Explain How Has The Approach To Terrorism Changed After 9/11
Terrorism; Post 9/11
How has the approach to terrorism changed after 9/11?
All too often we are reminded that terrorism continues to inflict pain and suffering on people all over the world. Hardly a week goes by without an act of terrorism taking place somewhere in the world, indiscriminately affecting innocent people, who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. With terrorism being a growing concern it needs to be dealt with. Countering this scourge is in the interest of all nations.
Terrorism has changed dramatically over time and has only recently been so bloody and violent and on a large scale. The history of terrorism had been existent since the 1970s where the French Revolutionary Government instituted systematic state terror against the population of France by killing thousands. The way terrorism was taken out has changed over the years. Changes in the tactics and techniques of terrorists have been significant, but even more, the growth in the number of causes and social contexts where terrorism is used. Over the past 20 years, terrorists have committed violent acts for alleged political or religious reasons with these terrorist organisations been spilt up into groups according to their reasoning of attack. This may include Nationalism, Religious, Anarchist, State Sponsored, Left and Right Wing …show more content…
terrorist groups. Terrorism involves reasoning, planning and a lot of effort, but what is being done to stop this?
The September 11 attacks seem to be a turning point in terms of counterterrorism. It makes the world fully and clearly aware of the presence and the scale of the threat that terrorism carries, and tragically emphasizes the change in the image of political violence’s and the international community. Although the feeling that terrorism has become the major threat to global security and the stability of the international order has been growing for decades, it has never been more evident than it is today. Thus, the first years of the twenty-first century are marked by “the war on terrorism”.
The source below is a primary source from the 9/11 terror attacks in the U.S. In the source we can see many people flocking for cover from near the World Trade Centre as the first of the two towers collapses. The source interests me as you can see the fear and madness terrorism causes. By the facial expressions of the people running you can see that they are all scare. Not sure about what just happened they are all running for safety. This source is very useful as it shows how terrorism can affect such a large number of people and cause so much fear; causing widespread fear being their main objective.
9/11 saw many changes to the way many people viewed terrorism. Since September 11, 2001, much of the world’s society has changed their few of terrorism and began to stereotype a particular group of people; Muslims. Despite their differences, these wars have a common feature: an interaction between the United States and the Muslim world.
While relatively few people would repeat Representative John Cooksey 's statement after the Sept. 11 attacks that "If I see someone come in and he 's got a diaper on his head and a fan belt around that diaper on his head, that guy needs to be pulled over and checked," the vast majority of Americans - and many Europeans - do have a stereotype in mind when we think of terrorists, and that stereotype is of someone of Arab descent.
Since September 11, this country has seen a resurgence of the stereotyping of Muslims and persons of Arab descent as terrorists. The assumption is that there is a link between a person’s ethnicity or religion on the one hand, and his support for terrorism on the other hand. This stereotyping has affected Muslim and Arab citizens and residents, charities, religious leaders, and heads of state.
Stereotypes become stereotypes for a reason, of course. Osama bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman al- Zahawiri, are Arabs. All 19 of the Sept. 11 hijackers were Arabs But even if it is to some extent understandable that we are more suspicious of those we take to be Arabs than we are of others, it is also illogical, politically incorrect and morally repugnant. Moreover, it could play into Al Qaeda 's hands.
Airport security procedures were shaken awake, slapped round the face and forced to undergo a rigorous transformation in the wake of the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001. And the authorities have been playing catch-up ever since, updating and tweaking security screening measures to address subsequent attempted attacks on aircraft using shoes, liquids, printer cartridges and even underwear.
Responsibility for airport security screening in the USA was swiftly put into federal hands after 9/11, with the formation of the US Transportation Security Administration. Targets were set for all US airports to screen 100% of checked baggage for explosives; passengers were subjected to much more vigorous screening procedures - which continue to evolve; and watch lists were drawn up to prevent people suspected of having terrorist links from flying.
But despite the countless changes that have taken place in the past decade, critics argue that airport security is still not all it could be. "For airport security pre-9/11, the technology was 1970s. Post-9/11, it is 1990s, but it is not yet in the 21st century," says Jeff Price, founder of consultancy Leading Edge Strategies and author of Practical Aviation Security. But he makes the point that "you can 't protect against every single thing unless you want no freedom".
After recent terror attacks laws against terrorism and catching people who enforce it have become much stronger worldwide. The September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States and the subsequent revelation of Al Qaeda in Europe gave new momentum to the European Union (EU) initiatives to combat terrorism and improve police, judicial and intelligence cooperation among the members of the Union. Other deadly incidents in Europe, such as the Madrid and London bombings in 2004 and 2005 respectively, injected further urgency into strengthening the EU counterterrorism capabilities and reducing barriers among national law enforcement authorities so that information could be meaningfully shared and suspects apprehended efficiently. Among other steps, the EU has established a common definition of terrorism and a common list of terrorist groups.
The 2001 terrorist attacks served as a wakeup call for the EU leaders and members. In the weeks after the attacks, European law enforcement efforts to track down terrorist suspects and freeze financial assets often in close cooperation with U.S. authorities, produced numerous arrests, especially in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom.
Germany and Spain were identified as key logistical and planning bases for the attacks on the United States. As a result, European leaders recognized that the EU’s largely open borders and Europe’s different legal systems enabled some terrorists and other criminals to move around easily and evade arrest and prosecution. For example, at the time of the 2001 attacks, most EU member countries lacked anti-terrorist legislation, or even a legal definition of terrorism. Without strong evidence that a suspect had committed a crime common to all countries, terrorists or their supporters were often able to avoid apprehension one EU country by fleeing to another with different laws and criminal codes. Moreover, although suspects could travel among EU countries quickly, extradition requests often took months or years to process.
One of the most controversial issues of counterterrorism is military force and if the actions taken under the name of military force any different from terrorism itself. The quote “Everyone’s worried about stopping terrorism. Well, there’s really an easy way: Stop participating in it”, is one from Noam Chomsky, who was a famous American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, logician, political critic, and activist. This is a very famous quote he made which is saying if you want to stop terrorism, America must stop first. By this he means stop deploying troops to countries like Iraq and Afghanistan who although are trying to stop Terrorism and extremist groups are taking part in terror attacks as well. This includes killing civilians in cross-fire and large scale bombings on ‘suspicious’ areas. In simpler words, to stop terrorism, we must first stop militarism. The quote could be said as not very bias. We know this as even though he is American himself, he doubts the actions of his own people. He is also looking at the bigger picture instead of what’s right in his face. Although something that could be said as bias is the fact that in some ways he is blaming America for terrorism. The quote can also be said to be very reliable. This is because Noam Chomsky is a very famous philosopher and is very serious about what he says. There are also many people who listen to what he says. Finally the fact that he is a philosopher makes it more reliable.
The source above also shows in simple ways how terrorism and militarism being very similar are considered to very different things. The source is a small cartoon picture from newsday.today.com which was published on the 31/01/2009 in the article ‘new strategy for the war on terror’ this source is showing us how the act of terrorism is illegal and how the act of militarism which is quite similar is legal. This idea is conveyed to us with a similar incident occurring one in the name of terrorism and one in the name of militarism. It tells us how one of these acts are completely fine, while the other is frowned upon. This source could be said as not bias, even though it is portraying terrorism and militarism to be the same things it is telling us the truth, and we can see that it wasn’t written in the eyes of terrorism or anti-terrorist groups but shows the side of the picture many of us do not realise.
Source: http://newsday.today.com/2009/01/31/new-strategy-for-the-war-on-terror/
Although this source is a cartoon from a newspaper and are usually for entertainment purposes it could be said to be reliable. Newspapers are usually more reliable than they’re given credit for. Another reason it is reliable is that it isn’t written in bias and looks at both sides. Andy Singer, the creator of the source is also a well know international political cartoonist and has many other cartoons that are reliable. This and his great reputation make the source reliable.
The quote and source are also very significant. It makes us think about what is going on and why it may actually be happening. It makes us realise that terrorism has a reason and doesn’t just occur randomly. The source backed up with the quote shows how terrorism and what the rest of the world is doing aren’t very different. Both of them successfully convey their message to the people which is to stop terrorism you must stop militarism.
Because of the evolution (or even revolution) in terrorist tactics, structures motivations and ideologies, characterized by the development of what is called the new terrorism the level of complexity of the terrorist phenomenon has increased dramatically.
“We are now faced with a combination of new and traditional actors, a widened set of motivations and tactics, organizational structures and principles, as well as a wider range of threats along the technological spectrum, especially with the increased potential for the terrorists use of weapons of mass destruction. Counter terrorism must deal with a wider range of threats
simultaneously”
Countering terrorism has been becoming a harder task than it was in the past and this evolution will probably continue. Even though the world is doing a great job in stopping most terrorist attacks after 9/11 the terrorism problem can never be fully eliminated and therefore must be continued to be dealt with and as technology gets more advanced this job gets even harder. Thus, counterterrorism must be planned and executed extremely efficiently and consistently. Bibliography:
" Counter-terrorism: After the 9/11 decade." The Interpreter | Lowy Institute for International Policy. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Sept. 2013. .
" How airport security has changed since 9/11." Aviation News | Aviation Industry & Airline Statistics | flightglobal.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Sept. 2013. .
BENAC, NANCY. "National Security: Ten Years After September 11 Attacks, U.S. Is Safe But Not Safe Enough." Breaking News and Opinion on The Huffington Post. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Sept. 2013. .
"Counterterrorism after 9/11 | Bartosz Bolechów - Academia.edu."Academia.edu - Share research. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Sept. 2013. .
"POST 9/11 US POLICY TOWARDS TERRORISM AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR PAKISTAN | International Relations."International Relations | Live with Peace. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Sept. 2013. .
"Prison Planet.com » America’s Anti-Terrorism Policies Since 9/11 Have Been a Dismal Failure." Prison Planet.com . N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Sept. 2013. .
"September 11: Bearing Witness to History - National Museum of American History." Home | National Museum of American History. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Sept. 2013. .
"Stereotypes of Muslims and Support for the War on Terror." Stereotypes of Muslims and Support for the War on Terror. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Sept. 2013. .
"Stereotyping terrorists: The usual suspects - Editorials & Commentary - International Herald Tribune - The New York Times." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Sept. 2013. .
"The Global Regime for Terrorism."Council On Foreign Relations . N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Sept. 2013. .
"U.S.-EU Cooperation Against Terrorism ." Congressional Research Service . N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Sept. 2013. .
"United Nations Action to Counter Terrorism." Welcome to the United Nations: It 's Your World. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Sept. 2013. .
How has the approach to terrorism changed after 9/11?
All too often we are reminded that terrorism continues to inflict pain and suffering on people all over the world. Hardly a week goes by without an act of terrorism taking place somewhere in the world, indiscriminately affecting innocent people, who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. With terrorism being a growing concern it needs to be dealt with. Countering this scourge is in the interest of all nations.
Terrorism has changed dramatically over time and has only recently been so bloody and violent and on a large scale. The history of terrorism had been existent since the 1970s where the French Revolutionary Government instituted systematic state terror against the population of France by killing thousands. The way terrorism was taken out has changed over the years. Changes in the tactics and techniques of terrorists have been significant, but even more, the growth in the number of causes and social contexts where terrorism is used. Over the past 20 years, terrorists have committed violent acts for alleged political or religious reasons with these terrorist organisations been spilt up into groups according to their reasoning of attack. This may include Nationalism, Religious, Anarchist, State Sponsored, Left and Right Wing …show more content…
terrorist groups. Terrorism involves reasoning, planning and a lot of effort, but what is being done to stop this?
The September 11 attacks seem to be a turning point in terms of counterterrorism. It makes the world fully and clearly aware of the presence and the scale of the threat that terrorism carries, and tragically emphasizes the change in the image of political violence’s and the international community. Although the feeling that terrorism has become the major threat to global security and the stability of the international order has been growing for decades, it has never been more evident than it is today. Thus, the first years of the twenty-first century are marked by “the war on terrorism”.
The source below is a primary source from the 9/11 terror attacks in the U.S. In the source we can see many people flocking for cover from near the World Trade Centre as the first of the two towers collapses. The source interests me as you can see the fear and madness terrorism causes. By the facial expressions of the people running you can see that they are all scare. Not sure about what just happened they are all running for safety. This source is very useful as it shows how terrorism can affect such a large number of people and cause so much fear; causing widespread fear being their main objective.
9/11 saw many changes to the way many people viewed terrorism. Since September 11, 2001, much of the world’s society has changed their few of terrorism and began to stereotype a particular group of people; Muslims. Despite their differences, these wars have a common feature: an interaction between the United States and the Muslim world.
While relatively few people would repeat Representative John Cooksey 's statement after the Sept. 11 attacks that "If I see someone come in and he 's got a diaper on his head and a fan belt around that diaper on his head, that guy needs to be pulled over and checked," the vast majority of Americans - and many Europeans - do have a stereotype in mind when we think of terrorists, and that stereotype is of someone of Arab descent.
Since September 11, this country has seen a resurgence of the stereotyping of Muslims and persons of Arab descent as terrorists. The assumption is that there is a link between a person’s ethnicity or religion on the one hand, and his support for terrorism on the other hand. This stereotyping has affected Muslim and Arab citizens and residents, charities, religious leaders, and heads of state.
Stereotypes become stereotypes for a reason, of course. Osama bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman al- Zahawiri, are Arabs. All 19 of the Sept. 11 hijackers were Arabs But even if it is to some extent understandable that we are more suspicious of those we take to be Arabs than we are of others, it is also illogical, politically incorrect and morally repugnant. Moreover, it could play into Al Qaeda 's hands.
Airport security procedures were shaken awake, slapped round the face and forced to undergo a rigorous transformation in the wake of the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001. And the authorities have been playing catch-up ever since, updating and tweaking security screening measures to address subsequent attempted attacks on aircraft using shoes, liquids, printer cartridges and even underwear.
Responsibility for airport security screening in the USA was swiftly put into federal hands after 9/11, with the formation of the US Transportation Security Administration. Targets were set for all US airports to screen 100% of checked baggage for explosives; passengers were subjected to much more vigorous screening procedures - which continue to evolve; and watch lists were drawn up to prevent people suspected of having terrorist links from flying.
But despite the countless changes that have taken place in the past decade, critics argue that airport security is still not all it could be. "For airport security pre-9/11, the technology was 1970s. Post-9/11, it is 1990s, but it is not yet in the 21st century," says Jeff Price, founder of consultancy Leading Edge Strategies and author of Practical Aviation Security. But he makes the point that "you can 't protect against every single thing unless you want no freedom".
After recent terror attacks laws against terrorism and catching people who enforce it have become much stronger worldwide. The September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States and the subsequent revelation of Al Qaeda in Europe gave new momentum to the European Union (EU) initiatives to combat terrorism and improve police, judicial and intelligence cooperation among the members of the Union. Other deadly incidents in Europe, such as the Madrid and London bombings in 2004 and 2005 respectively, injected further urgency into strengthening the EU counterterrorism capabilities and reducing barriers among national law enforcement authorities so that information could be meaningfully shared and suspects apprehended efficiently. Among other steps, the EU has established a common definition of terrorism and a common list of terrorist groups.
The 2001 terrorist attacks served as a wakeup call for the EU leaders and members. In the weeks after the attacks, European law enforcement efforts to track down terrorist suspects and freeze financial assets often in close cooperation with U.S. authorities, produced numerous arrests, especially in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom.
Germany and Spain were identified as key logistical and planning bases for the attacks on the United States. As a result, European leaders recognized that the EU’s largely open borders and Europe’s different legal systems enabled some terrorists and other criminals to move around easily and evade arrest and prosecution. For example, at the time of the 2001 attacks, most EU member countries lacked anti-terrorist legislation, or even a legal definition of terrorism. Without strong evidence that a suspect had committed a crime common to all countries, terrorists or their supporters were often able to avoid apprehension one EU country by fleeing to another with different laws and criminal codes. Moreover, although suspects could travel among EU countries quickly, extradition requests often took months or years to process.
One of the most controversial issues of counterterrorism is military force and if the actions taken under the name of military force any different from terrorism itself. The quote “Everyone’s worried about stopping terrorism. Well, there’s really an easy way: Stop participating in it”, is one from Noam Chomsky, who was a famous American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, logician, political critic, and activist. This is a very famous quote he made which is saying if you want to stop terrorism, America must stop first. By this he means stop deploying troops to countries like Iraq and Afghanistan who although are trying to stop Terrorism and extremist groups are taking part in terror attacks as well. This includes killing civilians in cross-fire and large scale bombings on ‘suspicious’ areas. In simpler words, to stop terrorism, we must first stop militarism. The quote could be said as not very bias. We know this as even though he is American himself, he doubts the actions of his own people. He is also looking at the bigger picture instead of what’s right in his face. Although something that could be said as bias is the fact that in some ways he is blaming America for terrorism. The quote can also be said to be very reliable. This is because Noam Chomsky is a very famous philosopher and is very serious about what he says. There are also many people who listen to what he says. Finally the fact that he is a philosopher makes it more reliable.
The source above also shows in simple ways how terrorism and militarism being very similar are considered to very different things. The source is a small cartoon picture from newsday.today.com which was published on the 31/01/2009 in the article ‘new strategy for the war on terror’ this source is showing us how the act of terrorism is illegal and how the act of militarism which is quite similar is legal. This idea is conveyed to us with a similar incident occurring one in the name of terrorism and one in the name of militarism. It tells us how one of these acts are completely fine, while the other is frowned upon. This source could be said as not bias, even though it is portraying terrorism and militarism to be the same things it is telling us the truth, and we can see that it wasn’t written in the eyes of terrorism or anti-terrorist groups but shows the side of the picture many of us do not realise.
Source: http://newsday.today.com/2009/01/31/new-strategy-for-the-war-on-terror/
Although this source is a cartoon from a newspaper and are usually for entertainment purposes it could be said to be reliable. Newspapers are usually more reliable than they’re given credit for. Another reason it is reliable is that it isn’t written in bias and looks at both sides. Andy Singer, the creator of the source is also a well know international political cartoonist and has many other cartoons that are reliable. This and his great reputation make the source reliable.
The quote and source are also very significant. It makes us think about what is going on and why it may actually be happening. It makes us realise that terrorism has a reason and doesn’t just occur randomly. The source backed up with the quote shows how terrorism and what the rest of the world is doing aren’t very different. Both of them successfully convey their message to the people which is to stop terrorism you must stop militarism.
Because of the evolution (or even revolution) in terrorist tactics, structures motivations and ideologies, characterized by the development of what is called the new terrorism the level of complexity of the terrorist phenomenon has increased dramatically.
“We are now faced with a combination of new and traditional actors, a widened set of motivations and tactics, organizational structures and principles, as well as a wider range of threats along the technological spectrum, especially with the increased potential for the terrorists use of weapons of mass destruction. Counter terrorism must deal with a wider range of threats
simultaneously”
Countering terrorism has been becoming a harder task than it was in the past and this evolution will probably continue. Even though the world is doing a great job in stopping most terrorist attacks after 9/11 the terrorism problem can never be fully eliminated and therefore must be continued to be dealt with and as technology gets more advanced this job gets even harder. Thus, counterterrorism must be planned and executed extremely efficiently and consistently. Bibliography:
" Counter-terrorism: After the 9/11 decade." The Interpreter | Lowy Institute for International Policy. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Sept. 2013. .
" How airport security has changed since 9/11." Aviation News | Aviation Industry & Airline Statistics | flightglobal.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Sept. 2013. .
BENAC, NANCY. "National Security: Ten Years After September 11 Attacks, U.S. Is Safe But Not Safe Enough." Breaking News and Opinion on The Huffington Post. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Sept. 2013. .
"Counterterrorism after 9/11 | Bartosz Bolechów - Academia.edu."Academia.edu - Share research. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Sept. 2013. .
"POST 9/11 US POLICY TOWARDS TERRORISM AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR PAKISTAN | International Relations."International Relations | Live with Peace. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Sept. 2013. .
"Prison Planet.com » America’s Anti-Terrorism Policies Since 9/11 Have Been a Dismal Failure." Prison Planet.com . N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Sept. 2013. .
"September 11: Bearing Witness to History - National Museum of American History." Home | National Museum of American History. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Sept. 2013. .
"Stereotypes of Muslims and Support for the War on Terror." Stereotypes of Muslims and Support for the War on Terror. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Sept. 2013. .
"Stereotyping terrorists: The usual suspects - Editorials & Commentary - International Herald Tribune - The New York Times." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Sept. 2013. .
"The Global Regime for Terrorism."Council On Foreign Relations . N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Sept. 2013. .
"U.S.-EU Cooperation Against Terrorism ." Congressional Research Service . N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Sept. 2013. .
"United Nations Action to Counter Terrorism." Welcome to the United Nations: It 's Your World. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Sept. 2013. .