The 9 11 Terrorist Attacks on World Trade Centre - Essay Example

Introduction The 9/11 terrorist attacks on World Trade Centre has changed the political, social and economic dimensions of the world. The political priorities of the developed countries have been influenced, and now special focus has been diverted to achieve global peace. The world stands united against these notorious and terrorist forces, and have taken strong military and political actions against these militants. The terrorism has severely affected the social, cultural and religious harmony of the world. The tide of terrorist attacks has jolted the bond of trust and mutual respect between the ethnic and pluralistic society. The political ideology has taken the form of religious notion, and has emerged as vindictive agenda against the humanity, in the name of honour and obedience to god. The ideological differences between the ethnic groups and the polarization of the human society has deepened and flawed the social and political differences; the radial and fundamentalist groups are in the struggle for the imposition of their order internationally. The terrorist attacks and war on terror were reactive approach to each other; however these reactive measures have engulfed the society in state of confusion, fear and frustration. Struggle by International Community The legal reforms have been introduced through the extent and possibility of terrorist attacks has been controlled. At the international forums like United Nations, NATO, EU and ASEAN; the member countries have pledged their firm resolution against the terrorist networks. The international community have clear understanding about taking concrete measures against militant groups, but these countries have however to declare the groups responsible for militancy and terrorism. With specific reference to certain countries, Tamil Tigers have been declared as terrorist outfit in Sri Lanka, however Indian government have supported Tamil Tigers diplomatically ad has resisted any move against Tamil Tigers network. The Indians have accused Jamat-ul-Islam as terrorist group responsible for Mumbai carnage; however Pakistani government has opposed such accusation against this group and have regarded Jamat-ul-Islam as social organization. The Israelis have fought battle against forces of Hezbollah, and have accused this group of involvement in several acts of terrorism; however the Lebanese and Arab countries have resisted any counter move against the forces of Hezbollah. Americans have been declaring Saddam regime as supporter of terrorist network, and attempted to establish relationship between Al-Qaeda and Iraqi government; but it was the Russian and Chinese administration which challenged and opposed any counter measure by American government for the oppression of network. The Americans have been accusing Iran of supporting terrorism in Iraq after expiration of Saddam's regime, but Russians have strongly reacted to such allegations, and have opposed any call for sanctions on Iran at Security Council - United Nations. The Arab League has condemned the atrocities and vengeance of Israeli government in Palestine, and with the support of China and Russia, has called upon United Nations to impose sanctions against Israel but it has been American government which has vetoed any embargo on Israeli government, and has on several forum justified the vengeance of Israel government. Conflict of Interests: Concept of Late Modernity Garland (2001) claimed that it is harsh reality that because of the conflict of interest, the governments have failed to evolve consensus against the terrorist outfits. The struggle of International forums against the terrorist groups is therefore ineffective, and complete success has never been achieved even after the lapse of eight years. The difference of interpretation among the member countries have given ample span to the terrorist networks to firm their network, and even after taking military action against the terrorist networks, the threat of terrorist attack is imminent globally. The war against terrorism was launched in Afghanistan soon after 9/11, but unfortunately even after the lapse of seven years, the condition of Afghanistan remains volatile. It is important for the global community to discuss the core issue on terrorism, and there is essential need to further implement stringent measures to protect the humanity against terrorism. In United Kingdom, soon after 7/7 attacks the government undertook certain legislative measures to verify and assess the migrants living inside the United Kingdom. After receiving the necessary approval from the Parliaments, the threat of terrorist attacks has been eliminated. The English government has developed strong scanning system under which the entire profile and status of the migrants have been re-verified, and their current activities inside the United Kingdom has been re-evaluated. The government of United States have been actively engaged, and has undertaken several counter-terrorism measures. Under initial plan, the illegal migrants inside United States were encouraged to register themselves; the registration process was in actual an evaluation scheme under which the security of the migrants was ensured after their necessary security clearance. The government of United States have passed several legislations under which the profile of the migrants have been communicated and exchanged with the respective countries for the sake of verification and once 100percent clearance is received, the migrant is deemed acceptable for United States. Unfortunately, all these measures have been undertaken on the prerogative of specific country, the consent of all the nations is not involved. The forums of United Nations, NATO, and ASEAN etc. have therefore failed to deliver. Sassen (2001) observed that the world community in specific the developed countries are committed towards creation of peaceful world, and for this purpose several political, economic and social institutions have been developed to protect the interest of humanity. The world community has developed unanimous understanding of the development of institutions which should serve the interests of the local society without any bias. It is more important for the international forums to apply proper governance to avert the possibility of retaliation from the terrorist networks. The international community should dedicate their resource for the risk evaluation, and based upon the principle of estimation and probability the reforms should be undertaken. It is important for the international community to develop consensus upon the punishable measures essential to convict the terrorists upon arrest. The international institutions should be given autonomy and offered an opportunity to perform and counter. Such forums should work for the remedial actions and reforms necessary to undertake to covert the threat of terrorism, and should develop a strategy essential for the treatment of terrorism. The unanimous rule of law shall be developed which should involved fundamental principles of human rights, and any violators shall be held accountable accordingly. The forum of United Nations can play its active role to define and declare terrorist groups, and the member countries should reaffirm their pledge to fight against such outfits. Buruma (2004) insisted that the coordination between the law enforcement agencies of different countries is essential. The importance of intelligence shall never be underestimated; therefore the countries should work together and should play their essential part to share the relevant intelligence to narrow the activities of the terrorist groups. It is reality that intelligence agencies of United States the CIA and FBI cannot alone win the war of terror. Prior to 9/11, both the agencies were aware of the fact that terrorist plot has been finalised and will occur in United States any time, but it was beyond the wildest imagination of both the agencies that the mode of attack would be plane crash with building. It was later realised that Israeli and Pakistani intelligence agencies tracked certain information relevant to attacks on 9/11. The intelligence of the countries should be institutionalized, and single unit shall be developed which should monitor the intelligence reports of the respective countries, without interfering in their political affairs. Sassen (2001) explained that the terrorism is international reality, but it is important to identify the factors responsible for the evil. Looking into Al-Qaeda, the creation of this military unit was political and its major responsibility was to counter the Russian Communist regime. The militants of Al-Qaeda were successful in the fall of USSR, and all the activities of these groups were supported by United States and United Kingdom. It was after 1990s, when the group was involved in several rhetoric acts, and took extreme approach against the social and political practices of the West. The group mustered its support from the local population under the concept of Jihad, and declared the western governments as infidels and offered an opportunity to the Muslim youth of Afghanistan and Central Asian countries to fight Jihad in the name of God against the West and Americans, in particular. Al-Qaeda had several political and financial ambitions behind this offensive approach, and was successful in the manipulation of Islamic teachings and concept of righteousness to influence the local youth. The local youth was prompt enough to support the militants without understanding the ground reality. The local youth of these regions have been living below poverty line for ages, and this youth of totally strange towards the concept of science and technology. The militant groups were able to seek their support in exchange for few hundred dollars, and instigated religious fervour by promising them eternal rewards after fighting against the west. The illiteracy and ignorance in these areas emerged as curse of the global population. The concept of Vertigo of Late Modernity is therefore valid, and it is fact that lack of modernity caused troublesome situation for the humanity. Under this concept, the population which has been ignored have now emerged as threat for the entire humanity. The people of Afghanistan and Central Asian countries have dwelled under poor circumstances, the west was able to celebrate their expedition of Moon but these people were living under harsh circumstances where survival of their community of was at stake due to poor infrastructure and improper healthcare facilities. The feelings of resentment and bitterness of these people is now a challenge for the West in particular the Americans. The Americans have already experienced the bitterness of locals in Iraq and Afghanistan. The access to education and healthcare is the key to secure their trust and support. The terrorist outfits have injected strong hatred against West in the minds of the local population, and has further supported these hatred in the light of holy religious book and literature. For Americans, it is strong challenge to dilute their resentment and secure their trust. The west should practice sincere efforts of political dialogue with the locals to achieve their support. The terrorism is not limited to the measures undertaken by the society, but the counter measure by the developed countries is also regarded as form of terrorism. The military offence of western forces in the regions of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iraq is injecting fear among the locals. The counter to terrorism is yet another form of terrorism which will eventually retaliate. The drug mafia has direct relation with the war of terror. The drugs production has been source of financial remuneration for the militant groups; these groups have been able to develop their network through monetary gains achieved by trading in drugs. The drugs offenders are therefore supporting the network of terrorism, if not the actual terrorism. This is socio-cum-medical problem which has strengthened the network of terrorism. Possible Risks and Judicial System Hudson (2003) verified that the implication of the criminal judicial system is severe. With the specific reference of those who were held accountable for 9/11 attacks, many of these were grounded in Guantanamo Bay. The Americans forces captivated all the individuals whose link with the terror network was either establish or suspected. These accused people were held accountable but due to the absence of global criminal judicial system, the accused were never presented in the front of any court room. This was the failure of criminal judicial system, it is important to evolve global criminal judicial system where accused can be prosecuted by law. The criminal judicial system adopted with the particular case of the offenders was under Geneva Convention, however unfortunately this convention has failed to mitigate the factors responsible for such terrorist acts. The criminal judicial system should be strong enough to influence irrespective of international boundaries because the terrorist attacks have attacked people from diversified background, and these attacks are further supported by the people from distinct culture and race. The judicial system which is limited to a country needs to be revised, and criminal judicial procedure shall be introduced at global level. Such criminal judicial system cannot succeed in eradication of terrorism if the fundamental social, political and economic issues of specific regions are addressed. Terrorism has been reaction to the ignorance, political vindication, and intolerance practiced and nurtured by the leaders of global community. The risk-society concept is reality; the society is under continuous risk whether it is terrorism or counter-terror measure. The deployment of weaponry will always bolster the element of fear and terror. Unfortunately, even though we are internationally fighting against militancy and terrorism but in reality we are further injecting violence and hatred. The movie The Kingdom, ended up with sequel in which the Western forces have reaffirm their pledge that they will fight, and on the other hand the militants have communicated the same pledge to their upcoming generations. The worst affected by the counter-terror measures have not been the militants but the generation which has witnessed this state of chaos and hatred. Sasson (2002) argued that it is important to "critique the ways in which the terrorist threat is being discursively and materially shaped by law and order institutions", and it is further important to establish "criminological agenda that is both inclusive of and responsive to current concerns about the management of new terrorism". The technological advancement has mentally prepared the generation about the extent of the fight, and the existence of these weapons validates the resolution to fight. The resolution to fight is proportional with the availability of the weaponry; therefore the analysts are sceptical about the return of peace to our regions. Sasson (2002) stated the fact that "deficiencies in the United Nations system of world order have many times missed an effective and timely solution of a problem". The existence of gap areas on numerous instances have now gulfed the entire system with gaps i.e. distortion of world order. Sasson (2002) argued that the forum has failed, and people doubts "their willingness, ability and power to provide a reasonable solution to certain problems in order to create a basis for a long lasting stability in international matters". Hudson (2003) argued that the majority is convinced that the "notion of international justice cannot be extracted from a certain regime of socio-political systems that are currently existing in the world, and their extension and application to the global society is impractical". The concept of old and new terrorism is an addition to English vocabulary, but its consequences on the humanity is the same fear, frustration, intolerance and hatred in all forms is terrorism. The social, political and economic reforms are essential, and such reforms need to be established at large scale to benefit the humanity. The wave of terrorism generated only after the political ideologies of two distinct groups developed, it is therefore important to apply process of dialogue to bridge the differences to protect the humanity. References 1. Sasson, S. ( 2002) Governance Hotspots: Challenges We Must Confront In The Post-September 11 World. Theory, Culture and Society. Vol 19(4). p. 233-44. 2. Sassen, S. (2001) The Global City: New York, London, Tokyo. Princeton. Princeton University Press 3. Buruma, I. And Margalit, A. (2004) Occidentalism: the west in the eyes of its enemies. New York. Penguin Press. 4. Garland, D. (2001) The Culture of Control : Crime and Social Order in Contemporary Society. Oxford. Oxford University Press. 5. Hudson, B. (2003) Justice in the Risk Society: Challenging and Re-affirming Justice in Late Modernity. London. Sage. Read More