TERRORISM

1. Introduction:
Is terrorism just brutal, unthinking violence?
No. Experts agree that there is almost always a strategy behind terrorist actions.
Whether it takes the form of bombings, shootings, hijackings, or assassinations,
terrorism is neither random, spontaneous, nor blind; it is a deliberate use of violence
against civilians for political or religious ends.

Is there a definition of terrorism?

Even though most people can recognize terrorism when they see it, experts have
had difficulty coming up with an ironclad definition. The State Department defines
terrorism as "premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against
noncombatant targets by sub national groups or clandestine agents, usually intended to
influence an audience." In another useful attempt to produce a definition, Paul Pillar, a
former deputy chief of the CIA's Counterterrorist Center, argues that there are four key
elements of terrorism:

a. It is premeditated—planned in advance, rather than an impulsive act of

rage.
b. It is political—not criminal, like the violence that groups such as the mafia
use to get money, but designed to change the existing political order.
c. It is aimed at civilians—not at military targets or combat-ready troops.
d. It is carried out by sub national groups—not by the army of a country.

Where does the word "terrorism" come from?

It was coined during France's Reign of Terror in 1793-94. Originally, the leaders
of this systematized attempt to weed out "traitors" among the revolutionary ranks
praised terror as the best way to defend liberty, but as the French Revolution soured, the
word soon took on grim echoes of state violence and guillotines. Today, most terrorists
dislike the label, according to Bruce Hoffman of the RAND think tank.

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 Is terrorism a new phenomenon?
No. The oldest terrorists were holy warriors who killed civilians. For instance,
in first-century Palestine, Jewish Zealots would publicly slit the throats of Romans and
their collaborators; in seventh-century India, the Thug gee cult would ritually strangle
passersby as sacrifices to the Hindu deity Kali; and in the eleventh-century Middle East,
the Shiite sect known as the Assassins would eat hashish before murdering civilian
foes. Historians can trace recognizably modern forms of terrorism back to such late-
nineteenth-century organizations as Narodnaya Volya (“People’s Will”), an anti-tsarist
group in Russia. One particularly successful early case of terrorism was the 1914
assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand by a Serb extremist, an event that
helped trigger World War I. Even more familiar forms of terrorism—often custom-
made for TV cameras—first appeared on July 22, 1968, when the Popular Front for the
Liberation of Palestine undertook the first terrorist hijacking of a commercial airplane.

Is terrorism aimed at an audience?

Usually, yes. Terrorist acts are often deliberately spectacular, designed to rattle
and influence a wide audience, beyond the victims of the violence itself. The point is to
use the psychological impact of violence or of the threat of violence to effect political
change. As the terrorism expert Brian Jenkins bluntly put it in 1974, "Terrorism is
theatre."

2. The Instruments of Counterterrorism

Every tool used in the fight against terrorism has something to contribute, but
also significant limits to what it can accomplish. Thus, counterterrorism requires using
all the tools available, because no one of them can do the job. Just as terrorism itself is
multifaceted, so too must be the campaign against it. Counterterrorism involves far
more activities than those that bear the "counterterrorist" label. Even before the attacks
of 11 September 2001 made the subject a seemingly all-encompassing concern for the
United States, it involved the efforts of many different departments and agencies.
Counterterrorism includes diplomacy designed to harmonize the efforts of foreign
governments on the subject. It includes the investigative work of numerous law

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enforcement agencies and the related legal work of prosecuting terrorist crimes. It
involves measures by financial regulatory bodies to interrupt terrorist funding. As the
allied military operations begun over Afghanistan in October 2001 remind us, it, at
times, includes the use of armed force. Information gathering by intelligence agencies is
another major part of counterterrorism. And all of these functions aimed at actively
countering terrorist operations are in addition to the many defensive measures, taken by
the private sector as well as by various levels of government, designed to protect
against terrorist attacks.

3. Diplomacy
Diplomacy is critical to combating modern international terrorism, which, in
many respects, knows no boundaries. Terrorist groups have increasingly spread their
reach around the globe. Combating a terrorist network like the one that includes Osama
bin Laden's al-Qaida group requires the cooperative efforts of many countries because
the network operates in many countries. Effective counterterrorist diplomacy is the glue
needed to hold these efforts into a coherent whole rather than being merely disjointed
parts. The building of a counterterrorist coalition following the attacks of 11 September
is only the most recent and conspicuous demonstration that the United States needs the
help of foreign partners in countering even those threats directed specially against.

4. Kinds of Terrorism

a. The kinds of terrorism is mentioned as under:-

(a) Political terrorism –Lack of Political purpose.
(b) Psychotic terrorism – develop abnormal behavior.
(c) Criminal terrorism – systematic use of terror for ends of
material gain.
(d) Mystical terrorism – it involves the use of lethal force against
a symbolic victim to influence or invoke supernatural powers.
(e) Revolutionary terrorism – one of the most sensationalized
farms of political terrorism in the world today is revolutionary
terrorism.

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 (f) Repression terrorism – repression terrorism seeks to compel
the population to comply with the political will of the
incumbent regime.
(g) Military terrorism – military terrorism is an ancient art that
has become increasingly effective with the advances in
technology and increased complexity of the of the sophistical
infrastructures found in modern societies.
(h) State sponsored terrorism – state sponsored terrorism
involves the employment of lethal force across international
borders for the purpose of destroying or weakening the
political cohesion of a targeted political entity.
b. Targets of terrorism
(1) General:
(a) Victims: economics assets, important personalities, Key
points, vulnerable points and armed forces depots etc.
(b). Terror: harassment at national and international level.
c. Aviation Industry:
(1). Airports: Navigational aids, terminal buildings, aircrafts,
passengers, and visitors.
(2) VIP personalities traveling from airport.

5. Motives of Terrorism:
a. Disruption in any system.
b. Claming of legitimate targets.
c. The disruption of economics links.
d. Creation of fear.
e. Influence.

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