Terrorism and Its Impact: A Theoretical Analysis

Abstract

In this paper the researcher elaborates the concept of domestic terrorism .The nature of the attack was also unexpected because there had never been one like it before. There had been suicide bombings in other countries, but no one had ever combined suicide attacks with airline hijacking. The conventional model of hijacking and hostage negotiation was not part of the plan, and few, if any, predicted that entire commercial airliners could be taken over and commandeered with items as seemingly innocuous as box cutters. Thus, most of the world was shocked when 19 men hijacked four planes on September 11, crashing three of the planes into their intended targets—the WTC towers and the Pentagon—while the fourth was brought down in a Pennsylvania field when the passengers fought to retake control of the aircraft. The attacks resulted in the destruction of the WTC towers and part of the Pentagon, with more than 3,000 civilians murdered. The size and scope of the operation are without parallel. The major focus was to determine the impact of domestic terrorism and cover all valuable aspects of it. A few patterns emerge in this brief, and by no means exhaustive, historical review of the occurrence of terrorism. These patterns have guided much of the research in academia. First, groups that employ terrorism come from a variety of ideological backgrounds. However, some movements have grown large enough to challenge authorities by more conventional military means, being able to simultaneously pursue guerrilla campaigns or fight traditional battles while also conducting terrorist strikes. Last, the attacks conducted by various terrorists were intended to provoke a response, whether from the element of society they were challenging, the societal groups they claimed to be fighting for, or both.

Table of Contents

Abstractii

Introduction1

Overview1

Focus3

Literature Review4

Chronological Categories7

Substantive Categories8

Strategic Categories10

Stages of Conflict10

Problems of Quantification11

Theories14

Personal Opinion/Experiences16

Questions of perspective17

Conclusion19

References21

Terrorism and Its Impact: A Theoretical Analysis

Introduction

The study seeks to discuss terrorism and its impact through a theoretical analysis. Terrorism is the use of violence to achieve political objectives. Since the 1970s, there was an overflow of terrorist attacks organized by different groups for the achievement of political objectives. Terrorism is mainly used by political groups who have left the path of legality to face their opponents. These groups are usually too weak to directly confront their enemy, which is generally the rule. One could identify terrorism within the borders of a State. The United States of America is affected by two types of terrorism, both internally and externally. Motivated terrorism against the American regime and carried out by U.S. citizens is emerging, or at least we have heard lately, the classic example is the Oklahoma City bombing of April 19, 1995. However, this attack seemed unusual after intensive investigations, the existence of a large number of Americans dissatisfied with their own government and willing to use violence to be heard. Despite the emergence of domestic terrorism, the U.S. is more concerned about threats from abroad, foreign terrorists that could affect the interests or American ...