Domestic Terrorism - Coursework Example

Domestic Terrorism Order No: 205041 No: of pages: 4 Premium 6530 ‘An act of terrorism means an act of domestic or international terrorism as defined in section 2331’ of the Domestic Terrorism Act. Domestic Terrorism may be defined as those acts that are dangerous to human life and property and violates the criminal laws laid down by the United States or for that matter any country. International terrorism is the kind of terrorism that involves causing great harm to innocent civil population or bringing about a drastic change or influencing the policies of the government through coercion and intimidation by assassination, kidnapping and mass destruction outside ones own country. Another definition of terrorism laid down in the Code of Federal Regulations goes like this – “…the unlawful use of force and violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.” (28 C.F.R. section 0. 85) The Defense Department of the U.S. explains the term terrorism saying it is “The calculated use of violence or the threat of 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.” (U.S. Department of Defense) The United States faces terrorism from within their country and also from without. According to the FBI statistics, approximately 74 terrorist incidents had taken place in the US between the years 1991 – 2001 and another 64 of them were prevented by the law enforcement. Domestic and International Terror groups: Common ties and Enemies: The first successful stamp of International terrorism on the United States since the WTO (World Trade Centre) in 1993 was the Al-Qaeda attacks on September 11th 2001. In retaliation to these attacks, the FBI conducted the most massive terrorism investigation, working in close tandem with the US and other agencies of foreign intelligence around the world. Close and common ties were cemented with many anti – Taliban Afghan leaders whose common enemy was Osama –bin- Laden who was being sheltered by the Taliban. On October 7th, 2001, military action was carried out against the Taliban regime by targeting the Al- Qaeda training camps. Some of the most common criminal activities by terrorist groups are – bombings, arson, kidnapping, assassinations, assaults, killing of innocent people and damaging property and vandalism. In order to sustain themselves and upkeep their terrorist groups they peddle drugs and engage in blackmail and extortion. The Internet and Domestic Terrorism: Cyber terrorism and cyber warfare have become household words because the internet has become a prey to terrorist groups who take liberty in spreading their messages and threats of hate and doom. The other kind of terrorism is when terrorists attack huge computer networks with viruses causing it to crash down and lose very important data – the loss running into millions. Every citizen does have the right to free speech and communication and they should understand that they should not cross the line beyond by involving in those activities that harm or hinder the rights of his fellow citizens. Terrorists who travel beyond the line of trust engage in terrorist activities such as plotting and planning bombings, kidnappings, assaults, killings and arson. They use the internet to send encrypted code messages during their course of planning and also for their propaganda. Terrorist organizations even sell their publications and books through their website and also raise funds for their nefarious activities. Many of these sites brazenly sell literature like the “Terrorist Handbook” or the “Anarchist Cookbook” detailing how to make a wide range of bombs and other firearms. My stand on this front would be that people who use the internet for such activities should be flushed out and severely punished. Even if I knew that Federal authorities would be monitoring me and my basic right to freedom was being curtailed, yet if this was going to help in a big way, I wouldn’t mind- so long as terrorism was put to rest. The Greater Threat: Domestic or International Terrorism: There are about 42 International terrorist organizations spread across the globe. Out of these at least 24 of them are Radical Islam. Their headquarters are in countries like Israel, Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, Algeria, Libya, Egypt, Monacco, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Indonesia, Phillipines. International terrorism is on the decline after it reached a peak in 1987 according to the statistics gathered and published by the US Department of State. In 1987 it recorded 666 terrorist incidents worldwide and the number has dropped to 364 as of 1992. According to the U.S. State Department, around 21% of worldwide terrorist attacks is directed or targeted towards the U.S. Looking at the recent statistics, the committee for counter – terrorism felt that International terrorism was on the decline whereas, domestic terrorism maintained nearly the same proportion. The reasons for this to happen are based on many factors. The first major point that contributed a lot to the decline of terrorism was because of the Middle –East peace process. Secondly, the U.S. and other Governments have taken great care to frame firm and viable policies against terrorism. Thirdly, the support provided by the Soviet Union for terrorist organizations was stopped. Therefore, since these precautions were introduced terrorism in general had drastically dropped. The Governments of all the countries have vowed to put an end to terrorism and they are doing their best to bring about a radical change for the better. On our part, though we live in a democratic country, we cannot sit on the sidelines and watch the tragedy that is triggered by politically or religiously motivated terrorism as we can certainly do our little bit by keeping our eyes and ears open and reporting any untoward conversation or incident we may come across. Who knows it may save a good many lives! In fact maybe even our very own! References: The New Legal Definition of ‘Domestic Terrorism’. www.rense.com/general16/thenewlegaldefinition.htm Terrorism 2000/2001 www.fbi.gov/publications/terror/terror2000_2001.htm Terrorist Activities on the Internet. www.adl.org/Terror/focus/16_focus_a.asp Federal Bureau of Investigation. www.fbi.gov/congress/congress02/jarboe021202.htm Recent Trends in Domestic and International Terrorism. www.cdt.org/security/usapatriot/19950426cnss-trends.html International Terrorism: Teaching Guide. www.usip.org/class/guides/terrorism.pdf Read More