Terrorism Basics

8/9/2019 Terrorism Basics

1/4

Introduction

Terrorism is not new, and even though it has been used since the beginning of recorded history.

Terrorism is a criminal act that influences an audience beyond the immediate victim. The

strategy of terrorists is to commit acts of violence that .draws the attention of the local populace,

the government, and the world to their cause. The terrorists plan their attack to obtain the greatestpublicity, choosing targets that symbolize what they oppose. The effectiveness of the terrorist act

lies not in the act itself, but in the publics or governments reaction to the act. Terrorism has

been practiced by a broad array of political organizations for furthering their objectives. It has

been practiced by both right-wing and left-wing political parties, nationalistic groups, religious

groups, revolutionaries, and ruling governments. The evil of terrorism continued to plague the

world throughout 2002, from Bali to Grozny to Mombasa.

Definition of Terrorism

Terrorism by nature is difficult to define. Acts of terrorism conjure emotional responses in thevictims (those hurt by the violence and those affected by the fear) as well as in the practitioners.

The old adage, One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter is still alive and well.

The word "Terror" comes from a Latin terrere meaning "to frighten". The terror cimbricus was

a panic and state of emergency in Rome in response to the approach of warriors of the Cimbri

tribe in 105 BC. The Jacobins cited this precedent when imposing a Reign of Terror during the

French Revolution.

The Oxford English Dictionary Definition

Terrorism is a global phenomenon which is easy to recognize but difficult to define. The Oxford

English Dictionary defines it as:

Terrorism: A system of terror.1. Government by intimidation as directed andcarried out by the

party in power in France during the revolution of 1789-94;

The system of `Terror`. 2. gen. A policy intended to strike with terror those against whom it is

adopted; the employment of methods of intimidation; the fact ofterrorizing or condition of being

terrorized.

FBI Definition

Terrorism is the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate orcoerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political

or social objectives.


2/4

The FBI further describes terrorism as either domestic or international, depending on the origin,

base, and objectives of the terrorists:

Domestic terrorism is the unlawful use, or threatened use, of force or violence by a group orindividual based and operating entirely within the United States or its territories without foreign

direction committed against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the

civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.

International terrorism involves violent acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of

the criminal laws of the United States or any state, or that would be a criminal violation if

committed within the jurisdiction of the United States or any state. These acts appear to be

intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population, influence the policy of a government by

intimidation or coercion, or affect the conduct of a government by assassination or kidnapping.

International terrorist acts occur outside the United States or transcend national boundaries interms of the means by which they are accomplished, the persons they appear intended to coerce

or intimidate, or the locale in which the perpetrations operate or seek asylum.

The American Heritage dictionary defines terrorism to be:

The unlawful use or threatened use of force or violence by a person or an organized

group against people or property with the intention of intimidating or coercing societies or

governments, often for ideological or political reasons.

In the introduction to the USA State Departments Patterns of Global Terrorism, terrorism is

defined as politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by

subnational groups or clandestine agents, usually intended to influence an audience.

The definition covers the following criteria-

First, terrorism must be politically motivated. Terrorism is directed toward goals that arepolitical; in other words, terrorist actions are intended to guide or influence governmental

policy.

Second, terrorist violence is directed at noncombatants. Noncombatants are people whoare not members of the military services or military members who are not actively

involved in military hostilities. The third criterion of the State Departments definition of terrorism is that subnational

groups or clandestine agents commit terrorist attacks. Under this criterion, political

violence by nation-states is not terrorism, even when there is an probability that

noncombatants will be killed (e.g., the 1941 Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor; the 1986

U.S. bombing of Libya)


3/4

Taylor (1988) went to great lengths in trying to define terrorism. His discussion elaborated on

three perspectives that people use in determining whether or notan act is terrorism. He presented

these differing perspectives to emphasize that even with a firm set of definition criteria, as

delineated above, different people can interpret an act differently depending on their perspective.

Legal Perspective

First, some people see terrorism as a legal issue. With this perspective, an act is considered

terrorism only if it is illegal. Governments are likely to use this perspective to interpret terrorism;

however, the determination that an act is terrorism under this perspective depends on which

government is doing the interpreting. Obviously, not all nations will have the same definition of

what is legal. Two governments, therefore, may view the same incident differently.

Moral Perspective

A second perspective is moral in nature and would consider an act to be terrorism only if it had

no moral justification. Some groups are willing to commit politically motivated illegal violence

but do so with the belief that it is a necessary and morally justified act. As an example, the

Provisional Irish Republican Army considers its violent attacks morally justified in that its goal

is to eliminate British dominance in Northern Ireland, a political condition it sees as immoral on

the part of Great Britain. Thus, it does not interpret what it is doing as terrorism (or at the least, it

does not attach a derogatory quality to its actions

Behavioral Perspective

Taylors third and final perspective is behavioral. With this perspective, terrorism is defined

purely by the behaviors involved, regardless of the laws or morality of those doing the defining.In reasoning from this perspective, different interpreters will necessarily arrive at the same

conclusions as to whether or not a particular act is terrorism

Some other definition

Terrorism is the use or threatened use of force designed to bring about political change.

Brian Jenkins

Terrorism constitutes the illegitimate use of force to achieve a political objective when innocent

people are targeted. Walter Laqueur

Terrorism is the premeditated, deliberate, systematic murder, mayhem, and threatening of theinnocent to create fear and intimidation in order to gain a political or tactical advantage, usually

to influence an audience. James M. Poland


4/4

Terrorism is the unlawful use or threat of violence against persons or property to further politicalor social objectives. It is usually intended to intimidate or coerce a government, individuals or

groups, or to modify their behavior or politics.

Vice-President's Task Force, 1986

Key characteristics of terrorism

Nonetheless, Hoffman himself believes it is possible to identify some key characteristics of

terrorism. He proposes that:

By distinguishing terrorists from other types of criminals and terrorism from other forms of

crime, we come to appreciate that terrorism is :

y ineluctably political in aims and motivesy violent or, equally important, threatens violencey designed to have far-reaching psychological repercussions beyond the immediate victim

or target

y conducted by an organization with an identifiable chain of command or conspiratorialcell structure (whose members wear no uniform or identifying insignia) and

y perpetrated by a subnational group or non-state entity

Documents

Terrorism Basics