Terrorism has been present for decades, but for many people it did not become a common household term until the attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001. As expert Cindy Combs explains in her book Terrorism in the Twenty-First Century, the main distinguishing factor is due to the illegality of the employed violence that comes with terrorism (Combs 12). Acts of terrorism do not simply lie at a physical level. They often sink deep into the psyche; have an emotional and cognitive impact as well as a physical impact.
Another big factor that comes into terrorism is the fact that it is ever changing. Obviously, terrorism before September 11, 2011 and terrorism afterwards have very different definitions. Other subsequent actions have also changed the perspective of terrorism. The war taking off in 2002, Barack Obama taking office in 2008 and Osama bin Laden being assassinated in 2011 all changed the perception of terrorism to look like something different.
There is a national definition for terrorism. As Russell Howard explained in “Terrorism and Counterterrorism,” the U.S. State Department sets the definition of terrorism as “Premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against non-combatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents, usually intended to influence an audience”. That definition clears up one of the questions laid out in the earlier part of the essay. Terrorism is planned out. It’s not a random act, carried out by two guys who wake up and feel bored that day. There is a lot more that goes into an act of terrorism than an off-the-cuff act of violence.
Howard also explains the Department of Homeland Security’s definition of terrorism: “[Terrorism] is dangerous to human life … and … must also appear to be intended (i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population; (ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or (iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction …” (Howard 26).
Combs takes these massive definitions and consolidates them down to a more simple “checklist” to look for in a suspected act of terrorism. The four criteria are violence, a political motive, a non-combatant victim, and fear (Combs 15). This is a simpler way of looking at terrorism and while it’s certainly not perfect and could allow for true acts to slip by and inappropriate acts to be labeled, it’s a good starting point to weed out those of legitimacy and those of unimportance. Terrorism is a huge issue to tackle, and having a simple guideline to use can really help in circumstances of concern.
Combs, Cindy. Terrorism in the Twenty-First Century. 6th Edition. New York: Pearson, 2011.
Howard, Russell; Sawyer, Reid; Bajema, Natasha. Terrorism and Counterterrorism. 3rd Edition. New York: McGraw Hill, 2006.
Nicole Dales - Journalism is my passion. I have been writing for the last 5 years. I wrote for my high school paper for three years and I had an ...
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