Terrorism

a. Can terrorism ever be eradicated?

Intro:
September 11 2001 was indubitably an epochal day in the lives of
our generation. People all around the globe were glued to their
television screens, shaking with fear as they watched the tragic
fates of the World Trade Centre and thousands of innocent people
unfold before their very eyes
Merely marked the start of a series of similarly unforgiving attacks
Terrorism greatest threats plaguing the international community
Brutal, relentless form of political violence that uses fear as a key
weapon
Asymmetrical warfare often born out of political aims that have
been constantly suppressed or denied by governments, forcing
many disillusioned citizens to take up arms and seek to deliberately
create violence and fear, disrupting the delicate harmony and social
fabric of society so that their demands will be heard
Counter-terrorist measures effective at quelling terrorists, doubleedged sword that fuel and further radicalize many to become
terrorists
Counter-terrorist measures crack down on terrorists and terrorist
organizations
Increase in information sharing and intelligence both within and
between countries
Patriot Act in USA: government passed legislation allowing wire
tapping on phone conversations
UN member countries agreed to freeze the bank accounts of
suspected terrorists in their country to deny these terrorists a
safehaven
Success of mutual cooperation is exemplified in the way the multiintelligence sharing among Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia
enabled the Indonesian government to find and arrest key leaders
of the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI)
Overpower using military might
Hillary Clinton: imperative that we refuse to legimitise terrorists
Obamas support for General McChrystals counterinsurgency
measures in Afghanistan: reinforce domestic security force, employ
state-of-the-art military weapons and air drones
Taliban and Al Qaeda key leaders have been killed
To jaw-jaw is always better than to war-war
Negotiations between the government and terrorist groups are
instrumental in successfully weeding out terrorism
Terrorist groups, such as the Irish Republican Army in Northern
Ireland, are disenfranchised groups that seek political freedoms of
equality in treatment or an autonomous region and have only
resorted to terrorism because the government has constantly
refused to acceded to their requests and marginalized them
Grant political consensus less need to adopt violence

ONLY CURB ORGANIZED TERRORISM, not self-radicalised terrorists and

state-sponsored terrorism by rogue states or autocratic dictators
Terrorism is about wining the hearts and minds of the people
Harsh counter-terrorist measures often serve to create breeding
grounds for further radicalization
Nietzsche in dealing with a monster, be careful lest you turn into a
monster yourself
Patriot Act: Highly contentious as it infringes upon a persons right
to privacy which is enshrined in the American Constitution
Atrocities committed in Guantanamo Bay and the Abu Graib prison
in Iraq go against Geneva Conventions, provide further fuel for
terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda to characterize the USA as a
power-hungry and hypocritical. Shifting moderate Muslims towards
radicalization
Fail to address the political grievances and aims of terrorist organizations
Creating situations termed negative peace
Simmering tensions still brew and threaten to erupt, destroying the
fragile peace
Sri Lanka governments vicious destruction of the LTTE not only
violated international human rights, but led to growing discontent
and protest from the Tamil diaspora worldwide that would provide a
fertile ground for the LTTE to regroup and re-emerge.
Rajapaksas government refuse to acknowledge the political
marginalization and deprivations of these groups
Some are politically-driven, others are purely terror driven
Rise of Islamic fundamentalist terrorist groups such as the Jammu
Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF)in Kashmir and Hamas in the
Palestinian Israeli conflict
Fundamental nature: fervently believe they are fighting a holy war,
or Jihad, against foreign influences in their land, based on a
distorted interpretation of the Quran
State-sponsored terrorism
While most countries have recognized international cooperation as
paramount to achieving their political self-interest
Some radical dictators continually fund militant terrorist groups in
fulfillment of realism
Al Qaeda, product of Saudi Arabia and the USAs funding of the
mujahideen during the Soviet-Afghanistan War
Pakistan funds the Laksha-e-Tobia (LeT) responsible for the Mumbai
bombings in Nov 2008
Proliferation of new media:
New platforms for terrorist groups to send their message to other
users
Inciting many to be influenced by such subversive messages and
self-radicalising
Easy instructions on creating bombs

Few thousand Americans perished in Sept 11 attacks, effects of

attacks were transmitted globally by media coverage of the events,
inciting fear in the entire global community
Death count not biggest weapon. Rather, harrowing and dramatic
images of destruction
Use fear and propaganda as main weapon: presence and influence
even more pervasive than before

Conclusion:
Terrorists are a multifaceted, complex group of people supported by
states or groundswells of disenfranchised people and cannot be
viewed simplistically as homogenous groups.