History and Motivators of Terrorism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

History and Motivators of Terrorism - Essay Example "In Nairobi, where the US Embassy was located in a congested downtown area, the attack killed 291 persons and wounded about 5,000. The bombing in Dar es Salaam killed 10 persons and wounded 77." (Homeland security: Attacks on US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, 2009). The death rate shows the intensity of the attack and the cruel mentality of the terrorists in killing the poor innocent people. When analysing these explosions, it is understood that those explosions were aimed at the Americans, working in the U.S. Embassies. The terrorists select different nations to execute their heinous mass killing by presenting lame excuses as comparing their activities to 'holy war'. It was with the U.S. embassy attacks the American Federal Bureau of Investigation began to suspect the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, Osama Bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri as the master planners of these attacks. It is after this attack, American Investigative agency placed Osama bin Laden on its Ten Most Wanted list. Followed with the embassy bombings, world identified many terrorist attacks including the 1996 attack in Saudi Arabia and World Trade Centre attack in September 11, 2001. The proposed paper is an attempt to find out whether the attacks of the different terrorist groups in different parts of the world are justifiable and to analyze the reality behind these attacks. It also analyses their claim, 'holy war'- whether their actions go with their motto. The U.S. security forces have identified the reason for the attack as the revenge of the terrorist groups for the American involvement in the banishment, and alleged torture, of four members of Egyptian Islamic Jihad who had conducted attacks in Egypt and were arrested in Albania. It was after this incident; some of the militant leaders were also arrested and send out of Egypt. These arrests caused for rousing a grudge of the militants against the Americans, and they waited for a response that ended in the U.S. Embassy attacks in East Africa and Kenya. "The Nairobi operation was named after the Holy Kaaba in Mecca; the Dar es Salaam bombing was called al-Aqsa, after the mosque in Jerusalem." (Al Qaeda's 1998 attacks on Africa, 2008). From their way of naming the attacks, it is identical of the importance they attribute those attacks. Their method of attack also shows the prominence in their planning and executing the attack. Most of the investigations reveal that the real aim of bin Laden was to tempt America to Afghanistan, as he was aware of the disagreement between America and the Taliban.Though one can justify the terrorism, as an effective tactic of the weaker to attain their needs through conflict, terrorism in the modern sense is contrary that it keeps its eye only in attacks. It is the secretive nature and the small size of the terrorist groups often prevents the security forces from taking proper action against terrorists. It is the same privilege that Laden and his followers enjoy, after different attacks and the killings of many innocent people. When actions are taken to prevent terrorism, it leads to conflict, making it a criminal activity. The so- called freedom fighters- terrorist groups mainly stood for the religious cause. They claimed that their race or the community should be the only community existing in the world; other religions should be rooted out. The same mentality is seen in the terrorists of the 1998 U.S. embassy attacks.