Politics/Policies on Terrorism

Politics/Policies on Terrorism

Terrorism and the threat thereof have been around for many years. On September 11, 2001 terrorism entered the center stage of American citizens and citizens of other countries as well. On that day the United States realized just how vulnerable they were to extremist groups. Part of the insurmountable job of fighting terror is the difficulty in defining terrorism.

According to David Whittacker (2012, p. 1) there are many different definitions for terrorism: “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.” This definition is one from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and each such as the Department of Defense and the US state Department all have their own definitions for terrorism. James Fallows(2005) writes that “..terrorism takes its name not from violence but from the emotion violence provokes”. Author Stephen Nathanson writes in Crotty’s “The Politics of Terror” that “unclear definitions in terrorism impair any attempts to contend with it”. The one thing all the definitions have in common is that terrorism is a violence that is a threat to people and property. At the time of the attack on September 11th, 2001 George W. Bush was president of the United States. Immediately after the attack President Bush ordered a “Global War on Terror.”

The Administration after the September 11. 2001 made changes to the policies and procedures towards terrorism. Security was strengthened as war was waged on terrorism and the people who led the attacks. The Bush Doctrine became the default counterterrorism policy. Based on four principles it states: the government makes no concessions or agreements with terrorists, terrorist must be brought to justice for their crimes, states that sponsor terrorist and terrorism must be isolated and pressured so as to force a change of...