Domestic and International Terrorism
Instructions:
Research the various definitions offered for domestic and international terrorism.
Choose one domestic terrorism incident and one international terrorism incident.
Write a 1,050- to 1,400-word paper that compares international and domestic terrorist events.
Include the following in your paper:
Justification showing how each terrorism event meets the allocated definition (international or domestic terrorism).
The purpose and objectives of each incident.
The organization or group responsible for the event.
The methods used to carry out the terrorism event.
The impact and accuracy of media coverage.
Justify which type of terrorism presents a greater risk to national security.
Solution
Domestic and International Terrorism
Terrorism involves using force or violence for the intimidation, creation of fear, or coercion of the targeted population for the achievement of ideological, political or religious objectives. It continues to influence global security and the safety of world’s citizens. In the recent past, the United States and the world, in general, have experienced the adverse effects of terrorism, which include the destruction of property, deaths, social unrest, fear, intimidation, and panic within the society. These terrorist activities are propagated by domestic or international terrorist groups. According to the FBI (2016), domestic terrorism encompasses terrorist activities involving a terrorist group or person operating within the country. For example, any terrorist activity within the US involving an American or a US-based terrorist group that operates within the borders of the country is domestic. On the other hand, international terrorist activities are sponsored or advanced foreign terrorist organizations or terrorists living outside the US. It mainly cross-border or transnational terrorism.
Domestic Terrorism
The Orlando Nightclub Shooting
The Orlando Nightclub Shooting meets the domestic terrorism definition offered by the FBI. The terrorist activity involved an American in American soil without direct foreign influence or sponsorship from international terrorist(s) organizations. According to the BBC (2016), the attack occurred in Pulse, one of the biggest Orlando-based clubs in the US, on June 12, 2016. The occurrence of the terrorist activity in the US by an American qualifies it as an act of domestic terrorism. The perpetrator, Omar Mateen, was 29 and an American from Fort Pierce, St. Lucie County in Orlando. He was an American born and raised in New Hyde Park in New York before the family moved to Port St. Lucie when Mateen was seven. Further, that the attack focused on killing, injuring, and causing fear and panic among the LGBTQ community defines it as a terrorist attack. 50 people died from the attack, more than 50 were injured, and it caused fear (Los Angeles Times, 2016). Though the terrorist pledged allegiance to the ISIL, he undertook the planning and execution of the attack single-handedly without sponsorship or influence by the foreign terrorist group.
Purpose, Objectives, and Method Used
The attack purposed on killing, injuring, and causing panic and fear among people attending the LGBTQ party in the Pulse Club. Mateen was armed with an automatic assault rifle and a pistol, which he used to perpetrate the terrorist act. The event caused the deaths of 50 people, more than that number, and caused fear. The major objective was to promote anti-LGBTQ philosophy (BBC , 2016). According to Omar’s father, Mateen was angered after he saw a gay couple kissing in Miami. The event may have pushed Omar to act against the community through the shooting. That he was questioned in connection to terrorism in 2013 presents him as a domestic terrorist. However, allegiance to ISIS, according to a 911 call during the attack shows the influence of international terrorism. Even so, the attack, which targeted the LGBTQ shows that it was influenced more by the feelings of the perpetrated than the ISIS ideologies. The activity remains the deadliest mass shooting and terrorist attack since the 9/11.
International Terrorism
The September 11 2001 Attack
The September 11, 2001 attack was an international terrorist act. According to LaFree, et al. (2015), any terrorist activity sponsored or advanced by an international terrorist organization cross-border is termed an international terrorism. Shiraev (2016) further defines international terrorism as transnational terrorism activities involving terrorist groups or persons using violence or force to intimidate, cause fear, coerce, injure or kill people or destroy property in a country other than their host country. The 9/11 attack involved hijackers from the al Qaeda group, an international Islamic terrorist organization. The operation of the hijackers in the US by engineering an attack that killed 2992 in New York City, Pa, Arlington, Va., and Shanks Ville, and the Pentagon shows the impact of the international terrorism (Lafree, 2016). The intention of the attack was with in accordance with the definitions offered concerning terrorism. People died, property, destroyed, fear/panic caused, and thousands injured. The terrorist activity was, therefore, international terrorism.
Purpose, Objectives, and Method Used
The al Qaeda hijackers gained control of four commercial jets and crashed them into Pentagon, the twin towers, and a field in Pa. the explosion of the jets led to the deaths of almost 3000 people and the destruction of property. The main objective of al-Qaeda’s attack was to dismantle the influence of the US in the Middle East. The al-Qaeda asserted that the US supported crimes and attacks against Muslims in Somalia, Chechnya, Lebanon, and in Kashmir India and questioned the presence of the US Military in Saudi Arabia and sanctions against Iraq (Rajan, 2016). The attack was a way of showing intimidating the US. The group hoped to advance its ideologies into the country and minimize the influence of the US and other foreign governments in the Middle East and Muslim communities. The main ideology and another objective of the attack was that the West was fighting true Islam with the US being the leader in the process. The attack was advanced to trigger revolutions from the Muslim communities and Islamic States.
The Accuracy of Media Coverage
Arguments that the media under-reports certain terrorist activities and over-reports others cause concern and remain contentious issues for debate. According to England (2017), Muslims terrorists are fewer and commit less attacks compared to non-Muslims by attacks by Muslims are reported 4.5 times more than attacks by the non-Muslims. Additionally, the biased reporting of terrorism in the US, according to Betus, et al. (2017), makes Americans think of Islam when terrorism is mentioned. In the case of the 9/11 and the Orlando Shooting, the media coverage of the terrorist activities was extensive. The over-reporting of the two incidences may have been influenced by the media bias which over-reports terrorist attacks perpetrated by Muslims. However, apart from the over-reporting as compared to other attacks, the media reported the facts of the attacks accurately.
The Risk to National Security
International
and domestic terrorism pose significant national and international security. However,
domestic terrorism poses a greater risk to national security. According to the Los Angeles Times (2016), the US has recorded
increasing cases of domestic terrorist activities including mass shootings and other
attacks involving bombs and other methods. Since 2012, the country has recorded
almost ten mass shootings causing the death of numerous Americans. The
increasing cases of mass shooting and gun violence further enhance the risk of
domestic terrorism. On the other hand, the influence of international terrorism
in the US has decreased significantly since the September 11, 2001 attack. Therefore,
while the impact of the 9/11 attack was great, the risk of international
terrorism on national security has reduced. Domestic terrorism poses a greater risk
to national security considering the freedom of gun ownership. Guns are the
most used tools in carrying out domestic terrorism in the US.
Bibliography
BBC , 2016. Orlando nightclub shooting: How the attack unfolded. [Online]
Available at: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-36511778
[Accessed 29 March 2017].
Betus, A., Lemieux, A. & Kearns, E. M., 2017. Yes, the media do
underreport some terrorist attacks. Just not the ones most people think of. [Online]
Available at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2017/03/13/yes-the-media-do-underreport-some-terrorist-attacks-just-not-the-ones-most-people-think-of/
[Accessed 29 March 2017].
England, C., 2017. News media do under-report some terror attacks –
just not those involving Islamist extremists. [Online]
Available at: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/news-media-under-report-terror-attacks-islamist-extremists-muslims-donald-trump-fake-sweden-a7627601.html
[Accessed 29 March 2017].
FBI, 2016. Terrorism. [Online]
Available at: https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/terrorism
[Accessed 29 March 2017].
Lafree, G., 2016. The Handbook of the Criminology of Terrorism. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
LaFree, G., Dugan, L. & Miller, E., 2015. Putting Terrorism in Context: Lessons from the Global Terrorism Database. New York: Routledge.
Los Angeles Times, 2016. Deadliest U.S. mass shootings, 1984-2016. [Online]
Available at: http://timelines.latimes.com/deadliest-shooting-rampages/
[Accessed 29 March 2017].
Rajan, V. G. J., 2016. Al Qaeda’s Global Crisis: The Islamic State, Takfir and the Genocide of Muslims. New York: Routledge.
Shiraev, E., 2016. International Relations. New York: Oxford University Press.
