...SOS-440 Final Paper According to Author Rex A. Hudson, “Terrorists are motivated not only by psychological factors but also very real political, social, religious, and economic factors, among others. These factors vary widely”. Accordingly, the motivations, goals, and ideologies of ethnic separatist, anarchist, social revolutionary, religious fundamentalist, and new religious terrorist groups differ significantly. (Hudson, 1999) Therefore, each terrorist group must be examined within its own cultural, economic, political, and social context in order to better understand the motivations of its individual members and leaders and their particular ideologies. (Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, 1999, para. 54) I will use Hudson’s assertion as my theoretical framework to analyze if my findings are compatible with a plausible assertion that terrorism is based off social and political views of the people who see their current state as unjust. The National Liberation Army (Ejército de Liberación Nacional or ELN) is a revolutionary guerrilla army; who have fought in the Colombian Civil War since it began in 1964. The ELN advocate a composite Communist ideology of Marxism and Liberation Theology. The ELN was founded by Fabio Vásquez Castaño and other Colombian rebels trained in Communist Cuba; upon the Vásquez Castaño death, the ELN was headed by a series of Roman Catholic priests, exponents of Liberation Theology. (Brittain, 2010) Most notable was the Priest Camilo...
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...planes in an act of terrorism. Two of the planes struck the Twin Towers in New York and caused them to fall taking many lives in the process. Another plane struck the Pentagon and caused damage and casualties. The last plane was on its way to another attack when it abruptly crashed in a field in Pennsylvania and killed all passengers and terrorists on board.9/11 attacks were orchestrated by Al Qaeda in a move to disrupt the Western economies and to strike fear in our country and the world. It was a form of both economic and social terrorism. As well, the attackers intended to impose the direct and secondary costs on the target nation, the United States. Other nations in the western hemisphere were also part of the target and felt the burden of this attack. The attacks caused immense damage in terms of physical infrastructure as well as loss of lives and earnings. The effects caused many families to lose their earnings, and also slowed down the growth of the global economy. Capital losses were experienced in the stock markets around the world as well. Some of the effects included higher insurance and shipping costs. On the other hand, it had a massive impact on public confidence. It affected tourism and travel in a great way. The effects led to the invasion of two nations, Iraq and Afghanistan and meant the beginning of the global war on terrorism. To this day the war in Afghanistan is still going on. In the wake of the 9/11 attacks, more terrorists attacked other countries...
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...When thinking of a terrorist, the image that comes to mind is an Arabic male that is wearing a towel on his head. This image comes from how the media depicts what they believe a terrorist look like. This could not be more from the truth of the image of a terrorist. It is nearly impossible to point out a terrorist merely just on gender, nationality or skin color. Women are a stereotype that are generally not viewed to hold any type of position of leadership in a terrorist organization. This stereotype is the product of television. Women, in fact, have played significant roles in modern terrorism and have frequently assumed positions of leadership. (White Pg. 95) It is important to understand the historical and current role that women assume...
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...many causes that I would die for yet there is not a single cause that I would kill for”. Ghandi's words have the ring of a distant past when the ideals of social and political activism maintained a common sense. Today, terrorists around the world are willing to kill and die for causes that seem unclear and often contradictory. This new method of violence reflects the politics of the anti-abortionist movement that is willing to kill to save lives or willing to die to become enshrined as a martyr. Terrorism is defined by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as "...a violent act or an act dangerous to human life, in violation of the criminal laws of the United States, or of any state, to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives" ("Terrorism 2000/2001"). The violent faction of the anti-abortion movement certainly fits this description. It is a form of war that is being waged against the domestic social structure with wide ranging implications. The violent anti-abortion groups are a contradiction of values and the extremist motivations behind them make it a dangerous and terrorizing movement. Literature Review Understanding the motivation behind the anti-abortion terrorism is an important step in curtailing the violence. The movement is an oxymoron where killing takes place to save lives. The anti-abortion movement is a shadowy group © 2009 ResearchPaperWriter.net ResearchPaperWriter...
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...that I would die for yet there is not a single cause that I would kill for”. Ghandi's words have the ring of a distant past when the ideals of social and political activism maintained a common sense. Today, terrorists around the world are willing to kill and die for causes that seem unclear and often contradictory. This new method of violence reflects the politics of the anti-abortionist movement that is willing to kill to save lives or willing to die to become enshrined as a martyr. Terrorism is defined by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as "...a violent act or an act dangerous to human life, in violation of the criminal laws of the United States, or of any state, to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives" ("Terrorism 2000/2001"). The violent faction of the anti-abortion movement certainly fits this description. It is a form of war that is being waged against the domestic social structure with wide ranging implications. The violent anti-abortion groups are a contradiction of values and the extremist motivations behind them make it a dangerous and terrorizing movement. Literature Review Understanding the motivation behind the anti-abortion terrorism is an important step in curtailing the violence. The movement is an oxymoron where killing takes place to save lives. The anti-abortion movement is a shadowy group with no central leadership, which makes it difficult...
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...Historical Background It is necessary to examine the historical context of Muslim terrorism in the United States to understand the evolvement of Muslim extremism today. Juergensmeyer (2003) supports this stance by stating that contemporary acts of violence are influenced by historical violence perpetrated in the religious past. The assumption could be made that Muslim extremism in the United States is a more recent phenomenon; on the contrary, this is not true. By understanding history enlightens to where foundations and structures were built to support Muslim extremism and terrorism activities that exist in the United States today. One of the first elements of Muslim influence in the United States occurred in the early 20th century with the formation of the Moors Science Temple founded in 1913 by Noble Drew Ali in Newark, New Jersey and then later reorganized in Chicago in 1919 (Vidino, 2009; Dannin, 2002). Ali’s interpretation of Islam mixed Christianity, Buddhism, Zoroaster and Confucius (Vidino, 2009). In 1929, Ali was charged with and imprisoned for murdering Claude Greene an opponent within the organization (Dannin, 2002). Shortly after being released from bail, Ali disappeared and was presumed dead because he was never found (Dannin, 2002). With the influence of the Moors, the Nation of Islam, another unorthodox organization of Islam, was founded in 1930 by Wallace Farad in Detroit. Farad claimed he was a prophet to “awaken a dead nation in the West; to teach them...
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...New Terrorism? Predicting the Future of Terrorism Introduction/ Purpose Terrorism is an often controversial subject. “One man’s freedom fighter is another man’s terrorist.” This is a well known quote that is often used to allude to the complexity of terrorism. Terrorism, the word itself is a word that has possessed over a hundred definitions and a concept that has changed as the societies of the world have progressed. The use of the terms terrorism and terrorist are politically weighted, and are often used for a polarizing effect, where 'terrorism' becomes simply a relativist term for the violence committed by an enemy, from the point of view of the attacked. Because of the political nature of some struggles, 'terrorism' can become identified as simply any violence committed against established institutions. A terrorist is, strictly speaking, one who is personally involved in an act of terrorism. The term "terrorism" comes from the French 18th century word terrorisme (under their government's Reign of Terror), based on the Latin language verbs terrere (to tremble) and deterrere (to frighten from). The use of the term "terrorist" has had broader applications however, ranging in application from disgruntled citizens to common political dissidents. It is important to understand terrorism in our modern arena and under stand its effects on society. ‘Terrorism’, as a unified political and ideological motif did not arise spontaneously in response to particular instances...
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...ASJ 532 June 16, 2014 Since -9/11, torture has been official US policy by George Bush at the highest levels of government. On September 17, 2001, George Bush signed a secret finding empowering CIA to "Capture, Kill, or Interrogate Al-Queda Leaders." (Lendman, 2008). It also authorized establishing a secret global facilities to detain and interrogate them without guidelines on proper treatment. In the same time, Bush approved a secret "high-value target list" of about two dozen names. He also gave CIA free reign to capture, kill and interrogate terrorists that were not on the list (Lendman, 2008). What is torture: (a) the intentional infliction of extreme physical pain or suffering on some non-consenting, defenseless person; (b) the intentional, substantial curtailment of the exercise of a person's autonomy (achieved by means of (a)); (c) in general, undertaken for the purpose of breaking the victim's will." We will discuss terrorism and torture, look at arguments for and against each practice, and ethically evaluate those arguments (Lendman, 2008).. If pain is meant to break the will of the person, one must ask when we might have an interest in doing so. Certainly violating the freedom through violence is not acceptable for citizens; I may not justifiably torture you to obtain what I want from you, be it your property, your behavior, or your ideological consent (Lendman, 2008). Also, the police may not torture to obtain information, as we have the right to defend ourselves...
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...formulation seems to imply that the ideologies of journalists somehow influence their opinions, which in turn influence the discourse structures of the opinión articles. Within the framework of a larger project on discourse ideology, this chapter examines some of the theoretical properties of these complex relafions between ideology, opinions and media discourse. For instance, we need to spell out what exactly we mean by 'ideology' here, what the nature is of the common-cense notion of an 'opinion', and by what discourse structures they may be expressed. At one level of analysis, opinions and ideologies involve beliefs or mental representations, and our approach therefore first takes a 22 Teun A. van Dijk cognitive perspective. On the other hand, the ideologies and opinions of newspapers are usually not personal, but social, institutional or political. This requires an account in terms of social or societal structures. In fact, we integrate both approaches finto one sociocognitive theory that deals with shared social representations and their acquisition and uses in social contexts. And finally, since we examine in particular the sometimes subtle textual expressions of ideologically based opinions, this sociocognitive orientation will be embedded in a discourse analytical framework (for details, see van Dijk, 1995). This approach is unique in rejecting the theoretical reduction that characterizes virtually all past and contemporary approaches to ideology. As is the case for language...
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...example between social morality and the religious morality. Each person accepts and follows different kind of moral rules, under different cirsumstances. The controversies in the society what is right and what is wrong are huge. We either support some rules or do not. People often argue about their beliefs, no matter if they are religious or not. Such example could be given in history. To clarify, history is the study of the human past. It is a field of research which uses a narrative to examine and analyse the sequence of historical events, and it sometimes attempts to investigate objectively the patterns of cause and effect that determine past events. On the other hand, ethics is the branch of philosophy that addresses morality, that is, what is right and wrong, good and bad, honorable and dishonorable. A link between the two could be made as the example of terrorism is used. “Terror” comes from the Latin terrere meaning “to frighten”. The term “terrorism” means the systematic use of terror especially as a means of intimidation. It was first used in ancient...
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...Terrorism – is there any working global frameworks to counter it? By Zuzanna Sadowska On the 22nd of September 2003 Kofi Annan, UN Secretary-General, organized a conference “Fighting Terrorism for Humanity” in New York City. He opened the summit with words: “Terrorism will only be defeated if we act to solve the political disputes or long-standing conflicts that generate support for it. (…) If we do not, we should find ourselves acting as recruiting sergeants for the very terrorists. We have to win hearts and minds.” The causes of terrorism may be inter alia historical, economical, religious or ideological, and there is no way to entirely eliminate it from our world. Preventing terrorism needs complete understanding of the phenomenon and cooperation between states. There are different actions taken by various organisations and people but not all of them succeed. What exactly is terrorism, how do terrorist organisations work and how to counter terrorist activities? Terrorism by itself has numerous definitions as it is hard to define it precisely. It is said that this phenomenon has over 100 definitions and lack of one, widely recognized, hinders fighting with this danger. When we discuss about terrorism in colloquial conversation, we instinctually know what it is about and what the meaning of this word is. It is otherwise in case of professional and legal discussions where you have to agree on a definition of the term. The concept of terrorism derives from the Greek treo – “to...
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...Lone Wolf Terrorism Introduction Problem background and significance In the United States terrorism incidents such as the attack in 1995 in Oklahoma by Timothy McVeigh and the September 11th attack in 2001, have led to the realization that lone wolf terrorism posses a grave threat to the safety of the public. Terrorism analysts and law enforcement authorities have insisted that it is hard to spot lone terrorists before they strike and this is of great threat to the security of a nation. From FBI information it is evident that lone terrorism trends indicate that it is an ongoing risk both in side the United States and outside the country (Risen & Johnston, 2003) In 2003 the director of the FBI stated that there was an increased threat from persons who are affiliated or sympathetic with the Al Qaeda and they act without having any conspiracies surrounding them or external support. Scholars in the field of terrorism have in the past concentrated on the how terrorist groups work so as to explain how individuals work. The general view of terrorism is that it is a group activity which is mainly influenced by leaders training, recruitment, obedience and conformity, solidarity and moral disengagement. Due to the imbalance that exists between the focus by scholars on terrorism that is group based on one hand and apparent threat posed by lone wolf terrorist on the other hand, necessitates the empirical and conceptual analysis of lone wolf terrorism so as to establish a good understanding...
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...Terrorism by the Egyptian Islamic Jihad Brandin P. Lea SCTY 488 – Terrorism and Homeland Security December 26, 2010 Professor Eric Witcher Abstract It has been the case that over the duration that mankind has graced the planet there has been group’s hell bent on enacting their beliefs and values upon the rest of the world. As time has passed there have been many times that these groups have changed the face of the planet permanently. You can look at any organized religious group and see just how they pushed the belief system onto others to spread their ideology. Now, taking into consideration that fundamentalism and militant groups are nothing new, you can see that it still affects society greatly even today. Let us look at the main group I am focusing on in this paper. The Egyptian Islamic Jihad is one of the most influential fundamentalists groups in the Middle East. Similar to other terrorist groups, the religious intensity factor of a particularly violent kind is pointing solely to Islam, even when religious frenzies are spreading remarkably everywhere. A retreat into religion became the way most Islamic communities could be explained, from Saudi Arabia which, with what was supposed to be a peculiarly Islamic logic, refused to ratify the Camp David Accords, all the way to Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Egypt. In this way, researchers underline that the Islamic world is differentiated, in the Western mind generally, in the United States in particular, from regions...
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...is terrorism? - The answer to the term terrorism is in the question. It simply means to cause terror - an act to endanger. * What is the meaning of radicalisation? - Steps taken by a person to adopt extreme political, social or religious ideals associated with terrorist groups. * What is meant by threat? – A statement of intention. * So called ‘Modern Terrorism’ since 7/7 was an attack without mercy. These extremist will go to any lengths to challenge, intimidate and incite fear in British Domestic Security by carrying out these attacks without regards for innocent human lives. According to National Security Strategy (NSS) ‘the current international terrorist threats to the UK comes mainly from sources involved with Al Qaeda’. The Modern Terrorism extremists are more lethal as their aim is to cause mass destruction. * Ideology behind these attacks is more or less deemed as ‘payback time’ and the backlash is linked to the British invasion on Iraq and the insurgency in Afghanistan. * UK legislations to combat terrorism -Terrorism Act 2000; Crime and Security Act 2001; CONTEST | 2. Introduction – Identify either a policy or ideology: * Identify the policy- The Government Prevent strategy – What is Prevent? What is its aim? * The Prevent strategy which was published in 2011. Prevent aim to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism and is one of the important facets of (CONTEST) --Counter-Terrorism strategy – To reduce risk of terrorism in the...
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... presidents are expected to make policies. This paper will focus on two specific polices that deal directly with homeland security and will focus in on the presidents that created and enforced these policies. According to Robert Harvey (2008) ever since post WWII the U.S. has had a conflicted attitude towards safety. The author of this paper will coagulate a time line of two presidents and their desire to appease the safety view of Americans. For example, President George W. Bush and his homeland security act which grew out of the issues that arose after the 9/11 attacks. And also President Harry S. Truman’s national security bill which established the Department of Defense during the cold war. Each president had his own motive for signing these national security bills, but each bill grew out of similar problems that they each faced during their presidential areas. Both, presidents were under huge public pressure to make a decision and to keep the country safe and then make emergency presidential decisions. This paper will focus on the: 1.) Historical perspective of the time when each policy was discussed or implemented. 2.) The context or the problem of the day and the urgency for the policy.3.)Analyze the social, economic, and political environments for the times the policies were discussed or implemented.4.)...
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