1) Terrorism is a difficult concept to define, but it generally involves unlawful violence or threats of violence to intimidate or coerce a government, population, or segment for political or social goals. 2) Terrorism differs from ordinary crimes in that its motivation is political rather than just personal gain. 3) Responses to terrorism must balance security and preventing future attacks with avoiding harming innocent people or increasing support for terrorists. Eliminating root causes like poverty, ignorance, and lack of political participation can help prevent terrorism long term.

1. Whittaker and Crotty
Terrorism Defined
Terrorism is a difficult concept to define. For example, all
individuals who detonate bombs in order to kill and maim
innocent civilians are not terrorists. All murderers are not
terrorists. Ted Bundy brutally murdered countless human
beings. Although his crimes terrorized his victims, their
families, the general public, he was a criminal - not a terrorist.
The term "terrorism" is a political term. It describes an
individual or groups who are using unlawful force or violence,
or the threat thereof, to intimidate or coerce a government, the
civilian population, or any segment thereof in furtherance of
political or social objectives.
As Whittaker points out, terrorism can be objectively defined by
the quality of the act. We know that all terrorists acts are
crimes. However, the murder of individuals in the commission
of a bank robbery is a crime, but it may or not be terrorism. If
the motive of the Bank Robbery is to enrich the perpetrators, it
is a crime. If the motive is to destabilize the nations banking
system in order to bring down the government or to provide
money to buy weapons to kill or threaten individuals to further
some political objective, than it is a crime and an act of
terrorism. Terrorism differs from ordinary crimes because its
motivation is political.
Stephen Nathanson offers the following definition of Terrorism:
1. They are acts of serious, deliberate violence or destruction.
2. They are committed as part of a campaign to promote a
political or social agenda.
3. They generally target limited numbers of people but aim to
influence a larger group and/or the leaders who make decisions

2. for the group.
4. They either kill or injure innocent people or pose a serious
threat of such harms to innocent people.1
Incidents that have clear international consequences can be
defined as international terrorism. For example, attacks on
foreign diplomats, foreign nationals, airliners, and
infrastructure by individuals from another country or a group
that transcends international borders, Al-Queda for example,
qualify as acts of international terrorism.
The motivation for terrorism is political. Generally, the direct
cause of terrorism is a condition or circumstance that is
perceived to be unjust. These issues may be addressed through a
peaceful political process including strikes, demonstrations,
boycotts, and regime change. However, when peaceful means
are not available or fail extremists factions within the group
seeking redress may turn to terrorism. For example, in modern
states, separatist nationalism among Basques, Bretons, and
Quebecois has motivated terrorism.
A dissatisfied minority or majority is not sufficient to cause
terrorism. There are other necessary ingredients. There must be
a perception of a lack of opportunity for political participation,
and a final catalyst. The catalyst can be Government's use of
extraordinary or unexpected force to quell peaceful attempts for
redress or other forms of real or perceived
intimidation/discrimination directed at group members. 2
The politics and policies of "enforcement" or "establishment"
terrorism
Terrorism in this context is generally state sponsored and
perpetrated on the citizens of the state. There are numerous
examples: Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, the Soviet Union-
especially under Stalin. A more recent example is Iraq under
Saddam Hussein. The common thread in the use of enforcement
or establishment terrorism is "the deliberate, systematic,
murder, maiming, and menacing of the innocent by the state to

3. inspire fear in order to gain political ends". 3
The politics and policies of "agitational" or "revolutionary"
terrorism
Following World War II, the term terrorism became associated
with the revolutionary activity of oppressed individuals
attempting to change the politics of their governments through
the use of violence or the threat of violence. The term terrorism
was used, at that time, primarily to describe nationalists or anti-
colonial groups that emerged to oppose European rule in Asia,
Africa, and the Middle East. During the late 1940s and 1950s
these groups these groups were also referred to as guerrilla
fighters, insurgents, and freedom fighters. Their aim was the
violent overthrow of a sitting government. In most cases, these
governments were oppressive and dominated by foreign powers.
Although these groups used terrorist tactics their political goals
were often based on legitimate grievances against the policies
of their governments.
Image: Head of U.S. delegation to the Counter-Terrorism
International Conference Homeland Security adviser, Frances
Fragos Townsend 2/5/2005. Ways to curb violence now as well
as how to change an entire way of thinking in societies bound
by religion and tradition, was the focus of the four-day terror
conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with experts from the
United States, Britain and more than 50 other countries to share
terror-busting techniques and lessons learned from cracking
down on militants. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
M1. Responses to Terrorism
Responses to terrorism
The most important aspects of responses to acts of terrorism
are: 1. determining who is responsible and 2. responding in an
appropriate manner. An inappropriately strong or ill-considered
response may injure or kill innocent people and/or increase the

4. level of support for further terrorist activity. However, no
response, or an inappropriately weak response, may also
encourage support for additional acts of terrorism.
The best response to terrorism is one that will prevent future
acts from occurring without killing innocent people. Good
security is the most important element in combating terrorism.
However, securing potential targets, borders, and actively
seeking intelligence about potential terrorists and terrorist cells
is a very difficult and costly proposition, but it is an essential
ingredient in a comprehensive anti-terrorist program. The major
problem with anti terrorist programs is the potential for limiting
individual freedom. In the United States this is a key issue. One
that has raised considerable controversy about trading security
for individual freedom especially the right to privacy.
Anti-terrorism activities in the United States include searching
individuals and their luggage at airports, monitoring telephone
and computer traffic, and creating watch lists. All of the actions
potentially place limits on the right to privacy and individual
freedom. Citizens and their elected representatives need to
determine how much individual freedom they are willing to
sacrifice in order to reduce the threat of terrorism. 4
Eliminating the root causes of terrorism is the surest way to
prevent terrorists from taking action. Poverty, ignorance, and
lack of opportunity often assist terrorists in recruiting
individuals to do their bidding. For example, in the Middle East,
young, poor, disaffected individuals who have no educational or
career opportunities are easy targets for terrorist recruiters.
Recruiters relying on the doctrine of religious fundamentalism
can depict the world in very stark terms: The West, especially
the United States, is evil. The hegemony of the West is
supported by corruption. The decay of Middle Eastern society is
related to the intrusion of Western culture and religion.
Religious Fundamentalism, in this milieu is political. The
policy is to rid the Middle East of Western cultural influence
and to create a pure Islamic society. Many religions including

5. Islam, Judaism and Christianity are convinced that they are
right. Religious righteousness can permit terrorists to view their
actions with moral certainty. It provides justification to
eliminate evil associated with the other culture or religion.
Terrorists motivated by Religious Righteousness perceive
murder in the name of the cause as the work of their God.
The West would be well served by working to eliminate
poverty, ignorance, and lack of opportunity in the Middle East.
Also protecting the right of self determination to is essential to
the development of stable governments that can combat
terrorism.
The Politics of terror have become much more significant in the
daily lives of people throughout the world. This is especially
true for United States citizens. Before 9/11, terrorism was not a
major issue in the politics of this country. There had been
several incidents of terrorism prior to 9/11 - most notable being
the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and the 1995 bombing of
the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. Both of these
incidents were terrible and they caused a substantial amount of
discomfort and anguish for most Americans. However, the
events of 9/11 were unparalleled in the history of the United
States. Not since Pearl Harbor had so many innocent Americans
been killed. Two of America's most important symbols of
power, the World Trade Center, and the Pentagon had been
violated by terrorists. This vicious terrorist attack was too awful
to comprehend. The pictures and the news coverage were
shocking and almost to tragic to believe. Our sense of security
and freedom was shaken to its core. The Federal Government
acted quickly in passing the Patriot Act and in taking measures
to attempt to improve airport security. The issues related to the
potential loss of freedom associated with the Patriot Act and its
contribution to our collective sense of security are issues that
have been widely debated in the halls of congress, in the media,
and by many special interest groups. There is constant
speculation about the potential for another deadly attack. We
now have a Department of Homeland Security and a new

6. intelligence czar. Will these measures suffice or will we be
asked to give up more freedom. These questions are central to
the current debate about preventing future acts of terrorism.
Works Cited
Crotty, William, ed. The Politics of Terror: The US Response to
9/11. Boston: Northeastern University Press, 2004.
Whittacker, David J., Ed. The Terrorism Reader, 3rd ed.
London, Routledge 2001.
Image: Transportation security officers load a van with
confiscated items at the Los Angeles International Airport, in
Los Angeles, Thursday Aug. 10, 2006. Airport security gave
passengers flyers with a list of prohibited items that included:
liquids, gels, beverages, perfume and cologne containers,
shampoo, creams and toothpaste . (AP Photo/Stefano Paltera)