Terrorism Terrorism has been in existence since the recording of history and manifests itself in different ways. Understanding terrorism has been a task that most agencies have never reached a conclusion. Quantifying terrorism comes in as a complicated philosophy. To start with, the problem quantification of terrorism begins with physiological anomalies where the disparity between gains and losses is considered. Questions of whether people are willing to pay to reduce terrorism arises. Similarly, terrorism as a phenomenon is international. Terrorists easily move from one country to another and therefore accounting for such a trend makes it difficult to quantify it. (The Struggle to Define Terrorism, n.d.) Defining terrorism is as difficult as quantifying it. The main reason comes from the misunderstanding among most anti-terrorism agencies on what should be included to get with terrorism acts. The difficulty in this is determining where there is legitimacy in the use of violence and where it is directed. Most beliefs are that terrorism is associated with the Islamic religion, and this has made it hard to define elements of terrorism. Terrorism stems out of misunderstandings and in search of justice, and that is where most agencies fail to understand. (The Struggle to Define Terrorism, n.d.) Various agencies define terrorism in different ways. The FBI outlines terrorism as the illegal use of force and violence against individuals or property to intimidate a governing body. The DOD defines terrorism as illicit use of violence to instill fear and intimidate a government. The DHS defines terrorism as an act of violence that that poses a danger to human life and that which causes destruction to property. The CIA views terrorism as the use of violence or any harmful act to achieve political interests. The U.S Department of State defines terrorism as an act of violence with a political desire that endangers civilians. A common similarity amongst all these agencies is that terrorism has to involve the use of unlawful violence which threatens civilians and property. The missions of these agencies are to protect the citizens and, therefore, their definitions of terrorism are in hand with those missions. From the Cyclical Nature of Violence by Combs, terrorism differs in the situations under which it occurs. The explanation is that the nature of the reaction and response of the group that has been victimized. For example, if innocent persons have been hurt, the reaction is that the agencies of the innocent ones will react the same way the terrorists conducted their deeds. (Combs, 2009)