Although it is difficult to define what terrorism is, or what causes an individual to join a terrorist organization, there are workable definitions as to what terrorism is. One commonly used definition of terrorism is that it is the threat or use of violence in order to pursue political and social objectives. By using violence, terrorist groups are often able to coerce their desired result because they leave the people and authorities of the attacked regions in fear. While examining data on the Global Terrorism Database (GTD), I made the observation that terrorist attacks are heightened in a country when a country is involved in conflict whether it is domestic or international conflict. In this essay I will argue that terrorism increases when
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Under the direction of Osama Bin Laden, the Islamic terrorist group Al-Qaeda hijacked airplanes and used them to carry out suicide terrorist attacks. They crashed the planes into different targets within the United States. Planes were flown into the twin towers of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and killed thousands when the buildings collapsed. It is believed that al-Qaeda fulfilled these attacks as retribution for America’s military presence in the Middle East, and it’s support of Israel. The events of this day crushed Americans sense of security, and led to the rise in concern for terrorist attacks on American Soil (Huddy et al 2002). This attack on America pushed George W. Bush to declare a War on Terror on the middle east, and he deployed troops in 2001. Although troops were beginning to be removed from this region during the Obama administration the War on Terror technically is not over, and many troops remain in these areas. Unlike Sierra Leone and Sudan, there is no clear connection between terrorism and war, although I would argue that many Islamic group’s, like al- Qaeda, motivations are fueled by the presence of U.S. troops in their countries. Since the war in the Middle East was declared there have been 205 incidents of terror in the United States. Besides al-Qaeda, most attacks in the United sates are enacted by unaffiliated individuals. The type of weapons that are used most in terrorist incidents in the U.S. are incendiaries and large explosives. I believe terrorist groups have access to large scale weapons in the United States compared to Sierra Leone and Sudan because they have more resources and connections that make it easier to obtain them. According to the GTD, as of 2015 terrorism in the United States is increasing as shown in the graph. As long as the U.S. occupies countries where their presence is not wanted there
Under the direction of Osama Bin Laden, the Islamic terrorist group Al-Qaeda hijacked airplanes and used them to carry out suicide terrorist attacks. They crashed the planes into different targets within the United States. Planes were flown into the twin towers of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and killed thousands when the buildings collapsed. It is believed that al-Qaeda fulfilled these attacks as retribution for America’s military presence in the Middle East, and it’s support of Israel. The events of this day crushed Americans sense of security, and led to the rise in concern for terrorist attacks on American Soil (Huddy et al 2002). This attack on America pushed George W. Bush to declare a War on Terror on the middle east, and he deployed troops in 2001. Although troops were beginning to be removed from this region during the Obama administration the War on Terror technically is not over, and many troops remain in these areas. Unlike Sierra Leone and Sudan, there is no clear connection between terrorism and war, although I would argue that many Islamic group’s, like al- Qaeda, motivations are fueled by the presence of U.S. troops in their countries. Since the war in the Middle East was declared there have been 205 incidents of terror in the United States. Besides al-Qaeda, most attacks in the United sates are enacted by unaffiliated individuals. The type of weapons that are used most in terrorist incidents in the U.S. are incendiaries and large explosives. I believe terrorist groups have access to large scale weapons in the United States compared to Sierra Leone and Sudan because they have more resources and connections that make it easier to obtain them. According to the GTD, as of 2015 terrorism in the United States is increasing as shown in the graph. As long as the U.S. occupies countries where their presence is not wanted there