Terrorism Terrorism has been around for as long as people can remember, but for the past ten

years there's been a dramatic rise in activity. Terrorists use murder, kidnapping, hijacking, and bombings to pursue a political agenda.(Encarta, Par 1) These criminals are not just subject to the United States, terrorism happens all over the world, in every way, shape and form. There are many types of terrorism and terrorists with many different purposes. (Mockaitis par, 1) The primary reason for terrorist actions is to force a change in their nation's government. If terrorists are not satisfied with there government's political positions, they may end up taking the matters into there own hands. Another reason for terrorist acts is because of hate towards a race, nationality, or religion. In recent years, terrorism seems to be at a new high and attacks are more violent than in the past. Many groups operate within a single nation or region. (Wilcox, page.1) Others have branches and operations in many countries. Because terrorists generally cannot match the strength of conventional military forces, they often rely on guerrilla warfare. (Mockaitis, Par 3). New groups are sprouting all over the place and terrorism being so secretive and having no forewarning, governments from all over the world have form alliances to combat terrorism and terror cells in hope of thwarting any further threats. While terrorist threats are numerous in today's world, the methods used by the United States to deter those terrorists, help to ensure that, while some terrorism is inevitable. As a civilized society we cannot resort to terrorism. Everyone has a responsibility to take action. The dependability of a government isn't what it once. Everyone in the world needs to unite to combat terrorism. Counter terrorism has become the main concern for nations across the globe. In a time where every nation is many ways connected to one another, the need to protect our assets has become that much greater. (Cordesman Par, 1) Today many countries have special units designated to handle terrorist threats. There are various security agencies, and elite tactical units whose role is to directly engage terrorists and prevent terrorist attacks. Such units perform both in preventive actions, hostage rescue and responding to on-going attacks.In the United States the majority of counter-terrorism operations at the tactical level, are conducted by state, federal and national law enforcement agencies or intelligence agencies, such as the FBI and CIA. (Cordesman Par, 2)Though the majority is handled at the Intelligence level. These agencies collect information about terrorists, their intentions, and their capabilities in order to provide warning and prevent terrorism. Because terrorists operate secretly and sometimes hide in remote locations the governments must rely on attaining secret intelligence. (Cordsman Par, 4) Although intelligence gathered is very helpful a lot of it can be very unreliable and in most times costly. For example intelligence gathered stating that Iraq provided financial aid to terror groups and possessed Weapons of Mass Destruction were found out to be not true and because of it the United States is at war with Iraq that is costing many Soldiers live and our Tax payer dollars. There are a wide range of terrorist groups in the world today. (Orlov Par, 1) The oldest and most common form of terrorism is religious terrorism. The targets of religious terrorism have been those who do not abide by the religious standards. Islam has become the poster child of religious terrorism. Though the religion has never condonded any terrorist actions, the groups behind any attack use their religion to justify any kind of attack. (Pellicani. Par,2) Such groups include the Palestinian Libration Army, Hizballah,

and Al-Qaeda. Al qeada is best known from the being under the leadership of Osama Bin Laden. They orchastrated the the attacks on the USS Cole and the World Trade Center. Their main objective is to free all muslim holy place like Medina,Mecca and jeruslem from western influence. Those who alline themselves with western rule are considered the enemy Defectors are known as Dar Al-Islam or "Those who have left the way of allah". Al qeada members are considered true believer and strive for Martyrdom. And thus are ready to die.( Pellicani, par.4) Terror groups are constantly work on obtaining Nuclear and Biological weapons to carry out attacks. The middle east isn't the only place have Terrorism run rampant. Coutries like Somalia , Northern Ireland , Congo, Venezula and Russia all have larger terror groups. (Orlov Par, 2) Terrorism is not cheap.Goverment funding from Oil and other goods are big part in the middle east. Groups also set up some of the most lavish plans and schemes to pay for everything. (Kaplan,Par, 3) One of the biggest ways terror cells make money is the development and exporting of illicit drugs like heroin and cocaine.( Ehnrenfeld, Par. 4). The Taliban which operates out of Afghanistan what responsible for 80 percent of the worlds production of Heroin. Like the Taliban, the Italian Mafia and Russian Mafia are constantly in the drug markets that the helps finance terrorists. Not only does the selling of drugs finance terrorism but it undermines the political and economic stability of the targeted government. A study done by the University of Maryland stated that the cost of Healthcare, accidents and crimes caused by the use of drugs totaled 160.7 Billion dollars in the United States alone. (Ehnrefeld Par. 6). Money Laundering is a growing business in a lot of organizations. It is said that One trillion dollars are laundered every year and it keeps growing. It's hard to think that these groups which are primitive to a certain extent can make such an extraordinary amount of money. There doesn't seem to be and end to terrorism. It can date back to as long as people can remember and the current trend show that terrorism didn't just happen but that it's always been around and it always will be around. Terrorist networks such as al-Qaeda are still active abroad, and Iraq is becoming a new center for terrorism. There have been no major foreign terrorist attacks in the United States since September 11, but America is still vulnerable because of its open society, its long borders, and its vast number of unprotected targets.(Wilcox Par 6) The challenge for governments is to persuade people that the killing of civilians by terrorists is absolutely unacceptable whatever the political motive. Winning the hearts and minds of citizens against terrorism so that terrorists can be isolated and exposed is thus a vital part of successful counterterrorism. (Wilcox, Par.6) Although terrorism has become a fact of life we as people should not bow down. We must all unite to help fight terrorism. To implement new laws against civil liberties is a victory for terrorists. The United States can do its part by not isolating nations and gaining alliances to help combat terror. The Leaders of the free world must not run away from this problem we must continue the fight. Thousands of innocent lives die a year. No bible or holy book says we should take a life for a belief. We cannot let terrorism prevail. Bar, Shmuel, "Religious Sources of Islamic Terrorism" Policy Review; Jun/Jul2004 Issue 125, p27-37, 11p Cordesman, Anthony H. "Defending America: Terrorist Organizations and States and Weapons of Mass Destruction", CSIS, September, 21 2001 Palomar College

Encarta Online, "Counterterrorism". Encarta Online, 2006 ttp://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_701666330/Counterterrorism.html Kaplan, David, "The Saudi Connection. How billions in oil money spawned a global terror network" . 2003 U.S. News Mockaitis, Tom. "Terrorism." World Book Online Reference Center. 2006. . Orlov Vladimir "Super-Terrorism: An Immediate Threat to the World", PIR Center for Policy Studies, September, 13 2001. Palomar College Library Pellicani, Luciano, "Islamic Terrorism" Telos; Fall/Winter2004 Issue 129, p41-53, 13p Victor, Jeffrey S "Why the Terrorism Scare Is a Moral Panic." Humanist; Jul/Aug2006, Vol. 66 Issue 4, p9-13, 5p. Wilcox, Philip C., "Counterterrorism," Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2006 http://encarta.msn.com

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