Terrorism in the 21st Century

[SaShman]

I know this isn't exactly an original topic for discussion but in light of the death of Usamah )) bin Laden I figured this may be interesting.

What are your thoughts on terrorism in the 21st century? Has the character of terrorism changed since 9/11? Do you believe it actually poses a legitimate threat to national security? What implications if any do you think the death of bin Laden will have? What do you think about the media's role in reporting acts of terrorism? Do you believe Islamic terrorism has been used as a political tool?

These are just some questions to try to get the ball rolling I'm interested to read what you guys think...

 

[Shaissa]

What are your thoughts on terrorism in the 21st century?
I believe that terrorism in the 21st century is getting more wide spread and people are more vulnerable to actually joining it.
At the same time it can be hard to define it, not everyone that fights a government can be called a terrorist, I mean so many people want change in so many countries that they feel they have nothing to lose, and everything to gain.
So my thoughts are that terrorist are out there obviously, and these people will take on more than one country for a sole purpose (if thats religion, land, or anything else can be debated.)
Has the character of terrorism changed since 9/11?
I think terrorism has been more... stereotyped since 9/11. When you say terrorism most people (in America at least) think of a Muslim extremist group, when really there are so many groups even Christian terrorist groups.
Do you believe it actually poses a legitimate threat to national security?
I believe that if we ignore it that it can be a serious threat, and it has proven to be with the 9/11 attacks, and attacks around the world. It's not just one nation getting attacked, its many countries around the world that we have to fight it, even if it cant be stopped, its better to slow it down, and stop as many attacks as possible rather than ignore it.
What implications if any do you think the death of bin Laden will have?
I think that there will be a new leader that will pop up on the news claiming to attack and take revenge for their fallen leader, and there will probably be more attempted attacks on America in particular for taking out their leader, but time will tell.
What do you think about the media's role in reporting acts of terrorism?
I think that they either try to not show some faces of an attack cause they dont wanna be called racist or they show only certain attacks or attempted attacks to make certain people look better/worse. Like in America most terrorist attacks or attempted ones that have been shown have usually been by Al Qaeda and not any other group.
Do you believe Islamic terrorism has been used as a political tool?
I believe in some extent yes it has. It was in justifying an attack in Iraq back in '05. (thats all im going say about that)
I'm sure there have been other cases where it has been used in many countries, for searching peoples houses, and everything else also.

 

[Dee]

What are your thoughts on terrorism in the 21st century?

I think it's a horrible thing, of course; however, it is something we have dealt with as the human race for a great, long time. While the methods of terrorism have changed, it is still present and there to create only one thing--fear.

Has the character of terrorism changed since 9/11?

As I mentioned above, the methods in which these extremists (no matter what religion they are) carry out their reign of terror have obviously changed, but the basic idea behind the plans and subsequently the acts have not.

Do you believe it actually poses a legitimate threat to national security?

Of course I do. Look at what happened on September 11th, 2001. Look at what happened to the World Trade Center in 1993. Look at what happened in Oklahoma City, London, Madrid and so on and so forth. You can go back hundreds of years and there will have been SOME kind of 'terrorist' attack whether it be in the name of religion or something else.

What implications if any do you think the death of bin Laden will have?

I think it will have many implications, but the most important ones are going to focus on the political, financial and global aspects. When I talk about political, I mean for Obama's presidency (and also in the hierarchy of the Al Queda and Taliban, but I'm not really in the mood to get into that discussion just yet). Catching a war criminal, a terrorist leader is going to look great on Obama's "list-of-things-accomplished." It may even put him ahead in the polls when he runs for reelection in November.

I don't want to get into the financial aspects, but let's just say it involves a lot of oil.

As for the global implications, well, let's just say (and not because I wonder) that the Pakistani government will have a lot to answer for. Because of the "claims" that he was found and killed within Pakistan's borders, even though they were adamant that Osama was not within their regions.

I think it's too soon to be pointing the finger. Hell, some people don't even believe that Osama is dead.

What do you think about the media's role in reporting acts of terrorism?

I think the media's role in reporting acts of terrorism is just like their role in reporting anything--excessive and rampant. This will be the talk of the year for quite some time, not only because a major terrorist was killed, but because of WHO apparently carried out the act and WHOSE favor it will benefit (coughobamacough) in the coming months.

Do you believe Islamic terrorism has been used as a political tool?

I do. Examples? Listening in on people's phone conversations (although I'm 110% sure there are even more shocking ways in which the government keeps tabs on us for 'freedoms sake'), beefing up security at airports to the point where we're stripping people naked and groping young children (give me a flippin' break), and another one that happened closer to home, going so far as to trick a young man believed intended to carry out a terrorist attack.

Of course it has.

 

[SaShman]

I agree with the point Dee made about the fundamental character of terrorism being the same while the methods have changed. What makes modern terrorism interesting in my opinion is that people can do a lot of damage with limited resources. The bombs used in the Bali bombings for instance were made out of materials that can be purchased from a typical hardware store.

On the subject of terrorism as a political tool it's hard to over look how it has been used as justification for Guantanamo bay and Homeland security in the US. But at the same time terrorism has had some interesting effects internationally, for example it has encouraged cooperation between Australia and a long list of South-East Asian/Pacific countries on the subject of counter-terrorism which is important as far as integrating Australia into the region goes.

As far as whether terrorism actually poses a legitimate threat to national security, I don't think it does to be honest. Naturally it poses a threat to civilians but all the talk I hear about it disrupting 'the American way of life' and how it poses a threat to 'our nation's security' just seems like political rhetoric to me. The interesting thing about 9/11 I think is that it was interpreted as the 'beginning of things to come' rather than an isolated attack, in this sense I think society overreacted to 9/11 and developed it's own culture of fear.

I think western media has had a huge role on modern terrorism. I think extensive coverage has contributed to the culture of fear I mentioned above.
I think the media's coverage of bin laden is particularly interesting. It seems like the media painted an image of bin laden as a super villain evil mastermind of some sorts, note that I'm not trying to defend the man but I think this portrayal is too simplistic. The media essentially gave a face and a name to the the war on terrorism. People erupted in a frenzy when they heard of bin Laden's death yet the spiritual leader of the group responsible for the Bali bombings was sentenced to 2 and a half years. Also the man responsible for the Lockerbie bombing was extradited and released. I guess my point is that terrorism has been over simplified.

What are your thoughts on terrorism in the 21st century?
I believe that terrorism in the 21st century is getting more wide spread and people are more vulnerable to actually joining it.

I wouldn't say that terrorism is necessarily getting more widespread itself. I think extremist ideas are certainly more widespread with the advent of the internet so I guess that could leave certain people (who otherwise wouldn't have been) vulnerable to adopting these ideas. But it takes a certain kind of person to become a terrorist and actually go out and commit an act of terror and I don't think there are significantly more of these people now than before.

Catching a war criminal, a terrorist leader is going to look great on Obama's "list-of-things-accomplished." It may even put him ahead in the polls when he runs for reelection in November.

I agree.

 

[Dee]

I think the reason people assume terrorism has become more widespread is actually because of the media. In the last century, we've gone from paper to sound (the radio) to visual (television) and a combination of all three, PLUS now the internet. We just have way more sources covering these terrorist attacks, which is why it seems to be happening more and more. It's everywhere because of the various different media allowing the world's citizens to stay up-to-date on its happenings.

 

[Tom Badguy]

What are your thoughts on terrorism in the 21st century?
Alive and well, unfortunately. But then, terrorism as been apart of life for a long time. The only thing that may be different is the supplies and type of weapons that are used. It's here and it always will be.

Has the character of terrorism changed since 9/11?
I wouldn't say so. Terrorism is still terrorism. It only seems like a big deal because it happened in America where in some countries it happens every day. The character of terrorism is the same: evil.

Do you believe it actually poses a legitimate threat to national security?
Any act of terrorism on a large scale poses a threat to any nation's security. An act of terrorism doesn't even need to result in death or injury. Just posting a video claiming to harm people or do an evil act throws everyone into a panic. The ability to change people's lifestyles and to cause panic, is what I believe, to be the true heart of terrorism.

What implications if any do you think the death of bin Laden will have?
I'm sure this anger many Al Queda. Some retaliations may rise but probably won't be any different then the common everyday acts of terror. But who knows?

What do you think about the media's role in reporting acts of terrorism?
The media is one of the flaming pillars that helps Terrorism. Some News stations just report on it. But all stations do nothing but talk about it constantly, keeping the topic alive. I mean, how many times have you watched your local news for tips and tricks to spot suspicious activity or prepare for the worse? To some it may be seem good and necessary, I just think it is a waste and just fuels acts of terror.

Do you believe Islamic terrorism has been used as a political tool?
I have no idea.

 

[DarkShadow]

What are your thoughts on terrorism in the 21st century?
Its still of course alive, the death of bin Laden in the short-term may have escalated a little but still, I don't think we would ever again see attacks like 9/11 (Unless America decide to fund them and let the carry out the attacks).
Has the character of terrorism changed since 9/11?
Yes, 9/11 inspired milliions of muslims to become jihadists, if 9/11 never happened terrorism would have existed, but not this widespread.
Do you believe it actually poses a legitimate threat to national security?
Yes, but this is another topic that pisses me off. Whenever a bombing happens in a western country we seem to make a big deal about it and use it as an excuse to retaliate and kill even more people (like after 9/11 when mostly innocent civillians died in 2003). But when a bombing happens in Pakistan,Afghanistan or any other muslim country (like every week) we dont even give a fuck........we dont keep a minute of silence for them do we? And overall more muslims have died then people in western countries from terrorism, I don't know the stats but they must be overwhelming. The media can do a great job of making the deaths of millions people of people look like shit.
What implications if any do you think the death of bin Laden will have?
I don't think will see an immediate reaction on western soil yet.......But I think it will come whether in months or years, in retalliation to his death.
What do you think about the media's role in reporting acts of terrorism?
Like I have said above the western media can go fuck itself.
Do you believe Islamic terrorism has been used as a political tool?
Yes, the USA are invading countries all in the name of endng terrorism and end up provoking it and bringing it back home as well as kill some civillians in the process.

 

[Donald Trump]

I think terrorism is just a kind of guerrilla war. I think the intentional targeting of civilians is unfortunate, but I don't really have much of a problem with it. I don't think terrorism has changed since 9/11, except that it gets far more coverage. The general idea is to kill as many people as possible, with new technology that becomes easier. There was the Sarin gas attack in Japan in 1995, now people use bombs more. I don't think terrorism is that much of a threat to national security, but I suppose that depends upon how you define national security. I think all wars are used as political tools. They galvanise communities because they're focused on external threats, a lot of George Bush's re-election was because people thought he'd keep America safe, domestic matters become less significant. People are also quite willing to for laws to be changed so they can feel safer, the Patriot Act for example.