Terrorism Today - Research Paper Example

According to the US Department of Defense terrorism is defined as an unlawful action that is intended to create a sense of fear or to intimidate governments and the general public in order to attain political, religious and ideological goals (The Face of Terrorism, 2007). Today's terrorist organizations work in groups which are in turn interlinked to form a wide terrorist network. Small groups of terrorist cells which are part of a larger group are trained and sent all over the world. In some cases, different terrorist networks or organizations work together to carry out an attack.

All the networks work under a leader who instructs and decides on the activities of the terrorist network (Global Terrorism, n.d). Terrorists could be non state players with a transnational support such as the Al-Qaeda, cells which have regional or international links or individual independent terrorists who are not affiliated to any organization (The Face of Terrorism, 2007). Terrorism is a premeditated act and it is carried out based on political, religious or ideological motives. In most cases political authority, which determines the social and economic status of a country, are the major causes for a terrorist attack (Creekmore, 2007).

The recent 9/11 attacks stand proof for the power of terrorist organizations to carry out an attack in a developed and super power country like America. The major objective behind the attacks was to expose the vulnerability of a country such as America and to create a sense of fear and chaos among the general public (The Face of Terrorism, 2007; Creekmore, 2007). The bombings not only targeted the public but also the US military forces. Minor losses of military forces by a terrorist attack will not only expose the vulnerability of the forces but would also result in wider media coverage and diminish the public and political support for military operations.

Hence terrorist organizations do not directly challenge the government; instead they would target the general population in a manner that would change their perception of the effectiveness and capabilities of their government. They also carry out their operations in a manner that would nullify the effect of the strength of the target forces as exemplified by the sudden attacks on 9/11 (The Face of Terrorism, 2007). Though the 9/11 attacks resulted in the loss of thousands of lives and property, if nuclear devices or bio warfare’s were used in the attacks the destruction could have been of a larger magnitude and would have definitely undermined the basic sense of security within the country (Carter, 1998).

In addition to the loss of lives and damage to property such terrorist attacks have also have a negative impact on the economy of the country. The 9/11 attacks had a significant impact on the trading and stock markets with both the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and NASDAQ closed for a week after the attacks. When the markets reopened the stock market index had fallen by 684 points and the stock loss was estimated at $1.2 trillion dollar for that week. Apart from companies in the US which suffered huge losses, companies across the world which traded with the US also lost significantly.

The airline industry was the most effected after the attacks which have even resulted in many airline companies filing for