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Terrorism is the systematic use of terror or unpredictable violence against governments, publics, or individuals, to attain a political objective. It evolved from numerous attacks in the 20th century, to less frequent but more destructive assaults in the 21st century.

What is terrorism? What does it involve? Who does it involve? In my mind, terrorism is, "evil, horror, and violence. It is the cruelty of killing mass numbers of people for illogical reasons." The Encyclopedia of Britannica describes terrorism as, "the systematic use of terror or unpredictable violence against governments, publics, or individuals, to attain a political objective." The FBI further describes it as either being, "domestic or international terrorism; domestic terrorism being the illegal or threatened use of violence within the United-states or without foreign direction in furtherance of political or social objectives; and international terrorism being violent acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United-States, or any state." Clear, precise, and factual; yes. But emotionally correct, no.

Terrorism has struck all through history and around the world. Even in ancient Roman times, emperors such as Tiberius and Caligula dealt with terrorism by using banishment, and execution towards those who opposed their rule. Later in the 1860's a terrorist group called the Ku Klux Klan was formed by Southerners to terrify former slaves and prevent them from voting or run for office. In the 19th century, Western Europeans, Russians, and Americans adopted terrorism, and believed that the best way to get what they wanted was to assassinate people holding high positions of power.

In the 20th century, terrorism went through some great changes. The use of new technology such as automatic weapons and electrically bursting explosives encouraged terrorists to act violently and provided them with an easier way of attacking. At...