Terrorism
| Author | Jeffrey Wilson |
| Pages | 941-945 |
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No event in American history touched the nation or the world more than the attacks on New York and Washington on September 11, 2001. The destruction caused by 19 hijackers who flew three of four planes into buildings (the fourth never reached its target thanks to passengers who overwhelmed the hijackers), and the loss of more than 3,000 lives, drove home to the United States the true horrors of terrorism.
Yet, terrorism on American soil is not unknown. In fact, the same World Trade Center that was destroyed in 2001 had been the victim of a terrorist attack in 1993. Miraculously, only six people died in that attack, but the damage to the Twin Towers was significant. Moreover, not all terrorism is caused by foreign operatives. The destruction of a government office building in Oklahoma City in 1995 was the work of a former U.S. soldier. And so-called "ecoterrorists" have destroyed buildings and businesses in the name of saving the environment.
The American Heritage College Dictionary defines terrorism as "the unlawful use or threatened use of force or violence to intimidate or coerce societies or governments, often for ideological or political reasons." Most terrorists are determined to use force and violence almost always without warning and often indiscriminately. Most governments and societies neither condone terrorism nor capitulate to it; yet, attacks still occur. For that reason, society must find ways to protect itself. The question of how to do this is not easy to answer, but failing to address it will not make terrorism go away.
Terrorism can reach the public in a number of ways:
Bombings. Terrorists use bombs to inflict damage on buildings or vehicles as well as to kill or injure. Some bombs are hidden by terrorists and set off with timers, while others are detonated by "suicide bombers" who have chosen to sacrifice their lives along with those of their victims.
Bioterrorism. Chemical or biological agents are released into the atmosphere with the intent of contaminating or killing people. Examples are the attack using poisonous gas on the Tokyo subway system in 1995 and the
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series of anthrax-laced letters mailed in the United States in 2001.
Kidnapping. Individuals or groups can be kidnapped and held hostage in return for some demand. Often terrorists demand the release of other terrorists from prison as a requirement for releasing their hostages. Government officials, members of the press, and foreign nationals are the most frequent victims of kidnapping.
Assassination. Terrorists often carry out assassinations of government leaders or diplomats, with the intention of causing a government or a powerful political movement to collapse.
The element of fear is what makes terrorism so difficult to tackle. Once a community has been victimized by a terrorist attack, people become fearful that more attacks will occur. Societies that fall prey to numerous terrorist attacks often develop a sense of resignation, going about their daily business despite any potential danger. For a community that experiences terrorism for the first time, or isolated incidents of terrorism, fear comes from another key element: surprise.
Political and anti-government activism is nothing new in the United States. In 1886, eight labor radicals bombed Haymarket Square in Chicago, killing seven and injuring 70. Labor radicals in 1910 were also responsible for the bombing of the Los Angeles Times building in California, which killed 20. Anarchists were suspected when a bomb went off on Wall Street in New York City in 1920. The blast killed 34 people and injured more than 200.
Groups such as the Ku Klux Klan were infamous for terrorizing individuals during the twentieth century...
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