Military Response to Terrorism - Essay Example

Response to Terrorism Module Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 2 The Threat of Terrorism 3 Increased Terrorism Threat 4 Military Response to Terrorism 5 The Unending Terrorist Threat 5 Conclusion and Recommendations 6 References 8 Abstract Terrorism is one of the biggest threats in the world, and ways should be sought to curb the issue. Some individuals suggest that the terrorist threat does not deserve the resources and attention it currently gets. A justification of the response and attention that terrorism gets can be drawn from the uncertainty of terrorist acts and the increasing acts of terrorism around the world. The threat of terrorism is unending, and will most likely increase as time goes by. However, the response to terrorism should not be focuses on the military way, instead, the government should try to uncover the root causes of terrorism and work with other countries using intelligence to avert terrorist acts before they occur. Introduction One of the biggest issues in British politics is centered on terrorism and the resources expended for it. Some individuals in politics are of the opinion that terrorism should not be given as much attention as is currently done since it does not cause as much destruction as other catastrophes. Other politicians state that the best way to curb terrorism is by destruction of the terrorists using force of war. Terrorist acts all round the world continue to appear in headlines continuously, and some quarters seem to indicate that the attention given to global terrorism is not warranted. Statistically, global terrorism seems to pose a smaller threat than other catastrophes, for example, floods and famines. An investigation by an American economist, Krueger, indicated that the average chance of an individual succumbing to a terrorist attack in the United States or United Kingdom is less than 1 in 5 million (Krueger, 2007). However, the probability of individuals dying from other factors like natural disasters is of a higher magnitude. However, despite the statistic mentioned above, the threat of terrorism, or the actual occurrence of terrorism will dominate headlines more than any other event. Even if a terrorist attack does not claim any lives or damage property of substantial value, the media coverage and outcry from the public will still be overwhelming (Perl, 2007). Additionally, the government’s response to such an occurrence will most likely be higher that the response to any other event. Comparing the time and resources spent on the response to terrorism to the spent to on other global issues shows a big divergence (Perl, 2007). The government will spend more time, resources and personnel in trying to avert the threat of terrorism than any other global occurrence. Some quarters of the political quadrant might argue that the government is spending too much on an event that might or might not occur, but the following analysis shows that the resources and attention spent by the government, media and individuals in response to the terrorism threat is viable. The analysis will show that the terrorism response mechanisms currently in place are possibly due to the uncertainty of the attacks, but also due to the real threat that they pose to society. The Threat of Terrorism One of the first reasons why terrorism is taken seriously around the world is because of the uncertainty of possible attacks from terrorists (English, 2012). Many individuals will state that they are concerned for the country, but perhaps a more satisfying answer is that everybody is concerned for themselves. Increasing media coverage has gone to show that terrorists strike randomly, thus increasing the chance that anyone could be a victim. This fact, coupled with the ruthlessness of the attacks, serves to greatly increase the attention given to terrorism. The main reason why the response to terrorism should be taken seriously is because of the underlying factors or reasons in every terrorist insurgence (English, 2007). Despite the fact that most terrorist attacks usually have comparatively smaller scale effects that other disasters, for example floods and tsunamis, the underlying factors pose a bigger problem. Every attack from terrorists is simply a symptom of an already festering problem. This can be seen in most of the attacks that have already occurred, which are mostly borne from the crisis in the Middle East, especially the Israeli and Palestinian conflict. Other underlying reasons are the Jihadists targeting Western countries based in some misconceptions about these countries. This means that the response to terrorism should be increased to encompass these factors that will always fester unless treated. However, the realization that there always more serious reasons behind every terrorist attack does not legitimize the attack in any way (Krueger, 2007). The response to terrorism should therefore be two-folded; trying to solve the underlying issues and coming up with serious ways to curb already happening attacks. Most of the times, terrorists receive support from other individuals because of the failure of the government to address the underlying issues in the debate. The best examples are the terrorism acts that occur in the Basque regions in Spain and the fight of the IRA. This means that the government should strive to understand and solve the root causes of the violence, which will reduce the support and severity given to terrorists. Increased Terrorism Threat One other reason why the response to terrorism should be taken seriously is the increased threat stemming from terrorism (Dershowitz, 2002). With the increase in technology, the United Kingdom and other developed countries are conscious of the real threat of terrorism evolving to include nuclear, biological or chemical means. The plausibility of this fact stems from the fact that terrorists always look for means of increasing their attention, something they achieve by increasing the devastation of their attacks and the damage caused. This means that the terrorists would be looking for better ways of achieving their objectives, and using advanced weaponry is most certainly one of their alternatives. One other factor is that current terrorist weapons can also produce massive death and injury, for example, with the use of suicidal terrorists (English, 2007). With the goals of mass casualties that terrorists use, the increased threat is a factor in the response to terrorism. This means that the response should be increased using increased intelligence factors. With the long history of terrorism effects and the responses used, the government should also find better ways of responding to the phenomenon. Military Response to Terrorism One of the most used methods to respond to terrorism by most governments is the military option, but history shows that this is not always the best option (Perl, 2007). After the events of 9/11, the American government pledged to stamp out the terrorism menace once and for all. This resulted in two major wars against terrorists and their supporters in Afghanistan and Iraq. However, as already mentioned, terrorists usually seek attention as a way of seeking support to their cause. With the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the first factor that should be noted is that the death toll for both sides was much higher than that from the terrorist acts that had been performed. The war was targeted at complete blocks of people, and did not single out any terrorists. In this regard, even civilians became casualties. With the civilians being the most casualties in both wars, it was easy for terrorists to garner support from other people, with the first issue that they stated being religion. This means that the war now become construed as a religious war, with the perceived target being the Muslim community. As a result, the war did not end terrorist, but instead made more terrorists to attack. This means that the terrorist phenomenon is not eliminated using a military response. Since the military option is not the best way of responding to the terrorist menace, perhaps the best way is increasing the intelligence capability of the countries and finding the root cause of the problem (English, 2007). As already stated, the best way of curbing the terrorist problem is by finding the cause of the problem and solving it. The Unending Terrorist Threat One other factor that should be understood is that the threat from terrorism is not about to end. This is reflected in events that already happened. For example, in 2005, the Provisional IRA formally called an end to terrorist attacks on Britain, citing a complete cease fire. However, on 7/7, the world witnessed another terrorist attack on Britain that signified the beginning of another terrorist era (English, 2012). This indicates that the terrorist menace is here to stay, and the government should find ways of increasing their response capability. The best way to curb the ever present and increasing terrorism problem is through mutual cooperation among countries, for example the United States and Britain. Conclusion and Recommendations From the above analysis, several factors about the terrorist problem can be noted, with the main one being that the terrorism threat is not going away, and there is a real possibility that it will increase in severity. The threat of terrorism is continually increasing, and governments and agencies should find ways of addressing the underlying problems of terrorism. It should also be noted that an over-reliance on military means would not eliminate the terrorist problem; instead, it gives credibility to the terrorists and their acts. This is because terrorists are mostly looking for ways to channel their efforts, and the best way is to portray themselves as victims and thus gain support from other groups. Therefore, the main fact from this analysis is that the terrorism threat should be taken seriously and steps taken to reduce the effects. One of the ways of doing this is investing in high quality intelligence tools that can be used to gather information of terrorist acts before they occur. This helps in averting the terrorist acts before they cause destruction and loss of life. State cooperation is also another factor that will help in averting the terrorist crisis. With cooperation of countries that have the resources to detect terrorist apparatus, the menace will then be curbed. From the above analysis, the main recommendations are as stated, the need for increased resources and response to deal with terrorism and the need to reduce the need for military options. Legal frameworks should be put in place to curb the terrorism menace and reduce the effects or destruction that comes from terrorism. Terrorism needs to be made a big priority in the government, and despite statements that current responses are already too much; the government should actually increase its response. References Dershowitz, A. M 2002. Why Terrorism Works: Understanding the Threat, Responding to the Challenge. Yale University Press, New Haven. English, R 2012. Armed Struggle: The History of the IRA. Oxford University Press, Oxford. English, R 2012. Terrorism: How to Respond. Oxford University Press, Oxford. Hewitt, S 2007. The British War on Terror: Terrorism and Counterterrorism on the Home Front since 9-11. Continuum International Publishing Group Ltd, New York. Krueger, A. B 2007. What Makes a Terrorist: Economics and the Roots of Terrorism. Princeton University Press, Princeton. Perl, R. F 2007. International Terrorism: Threat, Policy, and Response. CRS Report for Congress. Read More