Causes of Domestic Terrorism All Over the World - Essay Example

Causes of Domestic Terrorism of the and number] Causes of Domestic Terrorism Introduction Countries with higher economic development will be targeted by a higher rate of domestic terrorism. When the citizens of a country, indulge in acts of terrorism, then this is denoted as domestic terrorism. Such terrorism is in support of some cause, as a protest against the activities of the government or in order to achieve some objective. This form of terrorism has been in existence in the United States. In the US, there had been several incidents of domestic terrorism. These were surpassed in the harm done, by the September 11 terrorist attacks. The FBI has disclosed that the incidence of domestic terrorism has almost doubled from 1999 to 2003 (Sauter & Carafano, 2005, p. 119). According to the FBI, domestic terrorism can be understood as acts of violence. Such acts violate the criminal laws of the US or any other nation, and are aimed at intimidating or coercing the civilian population or cause the government to change its policies (Sauter & Carafano, 2005, p. 118). These acts are committed within the jurisdiction of the US. Any act that involves the illegal use of violence or force, and which is undertaken by individuals or groups located in Puerto Rico or the US, with the intention of intimidating the government, is deemed to be an act of domestic terrorism. This definition of domestic terrorism has been provided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The objective behind such acts is to engender a social or political goal. Terrorist acts employ violence against people or property, and are characterized by the absence of any foreign direction (Masters, 2011). A certain amount of theoretical justification exists for believing that there is a causative relationship between minority economic discrimination and domestic terrorist activities. The theory of relative deprivation of Gurr integrates the motivation of a group to commit political violence with collective opportunities to commit such violence. This theory contends that disadvantages related to social status or a group, in conjunction with state sponsored repression, result in minority group identities that enjoy considerable consistency (Piazza, 2011, p. 341). Such segregation serves to differentiate these groups from the larger society. There are collective drawbacks and a feeling of alienation from the mainstream of society. These in turn, promote the persistence of long term grievances in such groups. On perceiving favorable conditions, such dissatisfaction expresses itself as political violence (Piazza, 2011, p. 341). The prevalence of organizational opportunity and group grievance constitutes a fertile ground for the spawning of terrorism. Several scholars like Crenshaw and Ross have been seen to adhere to this line of reasoning. It is their firm conviction that the principal cause of terrorism is the combination of group grievances and marginalized subnational communities (Piazza, 2011, p. 341). In the US there is a diversity of population, and this makes it possible for some sections of society to be dissatisfied with the policies of the Government. Terrorist initiatives emerge from small scale organized entities, which have elitist leaders. The recruits for these organizations are the members of the various aggrieved subnational communities. These people are victims of minority economic discrimination; which includes discrimination in employment; considerable difficulty in accessing the various services provided by the state, such as healthcare, education, social services and housing. This is accompanied by the absence of economic opportunities, which are enjoyed by the rest of the society (Piazza, 2011, p. 341). This situation provides the required impetus for voicing group grievance against the state. Such grievance, on occasion, could lead to terrorism (Piazza, 2011, p. 341). In a large country like the United States it is not uncommon for such grievances to exist. In some region of the country or the other, indifference towards the government and dissatisfaction with its functioning will be common among the ethnic minority groups. There is considerable opposition to the policies adopted by the US within and without the nation. Subsequent to the September 11 attacks on the US, by the Islamic Terrorists, the number of domestic terrorists has reached its zenith. This disquieting piece of information was provided by the National Counter – terrorism Centre (US Lawmakers Warned Of Threat From Domestic Terrorism, 2010).In adopting policies against terrorist groups there is every possibility of creating disadvantages to the minority groups. This could induce domestic terrorism. Since the year 2009, more than 63 US citizens had been placed behind bars. These individuals had been charged with terrorism or related activities. Moreover, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has disclosed that a large number of US bred terrorists had travelled to foreign lands, in order to perpetrate terrorist acts in those places (US Lawmakers Warned Of Threat From Domestic Terrorism, 2010). These terrorists in turn target the US. Since they are familiar with the landscape, they prove to be very effective in planning and executing their attacks. Domestic terrorism has been defined by the Federal Bureau of Investigation as an act of violence that breaches the criminal law of the US or any of its states. In addition, such crime is perpetrated by individuals or groups that are not instructed or directed by any foreign entity. The objective of such crime is to compel the civilian population or influence governmental policy, by committing terrorist acts within the territorial jurisdiction of the US (Sauter & Carafano, 2005, p. 118). Until the catastrophic 9/11 attacks, domestic terrorism had been the most common and deadly form of terrorist activity in the nation. In the period 1993 to 2003, there had been a doubling of incidents of terrorism (Sauter & Carafano, 2005, p. 119). Since the US is a democratic country with individual freedom and development, many fundamentalist groups who opposing such policies, perpetrate terrorism in the nation. Terrorist activities have become commonplace in many nations, and in this manner terrorism has assumed the form of an international problem. Terrorism is being challenged and dealt with actively, by the democracies of the western world. However, it is very difficult to define terrorism, in an explicit manner, and the various definitions of this term have been seen to consist of several shortcomings and disparities (Meisels, 2009, p. 331). On several occasions, it had been noticed that some of the terrorist groups had deployed their highly trained terrorists, with the objective of guiding other terrorists, in order to launch terrorist attacks in the US. Some examples of this trend are provided by the plan of the Zazi group to destroy the New York subway, Hasan’s attack on Fort Hood, and the attack on the Little Rock military recruiting center (Jihads Ugly American Face, 2010). Due to globalization, it has become very easy for the terrorists to get technological support and gain access to the targeted nation. Al – Shabaab is a domestic terrorist organization that has recruited around 20 Americans of Somali origin, from the Minneapolis area. In addition, this den of iniquity recruited five Muslim Americans from Alexandria and transferred them to Pakistan, which abounds with terrorist training camps. These budding enemies of humanity were being trained to provide assistance to the al – Qaeda and the Taliban (Jihads Ugly American Face, 2010). David Headley, the notorious US terrorist, carried out terrorist activities for the Pakistan terrorist group Lashkar – e – Tayyiba. He was instrumental in ensuring the success of the November 2008 attacks in Mumbai, which left 160 people dead, including several US citizens (Jihads Ugly American Face, 2010). The US and its allies in the developed world have locked horns with an adversary who is difficult to locate or identify. The inability to severely strike the terrorists is evident in Afghanistan, where the US forces, despite their technological, logistic, intelligence and weapons superiority, find it difficult to destroy the backward and considerably less resourceful Islamic terrorists (Ahmed, 2001). This war of attrition in Afghanistan depicts an engagement that does not relate to a conflict between superpowers or a superpower and a conglomerate of smaller powers. In fact, this war is illustrative of the changes that have transpired in the concept of modern day warfare (Ahmed, 2001). The populace of the US was subjected to a rude awakening with the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Prior to these attacks, these people had lived with a sense of insularity, regarding terrorism. It had been believed by the majority of these individuals that terrorism was an evil that affected other nations, but not their pristine nation (Riley & Hoffman, 1995). In the past, terrorism had been prevalent in the Middle East and the unstable nations of Latin America. Some of these activities had repercussions in London, Madrid and Paris. The attacks on New York destroyed the sense of overwhelming security that the US had always enjoyed. With these incidents, it became obvious that the American was not safe, even in his own homestead. (Riley & Hoffman, 1995). In the past, some Americans had been subjected to terrorist attacks, while travelling abroad. The threat to the US on its home soil has become palpable. This was ably demonstrated by the unearthing of a terrorist plot by Muslim fundamentalists to procure the release of their detained brethren, who had participated in the destruction of the Trade Center. It had been the aim of these Islamic terrorists to destroy commuter tunnels and the bridge between Manhattan and New Jersey. In addition, they had planned to raze the United Nations building to the ground, break and enter the offices of the FBI in New York and exterminate a number of public officials (Riley & Hoffman, 1995). Conclusion From the foregoing discussion it can be surmised that the economic development of a country increases the chances of its being subjected to terrorist attacks. In the recent past, the US has witnessed a proliferation of terrorist organizations and terrorist activities. Several of the terrorist organizations have successfully enhanced the number of their members, and this has been the result of their being able to motivate individuals to participate in such activities. There are quite a few terrorist organizations that induce others to conduct terrorist operations, on their behalf, in the US. Terrorism is either of the domestic or international variety. It is perpetrated for a number of causes, and in its current international form, it is predominantly Islamic fundamentalist terrorism. Such terrorism is conducted by terrorists in several nations. In general, foreign leaders, direct the terrorist operations of the Islamic and international terrorist. In direct contrast to this, the domestic terrorist is a US citizen, who attempts destruction in the US. Since the US is one of the most developed nations and has a diversified populace that hails from all over the world, it is not uncommon for it to be targeted by the economically backward sub national groups. Moreover, the US is a free and democratic country, which causes hatred among the fundamentalist groups. Hence, domestic terrorism prevails to a major extent in this land of opportunities. List of References Ahmed, S. (2001). The roots of terrorism. Retrieved June 19, 2011, from http://www.defencejournal.com/2001/october/roots.htm Jihads Ugly American Face. (2010, August 20). Retrieved June 19, 2011, from IPT News: http://www.investigativeproject.org/2116/jihads-ugly-american-face Masters, J. (2011, February 7). Militant Extremists in the United States. Retrieved June 19, 2011, from Council on Foreign Relations: http://www.cfr.org/terrorist-organizations/militant-extremists-united-states/p9236 Meisels , T. (2009). Defining terrorism – a typology. Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy , 12(3), 331 – 351. Piazza, J. A. (2011). Poverty,minority economic discrimination, and domestic terrorism. Journal of Peace Research , 48(3), 339 – 353. Riley, K. J., & Hoffman, B. (1995). Domestic Terrorism – A National Assessment of State and Local Preparedness. Santa Monica, CA: RAND. Sauter, M., & Carafano, J. J. (2005). Homeland security: a complete guide to understanding, preventing, and surviving terrorism. McGraw-Hill Professional. US Lawmakers Warned Of Threat From Domestic Terrorism. (2010, September 23). 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