Terrorism: Not an Easy Definition

Terrorism is a major world problem that affects every person regardless of age, gender, race, ethnicity, economic status, or any other variable. Terrorism is a fluid, ever changing type of mechanism that is utilized by individuals or groups to gain or keep power. The targets of these terrorists are usually innocent people. Terrorism has been defined in many different ways throughout time and what people considered terrorism thousands of years ago might not be considered terrorism today. Defining terrorism is like trying to define an abstract piece of art: everyone will see it in a different way.

The definition of terrorism is very important here because it gives us perspective on how people viewed these acts during these times and places. The world has no consensus on what exactly constitutes a terrorist; this might be due to cultural differences, differences of opinion, religious values and so on. An example of the different views of terrorism can be summed up by the phrase, “One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom-fighter” which means quite simply that not all acts of terrorism will be seen the same way, even if there is innocent blood spilt. Another example is within the United States government and the different definitions of terrorism that the C.I.A. and F.B.I. have.

The F.B.I. and the C.I.A. have similar but different definitions of terrorism. The C.I.A. defines terrorism as “premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents” (C.I.A., 2011). The F.B.I. defines terrorism as “the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof in furtherance of political or social objectives” (F.B.I., 2011). If our own top counter-terrorism agencies don’t have the same definitions, then how is the world supposed to agree on what constitutes a terrorist? Would you expect a Pakistani Muslim to have the same definition of terrorism as an American Protestant?

Picture what a terrorist looks like. What are they wearing? How do they speak? Are you thinking of Joseph Stalin or Adolph Hitler? The majority of people in the United States today would think of a Middle Eastern or Arab person when they thought of a terrorist, but religious terrorism is only the newest form of terrorism. While the religious form of terrorism is horrible, the most lethal form of terrorism has, in the past, came in the form of state ran terrorism.

There are two state ran terrorist organizations that stand out among the rest: Joseph Stalin and Adolph Hitler. Hitler was the architect of the Holocaust, which was the systematic extermination of the Jews and all other non-Aryan persons. One of Stalin’s crimes was The Great Purge and it is explained by Adam Jones (2002) as “tens of millions of ordinary individuals were executed or imprisoned in labor camps that were little more than death camps.” So we shouldn’t make the mistake of defining what makes a “terrorist” based solely on the current Islamic extremists in the Middle East. It is imperative that we realize that terrorism has many forms and not turn a blind eye to the horrors of the past. 

References

C.I.A. Central Intelligence Agency. Terrorism FAQs. Retrieved September 16^th 2011 from https://www.cia.gov/news-information/cia-the-war-on-terrorism/terrorism-faqs.html

F.B.I. Federal Bureau of Investigation. What We Investigate. Retrieved September 17^th 2011 from http://www.fbi.gov/albuquerque/priorities

Jones, Adam. Gendercide. 2002. Case Study: Stalin's Purges. Retrieved September 17^th 2001 from http://www.gendercide.org/case_stalin.html