Terrorism in the USA - Research Paper Example

?Definition of terrorism According to (Vasilios it is difficult to do away with terrorism because a peculiar definition has not been given to it.“One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.” A history of terrorism and examples of countries that have experienced different forms of terrorism attacks According to (Global focus 2), a recent research shows that counter terrorism is as a result of misunderstandings, which have brewed for a long time without solving them. In the long run, a country is at risk of losing lives, investments and many opportunities. It normally occurs when the government meets head to head with the opposition and other people. This style of doing things never works. This paper is going to examine other ways of dealing with the situation. The main responsibility of a government is to protect its citizens from inside or outside the country. Without security, it is almost impossible to develop economically, politically and socially. A government claims a legitimate monopoly on violence and enforces law and order. It has the authority to stop foreign threats too. The legitimacy of a government is determined internationally by other nations or rather the United Nations. The Taliban claimed to be the nation’s legitimate government. Its efforts were not recognized because this was the work of two states, i.e. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. The claim of the opposition to be the legitimate government is backed up by the quantity of its mass followers. It is the responsibility of established governments to maintain a healthy police system, which will fight violence whenever it arises in a country. Security forces that will enhance security against foreign threats should be put in place. Political violence in a state is extremely dangerous as it is with terrorism. It puts a state into a state of anxiety thus threatening its security. All governments should put in place ways in which they can fight such threats without putting their citizens and its neighboring states in a compromising situation. Most measures of anti terrorism are done by the police and the military army of the country. The best solution should be that they try to strike peaceful talks with the enemy so that they solve the existing conflicts which will ease the pressure and be less costly to the nation’s economy (Vasilios 2). Nations should learn from states like Ireland, Israel, Palestine and Sri Lanka, where a lot of terrorism activities have been happening. This only proves how the state government is not keen in dealing with terrorists. It is with normalcy that, the military has been trained to fight in battles while the police have the skills to deal with normal crime and maintain social order. This should automatically result into a special branch of police like SWAT and other military departments being developed to fight terrorism crimes (Rabkin 2). The question now arises: should political violence and terrorism be looked at from the angle of military or criminal phenomenon? Guerillas, insurgents and rebels consider themselves as real solders and hence demand their respect as soldiers. Remember guerilla was a traditional method used in the agrarian revolution by the barbaric societies. These malicious groups may control a region like a real military. This happens mostly in the rural areas and not in urban areas because there is no room for such. It will be put in its place by the state security immediately. It will be impossible for such groups to show up publicly putting on their uniforms in urban areas and cause violence. When there is an opposition that is violent, it can as well be termed as a terrorist group. An opposition can be viewed to be violent in terms of killings and property damage. So as to understand the concept, in 1972, British soldiers opened fire to a protesting crowd killing about 12 citizens who were unarmed. This could also be another type of terrorism, “state terror” which was used to make the protestors to fear and be intimidated. In 1996, IRA bombed the London’s financial district which coasted the government about $500 million and interfered with London’s financial activities. No one died, though one casualty was realized. To London this can be termed as an act of wanton terrorism while to IRA it was seen as war. Many solutions have been discussed, but all of them do not give full solution to the problem sometimes it handles the situation at hand but has its harmful consequences coming. It is wise that all possible solutions are intensely discussed, and reliable solution be found. These measures include dangers like sacrificing civil liberties, their human rights, attacks on other states, assassinations, interference in a states internal affairs and making unfriendly policies. With no reasonable solution coming up, the word is likely to be involved in terrorist debates for the longest time. The USA and anti terrorism policies The US has three rules when it comes to terrorism. 1. No deal should be made between its citizens and any terrorist activity 2. Terrorists are criminals who should be arrested and sentenced fully according to the law 3. Negative pressure should be put on all states that are involved in supporting terrorism activities. These states may support them in terms of money, at a political level or encouragement. The US tries its best to establish itself in fighting terrorism activities. The USA has broken a record of recovering its citizens whenever they have been held hostage. Other states have been helped to fight terrorism. Seven states have been noted to be notorious sponsors of the terrorist activities. They include Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Sudan and Syria. The United States has a distinctive unit; Antiterrorism Assistance Programme where it trains other state members who are in need of protecting themselves from terrorist attacks. Their course goes beyond airport security, bomb detection, rescuing of hostages, and how to manage crisis. It has also started to deal with illegal money launders. The USA strategy is to take its efforts in fighting terrorism crime to be an international affair. Others states working hard to fight terrorism internally e.g. UK. A history and critical analysis of the al Shabaab At the mention of the Al Shabaab, all the security forces get alarmed. This is a malicious violent group that has caused harm through bombings in most of the states of the world. According to (James 2), it has not gained a lot of familiarity like the al Qaeda, but it is something everyone should be alert about every time it is mentioned. This group is bases in Somali but it is largely recruiting American citizens to join them. In 2008, the first American Somali man of around 26 years blew himself up. Little is known about the al Shabaab. Al Shabaab is translated to mean, for the youth. It was formed in 2004. It started off as a wing to the Islamic court union which used to control a large chunk of Somalia before the Ethiopians interfered. Ever since 1991 with the emergence of the war lords, Somali does not have a strong government (James 3). This malicious group is accountable for more than 19,000 deaths in three years. It has members amounting to thousands and they put on red and white uniforms with scarves. This group started their activities in Ethiopia which it has now conquered most of its areas and controls them. Al Shabaab’s main targets include the governments which it attacks on daily basis, Aid Groups and African Unionists and peace keepers who operate in this state. Members and management The Al Shabaab members include the Pakistani, the Somalis, US citizens, Yemen and other African nations. It is headed by Sheik Muhammad Mukhtar (Abu Zubeyr) in conjunction with other senior officials. The group claims to be associated with the al Qaeda, and their leaders were trained by the al Qaeda bases in Afghanistan. The USA is watching this group closely and has it written in its black book as one the notorious terrorist groups across the world. Objectives of the Al Shabaab The main reason why the Al Shabaab exists is because they want to over throw the Somali government which is extremely vulnerable and weak. They also have a plan of instilling the Islamic law (Sharia) to be official. In the areas controlled by the al Shabaab, brutal measures have been instilled like banning of music, videos and shaving of hair. Women who are found in compromising sexual states are stoned to death, and thieves suffer loss of limbs when they are caught. What America fears the most is that the American fighters in the Shabaab military will come back and trouble the peace of America? This is so because is maliciously gaining access to the outside world. In Australia, al Shabaab men of the Australian origin plotted a gun attack in the barracks around Sidney. The al Shabaab convinces them to be on the right path. They are faith the Islamic law. How well is al Shabaab armed and how do they get their supplies? Al Shabaab is well equipped with quality weapons including the armored vehicles, anti-aircraft guns, MANPADS, missiles, machine guns, rocket propelled grenades, AK-47 rifles and hand pistols. The Al Shabaab receives its funding from the Somali citizens. They donate the support through Zakats and taxes. Even local businesses promote the al Shabaab activities. At the mosques, the civilians collect food, water and clothing which are then distributed to the al Shabaab (Peace policy 2). The Somali pirates are also suspected to support this group so that they can get a favor of doing their illegal activities in the areas protected by the al Shabaab. The al Shabaab uses tactics like kidnapping and murder of their targets. With the Somali government (the TFG), it prefers a head on attack. Suicide is also another way of attacking their enemies. They attack government vehicles, AU and Foreign vehicles. Any force or body that does not comply with the Sharia law is brutally dealt with. Interview with an Informant Al Shabaab is fighting for the traditional ways of living According to (conflict), al Shabaab is seen as a group which wants its country to go back to its original routes. It feels that its people will do better if they went back to doing things traditionally and that is why it is hooked to overthrowing the TFG since it is based on the international community standards. It will give up at nothing to see that it has established a full Sharia law. The 2006 during the al Shabaab invasion into Ethiopia confirmed to al Shabaab their strengths. Al Shabaab is now growing from the idealistic and dogmatic al Shabaab who were strong Islam believers and heavily armed to a highly established political movement. Al Shabaab can negotiate. It is willing to sit down with its opposers and negotiate for some understanding. Most of its territories are as a result of negotiations with the local heads. It has also tolerated the Sufi shrines. It is beginning to have a bigger influence on the citizens unlike the TFG. With it being recognized at an international level, the militia group used this as an advantage to sell out its ideologies and made this one of its strongholds. As a result, many terrorist supporters of the Islam origin pumped in more support especially financially. As the international community continues to view al Shabaab negatively, it is also adamant in recognizing that al Shabaab is largely growing and influencing many. Al Shabaab is now an established violent political party. This illegal organization has forced out all the peacekeeping measures out of Somalia. Why the al Shabaab should be included into peace negotiations. The Al Shabaab is responsible in pushing for change in pragmatic agenda and wants all the sidelined political regions to be included in the national cake. This gives al Shabaab to participate in all the negotiations happening in Somalia. Research proposal According to (Rabkin, 2), it is almost impossible to fight terrorists as there is no coordination with the terrorist threat, national strategy and agency resources. A lot of action has been taken whenever the terrorist threaten an attack. It is the desire of every government to fight and finish terrorism. Immense effort has been put in this venture to fight terrorists with no success. All the results are all timely and its impacts are felt by the state immediately or later. All a government suffers from are increased budgets and programs. Agencies come up with solutions that have gaps and are insufficient in dealing with terrorists. Is there a way in which the governments can fight this militia groups and finish them unreservedly? Is it through negotiations or getting involved in a battle? Could policies solve the problem of big militia groups like the al Shabaab? A Review of a book The review according to, (Vasilios 35), following the terrorist attack in 2005, the European realized that they were vulnerable to attacks by the terrorist groups. In 2004 bombing in Madrid was perfectly planned and executed. It saw a loss of 200 lives. It was executed by Muslim British citizens who made it even hard to identify the culprits. Nobody suspected that these bombings were as a result of terrorism activities and these activities were carried out right under the nose of the EU security. It took place in the 70s and 90s. By 2001, the EU had adopted some measures to curb up terrorism. As the terrorism activities go on there is lack of a valid policy infighting political crime. The EU has since then been dedicated to fighting terrorism by documenting some strategies. It is difficult to determine a valid definition of who a terrorist is and what he does. The following words tend to help us explain terrorist activities. They include: the acts, the aim and participation in a terrorism organization and activity. Effective measures have been highlighted on how to deal with terrorists. Several measures were taken after the London bombings most specifically to deal with terrorism activities. Others include reduce terrorists in accessing finance, high detection and investigation of terrorist activities including prosecutions of the terrorists, maintain the security of its citizens, enable EU members to deal with the after math of a terrorist attack and make sure that no recruitment of citizens happens. This book also highlights the problems that are faced by the EU countries in establishing common antiterrorist policies. Works Cited James, Randy. Al-Shabab. Time World. 7 Dec 2009. Web. 1 May 2012.. Gunaratna, Rohan. Counter terrorist trends and analysis. International Centre for political violence and terrorism research. 4 April 2012. Web. 1 May 2012. Peace policy. Conflict, solution to violence. 25 Jan. 2012. Web. 1 May 2012. Rabkin, Norman. Combating terrorism: Issues in managing counterterrorist programs. 6 April 2000. Web. 1 May 2012 Global Focus. International Terrorism. Web. 1 May 2012. Vasilios, Gramatikas. EU Counter terrorist policies: security vs. human rights. United Kingdom: HUMSEK, 2012. Print Read More