Different Types of State Sponsors of Terrorism - Essay Example

Terrorism is one of the most critical issues faced by almost every country in the world. In general, terrorism is known as some sort of violent act against unarmed civilians committed by non-state actors. As Ahmad (n.d.) states, “State-sponsored terrorism literally implies a state’s use or support of terrorism against another state or against its own people” (p. 1). The dilemma is that some countries are actively playing the role of sponsors of terrorism.

State Motivations and Effects on Terrorism
When a state becomes the sponsor of terrorism, it becomes very difficult to establish peace regardless of what type of state sponsor it is. Terrorists become more active and powerful because of the state's support of them. The motivation and support they get from state sponsorship results in increasing the threat of deadly terrorist attacks on civilians, military forces, and infrastructure.

Types of State-Sponsored Terrorism
State-sponsored terrorism does not have any particular form. At one end, a state can make use of its intelligence agencies to carry out terrorist attacks on some other country either because of grudges between the two states or because of the intent to destabilize the victim state. On the other end, a state can become a safe corner or safe home for terrorists from where they can hide after carrying out terrorist attacks on neighboring countries. Some states even fund terrorist groups operating in other countries to keep them from carrying out their criminal activities. Their intent is to weaken the political and military base of the victim state. Some states use their own forces against a particular group of people to suppress their voices and rights. This is also a type of state-sponsored terrorism. For example, the use of force against Kurds by former Iraqi President Saddam Husain can be termed state-sponsored terrorism (Grothaus, n.d.).

Examples of State Sponsored Terrorism
Pakistan provides funds and training to these groups using which they carry out attacks on Indian forces. Their main cause is to gain independence from Indian occupation and Pakistan has been found directly involved in supporting the cause of these groups financially and logistically. Iran’s active support of the Lebanese group Hezbollah to gain influence in Lebanon and Israel is another example of active state-sponsored terrorism (Zalman, n.d.).

As far as passive state-sponsored terrorism is concerned, one of the main examples is Pakistan’s hidden support of Al-Qaeda, which is one of the biggest terrorist groups in the world. A large number of Al-Qaida militants reside in the tribal areas of Pakistan from where they carry out terrorist attacks in neighboring countries, such as Afghanistan and India. Pakistani government does not do anything against them because of the fear they if they take some step against them, they will start targeting their civilians and infrastructure. This is an example of knowing toleration from the Pakistani government in favor of its own state and people.