Terrorist Path Timothy McVeigh - Research Paper Example

Timothy McVeigh Background of individual On April 19, 1995 a terrorist attack took place in Oklahoma City on the Alfred Murrah Federal building killing around 168 people and injuring more than 700 people. The attack was so massive that it damaged many buildings within a specific radius. Almost ninety minutes after the explosion a car was stopped by a trooper named Charlie Hanger which did not have a license plate. The person driving it was identified as Timothy McVeigh and he was carrying a weapon. Later on evidence found on the site linked Timothy McVeigh to the crime scene and he was found guilty of carrying out the attacks on the federal building. The involvement of an American left the whole nation in a shock as most of the terrorist attacks in United States were carried out by a foreign agency. Timothy McVeigh used to be in United States army but got against the state due to certain incidents that took place in the history of the US. This essay would revolve around the life of Timothy McVeigh and his aims in life with regard to success and failure that he could achieve in life (Michel & Herbeck 2001). Timothy McVeigh was born in Pendleton New York in the year of 1968. He had two siblings and was the only boy in his family. He grew up in a rural community near Buffalo, Niagara and Canada and had a very disturbed life from an early age. His father was a worker in the General Motors manufacturing plant and his mother used to be a homemaker. His life seemed in turmoil at a very early age when his parents divorced each other when he was ten years old (CNN News 2001). His childhood was the most disturbing of all as it saw different types of events happening all over his life. His parents were not always around him and he felt their need as was quoted by one of his best friend’s mother "I just felt for him," she said. "His mother wasnt around. The father worked nights. The kids were alone. But he never showed any troubled side to me. He never seemed to be affected by it. He was always smiling, always polite.” But his problem was not limited as it was also noticed by boys living in the neighborhood. According to them McVeigh had a different life than any of the boy living in the area as he did not seem to enjoy the slightest moments of life, such as the birthday parties. Tim had a business mind from a very early age and was innovative in his careers. Tim was that sort of a person who liked people all around him and so he built himself a haunted house in his basement where he used to call upon his friends. Timothy McVeigh held his own weekend casino fairs and acted out as a dealer in them so that he could earn some sort of money. One of his associates Keith Maurer was quoted as saying “He was very advanced for our age, "I remember saying to myself: I wouldnt have thought of that." The story did not end here only when his childhood is analyzed as Tim got interested in firearms at the age of ten. Although his father never took that much interest in guns, Tim had an urge to use guns in a different manner. At the age of 19 Tim owned a gun and learned how to fire in the woods. One of the school mates of Tim even said that he used to save food in case of any attack on the United States so that he could survive. At a tender age many believed that Tim was shook by the divorce of his parents and he was suffering because of this very reason (Washington Post 1995). In 1986 he left school and dropped out of college in the years that followed. He worked as a security guard in Buffalo soon after and carried goods from one place to another. Although he was not much fond of his job but he was quoted as saying that he loved carrying a gun and wearing a uniform on the job (Michel & Herbeck 2001). At the age of 20 Tim joined the army which many believe that he joined to improve his shooting skills. This job gave him a platform through which he could improve upon his skills and work on his survivalist behavior. It was here during his tenure in army that he met Terry Nichols who was also a person obsessed by guns. He had a great time in the army as many remember him as the perfect soldier (BBC News 2001). Anderson was quoted as saying that "He was always the perfect soldier, uniform always perfect, and yet heres this guy who I dont know if he ever had a date. One side is outstanding and another side so lacking. It makes me think the Army filled a lot of voids, and when he no longer had the Army, he had to fill the void with something" (Washington Post 1995). It was after the ceasefire that he had to leave army for the Green Berets try out which he did not clear. Many believe that this failure was the reason because of which he planned up to fight the government. He left the military soon after and started working as a security guard. It was the political situation that led him to attacks against the government (Washington Post 1995). Goals, motivations and tactics All his life McVeigh had been fighting as a survivalist and thus many things worked towards his motivation to launch an attack on the building of the federal government. After he dropped out of military he started working as a security supervisor but he still had those survivalist instincts. It was in these times that the gun control laws starting becoming popular. Bill Clinton in these times vowed for presidency on the basis of these gun control laws (Washington Post 1995). In 1992 a catastrophe occurred at the Ruby Ridge where federal officials killed the wife and son of Randy Weaver, a survivalist. This motivated McVeigh to make up some plan against the government. Although it is believed that he did not plan anything after this incident the final blow was the Waco Siege. Waco Siege was another incident which took place in 1993 between the federal bureau investigators and the individuals of Branch Davidians. It occurred when the investigators issued a warrant against David Koresh and his ranch at Mount Carmel. The Davidians did not surrender to the warrant and did not let the investigators check the compound. Later on the FBI carried out a siege on the individuals which lasted for 50 days and ended up in a fire on the compound which killed 76 individuals on the spot. It was after this event that hatred for the government crept into his heart and he started planning something against the government. He was so much moved by the event that he even travelled to Waco to see the events which led to fire in the compound. Moreover he also passed a letter from within the jail to cite the reasons as to why he bombed the Murrah building. In the letter he said that he was waiting for the government to apologize for the incident that took place in Waco but the government never apologized. In his letter he was quoted as saying “I reached the decision to go on the offensive - to put a check on government abuse of power, where others had failed in stopping the federal juggernaut running amok" (BBC News 2001). The Waco siege was the main motivation that led him to carry out offensive tactics against the government. He was against the law passed against the fire arms and believed that the FBI were planning raids on the right wing groups without any proof. He learned to make bombs from fertilizers when he was in home in Decker, Michigan. In the end because of all the things that happened he finally decided to launch an offensive on the government so that he could stop the cult against the officers. He wrote “Borrowing a page from US foreign policy, I decided to send a message to a government that was becoming increasingly hostile by bombing a government building and the employees within that building who represent that government (Guardian 2001). Critical evaluation of individual Timothy McVeigh suffered from a bad childhood and went through different traumas that led to the disaster in 1995. Because of his parent’s divorce he became distorted and his interests from life wandered on different things. Guns became his obsession from a very early life and he started shooting in the woods. The man was quite intelligent but he could not use it in the right terms. McVeigh viewed the political turmoil as a threat to the integrity of the United States. In my belief he had different views than others but was suffering from an inner threat. His dream of entering the Green berets was also not fulfilled and this led to conflicts in his inner self. The individual carried out the plan in accordance with his beliefs. He was quite a determined person and fulfilled his goals by carrying out the plan that he made against the government. He carried out his survivalist techniques and fought against the whole government. In my view he was a perfect man but his skills could have been used elsewhere (Michel & Herbeck 2001). Supported arguments as to why the individual succeeded or failed (must be supported by facts) The individual did succeed in his cause as he did enough harm to the government. The Oklahoma blasts took place in 1995 and killed around 168 people. Timothy McVeigh began a campaign against the government and planned out the attacks to make the government understand that every minute thing should be monitored. It was a revenge for the mishandling of cases by the government such as the Waco Siege. In a way Timothy McVeigh succeeded in fulfilling his dream of making the government understand the decisions that they made. His trial was covered by media and he got his message to the audience which clearly stated that the bombings could have been averted if the government learned to handle situations in a much better way. Although he did fail in certain circumstances as he was not able to generate a mass campaign against the government. It can be said that even after his death many of the same followings were carried out by the FBI but in some cases it was seen that the raids that were expected in 1995 did not take place. He did succeed in his task because these raids against the individuals did not take place. References Dear Tracy - by mass killer Timothy McVeigh. Tracy McVeigh. The Observer. Guardian 2001. Timothy McVeigh. Special Forces. CNN 2001. Profile: Timothy McVeigh. BBC News 2001. An Ordinary Boys Extraordinary Rage. Russakoff & Kovaleski. Washington Post 1995. Top of Form Michel, L., & Herbeck, D. (2001). American terrorist: Timothy McVeigh & the Oklahoma City bombing. New York: Regan Books. 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