The Effects Of Terrorism

The Effects of Terrorism Terrorism has occurred throughout history, but today the world is experiencing a global rebirth of attacks. Today it no longer affects only small societies, such as isolated third world countries who fell victim to regular terrorist attacks, but the whole world is becoming more familiar with Arab and Muslim names. The terrorist violence that is on the rise today has informed citizen all over the world about different types of terrorism. Also with the resurgence the world is experiencing of terrorism, the Nation's have been to do what they can to eliminate terrorism. Terrorism can be defined as "the deliberate creation of fear to bring out political change." All terrorist acts involve violence or the threat of violence. These violent acts are usually committed by nongovernmental groups or individuals who are either part of or officially serving in the military, law enforcement agencies, intelligence agencies, or other governmental agencies of an established nation. Terrorists attempt not only to create panic but also to weaken confidence in the government and the political leadership of the target country. Terrorism therefore is designed to have psychological effects that reach farther beyond the impact on the immediate victims of an attack. Terrorists mean to frighten and therefore scare a wider crowd, such as a rival ethnic or religious group, an entire country and its political control, or the entire international community. Terrorist groups are generally small and have few members, limited firepower, and other resources. For this reason they rely on intense bloody and destructive acts of hit-and-run violence to attract attention to their group and their cause. Through the media they are able to create a larger voice for themselves and create hostilities among people. "A terrorist is a criminal who seeks publicity. This sets him far apart from what British officials in Northern Ireland have taken to calling the ODC, or Ordinary Decent Criminal, who understandably shuns the limelight. They require publicity. It is their lifeblood. If the media were not there to report terrorist acts and to explain their political and social significance (the motives inspiring them and so forth) terrorism as such would cease to exist" (Netanyahu 70) What has caused terrorism can be a mystery for many reactionary groups, but for other groups the main causes can be historical, cultural, religious, economic, social, and psychological. Generally democratic countries have been proven to be grounds for terrorism because of the open nature of their societies. In such societies people have fundamental rights, civil liberties are protected, and government control and constant surveillance of the people and their activities are absent. Also by through the same reasons repressive societies, where the government closely monitors citizens and restricts their speech and movement, have often provided more difficult environments for

terrorists. But even countries with strict police-enforced laws have not been immune to terrorism, even though they limit civil liberties and are against free speech and rights of assembly. One the most commonly seen forms of terrorism have been Suicide terrorism, other wise known as psychological warfare. "While suicide bombers are often portrayed as lone mad zealots, they are in fact pawns in large terrorist networks that wage calculated psychological warfare. (National Center for Policy Analysis) The suicide bombers often do die while attempting their terrorist acts, hence the name, but the bombers do wish to live to see how the tragedy has affected their victims. The wide range use of suicide terrorism is because it is simple and low-cost, guarantees mass casualties, guarantees the act will succeed, suicide bombers have no fear to surrender information, and the intense impact on the media. "The relatively high number of casualties guaranteed in such attacks, which are usually carried out in crowded areas, ensures full media coverage. Thus, suicide terrorism ranks with other spectacular modus operandi such as blowing up airplanes in mid air or the use of Weapons of Mass Destruction as a sure means to win maximum effect." (National Centre for Policy Analysis) Some of the most recent act of suicide terrorism in the U.S. was the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York. Suicide Bombers hijacked two planes full of fuel and used them as missiles into the Twin Towers, Killing everyone aboard the two planes and collapsing the towers. This suicide attack is the worst act of terrorism ever committed on US soil. This type of terrorism has been around for many years and dates back to the 18th century. "Looking at history of terrorism, it can be seen that suicide attacks are in actuality a very old modus operandi. In ancient times two notorious sects, the Jewish Sicairis and the Islamic Hashishiyun became infamous for such attacks. In the 18 century, suicide tactics were used on the Malabar Coast of South-western India, in Atjeh in Northern Sumatra and in Mindanao and Sulu in the Southern Philippines. In all of these places Muslims carried out suicide attacks in their fight against Western hegemony and colonial rule. "(National Centre for Policy Analysis) "Suicide terrorism is defined as a politically motivated violent attack perpetrated by a self-aware individual who actively and purposely causes his own death through blowing himself up along with his chosen target. The perpetrator's ensured death is a precondition for the success of his mission."(Schweitzer) Today's suicide terrorist attacks are obviously different from ones of ancient times, but also the mode of warfare has changed. Modern suicide attacks are often for the purpose to inflict both physical and psychological damage to the population. Another popular form of terrorism is Bio-chemical terrorism, which is one of the most deadly types. Bio-chemical terrorism can be defined as a group that threatens or attacks their target with the usage of a chemical that is very harmful and can be fatal.

" In the 1990-1991 Persian Gulf war Iraq produced and planned to use not only chemical weapons but also biological weapons " (Gay 12) This is a good example of how other countries have tried to use bio-chemical warfare against another country. Along with the threat among opposing nations, there is also the threat of this terrorism in one nation. "In 1994 and 1995, Japanese citizens in Tokyo and other cities were terrorized by chemical attacks planned and executed by members of the Aum Shinrikyo (supreme truth) religious cult and its leader Shoko Ashara, who called himself "Holy Pope." (Gay 13) This cult tired to create a war by attacking the legislature and other authorities like the U.S. Naval base in Yokosuka The effects that chemical and biological weapons have had on US troops started after the Persian Gulf. When the end of the war came and tens of thousands of troops returned home they came down with an illness. The symptoms included chronic fatigue, severe joint pain and headaches, intestinal track problems, internal bleeding, and memory loss. These symptoms have been classified as "Gulf War Syndrome." The veterans were told they were suffering from psychological problems as a result of war, and were sent to consult with psychologists. The country that has been involved in most conflicts that pertain to biological and chemical weapons has been Iraq. This terrorist filled country has done everything from forging documents and making fraudulent statements to completely dismantling equipment and destroying documents to cover up their production of Biological weapons. "Just days before the end of 1998, Iraqi surface-to-air missiles *were fired at British and American fighter jets. US jets fired back with laser-guided bombs that knocked out antiaircraft artillery. "(Gay 27) Iraq has shown extreme hostile behaviour against other countries leading the US and other nations to believe that Iraq does in fact have been creating and building up their biological and chemical weapons. Military intelligence agencies have no doubt that in the future there will be more confrontations with Iraq as they continue to try and build their weapons arsenal. "Information warfare is "an electronic conflict in which information is a strategic asset worthy of conquest or destruction. Computers and other communications and information systems become attractive first-strike targets. "(French) Information warfare is becoming a popular form of terrorism these days. With the growth in computer software and other technologies, information warfare is becoming easier. The threat of info war means that computer systems would have to be protected from an "Electric Pearl Harbour" "The surprise attack would not hit just one location, as was the case with the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbour in Hawaii during World War II, but instead could disrupt the entire nation." (Gay 78-79) The threat of information warfare is a major disruption that should definitely be paid attention to due to its great affect it could have on a nation's communication and computer systems. With the new technologies today, information warfare groups are much easier to form. The organizational stronghold that the perpetrators have increases the flexibility and reduces the reaction time

to fight against an attack. "Information warfare is essentially superior conventional strength. Not only are US weapons better than any other military's but advances in computer and communications have led to a method of integrating conventional forces so well that a new type of fighting emerges. "(French) Since this type of terrorism has grown to such a vast strength, it can become one of the most commonly choice for warfare. The terrorist can hack into a computer system that is so far away that the hacker will be in no danger, making this one of the more popular terrorism tactic. The US Congress passed in 1996 the Antiterrorism and effective death penalty, which has the secretary of state to put together a list of the top foreign terrorist groups. "In October 1999, Secretary of State Madeline Albright designated twenty-eight groups as foreign terrorist organizations. The State Department also provides descriptions of these organizations and their areas of operation. "(Gay 47) Counter-terrorism is to terminate terrorism and is usually enforced but authorized military organizations. The United States counter terrorism groups include Delta Force, DEVGRU, and the US Army special reaction teams. Counter terrorism teams have existed in one form or another since the 1920's. Delta Force is one of the US's Counter Terrorist Groups which is also known as, Combat Applications Group (CAG). The counter terrorist group recruits its soldiers from the US Army's Special Forces Green Berets and Rangers. According to Geffery French, today the Delta Force is though to have an estimated 2,500 personnel. Delta's main purpose is for hostage rescue, and they got the chance to rescue an American business man who was operating from an underground radio station, and was held captive in Modelo. Team Delta also saw some action during Desert Storm, when troopers provided General Norman Schwartzkopf security, and in locating Scud missile launchers in Iraq. The Delta Force has their own fleet of helicopters painted in civilian colours with fake registration numbers to keep their existence out of the media. The second counter terrorist group in the US is the DEVGRU which is a Naval Special Warfare Development Group. "What is known is that they were formed in the mid 1990's after SEAL Team Six, the Navy's Counter-terrorism was disbanded. DEVGRU was created after Richard Marcinko, the original commander of ST6 published a series of books that outlined the history and purpose of the original Team." (Johnson) Since the disbanding of ST6 the Navy had no maritime CT unit. The recent rumors have said that the DEVGRU is actually a CT unit created to take the place of ST6. The newly formed group is also a division of JSOC, which is with other groups like the US Army's 1st SFOD-D and 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, in which both groups are listed in the counter-terrorism units. DEVGRU is estimated to have about 400 personnel which are separated into four combat teams and a training team. The third counter-terrorist group that was formed by the United States was the Special Reaction Teams (SRT's). This unit was formed when the Army sent a small group of Military Police to attend Emergency Services Teams training. The training for the MP's was so successful, the Department mandated that the MP group would be reassigned to an

extensive scouting of the airport to ensure success. They also chose the correct planes after careful planning. They made sure to take over aircraft's with loaded fuel tanks, and less people for less opposition. United Airlines flight 93 took off around 8:45 a.m. and was flying without incident until they had reached Cleveland. The passenger had reported that the terrorists had cigarette lighters with hidden knives inside to take over the plane. The passengers and crew were held captive in the first-class section. Later, some passengers had learned from cell phones of the crashes into the World Trade Centre. Then Flight 93 had made a few midair maneuvers which resulted in crashing into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Aboard American Airlines Flight 11, the hijackers told the passengers that the planes that were flying from Boston would be used as bombs and hit the Twin Towers in New York. A flight attendant onboard reportedly made a call from a cellular phone and said there were "several Middle Eastern men" who had used knives or box cutters to take over the plane, and wounded several passengers. American Airlines flight 77 also reported several men aboard with box cutters who rushed passenger to the rear of the plane. The plane's target was apparently changed when the pilot pulled off a tight maneuver cutting 270 degrees to the right to head towards the Pentagon. "Aviation experts said the plane was flown with skill, making it highly likely that a trained pilot--possibly one of the hijackers-- was at the helm." (Counter-Terrorism) The results of the hijacking of the four airliners were devastating. United Airlines Flight 93 was flown nose first into a field in Pennsylvania killing everyone aboard. American Airlines Flight 77 was hijacked and steered into the Pentagon in Washington DC killing everyone aboard. The two aircrafts that struck the World Trade Centres twin towers were United Airlines Flight 175 and American Airlines Flight 11. Each plane that struck the towers killed everyone aboard and causing the towers to collapse. Terrorism is a major problem that is reoccurring over the globe in many different forms. The US alone spends about $5 billion dollars a year combating terrorists. The treats of bio-chemical, Suicide or psychological warfare, and information warfare are on the rise in today's societies as more political argument and groups emerge. Along with the rise of terrorism is also the increase in Counter-Terrorism acts. Even though most counter terrorist groups are kept secret, the increase of terrorism has also counter balanced. Throughout the years many radical and reactionary groups have been the cause for terrorist attacks throughout the world, but the ones that will always remain the most important to you are the ones that happen in your home nation.