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By: Martha Winslet

7 Analytical points on the aspect of Terrorism

1. Definition of Terrorism:-

Criminal and violent acts committed by a section of the people against the Society, Humanity and the Government to get their demands accepted or get their work done may be categorized as Terrorism . In other words, terrorism takes place when some section of people adopts violent means to change the democratic set up or to get their demands fulfilled. Generally, this section does not believe in negotiation or cannot achieve their aim through it.

Among many faces of the terrorism, following are a few to be named:- Sabotage, Assassinations, Derailment of trains, Hijacking of planes Abduction and Kidnappings, Mass killings, Looting of Banks and other Public Offices, Destruction of Public properties, and Exploding Bombs etc. The purpose of the terrorisms - is to create terror in the minds of the people and thereby to make the outfit’s ground strong, which inter alia may compel the Administration to bow down before the antisocial and thereby to accept their demands. The antisocial have no respect in the ethnic values and to the government and humanity. They resort to violence to create a panicky in the society and to terrorize the civic bodies. Satisfaction of their demands and taking revenge becomes the main aim, therefore the easiest way chosen is the terrorism.

2. Causes of Terrorism:-

Basic causes of terrorism are —-

a. Dissatisfaction over certain issues:- There may always be some difference of opinion or disagreement between persons, societies, regions, groups, provinces or countries, but some people could not reconcile the same and get frustrated which ultimately resorts to lawlessness, looting, killing, kidnapping and mass violence. Unemployment and poverty which arises due to regional imbalance of economic development in different parts of the world also play vital role in promoting terrorism. Sometimes terrorism takes birth due to religious reasons and caste conflicts also.

b. Misuse of National and International Machinery: - National and International governments often use their might where some other means could have done well, party politics, partiality and biased decisions also responsible for this severe problem. The sections which are at the receiving end get depressed and frustrated and form outfit groups who starts indulging on atrocities and disturbing the normal life trying to draw the attention of the world towards them.

c. Technological Development: - Development in science and technology has given us several destructive and improved arms and ammunitions which have somehow reached in the hands of the outfits. Easy access to the fatal arms and availability of huge money laundered from different corners are not only helping formation of the miscreant groups but also aggravating the problems. Cross country illegal drag and ammunition trafficking also contributes havoc in this parameter.

d. Injustice and Exploitation Motive: - Tendency to exploit others is a perennial innate phenomenon which is still very much persistent in almost all corners of the world. The poor and less developed are still being exploited by the so called advanced sectors and the former thinks that the system can be set right by means of terrorism and muscle power.

e. Assistance and encouragement from outside: - Several countries in the world are facing the aggravated terrorism problem. Because of the cross border assistance provided to the anti social elements by means of pecuniary help or arms contribution or some other way, the problem sometimes becomes unmanageable. This type of cross country terrorism indulged by a few countries just to get their vested interests satisfied is simply unethical and must be deplored by all and sundries irrespective of caste, creed and color.

3. Basic features of terrorism:-

This is predominantly planned and intentional action performed in a group or by a party in an organized manner for the purpose of conducting preconceived destructive activity.

Mainly aimed at particular group, administration, law enforcing authority, government, civilians or public property.

Always undemocratic, unlawful, barbaric and unethical.

It’s an unacceptable approach to create a psychological impact in the minds of society and thereby to pressurize the administration and the government to bow down before the demands of the terrorists.

Main aim is to get the things done or to take the revenge by hook or by crook.

4. Why do they resort to terror?

The terrorists do not have any respect for the democratic law and order, they do not believe in negotiation, but want to get their demand accepted. They know that the government can not tolerate the killing and abduction of innocent citizens, children and women, thus they resort to such activity in order to create pressure to the administration to accept their demand. Some terrorist activities take place just to take revenge for the sake of satisfaction and heroism. There are some groups who indulge on terrorism on the pretext of religion also.

5. What is the Impact of terrorism?

It has a great impact in the society, in the economy, in the ethnic values. Being an anti social and destructive activity, it halts the economic and social development of a nation. People behind terrorism are disgruntled, brainless, and crazy who tries to create panic in the minds of the people and in the society by killing innocent people either in the name of their abnormal demand or in the name of religions without any regard to ethics and human values to satisfy their perverted interest. Since business and other economic activities flourish in the peaceful and secured atmosphere, there bound to be hindrance in the development in the economic sector where the terrorist activists are indulged in looting, abduction, kidnapping, and other destructive activities. The provinces or countries which are encouraging this type of violence are spending million of dollars in this regard which could have been diverted to economic development for the welfare of the citizens by providing medical facilities, education, and establishing other industries and infrastructural facilities . On the other hand, the Government or the country which are resisting the terrorists have also to spend huge resources from the Government exchequers for preventing the outfits by way of training and deployment of forces and purchasing of modern and improved equipments and ammunitions.

7. Ways and means to control the terrorism:-

First and foremost job is to inculcate strong public opinion and a serious attempt should be made to create awareness for problems like this.

There should not be any compromise so far as the lawlessness is concerned. More pungent acts should be enacted and implemented to counter this menace. Administration should not hesitate to adopt coercive measures whatever it deserves. Exemplary punishment must be awarded to the outfits. Armed forces and the organizations engaged in preventing this type of activity should be adequately equipped with modern and improved version of weapons.

In case of cross country terrorism, assistance may be sought from other peace-loving countries /nations who are willing to extend their helping hands for prevention of terrorism. World public opinion should be gathered against those countries that are assisting such barbaric acts; they should be isolated under the prudent leadership of the World body like UNO.

Economic and regional imbalances would be minimized with the constructive assistance of world bodies, whose intervention may play a great role in this regard.

Citizens should also come forward to stop providing assistance to outfits. They must extend their full cooperation to the administration to curb the menace.

Communal harmony is another essential requirement to counter the threat of terrorism.

In any means the fear from the minds of the people should be eradicated which the antisocial try to implant. Protection must be provided to the people but at the same time it is to be ensured that excessive and misutilization of power by the law enforcing bodies should be avoided at any cost which will have adverse impact in the situation.

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By: Roger Green

Terrorism has deep historical roots as a threat to peaceful existence of nations and common citizens. Terrorism, as opposed to other forms of violence, is the system¬atically applied threat or use of illegitimate force with the designed intent of achieving a goal by means of such a method of coercion. It is violence used as a policy; it is fear or terror engendered on an organized basis.
Terrorism is defined as (1) “intended to inflict death or seriously bodily harm upon civilians or other persons (presumably military personnel) not taking part in hostilities and (2) its purpose is to intimidate a population or persuade a government or international organization to adopt a certain policy” (Weiss, 2002, p.25). Terrorism has many applications, including purely criminal purposes; it is politically motivated terrorism, however, which is of major concern in the modem context. Motivational basis, therefore, is examined first in assessing the nature of the threat presented by the phenomenon of terrorism. Included within the context is brief reference to the contemporary historical development of terrorist activity, because in many cases the two aspects are rooted together. Following Oliverio “The process by which the definition of terrorism is shaped and enforced involves a theoretical approach that recognizes “terrorism” as a historically and contextually produced discourse, and understood in contemporary U.S. society is the by-product of an androcentric discourse in which relationsod domination are central to an understanding of identity” (Oliverio, 1997, p. 48).

Prior to the mid-1960s, terrorist activity could be feasible described as relatively localized in scale and intensity, being generally confined within specific countries or narrowly limited to certain regions as a consequence of cross-border intrusions. In the wake of the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, however, a new dimension became evident when the PLO began international reprisal attacks against Israeli targets in foreign states. Terrorism began to change in character from what had been previously viewed as something of a domestic problem to that of a threat having major international proportions.

Historically, terrorism used in this context has been principally domestic in nature, typical of groups such as the Ku Klux Klan in the USA, and more recently the activities of the Black Liberation Army, Posse Comitatus, and the Jewish Defence League. An alarming inter¬national character has evolved, however, in the resurgence of Muslim fundamentalism emanating from the seizure of power in Iran by the Ayatolla Khomeini and his supporters. Suicide bombing attacks mounted by fanatical Shi’ias have markedly raised the threshold of danger, especially to western interests. Today, terrorism represent modern civilization and has largely used as a political tool. “The concept of terrorism is inextricably associated with the formation and expansion of modern nation-states, including control of territory, moral boundaries, human resources, and the construction of political identities” (Oliverio, 1997, p. 48).

In parallel with all of the foregoing has been a growth in the use of terrorism by radical ideological movements. The Charles Mattel Club of France, the Black Order of Italy, the Angry Brigade of England, and the Communist Combatant Cells of Belgium are illustrative of the broad spectrum from the far Right through fascism and anarchism to the far Left. More widely publicized, of course, have been the activities of the Red Army Faction of Germany and the Red Brigades of Italy. Of late, an offshoot has appeared in the use of terrorist-type tactics to highlight the objectives associated with environmental protection, pollution, nuclear proliferation, and even the rapid advance of modern technology. Examples of the trend are found in the bombing by Direct Action in Canada of a firm engaged in the manufacture of parts for cruise missiles, the attacks by a Swiss ecology group against military training areas in that European nation, assaults upon computer firms by Action Directe in France, and the placing of bombs in the vicinity of nuclear reactor sites in West Germany. Animal-rights activists in Britain and anti-abortionists in the USA have also demonstrated a willingness to resort to terrorist methods in attempts to draw attention to their aims (Hewitt, 2002).

Dramatic strides in technological inno¬vation, sharply defined international power blocs, and the striving for influence in developing nations, as well as religious, ethnic, and cultural discord are roots of terrorism. “Nonstate terrorism includes both anti-state terror and vigilante terror, but it is usually anti-state terrorism that is the focus of attentionв ”violence against recognized states by small groups without the power of a state” (Stout Vol 3, 2002, p.4).

While the police have a front-line responsibility for response to terrorism in Canada, should their resources be overstressed in an emergency the military is available to provide assistance. The CF, especially the Army, have a long history of providing military aid to the civil power. During the early years of the nation, the call for such aid was frequently abused by municipalities that disliked the idea of funding a regular police force. The years between the two world wars brought a distinct change to the policy, and in recent times the military has been more usually summoned to assist at time of national disasters, e.g. floods and forest fires. (Hewitt, 2002)
Racial ethnic and religious frictions are sources of militancy in which terrorism has featured in attempts to secure particular goals. Psychologists identify terrorists as psychopaths who “are law-breakers, deceitful, aggressive, and reckless in disregarding the safety of self and others. They do not feel remorse for hurting others. As some individuals cannot see color, psychopaths cannot feel empathy or affection for others” (Stout Vol 3, 2002, p.6).

From the standpoint of the practicalities of response, identification of the motivation underlying acts of terrorism offers more benefit than a pedantic attempt at definition of the phenomenon. A number of reasons support that opinion, such as the feasibility of developing appropriate policies of response, recognition of likely targets of terrorist interest, aggregation and assignment of suitable protective resources, as well as other measures which must be implemented, not the least of which being the nature of publicity to be devoted to the problem. “Thus, in a society characterized by a culture of racism and prejudice it is not surprising that acts of terrorism occur” (Stout Vol 4, 2002, p.13).

Closely aligned to movements with nationalist aspirations, separatist and irredentist groups have formed a conspicuous part of the international terrorist membership. Some groups, as in the case of the FLQ in Canada, succumbed in the face of determined governmental opposition; others, such as ETA in Spain, continue to survive despite strenuous efforts by security forces to suppress them. One variety of this category, unable to surface within their homelands, has transported terrorism to other nations where its chosen targets are diplomatic or exile communities. The cost in lives and in property destroyed by terrorist atrocities has been considerable, despite disclaimers that the loss of life is proportionally minor when compared to other statistical evidence.
State terrorism is not a novel form of behaviour and has been a practice over the centuries in many countries. Colonel Gaddafi, for example, has been guilty of its application in his pursuit of dissidents both domestically and internationally. He is not unique in the latter activity; Stalin had his agents follow Trotsky to Mexico for the purpose of assassination.

The openness of liberal-democratic societies is a factor in making them vulnerable to terrorist assault. Undoubtedly the different laws do contribute to difficulties on the part of the law-enforcement and intelligence services, especially in terms of information sharing within the international community. The legislation has also resulted in the destruction of valuable intelligence records, created expensive administrative arrangements and caused ridiculous use of security classifications. Nonetheless, it has added to the nations’ strengths by allowing citizens to observe the workings of their respective governments at close range, be reasonably certain that covert wrongdoings will ultimately be exposed and that the democratic system of government will not be subverted or undermined. Following Cohn, it is possible to say that “the only path to safety and security is through international law, not vengeance and retaliation” (Cohn, 2002, p. 25).
Hewitt cites emergency legislation and the use of security forces as examples of the former; the liberal-democratic policy of adherence to the rule of law would also fall within that category. In other words, macro policy is one which has a wide application and a general dimension. The British Government’s traditional policy of maintaining an unarmed police force in Great Britain would equate, too, although representing a course of inaction. Micro policy, on the other hand, is suggestive of a more narrow involvement, such as hostage negotiations and surveillance techniques. Micro policy encompasses individual circumstances, means, and methods. (Hewitt, 2002)

Terrorists attacks in September 11, have posed many problems in the development and administration of immigration policy, forcing it to become increasingly attuned to ‘more positive emphasis on the reasons and means for admittance. The application of force against terrorists, without any corresponding effort to understand their grievance or to implement specific reforms to rectify what may be legitimate problems, may produce some immediate results but usually does not constitute a viable strategy and may, in fact only postpone the ultimate threat. “This war in increasingly being seen as an attempt by extra-regional powers to implement a form of neo-imperialist domination at the beginning of the 2lst century” (Cohn, 2002, p. 25). Today, the unitary system of government of the USA is a distinct advantage in coping with the threat of terrorism.

To protect its citizens from terrorists’ attacks nations should have the strong national interest in formulating an effective policy to counter domestic and international terrorism, and have been able to develop special strengths and resources to deal with the challenges of modern terrorism.
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