Terrorism - Short Essay 3

Terrorism
          Terrorism is the systematic use of terror or unpredictable violence against governments, publics, or individuals, to attain a political objective. Terrorism, the cowardly demon, has haunted Americans as well as the world for years. What is terrorism? What does it involve? Who does it involve? In my mind, terrorism is evil, horror, and violence. It is the cruelty of killing mass numbers of people for illogical reasons. The Encyclopedia of Britannica describes terrorism as, "the systematic use of terror or unpredictable violence against governments, publics, or individuals, to attain a political objective." The FBI further describes it as either being, "domestic or international terrorism; domestic terrorism being the illegal or threatened use of violence and international terrorism being violent acts dangerous to human life." Clear, precise, and factual; yes. But emotionally correct, no. Terrorism has struck all through history and around the world. In the 19th century, Western Europeans, Russians, and Americans adopted terrorism, and believed that the best way to get what they wanted was to assassinate people holding high positions of power. In the 20th century, terrorism went through some great changes. The use of new technology such as automatic weapons and electrically bursting explosives encouraged terrorists to act violently and provided them with an easier way of attacking. At the time, attacks were mainly from groups trying to undermine or overthrow existing political institutions. However, today terrorism exists with different causes and purposes in mind.
          Terrorism went from numerous attacks in the 20th century, to less frequent but more destructive assaults in the 21st century. The threat of terrorism has now become more deadly. Over the past couple years; terrorists have developed new tricks, such as portable bombs, suicide operatives, and weapons of mass destruction. These have been known to result in hundreds, not to say...