Name: Aamna Motala

Department: English

Course: Diplomacy; International Relations, Sir Faheem

Opinion: Why Terrorist Incidents are happening increasingly in the West

Sunday night in Las Vegas witnessed what is termed as the deadliest mass shooting in US history, with
more than 58 people killed and over 500 injured. This was a terror attack orchestrated by Stephen Craig
Paddock, a 64 year old American businessman. ISIS promptly claimed the attack, a move that stirred
disbelief and mockery amongst the public all over the world, especially the Muslim world where people
said that ISIS would falsely claim any terror attack to keep their fearmongering influence intact.
However, the question that arises is not whether it is ISIS, Al-Qaeda, KKK, some other terrorist group, or
some deranged individual carrying out the attacks – the question that arises is why these attacks are
occurring increasingly in the West.

The West is looked upon as a safe haven; developed countries with strong governments and crime
management that cannot be penetrated easily. But penetrated they have been, whether the West is
observed in the 70’s era or the post 9/11 era, terror attacks in the West never stopped. What concerns
the analysts and Western civilizations is the fact that the number of terrorist attacks in the West are
increasing. According to data retrieved from the Global Terrorism Database, the number of deadly terror
attacks in Europe and USA increased in 2016, even though globally, terrorist incidents dropped
(Reuters). And this increase is a full 650% increase from 2015’s records of the GTD (CNN). Terrorist
incidents in the West have become so common that people can name some off the top of their heads:
Paris attacks, Brussels bombings, Manchester bombing, Orlando shooting, London Bridge van attack, and
now, Las Vegas shooting.

The reasons behind these increased terrorist attacks are various – some are popular opinion held by the
public and some given by experts. The reasons can be categorized individually by region as well as
collective reasons behind all attacks, due to the changed dynamics of the modern world. In America
particularly, one of the major reasons for terrorist attacks has been America’s gun problem. Free,
unlicensed access to guns has given rise to a gun culture that desensitizes the people regarding shooting
people. People are quick to express aggression or jump to their “defense” too quickly – all of which
leads to gun attacks, of course. Another reason for terror attacks in the US has been the psychological
issues of Americans. More and more Americans are becoming mentally unstable and when that’s
coupled with the increasing fear and paranoia in the world, it leads to terror attacks. Mentally unstable
people with access to guns is a combined result of both reasons. Similarly, Europe has its own region-
centered reason for terrorism. According to popular opinion, Europe’s “Muslim problem” is why so
many terror attacks are occurring there. Europe is taking in refugees from grief-stricken lands like Syria
and Libya, and Europeans believe these people are contributing to the rise in terrorism. They believe
Muslims cannot assimilate and adapt in the European culture, facing a major culture shock. When this
culture shock is combined with their uncertain financial conditions and the discrimination they face, the
Muslims become defensive, and naturally, a number of them become radicals and extremists. However,
this is a cyclic system. The more Europeans believe this to be true, the more Muslims in Europe will feel
targeted and discriminated, becoming defensive in the process.

Looking at terrorism in the world from a historical-political perspective, the roots of terrorism can be
traced back to decades ago. Many experts directly call USA responsible for breeding terrorism in the
world. In 1980’s, the US, in its stance against USSR, supported the Mujahideen in Afghanistan and Al-
Qaeda. Even though by the mid-90’s USA’s support for Al-Qaeda was cut off, the experts believe the
damage was done. They had sown the seeds of terrorism and it was too easy for their fundamentalist
ideology to grow on its own, without USA’s support. Today, it remains a full debate whether these
Islamic terrorist groups are acting on their extremist ideology or are secretly being supported by USA for
its national interest and game of power. The West also faces backlash from these fundamentalist groups
for its involvement in the East. Terrorist organizations accuse the West of creating issues in places like
Bosnia, Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan, etc. and this accusation is not on the table, it is through hard force and
militant action, i.e. the carrying out of terrorist attacks in the name of retaliation.

All these individual and collective reasons combined make a complex, tangled web of terrorism that has
encompassed the West. The West’s political interference, rising xenophobia, discrimination, unsafe
laws, and paranoia all have create a major stimulant for terrorism, and it arises every now and then in
the result of a deadly attack.

The End

Note: Sir, while researching this I found an interesting book called Inside Al-Qaeda and the Taliban by
Saleem Shahzad, a Pakistani journalist who was murdered before this book was published. People say he
was killed because “he knew too much.”