The word terrorism has never had a definite definition. In fact experts on terrorism argue that if anybody came out with a true definition of terrorism, covering all its important aspects and features, it would still be rejected for ideological reasons. A definition of terrorism would mean the end of the journey towards terrorism. The U.S.A has four definitions and every department has a definition suiting its purpose. In general we can say that terrorism resides in the eye of the beholder. The question that arises from this is why do they differ? (Al-Qaida Definition 2009).
It should be noted that even terrorists themselves do not agree that they are terrorists. Definitions are based on three factors, the means employed by the terrorists, the reason for being a terrorist, and to what basis it is built. However terrorism is defined, there is a reason to fight it under those definitions. The more the definitions, the more the means of fighting and the more resources are assigned to the war. (Komerath 2002).
Terrorism did not begin with the bombing of Libya, or the bombing of the American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, and the September 11 attacks in the U.S.A. It began long time ago. There have been organizational changes in the way different terrorist groups are run. For example in the early 1960’s, many of the terrorist groups were made of males and females who were flexible, college-educated and well trained. They were also made of people who would speak several languages and who could execute duty in various parts of the world without major problems. People who were well-traveled and of youthful age, People who were able to adjust to change and still complete a mission even if the changes were made at the last minute. Examples of such groups are the Japanese Red Army, the weather underground, and the Symbionese liberation army. (Francais 2003).
If we consider today’s groups, we will encounter people who are not skilled, illiterate, undisciplined, poor, and ill-trained men, both young and old. Some are refugees from other countries who have very little knowledge of politics. Majorities are not even criminals and are not willing to engage in suicidal activities. They are poor people who can only participate in little activities like bank robbery. This is to the disadvantage of the organizations. They lack manpower and can not execute duties adequately and on time. There is also a great change in the size of the terrorist groups. Their sizes have increased due to increase in population and technological advances. This means that controlling them is a challenge and sometimes their plans are aborted due to lack of secrecy.
For these organizations to run there has to be some funds. Originally some states used to sponsor some organizations in what is commonly known as state-sponsored terrorism. Today this is lacking and the organizations use different means to raise money. Narcotic trafficking, alien smuggling, political corruption, and insider trading are some of the ways of raising money. However, the most outstanding way to raise money is through money transfer. For example, one of the most known methods the terrorists use for this is the Hawala money operating system. A Hawala agent in one country, who is a terrorist, in this case, corresponds to another Hawala in a different country. Customers can send money through these agents at cheaper rates than the banks. The two Hawalas will settle their transactions through the balancing of the transactions or other ways. Through this, the terrorist organizations get funds for their operations. (Jost 2001).
Terrorists are not secret organizations as many of us think. Groups like Al-Qaeda and the jihadist networks will admit to their activities. Their origin dates from the early 1980s. Al-Qaeda was developed by Osama Bin Laden and others in early 1980 to support the war effort in Afghanistan against the soviets. Their resulting victory gave rise to the overall terrorist movements. Trained fighters from Afghanistan began returning to their countries where they organized groups. This antagonism began to be refocused against the U.S. and its allies. In general, terrorists are here with us and everywhere with humanity. All humankind, even the terrorists, dream of a day when peace shall abide and war and terrorism shall be a thing of the past. (Narayanan 2009).
References
Narayanan k, (2009), “The Incredible Legend of Al Qaida”. Security research review. Web.
Al-Qaida Definition, Webster’s Dictionary online. 2009.
Komerath, N. (2002) “Pakistani Role in Terrorism against the United States”. Bharat Rakshak Monitor – Volume 5(2) Web.
Francais, V. (2003) ’Terrorism: The Problems of Definition”. 2009. Web.
Jost, P. (2001) Hawala and underground Terrorist Financing mechanisms. 2009. Web.