Terrorism

Marko Colic

10A

Humanities

 

                                                           Terrorism

 

 

Terrorism is random acts of violence committed by individuals or groups that usually have a political goal behind them. The purpose of terrorism is to intimidate and cause fear in the general population, and to put pressure on authorities and official bodies. Although acts of terrorism are considered criminal, and many governments liberally label even those that do not qualify in order to discredit groups, those who commit them do so for ideological reasons and often because it is the last recourse in their political struggle. It is mostly marginalized, oppressed groups fighting against greater structures who commit terrorist acts. As they say, “One man’s terrorist is another’s man freedom fighter”.  

The main plot of Bourne trilogy is the fight survival and pursuit of knowledge of an individual against a secret operation whose ranks he once belonged to. Through episodes of flashes of memory, his life as an assassin is reconstructed. He is at the same time trying to recreate his past and separate himself from it.  Many of the subplots include elaborate schemes of terrorist acts, in order to achieve a political goal. Whenever knowledge of this organization leaks out, an operative is sent to eliminate the threat. But, since Bourne is the only major threat for the organization left, he as a former operative becomes one of the victims of the same.

One of the most significant acts of terrorism in recent history is 9/11, when several planes were hijacked and flown into different important buildings in USA, such as The Twin Towers and Pentagon. The act was carried out by an Islamic militant group. The goal behind these actions was politically motivated, and was supposed to introduce fear to the American Government and people. The people who committed these crimes did so because of their belief, that American politics was wrong and highly harmful to their nation and their way of life. Because they felt that their own governments were not doing enough to change the relations with USA, they had to take matters into their own hands. The only way to call attention or to be noticed was to carry out such a drastic measure.

In the area of Israel – Palestine, terrorist acts occur on a daily bases. Disgruntled, impoverished, frustrated, helpless Palestinians sacrifice their lives and those of Israelis in order to prove a point: that they are fed up with their situation. Pushed out of their territory without basic amenities, no prospect of a normal future, terrorism becomes their only weapon. At the same time, innocent Israelis are victims of these rebellious acts, impose on them by their government.  Undergoing heavy training, sometimes manipulated, offered promises of a beautiful eternal afterlife, young men and women agree to do these horrible things to themselves, and to their fellow human beings.

 The most recent large scale terrorist attack occurred in Mumbai, India’s financial capital. About ten terrorist staged explosions at several of the cities prominent locations including a hotel, and a Jewish center. There were around 170 victims, many of them foreigners. Of the ten assailants, one was caught thanks to whom the provenance of the attackers was disclosed. They belonged to a Pakistani militant organisation, and received extensive training as well as monetary compensation for their mission. The goal behind the attack was fear and intimidation. They sent the message to Indian politicians that they disapproved of their alliance with the West and clearly showed their aggression towards Jews and foreigners, by choosing Mumbai as their target.