Terrorism There Have Been Various Definitions and Essay

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Terrorism

There have been various definitions and views of terrorism that have beenfronted over the years. It has been described as a strategy and at other levels as a tactic, some have called it a crime and yet other refer to it as a holy/noble duty; some consider it an inexcusable abomination yet others consider it a systematic reaction to oppression. Obviously, a lot depends on whose point-of-view is being represented, be it theological, political or psychological. Also terrorism can be seen as willful destruction (killing) of people or destruction of property by people not acting on behalf of an established government to redress a real or imaginary injustice attributed to an established government. However it is important to note that not all cases of willful destruction of people or property are acts of terrorism (Red Cross Organization, 2007).

Some of the important definitive characteristics of terrorism include among others; the act of destruction performed by a person or group of persons not acting on behalf of an established government, the act of destruction carried out to redress a real or imaginary injustice, and the act aimed directly or indirectly at an established government. Without these three characteristics an act of willful destruction of people or property cannot be termed as terrorism. This can be either an act of war, or matter of internal policy, or an ordinary common law crime. Therefore from these characteristics we can say that if the destruction of people (killing) or property is undertaken by or on behalf of an established government against another country, it is considered war, not terrorism.

The perspective that one has on the acts of terrorism depend a lot on the belief and the point-of-view that the person is representing. For instance there is the perspective that glorifies the acts of terrorism as long as they are directed towards the West and countries that support them. The terrorists view themselves as people with a noble duty of redeeming the world from the 'evils' of the west and the 'ungodly' influences from the West. At the same breath, the people who could be on the receiving end like the West and the allied countries will view terrorism as an act of cowardice and an evil thing that should not be allowed in the society and there is need to break all the terrorism networks in order to redeem the world.

The terrorism has now taken the route of suicide bombing. This can be attributed to the various factors as the heightening of security with many bombers being arrested after the bombing; many opt to die to avoid eminent arrest. The other fact is to do with the religious training and orientation that they stand to be rewarded for the lives they have taken immediately so they would prefer death so as to reap these fruits in "paradise" immediately. The last fact in this scope has to do with inability or unwillingness to take responsibility, they do not want to be responsible for their actions thereafter hence opt for suicide attack and vanish therein. It is undisputable fact that suicide bombing is fats shaping the face of terrorism.

Therefore suicide bombing is seen as a heroic act and the person carrying out the 'duty' is a loyal son or daughter of his/her religion and the person deserves praise or gratitude (theological view), on the other hand suicide bombing is in the deepest of the sense an evil act impression of cowardice and madness that violates every standard of human dignity and decency and the suicide bomber deserves sever condemnation from all spheres (Israel W. Charny, 2007).

To determine the best tactic to employ against terrorists organizations is a complicated problem. The optimal tactics therefore depends upon the target's response to the government's tactics and the scope and scale of indirect and unintended consequences. These factors in turn depend upon the structure of the insurgent organizations and the nature of the society in which it is embedded as noted by Michael McBride et al., (2009) since solving the terrorism issue remains one of the biggest challenges of our time.

With the widespread acts of terrorism and the terror threats that cannot be dismissed, there is room for disaster to strike at any tie.

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There is need therefore to be prepared as a nation to handle such situations as the acts of terror. The nature of preparedness among the citizens of America will be dictated a lot by the homeland security. The homeland security has endeavored to have an office in each and every state so that they are able to coordinate the matters to do with homeland security such as community preparedness incase of an emergency.

Since the duty of the homeland security is to ensure that the local population within the U.S.A. borders are all safe at all times, there is need for the office to adequately prepare each member of the community to be safe during and after an emergency. Without the safety of the American population during disasters, then the homeland security shall have failed in executing their duties.

As homeland security department, they need to equip the population with the safety measures for the disabled people in case of emergency emanating from terror attacks and also how they can prepare for such calamities. This is a responsibility that is bestowed upon the homeland security department and failure to do that is tantamount to failing in the provision of homeland security.

The homeland security also needs to ensure that the business community is aware of how to prepare for any emergencies that may strike at their business premises. This awareness that should be initiated by the homeland security department is crucial in ensuring that there is maximum safety at the places of work (Commonwealth of Kentucky, 2011).

There must also be information on the ways of helping the elderly and the children during a disaster. This information can only be provided by the homeland security to the general public and hence making the community disaster preparedness to be an important part of homeland security and a part that marks the most significant aspect of the existence of the department.

The homeland security being aware that the preparedness of the community is important to the security of the citizens, have undertaken to sensitize citizens even at the home level against terrorism activities and any suspicious activities. This it has done through running several websites from where information can be obtained and even individual citizens can ask questions about emergencies and related disaster events.

Homeland security department through Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has also undertaken to develop a matrix that guides employers at work places that would significantly reduce their vulnerability to terrorist attacks as well as reduce the effect of the explosion if any arises (Counter Terrorism, 2011).

There have been significant attempts to have the disaster preparedness included even in the schools. This is to ensure that kids at school are able to have the basic information on how to minimize the casualties during an emergency. It teaches the kids how to prevent some emergencies from happening in the school especially the manmade disasters but also how to respond to emergencies of all kinds be they manmade or natural. All schools are now required to include these disaster management strategies in their teaching curriculum.

The homeland security has also undertaken to carry out community preparedness at the local level. There has been effort to educate people on terrorism and what can be done by each individual to avoid acts of terrorism. Apart from that, there are several citizen volunteers or corps who help in the coordination of the relief efforts in case of an emergency.

The homeland security department has also undertaken to educate people about disasters and….....

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