Is Terrorism Justified Essay

Individuals have used terrorism used for centuries as a weapon of change. Terrorism has even altered the English language, the Hashhashin’s in the 11th century lead to the creation of the word assassin and the Roman’s use of decimation changed the meaning from killing one in ten to massacring all involved, most do not even know the original meaning. Nationalist and ethnic groups, in most cases having exhausted all other options, looked to terrorism to enact political change and acquire freedoms denied to them. The most common examples used in the justification of terrorism are the French and American Revolutions, the overthrowing of the Russian Tsars, or when colonies fought for independence from their parent countries. Scholars still argue …show more content…
International law also implies that terrorism cannot be justified, as two elements, which are essentially universal tenants of the law of war, applies to war and what actions are acceptable. If it cannot be justified even during the war, how can it be justified outside of war? These elements are distinction and necessity. Distinction states that there is a difference between the combatants and non-combatants, and there are actions that cannot be used on non-combatants. The use of violence would be acceptable against soldiers, but not non-combatants. Most modern acts of terror are directed towards exclusively towards civilian targets. Necessity in war means that every target should move one closer to victory and have a military target. With these laws in place, and acknowledged, it is clear that any action that is embarked on outside of these precepts is unjustified. An act of terror is a deliberate kind of violence designed to incite fear, target the public, and often do nothing to further the terrorist group’s victory as such they can never be justified on any