Terrorism is very hard to define; there is no single universally accepted definition for terrorism. The U.S.A, like other nations has developed their own definition.

by kpasupuleti (student)

Pasupuleti

Kevin Pasupuleti

Grade 10

History (Mr. Nyamweya)

Terrorism

“The war against terrorism is terrorism.” These are the words of Woody Harrelson, so what exactly is terrorism. Here is another quote by Vinton Cerf “The purpose behind terrorism is to instill fear in people - the fear that electrical power, for instance, will be taken away or the transportation system will be taken down.” Terrorism is very hard to define; there is no single universally accepted definition for terrorism. The U.S.A, like other nations has developed their own definition. The State Department defines terrorism as violence towards unarmed civilians which is mostly politically motivated. This violence is caused by sub national groups or clandestine agents. They cause this terror as a way to attract audience with the targets government or country leader. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of the US government defines terrorism as, “the unlawful use of force of violence against persons or property…in furtherance of political or social objectives.”(Anzovin 15 – 19) Both the definitions suggest that the main idea behind terrorism is to engrave terror in the lives of people.

On the other hand the same terrorists could be seen as the freedom fighters for their country. Arab countries and organizations have typically defined terrorism in such a way that groups attacking Israel are excluded. So there is no one true definition of terrorism.

Terrorism has been around for as long as people can remember, terrorism dates back to the early signs of civilization. From ancient times to present day’s rebel groups, governments, individuals used force and acts of terror to destroy enemies and to spread fear amongst people.

The earliest known terrorist organization to exhibit acts of terrorism was the Zealots of Judea. They carried out an underground campaign against the Roman forces as well as the Jews that joined forces with the Romans. Their motive was to not follow their own religion while living as the Roman subjects. Eventually, the Zealots revolted against the Romans and finally besieged and committed a mass suicide at the fortification of Masada (History of Terrorism).

The Assassins were the next group to show recognizable characteristics of terrorism, as we know it today. A breakaway faction of Shia Islam called the Nizari Ismalis adopted the tactic of assassination of enemy leaders because the cult's limited manpower prevented open combat. Their tactic of sending a lone assassin to successfully kill a key enemy leader at the certain sacrifice of his own life inspired fearful awe in their enemies.

Even though both the Zealots and the Assassins operated before the middle ages, they are relevant today; firstly they are the forerunners of modern terrorists in aspects ...

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Even though both the Zealots and the Assassins operated before the middle ages, they are relevant today; firstly they are the forerunners of modern terrorists in aspects of organization, targeting, and goals. Secondly, although both didn’t work out, the fact that they are remembered hundreds of years later, demonstrates the deep psychological impact they caused (History of Terrorism).

The word ‘Terrorism’ was first used to describe the event that took place during the French Revolution. Louis XVI the last king of France was executed and the revolutionists took control of the government. They introduced the ‘regime de la terreur’ which meant the reign of terror. All those that appeared to be against the revolution were executed.

One of the biggest acts of terrorism was the Dier Yassin massacre. The Deir Yassin massacre took place on April 9, 1948, when around 120 fighters from the and other Jewish groups attacked near Jerusalem, a -Arab village of roughly 600 people. The assault occurred as Jewish militia wanted to relieve the obstruction of Jerusalem during the that caused the end of in . Around 107 villagers were killed during and after the battle, including women and children, some were shot, while others died when hand grenades were thrown into their homes. Several villagers were taken prisoner and may have been killed. Four of the attackers died, with around 35 injured. The killings were condemned by the leadership of the the Jewish community's main paramilitary force and by the area's two . The sent Jordan's a letter of apology, which he rejected (Henderson 20 – 22).

Another event that shook the world, especially the British was the King David Hotel bombing that took place in Jerusalem. The bombing of the King David Hotel occurred in July 1946 and some saw it as a critical moment in recent Middle East history. The King David Hotel was the site for the British Military Command in Palestine. It also served as the headquarters of the British Criminal Investigation Division. The bombing of the hotel electrified the British into realizing that their time in Palestine was coming to an end. On June 29th 1946, the British unexpectedly entered the premises of the Jewish Agency and took away with them a large number of documents. All the documents were taken to the King David Hotel where they were to be assessed by intelligence analysts. At around the same time, the British arrested 2,500 Jews in Palestine. Irgun, a Jewish secret organization (known to be a terrorist group by the British) decided to target the hotel for vengeance and also as a way of destroying the documents (Terrorism: A Brief History). The leader of Irgun claimed that Irgun saw the hotel solely as a military building and therefore a legitimate target. Three warnings were sent out on July 22nd 1946 about the planned attack to keep casualties to the minimum. But the warnings weren’t taken seriously. The British did not evacuate the hotel and the bombing killed 91 people and injured 45 (Terrorism: A Brief History).

One of the most recent and probably the most remembered act of terrorism is the 9/11. There were four coordinated suicide attacks in New York and Washington DC on September 11, 2001. That morning, reports from the militant group came in stating that 19 had four passenger jets. The hijackers crashed two of the planes into the Twin Towers of the in New York City and both towers collapsed within two hours. They then crashed one of the remaining two into in . But the fourth jet crashed into a field near , after passengers attempted to take control before it could reach the destination in Washington, D.C. (Recent History of Terrorism). This disaster happened because of the relations between the Israelis and the US which the Arabs are strongly against.

In all these terrorism activities we can clearly see that all these attacks are somehow related to the Arab and Israeli conflict. The conflict between these two countries has impacted the whole world greatly (Terrorism Research). Terrorist attacks affect both the national and the global economy especially in the world we live in today. The direct economic costs of terrorism include the destruction of life and property, responses to the emergency, restoration of the systems and the infrastructure affected, and the providing of temporary living assistance. These are the effects straight after the attacks. The September 11 attacks on the United States caused major disruption; the direct economic damage was relatively small in relation to the size of the economy. The direct costs resulting from the terrorist attacks were estimated by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development at $27.2 billion which represented about ¼ % of the U.S. annual GDP (Terrorism Research). Finally, over the longer term, there is a question of whether the attacks can have a negative impact on productivity by raising the costs of transactions through increased security measures, higher insurance premiums, and the increased costs of financial and other counterterrorism regulations. The biggest impact that terrorist attacks have on a country in my opinion is the Economy.

In Conclusion, Terrorism is almost unstoppable. The quote “The war against terrorism is terrorism” in my opinion is true. The only way to stop a terrorist group is by using violence and violence is the main factor in Terrorism. Our world is a huge world with different cultures and different views, it is impossible to satisfy each and every one so there will always be people fighting against each other. As it is stated before one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter. Terrorist groups are quite small and well hidden, the attacks come at random times and it is very hard for the governments to defend against them. Terrorism is a very effective way to inflict pain and terror in the lives of people but at the same times it is very horrifying and tormenting.

Works Cited

Anzovin, Steven. Terrorism. New York: H.W. Wilson, 1986. Print.

Henderson, Harry. Terrorism. New York: Facts on File, 2001. Print.

"History of Terrorism." Terrorism Research - What Is Terrorism? International Terrorism and Security Research, 2011. Web. 22 Sept. 2011. <http://www.terrorism-research.com/history/>.

McGowan, Daniel A. "DEIR YASSIN." Jerusalem Post, The (Israel) 16 May, 1997, Daily, Opinion: 04. NewsBank. Web. 22 Sep. 2011.

"Recent History of Terrorism." Terrorism Research - What Is Terrorism? International Terrorism and Security Research, 2011. Web. 22 Sept. 2011. <http://www.terrorism-research.com/history/recent.php>.

"The History of Terrorism." About.com Terrorism Issues. Terrorism Research Cente, 2012. Web. 06 May 2012. <http://terrorism.about.com/od/whatisterroris1/p/Terrorism.htm>.

"Terrorism: A Brief History." Terrorism: A Brief History. U.S. Department of State, 11 May 2007. Web. 06 May 2012. <http://www.america.gov/st/peacesec-english/2007/May/20080522172730SrenoD0.6634027.html>.

"Terrorism." Background and Threat Assessments. FAS, 2009. Web. 06 May 2012. <http://www.fas.org/irp/threat/terror.htm>.

"Terrorism Research." History of Terrorism. 2011. Web. 06 May 2012. <http://www.terrorism-research.com/history/>