Terrorism Essay Research Paper Terrorism1It is very

Terrorism Essay, Research Paper Terrorism 1)It is very difficult to resolve the international problem of terrorism for several major reasons. Terrorists usually don’t claim responsibility for their actions until the fuse is lit, it’s not a case of Jack The Ripper sending an ear to the cops and warning them who his next victim will be. Terrorists usually do claim responsibility for their actions after the media is aware that something happened, this gains recognition for their cause, which is often the reason they resort to terrorism in the first place. These groups are often underground and individuals rarely step forward, how can you arrest an entire group that you can’t touch? Governments endorsing terrorist acts and providing a safe house for them once they’re on the run just adds to the problem. Hijackers can take their hostages, get the ransom and fly the plane to the country of their choice. That country is usually ready to welcome the criminal, for a small cut of the ransom. Algeria used terrorism as a business to raise capital. By providing immunity, they became a haven for terrorists. Many Middle Eastern countries resort to terrorism when dealing with other nations. Saudi Arabia sponsors Islamic terrorists to lay siege to Egypt. Terrorism is a means of influencing international relations. How can you prevent acts of terrorism when those paid to protect the people are among the guilty? The Ku Klux Klan is a prime example of police corruption and a government that turned its’ back on its’ people. Dirty cops and prejudicial governments provided the fuel that burnt black churches of the Southern States in the past . Many white citizens were not members of the Ku Klux Klan, but most whites were reluctant to take a stand against the Klan until the KKK’s acts of violence began to threaten whites who were not white supremacists. When whites began to oppose the Klan, they went underground and were thought to have disbanded but they arose again before the first war and once more during the civil rights movements of the 1960’s. This problem has arose again as Negro churches have again been targeted by arsonists. The police have been unable to solve the majority of these crimes. Hitler and his Nazi Regime could possibly be the worst example of a government applying acts of terrorism on its people. When those at the top are corrupt, how can the people defend themselves? Hitler’s methods and ideologies have made him one of the most feared and hated men in history. Stalin also used acts of terrorism on his people. His death squads that patrolled the streets at night and annihilated the homeless was supposedly done for a good cause. I think that is very questionable. Negotiating with terrorists can also be bewildering. Recently Prime Minister John Major of Britain and Prime Minister John Bruton of Ireland were engaging in peace talks with the Irish political party Sinn Fein. Sinn Fein is the oldest Irish political party and has been striving for the independence of Ireland for years. They were founded in 1905 and have representatives in every major Irish town, they are considered to be the political wing of the Irish Republican Army. Sinn Fein claims to have genuinely sought after peace but continuing British bad faith has caused the IRA to act. The British deny these accusations of bad faith and became puzzled when the IRA broke a long standing cease fire with a bombing in the urban center of Manchester. Negotiations can be impossible in the case of suicide bombers. Many Japanese Cults can not be traced. Though their agents are always caught, they can never be questioned. Suicide is deemed heroic by the Japanese, the Japanese cult Aum Supreme Truth used sarin nerve gas on a Tokyo subway to cause terror, other previous Japanese cults have committed mass suicide at the order from their leader to avoid interrogation and incarceration. Often these leaders have some type of mind control on their followers. Some countries don’t bother negotiating with terrorists. They take a stance where if the terrorist asks for a million bucks they get squat. The United States has a policy that is meant to deter terrorist-acts, no negotiations, no mercy. 2) My position on this topic is anti-terrorism because terrorism is an unethical method of gaining money or stealing publicity for a cause. Terrorists are bullies that prey on the fears of the innocent. They drag women and children into their wars with little concern for the lives that they shatter. They get what they want by endangering the people that their enemies are responsible for. The threat of a terrorist bomb is as petty as black mail. Terrorists don’t need to resort to violence, they should negotiate first. If they are a developing country crying for help, they should use the media to get the word out. I am sure that foreign countries would rather lend a hand rather than dealing with terrorists. Terrorists are wrong because they target the defenseless, they cause fear, death and destruction among the public and if they’re not fighting for a cause, their motives are probably greed. Terrorists may not directly kill millions of people, but the spark that started many wars came from a terrorists match, foremost the assassination of Arch Duke Ferdinand. 3) Seven important questions that could adequately describe terrorism are: 1. What police groups are involved in preventing international crime? 2. Do governments give in to the demands of terrorists? 3. Do certain countries and their governments endorse terrorist activities? 4. What methods do terrorists use and what do they accomplish? 5. Where are felons tried for committing international crimes? 6. Which countries are heavily troubled by terrorist acts? 7. What are the names, leaders and methods of prevalent terrorist groups globally? 4)Information answering the seven preceding questions: 1. Most countries have their own agencies for dealing with terrorism, but one global force that deals with terrorist activities is Interpol. Interpol is a global police agency that links the police forces of the world. They trade information and relay suspect information amongst each other. This makes it difficult for hijackers landing in foreign countries to get away. Interpol relays messages through a central intelligence system that filters down into the systems of each countries police stations. By sharing information and man power international crime becomes less appealing to criminals thanks to interpol. Peru has a new anti-terrorist directorate called Dincote. General Maximo Rivera Diaz has established this new ?Delta? force to shut down the terrorist activity of the Shining Path in Lima. Prior to it’s break up, Russia had virtually no terrorist problem because of the efficiency of their secret service, the KGB. Now that the former Soviet Union is in shambles, terrorism in Russia is becoming more evident. 2. Depending on the severity of the case governments must make a decision on handling affairs with terrorists, pay them, hold out or send in an anti- terrorist group to neutralize the situation. One country that stands out from the rest is The United States of America. They stand by a policy that does not give terrorists what they want, which would divert greedy terrorists from the States. Clinton began a harsh anti-terrorist bill as a result of the Oklahoma bombing. He wishes to make terrorism a priority among the police and other crime fighting agencies such as the FBI. He wishes to accomplish this by giving these forces the best surveillance equipment and crime fighting tools available. A chemical applied to all bomb making chemicals would make bombs apparent at airport check points and would cut down on hijacking. He also wishes to bar products from countries that endorse terrorism. 3.Terrorists and governments occasionally work hand in hand. Algeria brought in large sums of money by housing terrorists. Hamas is terrorist group working in the Middle East. It was formed in 1987. They conduct attacks on Israeli military and civilian groups, disrupting politics and causing explosions. The group is large, with thousands of sympathetic supporters. They also receive aid from Saudi Arabia and Iran. The Palestine Islamic Jihad is a similar group working in the Middle East. They act to form an Islamic Palestinian State and to destroy Israel through a ?Holy War?. Their strength is unknown but they have been linked to Syria and Iran. The Palestine Liberation Organization(PLO) has been around since 1969. Yassir Arafat became the chairman and still holds the position today. This group has a more global range of actions, but is basically striving for the same goals and also has ties to middle eastern nations. Another group banded with Saudi Arabia is The Tigers Of The Gulf. It is highly secretive and little is know but it is anti-American, and it is aided by Saudi Arabia. 4.Terrorists use a broad spectrum of methods to get their jobs done. Most of them either gain recognition for the terrorists cause or throw a kink in someone else’s plans, this would usually further the terrorists cause, for example assassinating a rival political leader would give your leader a better chance. Assassinations by terrorists are usually aimed at someone in the spotlight that the media will react to. It is also often a member of the terrorists rival or someone close to him, like the assassination of the Czar and his family in Russia. Guerrilla warfare is also considered an act of terrorism, this would almost classify the Vietnam war as a terrorist’s war. Bombing is also a preferred method of destruction used by many terrorist groups, at the front of these is probably the IRA. Bombs leave little evidence and a large margin for error. Hijacking and kidnapping are also strong ways for terrorists to make demands and gain money. Kidnapping can be used to push the buttons of influential people and hijacking works as kidnapping with an escape route. Both of these are often used to trade the hostages for the freedom of imprisoned group members. Threats and propaganda are also widely spread by mainstream organizations. 5. International terrorists don’t care about police jurisdiction, but it does make a difference. Committing a crime in one country may have altogether different punishments than those of a different country, as the boy who was caned in Singapore found out all too well. The internationally renown guerrilla troop and terrorist, Carlos The Jackal, was captured and arrested on bomb related charges. He is from Venezuela but has caused trouble in several countries and they all want his hide. France is the lucky country that gets to punish him because he was captured and convicted in France. The criminal is charged in the country that he commits the crime in, they often seek citizenship in foreign countries to gain protection, much like the two men in Canada that are wanted by Bangladesh for committing murders. Both men are now Canadian citizens and refuse to return because they fear they will not have a fair trial. Canada has to make a decision now on whether to honor The Country of Bangladesh or to honor the rights of the two men. 6.Every country has some degree of terrorist activity, be it large or small. The Middle East seems to be a hot spot for terrorist activities, maybe due to many of the nations’ roles in hiring terrorists to join their side than to perform dirty work for that government. There are also many disgruntled minorities that use terrorism as a way to get what they want. Japan has it’s own problems with cult-religious groups that resort to terrorist acts. These groups are often related to suicide bombers and such, kind of a modern day kami kaze. Areas of Europe also suffer from high rates of terrorist activity, many stemming back from the territorial and religious disputes of times long ago. Monarchy seems to be the enemy of the majority of European terrorists. The States also gets its share of terror, some domestic but much from overseas, their policies help keep the levels low. More people die in bath tub accidents than from terrorism in the States. Canada is even scathed by the knife of terrorism. The FLQ was Canada’s most dominant and violent terrorist group, though short lived they created a stir in Francophone relations with the rest of Canada. 7.-The Shining Path is a highly organized terrorist group with coordinated tactics, but a low violence level. Their leader, Abimael Guzman, was captured by the Peruvian government. Guzman’s capture has lead to the re-election of the countries’ president Alberto Fujimori. -The Provisional Irish Republican Army(IRA) is active in Northern Ireland but carries out it’s actions in Great Britain. They often rely on bombs to get their point across, their main goal is the independence of Ireland from Great Britain, and the unification of Ireland. The Northern Irish(IRA) want freedom and independence for themselves and their Protestant religion while the Southern Irish don’t want to leave and wish to remain united with Britain. The IRA was falsely accused of being hand in hand with the Nazi’s during the war. The IRA does have ties though, they are allied with the Irish political party Sinn Fein which handles the groups political affairs and negotiating. -The Red Army Faction is a German based group which originated in the 1960’s. Their ideology is a combination of theories from both Marx and Maoism. The result is a commitment to armed struggle. The group announced that it would end it’s terrorist activities in 1992. While the group was active they engaged in bombings, kidnappings, assassinations, robberies and has targeted both German and American governments. They were even bold enough to attempt to assassinate the head of NATO, Alexander Haig. The RAF has several hard-core cadres that carry out their terrorist missions as well as a large civilian following that spreads the groups propaganda. The group has survived over the years despite the repeated capture of it’s highest ranking members. The RAF has ties with several middle eastern terrorist factions and a very strong tie with GRAPO of Spain. They are attempting to destroy western capitalism and promote world wide Marxism. -The True Teaching of Aum/Supreme Truth of Aum is a Japanese based faction that was formed in 1987 by Shoko Asahara. It was recognized as a religious group in 1989. It was headquartered in a small farming village near the base of Mount Fuji. It contains five branches scattered among 130 sites. It’s membership is estimated 10,000 in Japan, 30,000 in Russia and about 100 in Manhattan. They practice a doctrine of Hinduism and Buddhism and they follow a goddess named Shiva, lord of destruction and regeneration. They believe the world will end some time in 1997. They were the group responsible for the sarin gas attacks on Tokyo metro systems that hurt thousands. The groups current leader Shoko Asahara was arrested. 5)Some would say that terrorism is a valiant deed, the ultimate sacrifice for ones cause, the only thing that a terrorist sacrifices is the lives of the innocent, the terrorist is a butcher of human rights. Others would also say terrorism is an act of retaliation, well two wrongs don’t make a right. If a terrorist organisation responds to a terrorist attack against themselves with another act of terrorism, what do you think the other groups response will be? This situation is currently occuring in Great Britain, the Irish accuse the English of something and act, the English deny it and accuse the Irish of commiting unwarranted attacks and responds. This conflict has been raging for years and no end is in sight since the ceasefire was broken. What if a developing nation has no resources or commodity to trade to the rest of the world, wouldn’t you take foriegn hostages to make enough money to feed your country? I believe that foriegn countries would rather help to solve the crisis before it reached the stage where terrorism would be put into effect. Negotiations prior to the problem’s begining could benefit both sides of the table. 6)Three case studies that would provide further insight into the world of terrorism would be: -The FLQ’s affect on Francophone relations with the rest of Canada. Did the kidnapping and assassination of government officials gain anything? Did it actually hurt Quebec’s dealings with English speaking Canadians or was it neccesary? How long did the FLQ remain active and how many members did they have? Did the Front de Liberationd pour Quebec have the people of the province behind them? -The IRA has been battling for it’s freedom for years. Does each bomb they place bring them closer to freedom or does it push their goal further apart? Would peaceful negotiations reach their goal faster or is violence their last resort? Finally is freedom worth that much? Thousands of lives have been lost over a grudge between nations, could it all have been avoided with a little bit of equality? -Japanese religious cults have even less mercy than the brutal terrorists of the west. Can you blame a terrorist when his actions are being influenced? Should religious cults be shut down before they reach the terorrist stage? Chemicals used to make bombs and gas like sarin could be marked in the manufacturing stage, could this avoid the entire probleb? 7)Terrorism is a terrible deed, sometimes committed in the name of a not so terrible cause. I feel terrorists use their cause to gain the sympathy of the people, the masses can add to success of a terrorist groups cause. Compromising values to achieve a goal is wrong, many terrorists act because their human rights were disturbed, what are they doingwhen they take hostages? Sometimes the cause is good but the method is always wrong if terrorism is resorted to. 319