Kyle Meyer
12/3/17
Blog post
What Is Considered a Terrorist Attack?
The question of what is considered a terrorist attack has been asked time and time again, so why is there no set answer? There are many different definitions of terrorism, some of which negate each other in one way or another, or are made to not make the country that the definition was created in not look bad to the public. These different definitions could greatly confuse the general public, or lead the general public to make false assumptions about domestic, as well as international attacks. There are a great number of attacks that occur within the United States, as well as across the world. Although a large number of these attacks are terrorist attacks, many are not and are just considered terrorist attacks, for lack of a better name. The public should really know what the true definition of a terrorist attack is.
So the question is, what is a terrorist attack? There are a bountiful amount of definitions, so which one should we believe? According to the United States Department of State, terrorism is defined as “premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents, usually intended to influence an audience.” This definition, which is created within the United States, is worded in a specific way as to not let any action taken by the United States considered an act of terrorism. The use of the terms “subnational groups” and “clandestine agents” are used in order to say that actions taken by the United States like the dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as well as the use of drone strikes on Syria are not considered terrorist attacks, because the United States is a nation, and not a subnational group. Terrorism can then also be subdivided into multiple categories, like international terrorism and domestic terrorism. The Federal Bureau of Investigation within the United States defines domestic terrorism as being “Perpetrated by individuals and/or groups inspired by or associated with primarily U.S.-based movements that espouse extremist ideologies of a political, religious, social, racial, or environmental nature.” With this definition of domestic terrorism, why are many more events within the United States not considered terrorism?
On June 17, 2015, a man named Dylann Roof opened fire on the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal church in downtown Charleston during the Church’s final prayer. Roof sat within the entire ceremony, then at the final prayer took out a pistol and killed nine African American individuals within the church. This terrible attack within the United States is seen as a horrible act by a truly twisted individual, but many do not see it as an act of terrorism. Dylann Roof came out as saying that he committed this horrible act as an attempt to try and create a race war within Charleston. Looking at this, it seems as if Roof was motivated by a U.S. based movement, which is the White Supremacist movement. If Roof was inspired by this movement, then it is by definition of the Federal Bureau of Investigation a terrorist attack, so why do so many still not see it as an attack? This is because the phrase “Terrorist Attack” is such a broad term, and that it has multiple definitions, that many individuals may not understand. This attack undergone by Dylann Roof should be considered a terrorist attack, considering Roof’s motivation for the attack was fueled by a terrible movement, which is the White Supremacy movement. This attack should be seen by many more as a terrorist attack, to truly show how terrible it is.
The term “Terrorist Attack” needs to have a more descriptive and well-known definition. Individuals around the world need to truly know what a terrorist attack truly is, so that others around the world can see the severity of them, and how they are dealt with so harshly. Terrorist attacks are truly horrid, and need to be seen by everyone as such.
I used the Department of state as a base for a definition of terrorism as well and like you pointed out the defintion includes the words “subnational groups” and “clandestine agents” so the United States cannot be seen as a terrorist for the attacks they did. I brought up that shooting as well and talked about how it is not seen as terrorist attack but the New York truck runover was seen as a terrorist attack. I feel like most of the time they won't see an attack as a terrorist attack if the person who does it is white and that if someone from the middle east attacks than it is likely to be seen as a terrorist attack.
ReplyDeleteMuch Elif’s post, I think that terrorist attacks need to be categorized by the intent of the foes and the outcome of their actions. There are many attacks that are not considered terrorists for many, and perhaps biased, reasons. I agree with you that this should be changed moving forward, to correctly identify those committing terrorist attacks.
ReplyDeleteWhen I looked up definitions of terrorism, I found a variety of ones, as I'm sure you did, and each one varied in the terms they used to categorize groups as terrorists. I took Prof. Shirks Terrorist class last semester and when looking at the definitions and groups considered terrorists and what acts they commit it makes you wonder if these definitions are created to include groups the government views as terrorists rather than defining terrorist acts as one specific thing like you had mentioned. I agree that the definition needs to be clearer and more known to the people on exactly what a terrorist act is.
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