Why Do Terrorists Use Terror Tactics

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Why Do Terrorists Use Terror Tactics

The reasons terrorists use terror tactics are varied and debatable. By explaining tactics many people believe that terrorism becomes justified. This is not true. Through understanding the motives of terrorists we can begin to fully realise the causes behind the actions.

There are many causes behind terrorist actions. One of which is publicity. Many groups use their actions to create publicity to promote their beliefs. An example of this was 'the Dockland bombings in London' February 6th 1996. The IRA had been set up to rid Ireland of the British government control. Initially the IRA set out to bomb the protestant areas, but when the policy was not effective the IRA began to target mainland Britain. Publicity was an important reason for the IRA attack on Canary Wharf in London in 1996. The IRA felt that the British government was ignoring the situation in Northern Ireland and felt that the publicity that would be gained from bombings would re-focus the British government and people. In a very similar way, Palestinian terrorists took hostages at the Munich Olympics in the 1970s to bring world attention to Palestinian Arab troubles with Israel.