War & Terrorism: Attitudes & Perpetuation

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Dear Student,
There are many viewpoints and discourses with regards to or relating to terrorism, war and conflict. It is a very intensive, very broad and complex topic that has varied academic, military and social think-tanks in a continual process of studying, reviewing and analysing. The solution below then is only in the general terms meant to get you started in the discourse of war and conflict. I hope this helps.

Sincerely,
OTA 105878/Xenia Jones

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Terrorism: Ideologies, Attitudes & Causes

Introduction
'One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter.'
- Anon

War and violence as a way of forwarding personal, tribal, political and religious agenda, among other things, is older than the human concept of nation-states. The History of terrorism is actually part of the history of human civilization, just as democracy and communism and all our existing philosophies & social order systems are. It is also its product just as democracy and equality are. What is terrorism? What defines a terrorist act? What does history tell us about terrorism and civilization? Since 9-11 through global discourse the world that we know has defined terrorism by way of the visual (through a globalized media) and actual experience and it cannot be denied than when we think of terrorism, we think of Al Qaeda, Bin Laden & the Taleban. We also think of the isolated nation of North Korea or the enigmatic nation of Iran. Over and above all that we think of the currently fought out 'Global War on Terror' in Iraq, Afghanistan and in the varied cities and locations that radicalized Islamic fanatics have targeted to 'spread their message', to 'coerce' and 'terrorize' nations for the purpose of being heard to meet their demands of what they see as a world unacceptable to their increasingly radical & volatile faith. Most of the world's modern impressions of the terrorist notion involve suicide bombers willing to blow themselves up seemingly blinded by the 'glory of dying' for Jihad to overcome and fight the 'infidels'. All these seems, to so many the direct consequence of 9-11 when the Al Qaeda, the radical Islamic group led by one Osama Bin Laden, now the most wanted man on Earth led coordinated attacks throughout key US targets including the New York landmark, the Twin Towers. For Professor Sir Adam Roberts of Oxford University, "What happened on September 11 was a sinister new twist in an old story of fascination with political violence" (The BBC, 2002).Terrorism is defined by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS via FEMA, 2008) as such -

"Terrorism is the use of force or violence against persons or property in violation of the criminal laws of the United States for purposes of intimidation, coercion, or ransom."

The Department of Homeland Security's creation was a direct response to 9-11 for the purpose of securing the American ...