...Terrorism of America On September 11, 2001 life in America changed forever when terrorists crashed planes into the twin towers, pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania. Since the occurrence of those events the word “terrorism” has been part of the common vocabulary in our day to day lives. The threat of terrorism has brought about many changes. It has created tighter security restrictions, increased intelligence gathering, and for some a sense of paranoia. It has also created a hatred towards those who seek to terrorize the United States. One must ask what is terrorism exactly and why does it happen? The word terrorism was first used in the late 18th century. In Geoffrey Nunberg’s essay “The War of Words: “Terror” and “Terrorism” he uses French Revolutionary Robespierre’s definition of terror as “nothing other than justice, prompt, severe, inflexible; it is therefore an emanation of virtue” (Nunberg 433). Terrorism was the action of a people who were working for and ideological cause. It was a means of bringing about change. Whether the action was positive or negative was determined by the group defining it. While those acting to bring...
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...that Blasted Away the Truth For the United States, World War II was a very costly war that seemed as if it would not end. For the United States to end their assault on Japan during World War II, a nuclear bomb was dropped in Japan to force them to surrender. On August 6th, 1945, the U.S. military dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima killing over 150,000 people and (along with the later bombing of Nagasaki) effectively caused the Japanese to surrender. This tactic is highly polarized in the international community; on one side, it is considered to be justified and the only action for the United States to take, and on the other side, it is considered to be a barbaric act of terrorism perpetrated by the U.S. military. In the essay, Hiroshima by John Berger, the author correctly argues that the bombings were terroristic acts that are fundamentally evil; however, he is incorrect that they are unjustifiable. To diagnose whether the bombings were acts of terrorism, one must be able to understand the definition and criteria of one such act. A commonly accepted definition of terrorism is an act that includes the premeditated use of violence by an organized group against non-combatants to achieve political ends. Berger’s argument includes all the criteria in that definition so the bombing must be terrorist acts. Berger begins his argument by describing all the violence caused by the bombs. Throughout the essay, he quotes passages from Unforgettable Fire, a book containing...
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...In this essay I will argue that the ‘war on terror’ declared by the Bush administration and so assessed for the US; is not a just war. It fails in the central interrelated criteria of just cause and last resort for jus ad bellum, which I detail first through assessment of the Bush administration’s self-proclaimed just reasoning behind resorting to war against a concept, and the alternatives available to it, I will then detail its failure in the jus in bello criteria of discrimination and proportionality, reasoning through the case of drone warfare. Jus ad bellum I shall firstly focus on the crucial jus ad bellum principle of just cause, holding the only just cause for war to be self-defence . The USA and its allies suffered unjust, unprovoked terror attacks, notably to embassies and battleships, as well as ultimately the 9/11 disaster, and further possessed reputable evidence of other failed attacks. Thus this essay acknowledges that they were under-attack from a powerful and effective enemy, which could be reliably pinpointed as Al Qaeda. These attacks were focused on non-combatants in landmark locations; deliberate targeting for maximum terror spreading effect, which further represented an attack on western freedoms. Hence the assailant satisfied neither jus ad bellum, nor jus in bello, and without immediate and effective action there existed great potential for further unjust attacks. This was the Bush administration’s argument for sufficient reason to declare war in self-defence...
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...Terrorism Scapegoating Islam for Terrorism Name: Maryam Khalil Class: Social Science HSP3U1 Date: May 30, 2014 Essay Most of the westerners today see Islam as a religion of hate and violence. This is due to the events of the terrorist attacks that have been happening around the world. Islam has been associated with terrorism more and more often due to few extremists who are doing terrible crimes in the name of Islam (Islam Way). The whole world knows what has been happening to Muslims in America after 9/11, but blaming 1.6 billion Muslims for the crimes of less than 10,000 people is not ethical. Those people who have never read the Quran and know nothing about Islam says that Islam teaches to kill people and to commit act of terrorism. The purpose of this essay is to resolve the misconception that Islam teaches terrorism. Islam teaches us to practice peace in every area of our daily life. The real reason why people really become terrorists is hidden from most of the people in world. Today’s media is also misrepresenting Islam and Muslims. Tragic events such as attack on World Trade Centre in New York and bombing of London and Madrid are supposed to be justified by Islam in the minds of some people (Islam Way). The actual origin of terrorism was from the Cold War between Russia and America and the place of its origin was Afghanistan. Islam is a religion of peace. To understand Islam’s point of view on terrorism one must refer to its original source which is definitely...
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...RPW 110 Spring 2011 Response essay The misinterpretation of Jihad, as a form of violence. Words: 2000 Our society today faces the greatest challenge in the form of terrorism threatening countless lives and shattering those very ideals that sustain humanity. The misinterpretation of jihad is the primary cause behind many terrorist activities in the recent times. The misinterpretation of this word was first started by Ali ibn Tahir al-Sulami, He was a Damascene jurist and a pious Muslim who was the first to preach jihad against the crusaders in the aftermath of the First Crusade. He was one of the first to misconstrue jihad and preach the misinterpretation of jihad .He wrote the book Kitab Al- Jihad which means “book of the holy war”. In this book he proposes for the first time Jihad as a means of warfare against non-believers. “If he did not undertake the sending of enough troops to fight, those who are absent (must) go out, and consider as an obligation that which God (who is praised) said.” The above excerpts explicitly prove the aggressive nature of his ideology and the eventual misinterpretation of Jihad. The above statement suggests to Muslims if god didn’t send enough men to war against non-Muslims then it is the obligation of every Muslim to fight this war against non-believers. This concept was shouted through speakers in mosques and had a lot of audience hence the impact it had on Muslims was much...
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...TERRORISM, WAR, PEACE AND HUMAN RIGHTS FACULTY GUIDEBAC 445 FONTBONNE UNIVERSITY OPTIONS BACHELOR OF ARTS IN CONTEMPORARY STUDIES COURSE DESCRIPTION This course will explore ethical, theoretical, and practical questions relating to terrorism, the engagement of war, cultural and ethnic conflicts. This course will explore why we wage war, the development of terrorism and its impact on societies, society’s quest for peace and the methods attempted to achieve peace. This course will also explore the concept of human rights and how terrorism and war impact these rights. © Copyright Fontbonne University, St. Louis, MO, January 2007. COURSE OVERVIEW TOPICS • Historic and philosophical positions on war • Contemporary moral foundations on war • Human rights • Terrorism • Humanitarian intervention and preemptive war • Religious positions on war • Toward a theory of just peace COURSE OVERVIEW INTRODUCTORY NOTES TO FACULTY The subjects of war, peace, terrorism and human rights are daily fare in the media. While people form strong opinions on these matters and tend to regard them as right or wrong, many do not have the skills to analyze and clearly articulate a rationale for their positions. The purpose of this course is thus twofold: to equip students with the ethical theories needed to make a judgment...
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...George Bush Speech Analysis Name: Institution: George Bush Speech Analysis In the evening of September 11 the year 2001, George Bush addressed the United States of America upon the incident of the terrorist attack that had occurred about 12 hours earlier. The attack would define the presidency of Bush that would lead to the changes in the foreign policies of America, the Iraq and Afghanistan interventions as well as years of how to combat terrorism controversies. The president wanted to assure Americans that they still had a functioning government, listing the support from other nations in the terrorism fight and promise and vow to bring those who were involved to justice. That was when men who were 19 in number colluded and worked together to highjack four airplanes that were heading for California. The essay below looks into the various aspects of the speech that the president presented mainly to comfort as well as encourage the Americans despite the attack, in the speech. It looks at the impacts of the address, his resent on the incident, his personality, in addition to his efforts to assure American citizens of the government’s industrious steps to protect them as well as the impacts that the speech had after the proposed counterterrorism measures that involved developing a robust national security as discussed in the paper. The President of America, George Bush addressed upon the unfortunate events of 9-11 that had unfolded in 2011 the month of September...
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...In what ways, if any, has globalization transformed the phenomenon of terrorism? Introduction The idea of terrorism has not always been as it is today. The word “terror” originated after the French Revolution and the word “terrorism” was subsequently recorded by the Académie Française in 1798 (Roberts 2002). The regime of “la Terreur” was one of force and bloody repression against opponents to the newly born French Republic, but since the 19th century, terrorism has come to designate a method of opposition used by small groups (Tilly 2004, 8-9) “against the legitimacy of the prevailing sovereign power” (Scruton 2002, 126). As Barkawi (2006, 129) aptly puts across “‘terror’ is often used as a weapon by those who lack sufficient weapons to fight a military war, who believe their voices are not being heard and their desires bear no fruit”. Contrary to the French “terror”, “terrorism” is then no longer a practice of the State; it is that of radical groups opposing the State, and it is mainly the State that gives them this name (Townshend 2002, 3); the names these groups give themselves are in relation to a cause they see as legitimate. Such causes have arisen in numerous places, prompting some to take extreme but in their minds justified action, and Europe has faced terrorist threats long before the 9/11 attacks, incarnated by the Irish Republican Army (IRA), the Basque Fatherland and Liberty group (ETA) in Spain or the Red Brigades in Italy, to name only a few (Barkawi...
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...SOC 802-Section01 (Fall 2010) - Issues in War and Peace | Essay Topic # 4: Soldiers, Freedom Fighters, and Terrorists | | | Wais Ghafoori | 11/10/2010 | There are profound differences between the soldiers, freedom fighters, and terrorists; there are no profound differences between them; the whole issue is a matter of the observers’ viewpoint, or interests | Is there a difference between soldiers, freedom fighters, and terrorists? Some may believe there is. Others believe the opposite. To others it may be the observers’ viewpoint or interests. However, I believe it can go anyway. At certain cases there are significant differences between soldiers, freedom fighters, and terrorists. And at other moments they are all the same. I will be examining all sides; whether soldiers, freedom fighters, and terrorists are different or there are no differences between them or it may be in the observers’ viewpoint or interests. One cannot truly understand whether there is a difference or not without understanding all sides of the topic. In a way, once understanding all view points, one would be able to give a more appropriate opinion which they could support or make an assumption about the different sides of this topic while critically assessing all sides. People see terrorists as the enemy, when the terrorist is attacking them or their land/nation. However, the soldiers are seen as heroes when attacking the land of people which the terrorists come from. ...
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...The subject of social problems is one discipline of ever- increasing need for social inquiry. Conventional theories have just but only justified the existence of these conditions and have remained in their normative school. Critical theories have tried to push their historical materialist approach but could not bring any formidable solutions to avert social problems. By definition a social problem is an elusive concept to define and it takes forms that are the subjective and objective understanding. Eitzen et al. (2009:8) argue that some social conditions are detrimental in any situation. In this sense, they have an objective character. There are conditions in society such as poverty, racism, sexism that cause material or psycho logical suffering for parts of the population. Those conditions are, therefore, social problems in any social setting. Social problems are those conditions which are universally agreed upon by society to have adverse effects many people and those conditions which causes material and psychic suffering of the body or society such as HIV/AIDS, terrorism, war, poverty, conflict, corruption and crime (Eitzen and Bacca- Zinn, 2009). Thus, social problems have their roots form the social, economic, political, environmental, cultural and geographical contexts, thus they are socially constructed. This essay assesses the Marxist explanation and its applicability to the study of social problems and on the whole what solutions it suggests to address them. The conflict...
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...Terrorism is a Political Term 'States like these, and their terrorist allies, constitute an axis of evil...' President G. W. Bush, 29th January 2002 State of the Union Address Abstract: As can be seen from the above quote, ‘terrorism’ is a political, derogatory term with no real, inherently meaningful definition and, with the war being waged against it in its tenth year, one that has divided the world. One reason for the division stems not from the nature of its ambiguity or any fundamental change in its manifestation, but in the West’s difficulty in conceptualizing the motivations behind its many faces. ‘Terrorism’ does not define the motives behind an act of terror. It characterizes them, and this is what has led to its increasing use as a political term, particularly since 9/11. The reasons go beyond mere semantics however and, in the context of the Global War on Terror, have fueled not just the conflict but the surge in recruitment and sympathy that has taken place for terrorist causes across the world. It needs to be recognized that the use of terrorism as a political term has actually had more of a negative impact on the world than any terrorist attack to date. Introduction: Since the coinage of the term ‘terrorism’, its characteristics have always been synonymous with organized violence and a political end-goal. Until recently, however, its employment had been more of a vernacular convenience than a political expression. Over the last...
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...The subject of social problems is one discipline of ever-increasing need for social inquiry. Conventional theories have just but only justified the existence of these conditions and have remained in their normative school. Critical theories have tried to push their historical materialist approach but could not bring any formidable solutions to avert social problems. By definition a social problem is an elusive concept to define and it takes forms that are the subjective and objective understanding. Eitzen et al. (2009:8) argue that some social conditions are detrimental in any situation. In this sense, they have an objective character. There are conditions in society such as poverty, racism, sexism that cause material or psychological suffering for parts of the population. Those conditions are, therefore, social problems in any social setting. Social problems are those conditions which are universally agreed upon by society to have adverse effects many people and those conditions which causes material and psychic suffering of the body or society such as HIV/AIDS, terrorism, war, poverty, conflict, corruption and crime (Eitzen and Bacca-Zinn, 2009). Thus, social problems have their roots form the social, economic, political, environmental, cultural and geographical contexts, thus they are socially constructed. This essay assesses the Marxist explanation and its applicability to the study of social problems and on the whole what solutions it suggests to address them. The conflict...
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...well-reasoned argumentative essay. There is more here than arguments—there’s some window dressing and you’ll probably find some slanters here and there as well. You should go through the selection and identify the issues, the positions taken on those issues, and the arguments offered in support of those arguments. Are any arguments from opposing points of view considered? What is your final assessment of the essay? The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, produced a response among American officials, the media, and the public that is probably matched only by the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. Since it is the very nature of terrorism not only to cause immediate damage but also to strike fear in the hearts of the population under attack, one might say that the terrorists were extraordinarily successful, not just as a result of their own efforts but also in consequence of the American reaction. In this essay, I shall argue that this reaction was irrational to a great extent and that to that extent Americans unwittingly cooperated with the terrorists in achieving a major goal: spreading fear and thus disrupting lives. In other words, we could have reacted more rationally and as a result produced less disruption in the lives of our citizens. There are several reasons why one might say that a huge reaction to the 9/11 attacks was justified. The first is simply the large number of lives that were lost. In the absence of a shooting war, that 2,800 Americans should...
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...securitization theory – using the case study of War on terror in Afghanistan (2001-2012) Introduction Security study was in the past regarded as a sub-discipline of international relations underpinned in Anglo-American thinking. Until early 1990s, security studies were considered as a strategic studies focusing on a strong military focus. This traditional view of security involved the protection of the state and a scientific agenda to secure the state from definable threats and maintain the status quo. This is a positivist approach which was based on rationalism and realism. The Copenhagen School presented an alternative view of security studies by responding to the traditional approach of forming a clear sense of ‘what is security’. This approach is defined in three mechanisms: development of sectors approach to security, developing a regional focus on security and critically engendering a social constructivist theory of security through securitization studies. This theory will be the main focus of this discussion. To achieve a critical discussion of what securitization really entails, this paper will use the case study of USA’s war on terrorism in Afghanistan. The approach used by the US government to fight against terrorism in Afghanistan and Iraq can be considered as a securitization approach which has led to a resulted in security problems in the two countries rather than solving the issue. Securitization of USA’s war on Afghanistan can be viewed in three perspectives:...
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...in particular by unfolding the paradoxes entailed to whittle a credible conclusion. It attempts to explore contradictions of democracy whether democracy is a best system of governance? Is true democracy possible? Has it to be moral in character? Why other systems of governance tend to challenge the basic fabrics of democracy? Why democracy has turned out to be more productive than other forms of government? Then focus shifts to paradoxes entailed in self evident truth of American democracy. Is American democracy a representative of a true democracy? Does it cater the smaller factions of society? Has the democratic system fostered the rights of liberty, justice, life and pursuit of happiness to good effect for masses once challenged by terrorism, racism, poverty and recession? What good it has brought to its people? Why does America deserve to lead world community? Finally, conclusion is inquired about by addressing the question that How American dream can be pursued in its true democratic meaning? Isn’t it strange that few render democracy as the bludgeoning of the people, by the people, for the people? On the other hand, for some, it is a government of all the people, by all the people, for all the people; a government after the principles of eternal justice, the unchanging law of God; the idea of freedom. Idea of democracy as rule of people traces its expression from Athens in ancient Greek. From a philosophical stand point doctrines of natural law evolved into the...
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