The Issue of an International Terrorism - Term Paper Example

International Terrorism Terrorism is a very complex international issue and a matter of growing concern for all nations across the world today. The modern world is very much affected by the adverse effects of terrorism as it haunts the life of many. Terrorism in its extreme sense can pave the way for civil wars within the country, unrest outside the country as it leads to a lot of violence, and anti-humanitarian actions all over the world. Almost everyday the newspapers bring news about heinous acts of violent terrorist attacks, mainly on civilian population. The saddest part of it is that hardened terrorists, by and large, do not attach any value to their own lives, as well as to the lives of others. Very often the plans and strategies adopted by the terrorists are aimed at exerting pressure upon the government to change its policies. For this reason they often resort to violent and inhuman methods of mass destruction, such as bombings, by targeting transportation or crowded places to increase anxiety and fear in the common man so that the government is forced to succumb to the terrorists’ pressures to avoid further bloodshed or disruption. Terrorist activities like the attacks on Israeli athletes in the 1972 Olympics and crashing planes into the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 have received a lot of media coverage which caused fear among the mass audience and directed their attention to the terrorists’ cause. The underlying reasons for terrorism are many and varied. Commenting on the reasons behind terrorist activities, the Report of the National Commission on Terrorism states, “People turn to terrorism for various reasons. Many terrorists act from political, ideological or religious convictions. Some are simply criminals for hire. Others become terrorists because of perceived oppression or economic deprivation.” (Countering the Challenging Threat of International terrorism). Terrorists often claim to undertake terrorist activities by convincing their supporters that they are standing for the welfare of some ethnic groups, religious minorities or even for the national cause of the country. In some cases, people are trained specially to suit terrorist causes: they strongly believe that what they are doing is the right thing. Thus extreme narrow nationalism and false ideologies are instilled in their minds even from childhood, which make them iron willed to undertake any inhuman deeds to acquire their goals. Terrorism can also stem from constant suppression, oppression, marginalization and inequality. Thus, it can be constructed that terrorist fanatic outbreaks occur due to injustice done to a group of people or race and they embark on violence when they feel that they had been wronged: “Fanaticism feeds on grievance, and grievance is nurtured by deeply felt injustice. Terror is the weapon of choice of those who harbor the sense of having been wronged, who are too weak to do anything about it through conventional means and who are motivated to seek vengeance by other means.” (Thakur, Ramesh., & Ginekel, Hans. Van, 2001). But as it works all throughout the world today one cannot perceive any noble purpose or goal in all their undertakings. The terrorists are motivated by some false political ideology as in the case of fascists and to achieve their goals they are ready to undertake any inhuman activities that are centered around destruction, violation of human rights and other acts that are against the essence of democracy. Thus, it is practically impossible to put an end to terrorist activities through peaceful means. As president Bush states, “The terrorists are the heirs to fascism. They have the same will power, the same disdain for the individual, the same mad global ambition…. Like all fascists, the terrorists cannot be appeased: they must be defeated. This struggle will not end in truce or treaty. It will end in victory for the United States, our friends and the cause of freedom.” (Remarks by the President on the US Enterprise on Pearl Harbour Day, 7 Dec 2001). One of the major setbacks suffered by world nations all over the world in their counter tactics and strategies against terrorism is the continued assistance provided to the terrorists by nations like Iran, Syria and Afghanistan. These countries try to use terrorism as a weapon- as their political agenda to gain political goals. Thus, terrorism is used as a means of propaganda by these nations As Noam Chomsky remarks: there are two ways to approach the study of terrorism. One may adopt a literal approach taking the topic seriously, or propagandistic approach, confusing the concept of terrorism as a weapon to be exploited in the service of the some system of power.” (Noam Chomsky, 1991). According to Chomsky, the difference between terrorism and legitimate resistance should be clearly defined, as there is a tendency to glorify or justify terrorist activities as if they are undertaken for the general good of the nation. Thus, Middle Eastern politics has contributed a lot to the spread of terrorism. There are many Middle Eastern countries, which support terrorism either directly or indirectly. Iraq is said to be a fertile land for creating new generations of terrorists and the fact that the security situation within the country is deteriorating is a cause of worry and threat to other nations. As already mentioned, Iran and Syria continue to back international terrorism and this political, material and financial back up is identified as the key factor behind Middle Eastern terrorist activities: “Political terrorism has long been a key feature of Middle Eastern politics given the high degree of conflict, relative ineffectiveness of direct military means, ideological rationalizations, and willingness of states to sponsor such activities.” (Matthew Levitt, 2002). For ages, America has been trying to put an end to terrorism all over the world; but the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center on September 11 was a big blow to all the efforts undertaken by the American Government to eradicate terrorism. The American people had been exposed to terrorist outrages in the Beirut Lebanon Bombing and the American Consulate bombing in 1974. But the United States’ attempts to eliminate terrorism did not receive much international recognition or support as its policies were thought to be arbitrary and self-centered. The United States, being the most dominant political and military power after the collapse of Soviet Union, has a significant role to play in international issues and for this they need to redefine their foreign policy. One of the most alarming factors regarding US foreign policy is that it focuses more on the country’s military power rather than seeking international support and co-operation to resolve international conflicts: “The fall of the soviet Union handed the US a unique opportunity as the surviving super power, to lead the world toward a period of greater co-operation and conflict resolution through the use of diplomacy, global organization, and international law. The great opportunity is being squandered, as the world becomes a more dangerous place. Military force is now looming longer than ever as the main instrument and organizing principle of US foreign policy.” (Mel Goodman, 2004). The United States has always tried to assert its supremacy over other nations politically, economically and ideologically, which prevented it from gaining public support from the global community as a whole. There has been adverse criticisms regarding the over dependence of United States on its military power to silence its enemies. Even the latest Iraq issue has also invited a lot of criticisms from the Arab Community in particular and other world countries in general. There is also a feeling among the international community that World organization like UNO also stands as silent spectators because of the autocrat nature of US foreign policy. For better output in its fight against terrorist and international recognition, the United Nations has to respect institutions like the United States International Court of Justice and it should see that the international co-operation is sought for solving international conflicts and issues connected with terrorism. Just as the definition of terrorism is difficult, the effort to fight terrorism also is a tough task. The fact that the terrorists do not have a permanent shelter and that various sectors of terrorists are spread all throughout the world has caused a lot of limitations to the global demand to put an end to terrorism. Terrorist groups also tend to form a nexus among them due to sympathy for one another. This gives them mileage in several factors like technological, logical or other support, training, weapons etc. Very often the terrorists follow guerilla tactics and their secret network is so effective that intelligence agencies fail to grasp the plans and strategies of such groups. It is sure that no forces can bring terrorist activities to a complete end and claim its credit as ‘no state is the target of military defeat, there are no uniformed soldiers to fight, no territory to unmade and conquer, no clear defining point that will mark victory.” (Ramesh Thakur and Hans Van Ginekel. 2001). International cooperation and better strategy and policies are needed to tackle issues connected with international terrorism. Terrorism, today, has become more cruel and ferocious as terrorists try to kill as many people as possible. Even the lives of civilians are under constant threat. They undertake bombing in public places and mass destruction of civilians without any scruples. This has kept the international community on its nerves as terrorist outbreaks and attacks are likely to take place anywhere at anytime. Even religious centers and places of worship are targeted by them to create communal problems in countries. The efforts of these terrorist activities have far reaching consequences, as it can cause very serious internal divisions within the nation. The September 11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center has alarmed the world nations. It was an open challenge to the civilized world and the general peace and tranquility felt threatened by this macabre attack. This accelerated the United Nations reaction machinery and they decided to formulate counter terrorism strategies: “Reaffirming that acts, methods and practices of terrorism in all its forms and manifestation are activities aimed at the destruction of human rights, fundamental freedom and democracy, threatening territorial integrity, security of states and destabilizing legitimately constituted governments, and that the international community should take the necessary steps to enhance co-operation to prevent and combat terrorism.” (United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy). This entailed several rounds of discussions meetings and debates. Thus, the Member States adopted the Global Counter Terrorism Strategy on 8th September 2006 with a view to make a common strategic approach to fight terrorism exhorting all the world nations to take practical individual steps within the country and to actively contribute to its collective efforts to combat it. It is sad to note that terrorists have grown to a level that can surpass any attempts to break their stronghold roots. The organization and network of various terrorist groups are fractionalized which make it a challenge to determine their entire network strengths and weaknesses. “Terrorist networks today are more dispensed, and less centralized. They are more reliant on smaller cells inspired by a common ideology and less directed by a central command structure. (National Strategy for Combating Terrorism. 2006). Thus, the hideouts and strongholds of various terrorist groups are located using a higher efficient system of network, which is globally connected and linked by an international agency. The campaign against international terrorism is so widespread today as nations have realized its importance. Because of the wide network of terrorists all over the world, any attempt to counteract terrorism should be focused on many aspects, and effective strategies are to be formulated to tackle all issues connected with terrorism. As Tim Youngs, Paul Bowers and Mark Oakes suggest, the campaign against international terrorism “would take the form of a campaign on many fronts, including military action, anti terrorism legislation, international cooperation in matters of extradition and intelligence, and moves against sources of funding for terrorism.” (Tom Youngs., Paul Bowers., & Mark Oakes, 2001). The nations that promote international terrorism and provide funding and other material assistance are to be isolated, and they should not be given any kind of cooperating by other nations. To conclude, one can state that terrorism is a global phenomenon and that it has to be tackled by following a totality approach by all countries of the world.  Terrorism is the greatest threat that mankind faces today and to wipe out this evil, better understanding, cooperation and clear cut policies and strategies are to be facilitated by the world nations. This apart, all the attempts made in this regard are to be coordinated by an efficient international body. All the previously discussed causes of terrorism are to be understood and tackled more efficiently. Through proper education and awareness programs the issues connected with terrorism should be brought to the common public. Children from early childhood are to be taught to cultivate feelings of international fraternity with other nations so that the danger of narrow nationalism and hatred for other countries can be eliminated. There should be cooperation instead of competition, tolerance instead of intolerance and respect for all human beings irrespective of their caste, ethnicity, religion or nationality. Works Cited Levitt, Matthew. A. (Dec. 2002). The Political Economy of Middle East Terrorism. Journal. MERIA. Vol. 6, No.4. Retrieved May 6, 2007, from http://meria.idc.ac.il/journal/2002/issue4/jv6n4a3.html Goodman, Mel. (Feb. 2004). The Militarization of U.S. Foreign Policy. Vol. 9, No. I. Foreign Policy in Focus. Retrieved May 6, 2007, from http://www.fpif.org/briefs/vol9/v9n01military.html Countering the Challenging Threat of International terrorism. Report of the National Commission on Terrorism. Pursuant to public Law 277, 105th congress. Remarks by the President on the US Enterprise on Pearl Harbour Day. (7 Dec. 2001). Chomsky, Noam. (Dec. 1991). International Terrorism: Image and reality. In Alexander George (ed), Western State Terrorism, Route ledge. Thakur, Ramesh., & Ginekel, Hans. Van. An International Prospective in Global Terrorism. U. N. Chronicle. Issue 3, 2001. Department of Public information. United States. United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy. Adopted by the General Assembly on 8th September 2006-resolution 60/288. Youngs, Tom., Bowers, Paul., & Oakes, Mark. (11 Dec. 2001). The Campaign against International Terrorism: Prospects after the fall of Taliban. International Affairs and Defense Section. House of Commons Library. National Strategy for Combating Terrorism. (Sep 2006). The White House. Read More