The True Meaning of Terrorism Essay

“the calculated use of unlawful violence or threat of unlawful violence to inculcate fear; intended to coerce or to intimidate governments or societies in the pursuit of goals that are generally political, religious, or ideological.” Within this definition, there are three key

The word ‘terrorism’ can be traced back to the French Revolution and the reign of terror committed against the population of France in the 1790s. During this time, thousands of people were killed and the general population was severely oppressed. Also, some of the first instances of terrorist tactics, such as assassination and intimidation, were witnessed in the killing of prominent officials and other opponents of the Revolution. In general, terrorists aim to incite fear in the population through pre-meditated violent acts and gain publicity as a medium in achieving their goals. Such acts include taking hostages, bombings and assassinations, all of which create fear and compliance in a victim or audience. Terrorism can be distinguished from other types of political violence through its disregard for and intentional harming of innocent civilians. Also, terrorists usually adopt a state of mind where one side is always good and any opposition is bad and deserves to be punished. As a result, terrorists will always have some supporters who share the same radical thoughts as them and thus terrorism, as a whole, will always be accepted as a legitimate use of violence. This is the reasoning behind the famous phrase by Gerald Seymour, “One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter”(QUOTE

Another group, the IRA, the Irish Republican Army use assassinations and guerilla warfare tactics to cause terrorism.

Terrorism, the very word bring a foul mood with it, wherever it goes, yet most don’t even know the meaning of the word. Most people insult the idea without very little thought, even when knowing not a thing about it, or why its being caused. The Boston Tea party was an act of terrorism, and is taught to be known as one in some schools in the U.S., and many will rise and say that the Boston Tea Party was a justified, valiant, and patriotic act. Terrorism, in many cases, can be proven.

Terrorism is a word that is widely used in modern society even though most people don’t know the real definition and the meaning behind it.

During the years there were multiple types of terrorism attacks that were done for different reasons. What I mean is that terrorism started to achieve its own identity. Nationalist movements which are known as, “Efforts on the part of a group or a nation to obtain political independence and autonomy.”(Mcentire, 2008) These types of attacks started to flourish in the Middle East, and other places such as India and Ireland. (Mcentire, 2008) Anarchists are known to be those who, “oppose specific government or all governments. “(Mcentire,

There is no single, universally accepted definition to define terrorism but the U. S. Code of federal regulations defines it as any violent act or acts dangerous to human life that violates the criminal laws of the U.S. or any State or that would be a criminal violation if committed within the jurisdiction of the U.S. or any State. (18 U.S.C § 2331). The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) divides terrorist attacks that face the U.S. into two broad categories - international and domestic. (18.U.S.C. § 2331).

What is Terrorism? The FBI definition of Terrorism is the unlawful use of force and violence against persons or property to intimate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives. The goals and objectives of terrorism can vary. They can used terrorism to gain money and power, or control over a government, or it can be used as a form of hate crime. There goal depends on what there objects is? For example if a small group is unhappy with there government they can use terrorism to try and change the government or take control of it. Another form of terrorism is the use of force to intimidate a certain group of people for money or power. Terrorism can also be used to

International terrorism aspire to intimidate or coerce a civilian population, influence the policy of a

They elucidate that terrorism is a “premeditated, politically motivated, violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups of clandestine agents, usually intended to influence an audience,” (National Institute of Justice).

According to the Federal Bureau of Intelligence (FBI), terrorism applies to the use of force to cause terror, based on violent actions whose major purpose is in instilling fear and extreme calamities. Terrorism, therefore, seeks to coerce and pressure national (global) governments and societies in general to bend to their demands and illogical proclamations that are

There are many different definitions of terrorism. Encyclopedia.com defines it very broadly as “the use of violence to further a political or social cause”. (2003). Another source states “Terrorism has been described variously as both a tactic and strategy; a crime and a holy duty; a justified reaction to oppression and an inexcusable abomination” (Terrorism Research, n.d.). Our unit one lecture reminded us of the adage “One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter” and pondered whether the Boston Tea Party could be viewed as an act of terrorism (Bethel University, 2017). Regardless of the exact definition one chooses to use, our nation faces a wide range of threats from those who intend to do us harm. The individuals and organizations who threaten us are as

There have been various definitions and views of terrorism that have beenfronted over the years. It has been described as a strategy and at other levels as a tactic, some have called it a crime and yet other refer to it as a holy/noble duty; some consider it an inexcusable abomination yet others consider it a systematic reaction to oppression. Obviously, a lot depends on whose point of view is being represented, be it theological, political or psychological. Also terrorism can be seen as willful destruction (killing) of people or destruction of property by people not acting on behalf of an established government to redress a real or imaginary injustice attributed to an established government. However it is important to note that not all cases of willful destruction of people or property are acts of terrorism (Red Cross Organization, 2007).

Terrorism as defined in the document Global information about Terrorism, is “The use of force or violence

There is a difficulty in defining terrorism officially due to subjective worldwide views, however the state department in the USA call it “Pre-meditated motivated violence perpetrated against civilians, usually intended to influence an audience”