Terrorism, Research Paper Example

Introduction

Terrorism has become a global war in which no country is immune.  The IRA has waged a campaign in Britain that lasted over 125 years; the Basque Separatist movement has carried out a terrorist campaign with Spain.  The Palestinian and Islamist Jihadist movements are the latest in a long line of terrorist activities.  The danger is that they now have a longer reach and threaten other countries with nuclear and biological weapons.  Only through a united international campaign will the threat ultimately be defeated.

This paper considers whether, psychology, motivation and personality in the composition of terrorists historically are reflected in the ethos of  modern day terrorists.   Further how the military respond to these threats.

Military intervention

Recent historical events illustrate that counter terrorism efforts, as resulting from a military response, have been largely ineffectual.  Most of these types of conflict situations tend to drag on for years without resulting in any definitive solutions. Military campaigns by the USA in both Iraq and Afghanistan being prime examples.  The cost of the military campaigns is huge in terms of loss of life, monetary expenditure and diverting resources to meet the needs of the military campaign.  Recent events in Syria illustrate that even the United Nations is incapable of agreeing a joint military response from the different nations that it represents.  It is considered that direct military intervention does not achieve the longer term objectives and that a new approach and direction is required

Psychology of the Terrorist

Terrorists look for platforms that will provide them the maximum amount of media exposure in order to gain publicity for their demands.  This often looks at venues where people tend to congregate in mass and as such allows them the maximum potential for damage and killing power.  Past events have indicated Sporting Arenas, Olympic Games venues,  Airport and Railway stations are preferred viable targets.

Terrorism is not a new concept and there has not been a great deal in change of emphasis over history. The ideology of terrorism was defined in the saying ‘ one person’s terrorist is another person’s freedom fighter’ illustrating the two perspectives or different lens you may observe this from.  Horgan[1] stated that people receptive towards acts of terrorism demonstrated certain specific traits, for example:  (i) they often feel isolated, alienated or disenfranchised that results in extreme feelings of anger (ii) They have lost faith in the political system to meet the reformations they  feel are required and as such not empowered to make radical changes (iii) they are victims of a social injustice and need to take a positive stance or action to remedy the problem (iv)  Governments and state control are not immune from violence or action being taken against them.  (Horgan).

Most terrorist groups can be identified by their political background or ideology and tend to fall into one of the following groupings : (i) National separatist (ii) Religious fundamentalist (iii) New Religion or (iv) Social Revolutionary.  Terrorism also arises from multiple sources that include political, economic, social and religious extremism.  The psychology of brainwashing applies by certain politically motivated  individuals convincing others by means of coercion and reward.  The concept of martyring yourself for a religious cause and such a just cause will be rewarded by God in paradise.  This really plays to the disenchanted and alienated members of society who are unhappy with their lot.  This type of manipulation is used by such terrorist groups as Al Qaeda.

It was Eric Erikson who developed one of the leading theories in personality development, within the field of psychology. His theory had similarities to the views expressed by Sigmund Freud who also believed that personality developed in stages. At the core of Erikson’s theories were that of ‘ego identity’ and our personal sense of self-awareness obtained through social interaction. (Harder).  This best examined by the personality profile of Bin Laden who was described as being ‘unprincipled narcissist syndrome’  “the narcissist’s arrogant sense of self-worth, exploitative indifference to the welfare of others, and grandiose expectation of special recognition with the antisocial personality’s self-aggrandizement, deficient social conscience, and disregard for the rights of others” (Immelman)

Modernity of Terrorism

One of the striking features of modern day terrorism is the access to technology that makes the event have a huge impact internationally.  This supported by a world news coverage and sophisticated communications means they can get their message over to a vast audience. Despite this they still revert to old methods like suicide bombers.  A most revealing report was produced by the Rand Corporation – ‘How Terrorist Groups End’ and centered on military responses to the Al Qaida threats.  Most telling is that military responses only accounted for some 7% of resolution in response to military responses whereas as 40% was by more effective policing and 43% by political dialogue.  Even today we are seeing the military response in Afghanistan failing and ultimately the leaders stating that this must be a political settle meet with the Taliban terrorist regime. (Rand Corporation).

The Military is essentially directed from the Government. In the USA the President, as Commander in Chief of the Military, initiates responses through Congress.  In the UK the Ministry of Defence acts through Parliament.  The ultimate legitimacy comes from the terrorist regimes to recognise the international voice from the United Nations in terms of the Security Council. The right of veto within the UN Security Council by the permanent members can prevent a military response and lead only to economic sanctions.  So short term military engagements are not always viewed as the most viable option from an international perspective. (UN Security Council).

Military psychology response to terrorism

Most of the Military assumption is based upon the single premise that ‘you cannot negotiate with terrorists’ and this slides nicely into the justification for a military response.  The concept of using overwhelming force, as demonstrated in regime change in Iraq, only results in short term gains. The longer term of dealing with the aftermath of a military campaign can take decades to resolve and even then there is no guarantee of eliminating the terrorist threat.   Military intervention has been necessary to remove these dictators in order to restore proper Government to the people.  This has not been without tremendous cost as witnessed in both Libya and Iraq and it remains questionable whether military intervention achieves the longer term political goals.

The terrorist regime of the Taliban in Afghanistan is an ancient tribal people that seek shelter and are supported by neighboring Pakistan (although this line could be argued).  They are in the act of terrorism because they believe they are freedom fighters fighting for legitimate control of their country (another point of potential dispute).  Owing to their extensive knowledge of the terrain they move around freely creating havoc with the coalition troops that support what they see as a puppet and corrupt government placed by the Western powers.  They are motivated by both religious fervour (Islamic) and the need to remove the infidels from their land.  This thinking has been deeply indoctrinated within the psychic thought.  It is passed down through the generations and as such creates an insurmountable object to change.  This in addition poses a tremendous cost burden to the western coalition forces.

There is no doubt that the costs of the Iraq war have held a tremendous burden on the US economy – the full economic costs of the war to the American taxpayers and the overall U.S. economy go well beyond even the immense federal budget costs already reported. Since the start of the war in 2003 the costs of the way have continued to escalate on an annual basis. This has far exceeded the budget of the US Administration.  The burden to the American taxpayer has also increased dramatically. Perhaps the most troublesome aspect of this is the amount of monies that get divested in both Afghanistan and Iraq instead of being diverted into the US domestic economy in terms of improving industrial development and the health system.

CONCLUSION

The old ideologies of terrorism have been sustained over thousands of years in the Middle East which is fueled by tribalism within a fundamentalist view of Islam.  The key to resolving this is by Education and inclusivism with the context of the global community. In addition a refraining of political and military intervention without planned consent through the United Nations.

Works Cited

Harder, A. Developmental stages of Erikson. 2011. 1 1 2012. <: http://www.learningplaceonline.com/stages/organize/Erikson.htm>.

Horgan, John. The Psychology of Terrorism. New York: Routledge, 2005.

Immelman, Aubrey. Unit for the Study of Personality in Politics. 2002. http://www1.csbsju.edu/uspp/Research/binLadenProfile.html. 25 7 2012.

Rand Corporation. How Terrorist Groups End. 10 3 2012. <http://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RB9351/index1.html>.

UN Security Council. UN Action to counter terrorism. 10 3 2012. <http://www.un.org/terrorism/securitycouncil.shtml>.

[1] John Horgan PhD at Pennsylvania State University