Josmar Azzopardi
How far is terrorism a threat today?
In today’s globalized world, where technology has made country borders obsolete, the movement of people and thought dominates every life in the developed world. It is because of this concept of globalization that terrorism has lifted its head and is now, more than ever, a serious threat.
This is not to say that there was no terrorism before the dawn of internet and highly technical arms. Attacks on monarchs in the past were not uncommon. It is the reality today though that information is distributed more easily and what is used for our protection and comfort can also be used negatively. Today’s terrorism attacks aim high – the first which come in mind are surely the 9/11 attacks in the United States of America where thousands were killed in mere seconds. Not only that, but, whilst we think that we are safe in our European haven, the terrorist masterminds of this attack actually managed everything from inside Europe itself! Increased worldwide security did not act as hindrance to further attacks. Certainly nothing on that scale followed but terrorist attacks in Spain and London made people more aware of the seriousness of the situation. Not only that, but Malta also features prominently in one of the most well known attacks of the last millennium: the Lockerbie bombing of 1988 which killed almost 300 people.
