Terroism Essay, Research Paper
In June 1914: A young man in Sarajevo steps up to a carriage and fires hispistol. The Archduke Ferdinand dies. Within weeks, the first world warbegan. In the 1940s: The French resistance kill occupying troops when andhow they can. In June 1944: at Oradour-sur-Glane, in Central France,German SS troops take revenge, massacring 642 villagers. In August 1945:the United States Air Force drops the world’s first nuclear weapon. Some190,000 Japanese die, nearly all of them civilians. Within days the secondworld war has ended. Which of these four events was an act of terrorism? Which achievedanything? Which, if any, will history judge as justified? And in whosehistory? Terrorism is not the simple, sharp-edged, bad-guy phenomenon weall love to condemn. No clear line, marks off politics from the threat offorce, or the use, of covert or open war. Who is or is not a terrorist?The suicide bomber, the rebel guerrilla, the liberation front, the armedforces of the state?Historical BackgroundTerrorism has had a long, and tainted, history. Aristotle recognized it,even if it had no name, at the time. He wrote, “The first aim and end oftyrants is to break the spirit of their subjects.” What we know asterrorism can be traced back to the Russian Nihilists and Anarchists ofthe 19th century, who gave a name to what would otherwise be considered”Random acts of violence” that were performed to advance theirrevolutionary cause. They elevated terrorism to a high moral plane. One ofthem, Mikhail Bakunin, exclaimed: “The passion for destruction is also acreative passion.”British military analyst Brian Crozier wrote in his 1974 book, “Theory ofConflict, that terrorists have several aims, falling into two categories. Disruptive Terrorism and Coercive TerrorismThrough “Disruptive Terrorism,” they try to:+ Gain publicity for their movement or arouse admiration. + Secure funds and build up the movements, morale or prestige. + Discredit and demoralize the authorities.+ Provoke the authorities. + To take excessively harsh repressive measures desired to alienatecitizens and force a large scale opposition to counter-terrorist measures. “Coercive Terrorism, ” is similar but complementary:+ It attempts to demoralize the civilian population weaken its confidencein the government and instill fear of the revolutionary terrorists. + By making examples of well publicized victims, they try to enforceobedience into the people. Analysis of the ProblemUntil after World War II, most terrorists adhered to a set of rules formoral behavior that excluded the killing, capture, or torture of civilianswho were not also government officials. In other words they respected therights of non-combatants as defined by various treaties that set the rulesfor armed conflict (such as the Geneva and Hague Conventions). Since therise of terrorist groups and revolutionary guerrilla movements around theworld, such rules have been disregarded.Time line of the Oklahoma Bombing1. A total of three minutes and five seconds elapsed between the time theRyder truck was last seen on a surveillance monitor and the bomb exploded. 2. The truck traveled about 500 feet in this period. It was estimated thatit would take 2 minutes and 14 seconds to go from where it was seen on thevideo to where it was parked in front of the Murrah building. 3. That leaves about one minute between the time the truck was parked infront of the building and the time the bomb exploded. 4. The FBI next calculated how long it would take for the fuse to burn andignite. FBI experts concluded that the fuse was quite long and ran frominside the cab of the truck, where the driver sat, through a hole in thebackboard, and then into the truck shell where the barrels were reportedlyloaded with ammonium nitrate fertilizer. 5. The FBI believes that the fuse was most likely about 10 feet long. Thatmeans it would take about 2 minutes and 12 seconds between the time thefuse was lit and the time the bomb ignited. Using that calculation, thefuse had to have been lit before the truck came to a stop in front of thebuilding. In fact, it would mean that the fuse had to have been lit almosta full minute before the truck was parked in front of the Murrah entrance. “We don’t know for sure on that,” one source said. “But we’reoperating on that theory.”1. The FBI believes that the Mercury was parked 80 feet from the Rydertruck, although how they came to that conclusion is unclear. However, in
the photos, the bureau labeled the Mercury as the “getaway vehicle” and,in contrast, the Ryder truck as the “suspect vehicle.”2. Investigators believe that it would take someone about 10 or 12 secondsto walk the 80 feet from the truck to the car. Sources emphasized thatwitnesses had not reported seeing someone run from vehicle to vehicle.3. Finally, the FBI estimated that the Mercury left the scene travelingabout 25 m.p.h.–a likely speed because no one saw it leave in a hurry. Using that calculation, the getaway vehicle would have traveled about4,400 feet, or a little more than 0.8 of a mile, before the bombexploded. Three Minutes to Tragedy Here are the events leading up to the Oklahoma City bombing, based onsurveillance cameras around the site, according to the FBI:1. Minutes before: Truck last seen by surveillance cameras 3 minutes and 5seconds before blast. 2. Minutes before: FBI believed fuse was lit 2 minutes and 12 seconds.3. Minute before: Truck parked in front of Murrah building about 1 minutebefore blast. 4. Blast: Blast at 9:02 a.m., April 19, 1995. 5. FBI believes 10-foot fuse ran from cab to drums of explosives in backof truck. 4Personal Perspective Myself, as a Christian, believe that there is a major underlying forcein the world that is trying to undermine the works of our Lord JesusChrist, through the works of terrorism.”Imagine the leader of all the enemy, in that great plain of Babylon,sitting on a throne of smoking flame, a horrible and terrifying sight. Watch him calling together countless demons, to dispatch them intodifferent cities till the whole world is covered, forgetting no provinceor locality, no class or single individual.” 2Christian PerspectiveEven our Bible shows how people actually hated Christ more than aterrorist and a murder. After an illegal arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus was broughtbefore Pontius Pilate, Roman Procurator. (Mark 15, NIV) Notice, at thetime of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, it was customary for Pilate torelease any prisoner the people choseBarabbas had already been tried, convicted and sentenced to be crucified. His crime was bloody, armed rebellion against the government. He was amurderer, a bandit, and arrested for homicidal political terrorism. He wasreleased by the people in place of Jesus Christ who was innocent. The Bible indicates that Barabbas was a member of the party of Zealots,who desired to throw off the Roman rule by force. As you read about the Zealots, you may remember that one of Jesus’disciples, Simon a ex-member of the Zealots, (Luke 6:15, NIV). Is itpossible that a man who had once been a member of the Zealots political”action group” and perhaps even been a terrorist, could be called to servethe Lord Jesus Christ?Indeed, a repentant Simon, whose life was completely changed from his old,violent, militant ways, became one of the apostles who received God’sSpirit on the Day of Pentecost!As I believe in pre-destiny we should continue praying for allorganizations of terrorism that God would touch their hearts and changetheir evil ways as he did for Simon. North American Perspective”America remains the indispensable nation” said Bill Clinton in anaddress at George Washington University Aug. 5 “There are times whenAmerica and only America can make a difference between war and peace Nowhere is that responsibility more clear or more urgent than in thestruggle against terrorism.” “This will be a long, hard struggle,”Clinton said. “There will be set backs along the way. But just as no enemycould drive us from the fight to meet our challenges and protect ourvalues in World War II and the Cold War, we will not be driven from thefight against terrorism today” 5As Canadians we are close allies to the United States and I believe thatour Government would take the same stand against any form of terrorism, asBill Clinton has stated in his speech.ConclusionPersonally I think that the quote from Paul Wilkinson a Britishscholar, author on terrorism, sums it up perfectly by saying “Fightingterrorism is like being a goalkeeper, You can make a hundred brilliant saves but the only shot that peopleremember is the one that gets past you.” 1End Notes1. Paul Wilkinson (b. 1937), British scholar, author on terrorism. DailyTelegraph (London, 1 Sept. 1992)2. Saint Ignatius of Loyola (1491 1556), Spanish churchman, founder of theSociety of Jesus. Spiritual Exercises, “Second Week,” no. 140 41 (1548.)3. FBI, Times Washington Bureau4. Harry Summers, Declaring war on terrorism. Army Times, 08-26-1996
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