Terrorist Attacks example essay topic

Terrorism Imagine a clear blue, sunlit morning; the most beautiful day you can recall. Imagine waking up from an amazing dream of a clear horizon. Imagine putting on your new fresh suit, to start your new job. Imagine having that extra hop in your step as you leave your front door, your mind anxiously awaiting the adventure of a new beginning to an amazing day. Then, imagine not getting to where you needed to be. Not because you fell victim to a traffic jam or missed the bus, but because you were a victim of a terrorist act - an innocent victim, whose life was cut short by terrorism.

Shattered dreams and lives are just some of the many effects that terrorism can bring about. Just how different is each human than another? Anatomically there are slight variations, but we are all part of the same world. To lash out on other innocent people due to the fact of different beliefs, is almost inhuman. Lack of composure and intelligence is one of the many flaws' terrorists have built within themselves. Throughout history, there have been many unprecedented terrorist attacks.

Each attack is worse than the next. These attacks have been thought about since 431 B.C. when a Greek historian wrote the effectiveness on psychological warfare ("Terrorism"). Most terrorists share the belief that killing, kidnapping, extorting, robbing, and wreaking havoc to terrorize people are legitimate forms of political action. Terrorists are never one-person, a single political regime, nor a particular religion but terrorist attacks can be targeted to such groups ("Terrorism"). The most common attack in the act of terrorism is the suicide attack. The outcome of the war now under way between the Israelis and Palestinians is very important to the security of every American.

Palestinians are testing out a whole new form of warfare, using suicide bombers to achieve their political aims. Israelis are terrified. And Palestinians feel a rising sense of empowerment. Palestinians have long had a tactical alternative to suicide: nonviolent resistance (Friedman A 6). Palestinians have adopted suicide bombing as a strategic choice, not out of desperation. Two influential U.S. senators expressed their fear that the kind of suicide bombings we " ve seen in Israel might indeed spread to the United States.

They both agree that if these suicide bombings in Israel don't stop soon, they will soon go international. It will turn into a plague (Blitzer). Suicide attacks, like all other terrorist attacks, are first aimed at giving their perpetrators widespread media coverage, thereby inflating their own image. For this purpose, the terrorist organizations exploit diverse media venues in order to advance their interests (Sowell).

Terrorism's function is to instill fear in as many people as possible promoting change. Terrorists use the media to further extend the fear in everyone. "Scaring as many people as possible is the true just in terror" (Sowell). The media spreads confusion that disrupts a whole society. Terrorism is used as a tool of violence to create a climate of fear in a population and thereby bring out a particular political object ("Terrorism"). "The purpose of terrorism is to get the most bang for your buck with such limited resources" (Sowell).

The media does the work for terrorists. There have been many attacks on the United States to this day including the first attack on the World Trade Center, The Oklahoma bombing, and other attacks on U.S. embassies around the world. The deadliest attack ever was the attack on September 11, 2001. This attack consisted of four planes that were hijacked by suicidal terrorists.

The terrorists crashed two planes into the World Trade Center, one into each tower. The third plane was crashed into the Pentagon and the forth crashed into a field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. During this attack, 266 people died on the planes and thousands more died in and around the buildings ("Info War"). This, however, was not the first attack on the financial district.

On September 20, 1920, an anarchist exploded a horse cart filled with dynamite killing forty and injuring more than three-hundred ("The War on Terrorism"). Then, in February of 1999, the first attack on the World Trade Center occurred, killing only seven people but injuring many more ("Info War"). Terrorist attacks in the United States have been rapidly decreasing since September 11, 2001 because of the cautious measures our government has taken. In 2001, 3,295 people were killed and 2,283 wounded due to terrorist attacks, but in 2002, the number dropped to only 725 dead and 2,013 wounded ("Info War").

Terrorist attacks are not only present in the United States. They are worldwide. There have been numerous attacks on the Philippines, Switzerland, Japan, Italy, and many other countries. Terrorism is an unforgivable and unforgettable act that is unnecessary and causes nothing but pain. In this, there is never any resolution.

Terrorist attacks have many negative consequences. U.S. efforts to suppress the terrorist threat at home and abroad are unsuccessful, as terrorists remain mysterious and the homeland security effort slows down. Additional terrorist actions around the world maintain or increase business and individual concerns over safety. Meanwhile, the economy continues to struggle, keeping corporations uneasy on a range of fronts. Interest rates remain low, but lending continues to contract.

The U.S. economy experiences a third consecutive quarter of negative to no growth and unemployment passes 8.5%. The rest of the developed world enters recession with two consecutive quarters of negative growth. Second and third world economies stagnate as US and European imports from the third world drop dramatically. Global trade decreases by 3% - 5%. Global GDP growth goes to zero. Several countries default on their sovereign debt (Parkinson 43).

The main economic and social consequence is that regional trade is preferred over global trade. U.S. multinationals begin to pull out of the most troubled areas and redistribute to more attractive areas. Major capital investment projects are abandoned or delayed. Government spending helps offset corporate investment declines, but at the cost of budget deficits that threaten to cause inflation sooner rather than later (Parkinson 43). There is a marked shift from consumption to savings and investment. Retail investing in equities essentially vanishes. Few people travel, even on business.

A sense of 'local is best and safest' affects travel, leisure and retail behavior. Energy costs rise as OPEC cuts production. One major U.S. airline goes out of business and the survivors continue to contract (Parkinson 44). Commercial banking, badly hurt by the national defaults in South America and South East Asia, retrenches and lending remains weak.

Costs for basics (food, fuel, transportation, housing, and clothing) start to rise. Costs for everything else fall, but sales stay flat or decline. Steady declines in all major indices reinforce / drive the drop in confidence (Parkinson 45). There are many resulting business behaviors. Corporate investment by all but a few companies dries up as margins and business volume shrink (Parkinson 46). Although interest rates are low, borrowing is expensive as lenders demand significant risk premiums from all but a few companies.

Business focus is on maximizing returns from available assets and on maintaining customer loyalty. Brand focus shifts to local markets and patriotic themes. There is a sharp drop off in luxury and near-luxury products and services, which are seen as unnecessary and self-indulgent (Parkinson 45). Stabilize and survive strategies replace growth. Zero visibility reports replace earnings forecasts. Businesses begin to look at how to be self-sufficient as public infrastructure is seen as increasingly vulnerable to destruction or interruption (Parkinson 46).

Ideas on how to stop or prevent terrorism are called counter terrorism. Everyone seems to have their own idea on how to stop terrorism. The Coordinator for Counter terrorism, Cover Black, said: First, we must sustain and enhance the political will of states to fight terrorism. The secret of maintaining a coalition is demonstrating daily to its members that the fight is not over and that sustained effort is clearly in their long-term interests. My meetings with government officials in every region of the world have convinced me that we have made tremendous progress on that score. Second, we have to bolster the capacity of all states to fight terrorism.

Despite our unmatched power, we recognize that the United States will not be able to win without the help of others. The United States cannot investigate every lead, arrest every suspect, gather and analyze all the intelligence, effectively sanction every sponsor of terrorism, prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, or find and fight every terrorist cell ("The War on Terrorism"). This seems to be the main idea that the government has concerning terrorism. George Bush said, "No group or nation should mistake America intentions: We will not rest until terrorist groups of global reach have been found, have been stopped, and have been defeated" ("The War"). The director of central intelligence quoted, "International terrorism, both on its own and in conjunction with narcotics traffickers, international criminals, and those seeking weapons of mass destruction are what causes me not to sleep at night" ("The War"). These are our country's beliefs on terrorism.

Our nation has been united against terrorism since September 11 2001, when we as a country saw what terrorism really is and how it affects people. We as a country have since been trying to prevent terrorism, not only the United States, but throughout the world. We will never find a way to totally prevent terrorism. As long as there are people out there who feed off of conflict and war, we will continuously fight this battle. However, to strengthen our country's current anti-terrorism efforts, we as a country must find a more fundamental way to neutralize the very basis of terrorism, preventing attacks before they happen. Clearly, a new approach is desperately needed to protect ourselves as a nation against devastating acts of terrorism.

Several scientific advances have made it possible for small countries, or even small groups of individuals, to threaten the security of our nation. Today anyone could learn how to create devastating bombs or other devices. A new challenge has become: how to defend our country against terrorist organizations that have no compunction or remorse for killing or fear of dying for what they believe in. We as a nation need to come together and be unafraid of such advances. Only in fear can we be hurt. Though the government has been working hard now to prevent and eradicate terrorism no one can ever totally insure that it won't happen again.

Since September 11, 2001, people especially in America have been more aware of terrorism and its affects on a nation. Each person seems to have there own idea on how to stop such things from ever happening again. There are those who are anti-war, who think if we just talk about things peace can be achieved. Then, there are those who think if we as a nation scare everyone with our military power the problem will be resolved. Both groups are far from the truth in my opinion. Terrorist acts are derived and acted upon by pure hatred and brainwashing.

The only time terrorism will ever truly disappear is when we as a human race disappear.

Bibliography

Blitzer, Wolf. 'Suicide bombings in the United States?' CNN. 9 Apr. 2002.
Friedman, Thomas L. 'Suicidal Lies - On Suicide Bombers. ' New York Times 31 March 2002: A 6".
Info War". 2002.
The Terrorism Research Center, Inc. 5 Oct. 2003.
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Parkinson, John. "The Consequences of Terrorism". CIO Insight Jan. 2003: 43-46.
Sowell, Thomas. 'The Median and Purpose of Terror. ' New York Times 19 Nov. 2001: A 10".
Terrorism". The Encyclopedia Britannica. 2003 ed.
The War on Terrorism. 2003.
Central Intelligence Agency. 25 March 2004.