The world today is facing several socio-economical problems some of which include corruption, unemployment, and terrorism just to mention a few. Terrorism is defined as the coordinated use of fear as a way of compulsion. It is a practice that has been widely used by opinionated individuals and organizations to promote their demands and goals. The main feature of terrorism is the use of brutality against opponents with the aim of exposing a certain group, sect, or entity. This paper looks at the hurdles experienced by international cooperation in combating terrorism.
It is agreed that the present day terrorism has taken a different dimension all together. Terrorists have turned to the use of sophisticated weapons and techniques thus making it difficult to stop terrorism (Tuck, 1999). A report conducted by the United States of America indicated that the present day terrorists are self funded and freely arranged in global associations. This makes it difficult for international cooperation to deal with terrorists given their large numbers and the fact that corporations operating in the targeted regions fund them. The Islamic groupings have been of global concern in most nations including the United States of America. The ever-increasing political chipping in of revolutionary Islamic parties in most of the overseas nations is also something of worry. This is an indication that terrorism is getting to the roots of many nations thus becoming difficult to deal with.
In addition to this, terrorist associations have been noted to escalate in cross-national connections. The associations are responsible for training of the terrorist forces, transferring skills, and issuance of political instructions. For instance, the Al Qaeda group has links touching on several Islamic nations across the globe. With this linkage, terrorists have a strong bond that has proven difficult for international cooperation to break. It is also important to note that a larger group of the terrorists in the world today is from the Middle East and Islam related nations. The Middle East and its environs generate high income from oil mining most of which is used in funding terrorists. Despite the much effort that has been put to curb terrorism, the issue of their funding has been a major hurdle.
This is because of the fact that it is difficult for the terrorists to go down given the much support they get in terms of funding. The issue of holy war also comes in as another hurdle for combating terrorism. As mentioned earlier in the paper, a higher percentage of the total terrorists are Muslims. Muslims are known to believe in holy war, which is known as Jihad. This means that they are ready to be suicide bombers as well as carry out other terrorists attacks in targeted nations (Scheider and Davis, 2009). With this strong belief, it becomes hard to convince Muslim terrorists to stop terrorism. A high number of observers have also indicated that terrorists associations take advantage of the political and fiscal instabilities in the Middle East thus recruiting high number of terrorists.
Despite being a global issue, it is clear that most nations have tried to eliminate terrorism. The anti-terrorism strategy of the United States of America emphasizes on curbing the problem of terrorism in America and other nations. This has seen the putting in place of security measures to govern the borders of most nations in a bid to prevent terrorism.
Reference List
Scheider, B., and Davis, J. (2009). Avoiding the abyss: progress, shortfalls, and the way ahead in combating the WMD threat. London: Greenwood Publishing Group.
Tuck, M. (1999). Rights of War & Peace. Oxford: Oxford University Press.