The history of terrorism can be traced back to early recorded history as groups of people have attempted to scare or terrorize other people to their religious way of life. A couple of early terrorist groups were The Zealots, Jewish men who would attack Roman and Greek authorities in broad daylight, in front of large groups of spectators, to send a message to the ruling body that they were not wanted there. The Sicari were also Jews, but they mostly murdered other Jews, who had fallen from their religious faith.Other Pre-modern terrorist groups include the Assassins, a group of fanatical Muslims who would murder leaders and others who deviated from the strict Muslim law, terrorized the Middle East in the 11th century. Thugees, an Indian cult thought responsible for over a million deaths over a millennium of terror, would kidnap a traveler and offer them up as a sacrifice to their Hindu goddess of destruction, Kali.
The beginnings of modern terrorism may go back to the mid 19th century when an Italian revolutionary, Carlo Pisacane, theorized that terrorism could deliver a message to an audience and draw attention to and support for a cause. Examples of early modern terrorism are the Klu Klux Klan, which formed to try to dissuade reconstructionists after the Civil War, and the Young Bosnians, which had Archduke Franz Ferdinand assassinated in Sarajevo in 1914, leading directly to the outbreak of World War One. It wasn't, however, until the 1960's that terrorism as we know it today came into prominence.
The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), The Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA), and other terrorist groups used attacks against civilian populations in an attempt to effect change for religious or ideological reasons. The most infamous incident of that time period occurred during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, when a Palestine terrorist organization held eleven Israeli athletes hostage, who were then killed along with the terrorists during a rescue attempt.
After the horrific events of 9/11, terrorism was on the minds of many people who hadn't given it a second thought. The United States and other nations are involved in a "War on Terror,” that has sent military units into Afghanistan to root out Al Qaida, and a large coalition force into Iraq to overthrow Sadaam Hussein. President Bush has stated that he will not waver in his determination to wipe out terrorism. Terrorism is more evident today than at any other time in recorded history. Will the "War on Terror,” while necessary, begat more terrorist acts before it will yield tangible results?
| "I do not support the war on terrorism," says, missmad |
Now that we have a definition of what terrorism is, we shall now find out what exactly is considered an act of terrorism. The following examples of terrorism are a few but far from many:
- acts of piracy on land, air and sea;
- all colonialist operations, including wars and military expeditions;
- all dictatorial acts against peoples and all forms of protection of dictatorships, not to mention their imposition on nations;
- all military methods contrary to human practice, such as the use of chemical weapons, the shelling of civilian populated areas, the blowing up of homes, the displacement of civilians, etc.;
- all types of pollution of geographical, cultural and informational environment. Indeed, intellectual terrorism may be one of the most dangerous types of terrorism;
- all moves that undermine or adversely affect the condition of international or national economy, adversely affect the condition of the poor and the deprived, deepen up nations with the shackles of socio-economic gaps, and chain up nations with the shackles of exorbitant debts;
- all conspiratorial acts aimed at crushing the determination of nations for liberation and independence, and imposing disgraceful pacts on them.
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