International Terrorism Is Now Considered Term Paper

The 1993 World Trade Center parking lot bomb was attributed to Al Qaeda, although the terrorist organization denied any connection to it. The 1998 embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania, along with a 2000 bomb attack on a U.S. destroyer in Yemen have also been linked to bin Laden. More recently however, the 2004 Madrid train bombings and the 2005 attacks on London's subway and bus system are considered to be the work of Al Qaeda as well.

There is no precise manner to deal with the situation created by Al Qaeda. Any negotiation process would lack any usefulness because there are no common grounds for discussion. The claims of the group stand in total contradiction to all democratic values the western societies share. As terror groups and their proponents categorically refuse any such value, calling for a complete Islamic revolution, it is impossible to reach an agreement on even the basic elements needed to start a negotiation process.

Terrorism represents a truly unconventional threat which targets the U.S. constantly. In this context, it is hard to consider a different approach of the war on terror other than the one underway at the moment. However, there are certain elements in the theoretical discussion on terrorism that are miscalculated and overlooked by policy planners. On the one hand, an important element should be taken into account: the cultural differences between the groups exercising this type of violent pressure in order to reach certain goals, and their targets, that is the Western civilization. Taking into account the fact that there is no common ground to make reference to when trying to solve the differences peacefully, more attentions should be paid to the possibility of transforming the Western point-of-view to such an extent as to include the perspective offered by the terrorist groups.

On the other hand, however, it may be that the gap of communication and the continuously deteriorating situation in the war against terror may also be the lack of a proper perception of the terrorist phenomenon and its individual components. A deeper analysis of the groups that conduct terror acts against the state and an increased empathetic attitude would lead to finding a viable solution.

There have been numerous attempts to try to deal with the threats terrorism posses in today's world. In this sense it seems that the Middle East has become the most volatile region in the world from a security point-of-view.The causes for conflict in the area are hard to precisely identify, due to the various elements that have influenced the escalation of tension. However, from the readings of Jonathan White, a conclusion can be drawn, that there are many elements which must be taken into account when discussing terrorism, such as history of the place, the actual existing conflicts, the political power of the actors involved, repression, and even the media (White, 2001) in the Israel- Palestinian conflict, each of these elements, together with religion and cultural differences can play a role in maintaining and encouraging the conflict. It is form this point-of-view that I consider the existing war between the two sides cannot be ended without a political and social will to overcome such differences and to assume the possibility of cooperation between the Israeli people and the Palestinian one.

Overall, it can be said that terrorism has become a vital point of discussion among the political leaders because it affects the societies targeted by the actions it encompasses, as well as the conduct of foreign policy which must be drafted in the context of an invisible war against terror. However, Islamic groups such as Hamas, Hezbollah and the Islamic Jihad, along with the PKK maintain their relatively nation related activities. On the other hand, Al Qaeda has become a global phenomenon. Therefore, peace cannot be reached until such perpetrators are punished. In the Palestinian conflict nonetheless, the conditions on the site would suggest a contrary attitude, one leaned towards diplomacy and cultural acceptance and cohabitation.

References

Al Qaeda. The Council on Foreign Relations. 7 July, 2005. 16 Nov. 2007. http://www.cfr.org/publication/9126/

Cerrah, Ibrahim. "The stance of a democratic society against terrorism: Turkey's approach." The Journal of Turkish Weekly. 2006. 11 November 2007 http://www.turkishweekly.net/comments.php?id=2061

Donovan, Michael. "Palestinian Islamic Jihad." Terrorism Project. April 19, 2002. 16 Nov. 2007 http://www.cdi.org/terrorism/pij.cfm

Federation of American Scientists. The Kurds in Turkey. 2007. 16 Nov. 2007 http://www.fas.org/asmp/profiles/turkey_background_kurds.htm

Morgan, Matthew J. "The Origins of the New Terrorism." Parameters. Spring 2004.

Pina, Aaron D. "Fatah and Hamas: the New Palestinian Factional Reality." CRS Report for Congress. 2006. 16 Nov. 2007 http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RS22395.pdf

Westcott, Kathryn. "Who are Hezbollah?" BBC World News. 4 April 2002. 16 Nov. 2007 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/1908671.stm

White, Jonathan. Terrorism and Homeland Security: An Introduction. New York: Wadsworth Publishing, 2001......