the years, then rose to 3,295 in 2001, most 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.
Emergency preparedness
Acts of terrorism typically cause a significant number of civilian casualties. To protect against such attacks, there is a
need for increased vigilance on the part of governments. Examples include more thorough inspection of baggage in airports.
Preparing for terrorism includes the construction of hospitals with a large surge capacity, as well as of alternative care
facilities to handle a huge influx of patients and displaced persons. In order to reduce the spread of infection, decontamination during a release of chemical or biological agents is an important element of
emergency planning.
Global Trends
Data from the US Department of State shows that, since the late 1980s, there has been a decline in the number of international
terrorist attacks. Data from the Terrorism Knowledge base show a similar decline since the early 1980s.
The major decline in international terrorist attacks was 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.
On the other hand, data from the MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base show that since the mid to late 1990's there has been a large
increase in the number of total terrorist incidences, injuries and fatalities. Most of this increase is due to an increase in
domestic terrorism.
References
External links
Etymology (history and first use of "terrorism")
Analysis
Information
Essays
- The BBC's Allan Little - Analysis of Terrorism (http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/americas/newsid_1693000/1693876.stm)
- Christian Science Monitor : Exactly what is terrorism? High Bandwidth (http://www.csmonitor.com/specials/terrorism/frameset.html) | Low Bandwidth (http://www.csmonitor.com/specials/terrorism/lite/index.html)
- Beinin, Joel, Is Terrorism a Useful Term in Understanding the Middle East and the
Palestinian-Israeli Conflict? (http://www.why-war.com/resources/files/85.1beinin.pdf), Radical History
Review, Issue 85 (Winter 2003): 12-23. [PDF]
- INA's Objection to BBC
policy (http://www.israelpr.com/bbcterrorism.html)
- Netanyahu, Benjamin, "On
Terrorism (http://www.netanyahu.org/statofforisp.html)"
- Boaz Ganor Defining Terrorism: Is One Man's Terrorist Another Man's Freedom
Fighter? (http://www.ict.org.il/articles/define.htm)
- Gerald A. Juhnke, When Terrorists Strike: What School Counselors Can Do (http://www.ericdigests.org/2003-4/terrorists.html)
- Leon Trotsky (1909), Why Marxists oppose Individual Terrorism (http://www.marxists.org/archive/trotsky/works/1909/tia09.htm)
- Galak, Michael and Vaknin, Sam Terrorism as a Psychodynamic Phenomenon - A Dialog (http://samvak.tripod.com/terrorism.html)
- Terrorists and Freedom Fighters in the Balkans (http://ceeandbalkan.tripod.com/pp52.html)
Video
Further reading
- International Terrorism: A New Mode of Conflict by Brian
Jenkins, Crescent Publications, 1975, ISBN 0891440003
- The Terrorism Reader by Walter Laqueur and Yonah Alexander, New American Library, 1987, ISBN 0452008433
- Responding to the Terrorist Threat by Richard Schultz and Stephen Sloan, Pergamon Press, 1981, ISBN 0080251064
- Spetsnaz: The Inside Story of the Soviet Special Forces by Viktor Suvorov, W.W. Norton, 1988, ISBN 0393026140 online English translation (http://lib.ru/WSUWOROW/specnaz_engl.txt)
- Inside Soviet Military Intelligence by Viktor Suvorov, Macmillan, 1984, ISBN 0026155109 online
English translation (http://lib.ru/WSUWOROW/intelligence_engl.txt)
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