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Respected Judges and my friends…Thank you very much for giving me this opportunity to debate on terrorism.Before going in-depth I would like to elaborate what is Terrorism?Terrorism is not new, and even though it has been used since the beginning of recorded historyit can be relatively hard to define. Terrorism has been described variously as both a tactic andstrategy; a crime and a holy duty; a justified reaction to oppression and an inexcusableabomination. Obviously, a lot depends on whose point of view is being represented. Terrorismhas often been an effective tactic for the weaker side in a conflict. As an asymmetric form of conflict, it confers coercive power with many of the advantages of military force at a fraction of the cost. Due to the secretive nature and small size of terrorist organizations, they often offer opponents no clear organization to defend against or to deter.That is why preemption is being considered to be so important. In some cases, terrorism hasbeen a means to carry on a conflict without the adversary realizing the nature of the threat,mistaking terrorism for criminal activity. Because of these characteristics, terrorism has becomeincreasingly common among those pursuing extreme goals throughout the world. But despite itspopularity, terrorism can be a nebulous concept.The United States Department of Defense defines terrorism as “the calculated use of unlawfulviolence or threat of unlawful violence to inculcate fear; intended to coerce or to intimidategovernments or societies in the pursuit of goals that are generally political, religious, or ideological.” Within this definition, there are three key elements—violence, fear, and intimidation—and each element produces terror in its victims. The FBI uses this: "Terrorism is the unlawfuluse of force and violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, thecivilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives." TheU.S. Department of State defines "terrorism" to be "premeditated politically-motivated violenceperpetrated against non-combatant targets by sub-national groups or clandestine agents,usually intended to influence an audience.Terrorism is a criminal act that influences an audience beyond the immediate victim. Thestrategy of terrorists is to commit acts of violence that .draws the attention of the local populace,the government, and the world to their cause. The terrorists plan their attack to obtain thegreatest publicity, choosing targets that symbolize what they oppose. The effectiveness of theterrorist act lies not in the act itself, but in the public’s or government’s reaction to the act. For example, in 1972 at the Munich Olympics, the Black September Organization killed 11 Israelis,the 9/11 Twin Tower destruction killed 2000 innocent American, and the recent 26/11 Mumbaiattack sponsored by Pakistan killed 193 innocent civilians and so on.There are three perspectives of terrorism: the terrorist’s, the victim’s, and the general public’s.The phrase “one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter” is a view terrorists themselveswould accept. Terrorists do not see themselves as evil. They believe they are legitimatecombatants, fighting for what they believe in, by whatever means possible. A victim of a terroristact sees the terrorist as a criminal with no regard for human life. The general public’s view is themost unstable. The terrorists take great pains to foster a “Robin Hood” image in hope of swayingthe general public’s point of view toward their cause. This sympathetic view of terrorism hasbecome an integral part of their psychological warfare and needs to be countered vigorously.Having said that I would like to draw few lines on The Effects of TerrorismTerrorism has occurred throughout history, but today the world is experiencing a global rebirth of attacks. Today it no longer affects only small societies, such as isolated third world countrieswho fell victim to regular terrorist attacks, but the whole world is becoming more familiar withArab and Muslim names. The terrorist violence that is on the rise today has informed citizen all
 
over the world about different types of terrorism. Also with the resurgence the world isexperiencing of terrorism, the Nation's have been to do what they can to eliminate terrorism.Terrorism can be defined as "the deliberate creation of fear to bring out political change."(dictionary.com) All terrorist acts involve violence or the threat of violence. These violent acts areusually committed by nongovernmental groups or individuals who are either part of or officiallyserving in the military, law enforcement agencies, intelligence agencies, or other governmentalagencies of an established nation. Terrorists attempt not only to create panic but also to weakenconfidence in the government and the political leadership of the target country. Terrorismtherefore is designed to have psychological effects that reach farther beyond the impact on theimmediate victims of an attack. Terrorists mean to frighten and therefore scare a wider crowd,such as a rival ethnic or religious group, an entire country and its political control, or the entireinternational community. Terrorist groups are generally small and have few members, limitedfirepower, and other resources. For this reason they rely on intense bloody and destructive actsof hit-and-run violence to attract attention to their group and their cause. Through the media theyare able to create a larger voice for themselves and create hostilities among people."A terrorist is a criminal who seeks publicity. This sets him far apart from what British officials inNorthern Ireland have taken to calling the ODC, or Ordinary Decent Criminal, whounderstandably shuns the limelight. They require publicity. It is their lifeblood. If the media werenot there to report terrorist acts and to explain their political and social significance (the motivesinspiring them and so fourth) terrorism as such would cease to exist"What has caused terrorism can be a mystery for many reactionary groups, but for other groupsthe main causes can be historical, cultural, religious, economic, social, and psychological.Generally democratic countries have been proven to be grounds for terrorism because of theopen nature of their societies. In such societies people have fundamental rights, civil libertiesare protected, and government control and constant surveillance of the people and their activities are absent. Also by through the same reasons repressive societies, where thegovernment closely monitors citizens and restricts their speech and movement, have oftenprovided more difficult environments for terrorists. But even countries with strict police-enforcedlaws have not been immune to terrorism, even though they limit civil liberties and are againstfree speech and rights of assembly.One the most commonly seen forms of terrorism have been Suicide terrorism, other wise knownas psychological warfare. "While suicide bombers are often portrayed as lone mad zealots, theyare in fact pawns in large terrorist networks that wage calculated psychological warfare.(National Center for Policy Analysis) The suicide bombers often do die while attempting their terrorist acts, hence the name, but the bombers do wish to live to see how the tragedy hasaffected their victims. The wide range use of suicide terrorism is because it is simple and low-cost, guarantees mass casualties, guarantees the act will succeed, suicide bombers have nofear to surrender information, and the intense impact on the media. "The relatively high number of casualties guaranteed in such attacks, which are usually carried out in crowded areas,ensures full media coverage. Thus, suicide terrorism ranks with other spectacular modusoperandi such as blowing up airplanes in mid air or the use of Weapons of Mass Destruction asa sure means to win maximum effect." (National Center for Policy Analysis) Some of the mostrecent act of suicide terrorism in the U.S. was the September 11th attacks on the World TradeCenter in New York. Suicide Bombers hijacked two planes full of fuel and used them as missilesinto the Twin Towers, Killing everyone aboard the two planes and collapsing the towers. Thissuicide attack is the worst act of terrorism ever committed on US soil. This type of terrorism hasbeen around for many years and dates back to the 18th century.The effects that chemical and biological weapons have had on US troops started after thePersian Gulf. When the end of the war came and tens of thousands of troops returned homethey came down with an illness. The symptoms included chronic fatigue, severe joint pain andheadaches, intestinal track problems, internal bleeding, and memory loss. These symptomshave been classified as "Gulf War Syndrome." The veterans were told they were suffering from
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