Terrorism and the War on Terror

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Philosophy 111-003 15 December 2011 Terrorism and the War on Terror The War on Terror is characterized as a fundamentally different type of war than previous and more traditional conflicts. The War on Terror is a military effort to eliminate terrorism as well as the funding of terrorist cells throughout the world. The primary goals of this war are to find and eliminate terrorists and ultimately end terrorism, with the initial targets being the Taliban and Al-Queda. A precise definition of terrorism has proven to be rather controversial, various government agencies and legal systems tend to have different definitions. After numerous readings and film viewing on the topic of terrorism throughout this course I believe I can define terrorism as premeditated, deliberate, systematic murder, as well as threats aimed at people or property to intimidate and create fear for political ends. I believe that terrorism in most cases will be argued against. Innocent people are usually the ones being targeted in the majority of the terrorist acts that I am familiar with. Furthermore, acts of terror can bring retaliated acts of terror back to the aggressor and innocent civilians will always be caught in the middle. However, terrorists can argue that their methods are ethical and just to right wrongs due to political and social injustices. For instance; when people have been stripped of their rights or land, resorting to terrorism could be the only effective means to bring change. Many nations live in hunger or poverty—particularly the Third World countries—and see few options other than violent acts of terrorism to get the attention of the media in hopes of making their world better. After the attacks of September 11, Osama bin Laden, founder of Al-Queda, felt that the land of his people is being stripped by oppressive U.S. military forces simply by occupying the holy lands of
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