THE NEW TERRORISM

The new terrorism

The new terrorism

Thesis Statement

Terrorism is the issue on everyone's mind these days. It is a global disorder that we have been fighting, and probably will be fighting for many years to come.

Introduction

What is terrorism? There is no exact definition for the word. The word means different things to different people at different times in history. Violent activity at one point in time may be called terrorism, while the same action may be deemed war, liberation, or crime at another time in history. (Bell, 1975)

A Review of Current Law Applying to the Issue

Anti-terrorism legislation designs all types of laws passed in the purported aim of fighting terrorism. They usually, if not always, follow specific bombings or assassinations. Anti-terrorism legislation usually includes specific amendments allowing the state to bypass its own legislation when fighting terrorism-related crimes, under the grounds of necessity. Because of this suspension of regular procedure, such legislation is sometimes criticized as a form of lois scélérates which may unjustly repress all kinds of popular protests. Critics often allege that anti-terrorism legislation endangers democracy by creating a state of exception that allows authoritarian style of government. Governments often state that they are necessary temporary measures that will be dispelled when the danger finally vanish.

The new terrorism

The most accepted definition of terrorism is the illegitimate use of force on innocent people to achieve a political objective. The State Department's official definition is the "premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by sub-national groups or clandestine agents, usually intended to influence an audience." These inflictions cannot be performed directly by any government, but they can be funded by a government. If these actions were inflicted directly by a government, this is known as terror, not terrorism. However, with these definitions you can see how difficult it is to define terrorism. (Bell, 1975)

In order to have good understanding of terrorism we have to talk about the historical context of terrorism. In times of war, armies use guerrilla tactics that resemble terrorism. In the American Civil War, the Union Army hired people to destroy Confederate railroads. They did not wear uniforms; they did not use normal tactics to fight. Was this terrorism?

There are several definitions of terrorism, and new types of terrorism have evolved. However, there are three basic types of terrorism: international, intranational, and transnational. Since the definition of terrorism changes with the nature of the conflict, (Davidson, 1986) I will not define terrorism; I will describe it in its different forms. Some terrorist groups get public support and financing from a variety of different governments. They inflict terror on nations other than their own to bring about some type of political change. A good example would be the Palestinian Liberation Organization. Started around 1957, groups of Palestinians in Jordan were formed to become the PLO. The purpose of this group was to create a political organization to help form an alliance against Israel. This was done in hopes that Arab governments would launch a war against ...