Terrorism in the Twenty-First Century

1. Philosohies and rules of war dictate that it is both sound and practical that groups with the same opponent and the same schema forge alliances or common supportive coexistence, and there is a very high probability that that dogma would be followed, considering the fact that terror group leaders are learned men.

But the question of having the same agenda is putting terrorism in a very general and pop culture perspective since the truth is that these types of militant extremists have, at some level, varying aims and goals. But another important point is the fact that these different groups can be brought together to act as one unit in a full scale operation. The best example of this tendency is the 9/11 bombing, described by the FBI a few days after the incident as a handiwork of an alliance of terrorists.

2. The pall of gloom that terrorism brought not just in the US but around the world is not just the threat to life, but as well as the threat to liberty. Because of the growing manhunt for suspected terrorists and the increased drive to take the upper hand and identify terrorists even before they can accomplish their missions, some elements of the law enforcement agencies are willing to overstep their boundaries marked by the exercise of individuals of their most basic human right, ready to trespass the domain of private communication with the use of many and all technologies available, including the Internet.

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Terror groups also found the use of Internet for their cause - ransom demands are telecast via video streaming while home made and improvised bombs know-how is just a few mouse clicks away. For this new problem, the solution may lie in old practices – kill the head of the serpent and the body ceases to be dangerous. The Internet should not be the target, as US knows it cannot afford to start a new war – even in cyberspace.

3. Michael Hamm reported that motor vehicle violations, counterfeiting, smuggling weapons of mass destruction and armed bank robbery, are several criminal acts terrorist participate in. The most common criminal action that terrorists do is the falsification of documents and forgery. Almost every terrorist who entered the country carries a false identification. This criminal act is very crucial in the operation of terrorist cells in the country since the first and most important part of a terrorist mission is the entry of a terrorist in a country or place wherein the terrorist action would take place. This is the reason why border officials are consistently monitoring the many entry and exit points of the country.

4. The most significant findings and information contained in the Hamm report is the moving away of the image of the mythical militant extremists to purely purist forms of terrorism from the true terrorists which is much less now conformed in the mold of idealist / hero into nothing more than a common criminal.

The implications for the criminal justice system of this newfound knowledge consist of the possible responsibility law enforcement and criminal justice elements when it comes to profiling active and prospective terrorists by investigating the offenses for they are in trial for. Hamm concluded how a certain set of criminal acts bend towards particular groups as its identifiable crime suspects and this newfound information can be utilized as another efficient tool to battle terrorism.

5. Both international and domestic terrorism presents a clear and urgent threat to the US, simply because a threat to even one single life is an important issue to the US government, or to any government for that matter. Domestic and international terrorism may have many similarities and differences which include M.O. (method of operation), financing, training, orientation, goals, aims and motivation, strength in numbers, leadership hierarchy. Intelligence network and arms and ammunitions supplies, terrorism still wears the same face and the government's efforts to counter it do not diminish based on the type of terror group it faces.

Terrorism and the government's fight against it is a microcosm of the proverbial battle of good versus evil; the truth is that there will always be a group of people who will try to use force and intimidation to achieve there cause. Terrorists might have a different name in the future, and the government which the people created is always tasked to battle a constant threat to life presented by another man as a result of differences in ideology.

References:

Hamm, M. S. (2005). Crimes Committed by Terrorist Groups: Theory, Research and

Prevention. US Department of Justice. Retrieved October 10, 2007, from

http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/211203.pdf

Schmid, A. (2005). Links between Terrorism and Drug Trafficking: A Case of “Narco

terrorism”. Retrieved October 10, 2007.

Sisk, R. and Smith, G. B. (2001). Feds Have Names Of 19 In Dark Alliance. The New York

Daily News. Retrieved October 10, 2007, from

http://www.fromthewilderness.com/timeline/2001/nydailynews091501.html

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