 |
terrorism. what is terrorism? . Pre-reading task
|
|
|
|
TERRORISM
What is Terrorism?
PRE-READING TASK
1. Which of these words can be referred to terrorism and which to war or both?
To overthrow the government peace-maker to retreat to kidnap to wage warfare to intimidate population to cease fire
To hijack atrocity political offenses hostage taking peace accord to break out air strike to launch an attack
2. Give the definition of the term terrorism.
3. Why is it so difficult to combat terrorism?
The terms 'terrorism' and terrorist' arose from the events of the French Revolution of 1789. Following the overthrow of the monarchy, a group called the Jacobins took power and conducted a " reign of terror' in France. The philosopher, Edmund Burke, wrote of thousands of hellhounds called terrorists' being 'let loose upon the people'.
The Jacobins inspired terror among the citizens by wielding state power. In the nineteenth century, however, the description of states and governments as 'terrorist' became less common. Instead the word came to denote revolutionaries who used violent methods against the state.
Terrorism is organized violence by small groups against the state for political purposes. There are four aspects to this definition.
First, terrorist activities are organized, and involve conscious planning and direction. A kidnap or hijack attempt, for example, requires co-operation within an organized group.
Secondly, terrorist projects are undertaken by small, usually secret bodies of armed men and women. Terrorist violence is not often undertaken by large groups of people, but by small groups excluded from power.
Thirdly, terrorism - even when its victims are ordinary citizens - is directed against the state and its representatives.
Fourthly, terrorism is used to further political aims. Terrorists are not just criminals. They may engage in armed robbery, for example, but this is part of a political strategy and is not done purely for material gain.
Terrorism is part of the modern political world. Terrorist groups consist of real people involved in real conflicts. The first task is not to condemn, but to understand them. One way of doing this is to ask: who are the terrorists and what is contemporary terrorism?
The deliberate killing of civilians to intimidate the civilian population or government is one of the worst features of contemporary terrorism and can clearly be distinguished from the type of clandestine warfare waged by resistance groups or insurgency movementsagainst official and military targets. By their actions, the PALESTINE LIBERATION ORGANIZATION (PLO) and the Provisional Wing of the IRISH REPUBLICAN ARMY are terrorist organizations. But one would not use the term to describe the Polish and French underground resistance movements of World War II. When government engage in illegal and clandestine kidnapping and murder to intimidate their people—as in the case of the Nazis in Germany and the Argentine military Junta in power from 1976 to 1983-the term " state terrorism" is appropriate.
|
|
|
One important characteristic of modern terrorism is its quest for spectacular horror effects in order to attract media coverage. Terrorist atrocities like the PLO's mid-air destruction of civilian airliners and murder of helpless athletes at the 1972 Olympics and school children were perpetrated to publicize a cause. Most of the victims of the Italian Red Brigades and the German Baader- Meinhof gang were selected for symbolic reasons. The choice of New York City's World Trade Center as the site of a terrorist bomb in 1993 was presumed to have been made for similar reasons.
Another characteristic of modern terrorism is its international dimension-the ability of terrorists to slip across national frontiers, the support given to certain terrorist groups by a few countries dedicated to revolutionary change, and logistical ties that exist between terrorist groups of widely divergent ideologies and objectives.
The 1985 hijacking by Palestinians of the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro off Egypt, and the murder of a U. S. passenger, dramatized the international ramifications of terrorism.
Whereas prevention of domesticterrorism is in general the province of local law enforcement agencies or security forces, at the international level effective counter-terrorist action runs into obstacles raised by traditional concepts of national sovereignty.
In theory perpetrators of crimes in one country can, if apprehended in another country, be extradited for trial, and there is hardly a terrorist crime imaginable that is not well covered by criminal statutes. In practice, law enforcement officials tend to give foreign fugitives from justice a low priority. Moreover, a well-established exception for political offenses may protect from extradition all but the perpetrators of the most egregious crimes. Hence, terrorist organizations strive for political status, while governments seek to treat terroristsas common criminals..
In recent years international efforts to counter terrorism have led to the Tokyo and Montreal Conventions (1963 and 1971) on hijacking and sabotage of civilian aircraft; the Hague Convention of 1979 on hostage-taking; and the 1973 convention on crimes against diplomats. These conventions establish categories of international crimes that are punishable by any state regardless of the nationality of criminal or victim or locality of the offense. In addition, the United States and other nations have enacted laws to prohibit export of munitions without a license or participation of citizens in foreign conflicts. In 1986, President Ronald Reagan accused Libya of carrying out terrorist attacks against U. S. citizens and property. Following one such attack, in which an American soldier was killed, Reagan ordered U. S. military forces to attack " terrorist-related" targets in Libya. US. Air Force and Navy planes bombed a number of sites in and around the Libyan cities of Tripoli and Benghazi.
Soon afterward, seven Western industrial democracies pledged themselves to take joint action against terrorism. These nations arc the United States, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Canada, France, and Japan. They promised to deny terrorist suspects entry into their countries, to bring about close cooperation between the police and security forces in their countries, toplace strict restrictions on diplomatic missions suspected of being involved in terrorism, and to cooperate in a number of other ways.
These steps represented a concerted effort by the Western nations to combat terrorism as ‘ an instrument of government policy. "
|
|
|
In democracies, the need to protect civil liberties, the difficulty of proving conspiracy, and the devastating nature of terrorist outrages have shifted the emphasis from deterrence to prevention. Today, by general consensus the most effective means, of frustrating terrorist activity is through detailed intelligence obtained by penetration of terrorist network. [10, p10]
|
|
|
