Terrorism

What is going on?

• Brief timeline of major events of terrorism• Definition of terrorism• Why do terrorists commit terrorism acts?• How do governments respond?• How do the people feel, think and respond?• Why are some people convinced by the

arguments of terrorists?

Big, Hot Terrorist News

• 911 incident• Underground train station bombing in England

and other nations• School bombings in other nations• Step up in security in all nations• Mas Selamat escape- more recent

What is it?

• Lack of true definition• Terrorism involves most of the following:– Unlawful political or social goal– Target masses and strike fear in people– Well-planned attempts, may involve violence– Usually in disguise and in hiding

• Some terrorist acts are carried out by governments, but will not be discussed here.

Terrorist groups?

Why Terrorism?

• Extremists• Conflicts in political ideas– Globalization is one of them

• Inequalities within groups of people– Rich-poor disparity, races, religion etc.

• Other problems, like corruption• The crux is that they use violence against the

masses to express their displeasure with the world.

Extremist ideas

• Many terrorist organizations have irrational rationales for committing terrorist acts.– Religious: fighting for their own state– Nationalistic: support one nation by fighting

oppressing nation– Anarchist: anti-governmental

Globalization

• For some terrorists, they do not accept the idea of globalization

• Globalization is seen as a threat to the diversity and “balance” of the world

• They commit terrorist acts to “restore balance”

Inequalities

• Unfair treatment towards certain groups of people– Racial– Religious– Social disparity– Economic disparity

Political Aspects

• “Put an end” to political corruption– Governmental oppression of the people– Problems arising from poor politics, such as poor

living conditions, poverty and unequal treatment of the people

– Poor policies in certain nations

• Aims to “resolve” these problems

Deeper Reasons…

• There are many factors that lead people to commit terrorist acts

• Usually, they are targeting the governments, but involve the people a lot in this

• What makes them want to attack the people to make their point?

How governments react…

• Raises war against terrorism• Militarized vs. Soft counterterrorism• "Our most important task in the war on

terrorism is not the 'destructive' task of eradicating enemy networks, but the 'constructive' task of building legitimacy, good governance, trust, rule of law, and tolerance."

What has been done?

• Trained police, military and civil defence workers for such attacks and how to deal with them

• Step up security in important places– Airports/Seaports– Governmental and related buildings– Train stations– Factories, especially oil refineries– Power plants and many more…

What has been done?

• People have been kept informed and educated on the terrorism issue.

• There have been many drills and exercises to facilitate the dispersion of people when emergencies arise.

• People also keep a lookout for suspicious items and articles.

Human reactions

• Within the general public (all nations), many people feared terrorist attacks and terrorists

• Lose confidence in nations?• People also feel vulnerable, lack of security• How about you?

The reasons…

• However, people do not fully understand the motives of the terrorists– Living under a mysterious threat

• They also do not understand government intentions fully

• The people know that the terrorist acts are wrong, but cannot do much against them

Joining Terrorists?

• Occurs in all nations• People from the terrorist groups present them

with arguments• These arguments convince the people in a

certain way that makes them believe that they have to fight for what they want.

• Killing of people is now seen by them as morally correct by fighting for ideals.

• Fighting for ideals as a group gives a sense of inclusion

• The group members may have made them feel at home, so people will feel more like joining– Being around with friends that have similar ideals

and goals

Possible persuasions…

• Immoral acts by people:– Crimes– Betray family members and friends– Sexual immoralities and abortion– Violence and war

Possible persuasions…

• Nature of humans in the world:– Love themselves, money and pleasures– Lack natural affection– Little self-control and stubborn– Fierce and bad-tempered

Possible persuasions…

• World systems:– People’s views are unheard by the government– Governmental policies are not able to fully benefit

the people– Great disparities and problems within the society

remain unsolved– Corruption exists in many nations

Possible arguments by terrorists?

Spot the fallacies…

Psychologically,

• They show that there are many problems in the current world that need to be resolved.

• After that, the people feel compelled to do something about it

• The terrorists then give them partial power to change things (terrorist acts)

• Joining them also gives a strong group identity

HAS TERRORISM ACHIEVED ITS PURPOSE?

Thank you for your attention!

References• http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/files/images/nuclear/reactors/sizewell76.jpg• http://www.wittysparks.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/islamophobia.gif • http://www.ne.edu.sg/images/miel%20website/miel%202%20web.jpg • http://www.takeoverworld.info/proterrorism.html • http://www.worldpublicopinion.org/pipa/articles/international_security_bt/94.php?nid=&id=&pnt=94• http://www.naturalnews.com/cartoons/you-call-this-terrorism_600.jpg • http://www.cvt.org/main.php/HealingServices/DealingWithWar/ReactionstoWarTraumaandTerrorism• http://securityinnovator.com/index.php?articleID=6373&sectionID=27 • http://www.homelandstupidity.us/2004/12/05/terrorism-will-get-worse-before-it-gets-better/ • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrorist_organizations • http://www.helium.com/knowledge/6269-exploring-the-reasons-behind-terrorism • http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2007/jun/04/comment.politics • http://baheyeldin.com/writings/terrorism/tariq-ramadan-reasons-for-terrorism-and-link-between-terrorism-and-foreign-

policy.html • http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/6136/terrorismistoomuchcoffemf5.jpg • http://uk.oneworld.net/guides/terrorism?gclid=CPu6lNqH0ZQCFQpEegodpmlFkg • http://www.let-off.com/illo/others/rights_comic.gif • http://www.bluecorncomics.com/pics/blissful.jpg • http://countmeblue.blogspot.com/2007_10_01_archive.html