- NEW!
by Brian I on August 29th, 2010
An inability to achieve the desired aims by political means - the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa and the republican movements in Ireland as a couple of examples.
by Anonymous on August 29th, 2010
Terrorism is a political act.
In the case of 9/11, the terrorists that day were acting out against decades of US foreign policy in the middle east.
by DA BEN DAN yanggui zi on August 29th, 2010
religion and greed
by Brian I on November 13th, 2009
An inability to achieve the desired results by normal political means. Remember, there have been all sorts of people regarded as terrorists in the past who later came to be regarded as statesmen - the supreme example being Nelson Mandela.
by Mephistopheles on August 29th, 2010
War is the rich man's way of waging terrorism. Terrorism is the poor people's way of waging war.
by extremist on August 29th, 2010
Poverty and Ignorance!
by Moongrim on November 13th, 2009
A determination to be right. No matter the cost to others.
by Talimze on November 13th, 2009
Desperation. Generally, if one opposing force is significantly weaker than the other, it will do whatever it can to win. Terrorism just happens to be a cheap and effective way to level the playing field.
by Old School on August 29th, 2010
"One man's Terrorist is another man's Freedom Fighter"
Imagine a world where the government of Saudi Arabia essentially purchased a theocratic dictatorship in the United States.
Now imagine if 15 Americans had managed to hijack some airliners and fly them into the Abraj Al Bait Towers.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraj_Al_Bait_Towers
Americans would be dancing in the streets and praising those hijackers as heroes.
Terrorism is a TACTIC, not a goal. You might just as well ask what causes infantry assaults or tactical air strikes.
by Dibley on August 29th, 2010
Muslims.
by Mike81069 on August 29th, 2010
Ignorance.
by Old School on November 16th, 2009
There is no 'cause' of terrorism any more than there is a 'cause' of artillery barrages, tank assaults, or precision laser-guided bombing by stealth aircraft.
Terrorism is a >>>>>TACTIC<<<<, not a philosophy, or a state of mind, or a political movement.
by urk on November 13th, 2009
Sexual repression.
by Anonymous T on November 13th, 2009
Desperation and Oppression. When You have a large
organisation such as a government against Yourself,
there is no other way than going partisan.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partisan_(military)
.
Please read this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Definition_of_terrorism
.
Mostly the use of the term "terrorism" depends only
upon whether it is supported by a government
organisation or not. I.e. governments organisation
can be terrorists who are not "terrorists", but
people not related to that government are always
"terrorists". It's common that resistance movements
against an overwhelming occupant are called "terrorists".
.
It's a political term that has been abused by
politicians as a form of brainwashing and
self-interest.
by Eurotrashbash on November 13th, 2009
Desperate times call for desperate measures.
Terrorists are not evil my any means.
"Terrorists" are heroes for fighting those who hide behind government. The government cheats, steals, and kills for personal wealth.
9-11 was NOTHING compared to what the world powers have done to Muslim countries.
America and Israel bomb HOUSES with children inside.
by TWIST on November 13th, 2009
A lack of funds. If terrorists had more money, they would be an army.
by emptydepth on August 29th, 2010
hatred, intolerane, and dare i say religion and the shit storm that it causes
by kat on August 29th, 2010
Insainity
by Jim in a Nautilus COAT on November 16th, 2009
I'm certainly no Bible thumper, but the Bible says the root of all evil is the lust for Mammon. I have never found that wisdom to fail.
Mammon means riches, avarice, and worldly gain.
by Theby on November 16th, 2009
Injustice - to the terrorists.
by Legend In Your Own Mind on November 16th, 2009
terrorism
n : the calculated use of violence (or threat of violence)
against civilians in order to attain goals that are
political or religious or ideological in nature; this is
done through intimindation or coercion or instilling fear
[syn: act of terrorism, act}]
It's a poor mans war usually, but we use it too under the definitions of the word. Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were terrorist acts under the dictionary definition. We killed off tens of thousands of civilian Japanese to end WWII. Call it anything you want, but it fits the definition. The Emperor didn't want Tokyo leveled to complete rubble and neither did anyone else..
by Stranger in a Strange Land on November 16th, 2009
Terrorism is a way for the weak to hit back at the strong. The whole point of terrorism is to provoke a response from the targeted power. The terrorist hopes that the response from the target will make its citizens discontented and thus lead to the powers eventual downfall. The Bush/Cheney "New Normal" response plays right into the hands of the al-Qaeda types; Americans are getting pissed off at their government eroding liberties and privacy. (sorry, out of points)
by celticmoonlight on September 15th, 2010
by 23Skidoo on August 30th, 2010
Terrorism the a tactic, similar to military tactics, used to make a point or achieve an and.
It's employed by the weaker of the sides involved.
For instance, the carpet bombing used against civilian population centers in WWII was first employed by the Allies against Dresden. It was later adopted by the Axis against London. Though many thousands of non-combatants including children were indiscriminately and quite intentionally killed in horrible firestorms and their aftereffects, these were carried out using military vehicles, ordinance and personnel.
If a non-governmental group or even a poor government were to achieve similar, or even far, far smaller goals but using ingenuity, materials they can get at, etc. - it's called terrorism.
The goals are often - but certainly not always, similar. In WWII it was to demoralize the population to the point of pressuring their leaders to give up the war - or at least not to support it anymore. In Israel and Russia, the suicide bombers are deployed for much the same reasons.
Some cases are harder to understand - what goals did the men have in 9-11? Probably mostly to show their might and to serve the world (especially the west) notice that it is no longer safe.
Much the same can be argued in regards to the US use of nuclear bombs in Japan - especially the 2nd one since Japan was ready to or close to ready to surrender prior to the bombing.
In no way am I condoning the use of any violent tactic against civilians - but it seems to me that dead from a high tech missile and dead from a suicide bomb is still dead.
What causes it? Inequality - perceived or real, a desire to change the world and political means are insufficient, a desire by a small group to impose it's will on a larger one and they don't happen to be a recognized government with access to more accepted weapons and the tactics they allow... more or less what causes all wars - just the poorer side is usually called terrorists.
by The Chief on August 29th, 2010
Terrorism, in one form or another, has been around as a human behavior for as long as man has been around.
Here's probably as comprehensive a definition of the term as exists, for the purpose of this answer:
1. The deliberate commission of an act of violence to create an emotional response through the suffering of the victims in the furtherance of a political or social agenda.
2. Violence against civilians to achieve military or political objectives.
3. A psychological strategy of war for gaining political or religious ends by deliberately creating a climate of fear among the population of a state.
Source: http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/terrorism
Terrorism is the application of violent force, or the threat of violent force, against a people in such a way as to intimidate a larger grouping of people to behave the way the antagonist wishes them to behave. It is a systematic application of fear inducing actions to accomplish a goal.
The murder of Emmit Till in 1955 is an example of terrorism. A young 14 year old black boy was beaten, tortured, and murdered because the people who did it wanted to "make an example out of him."
In other words, the people who murdered Emmit Till wished to use their actions against the boy to intimidate the larger group of black people into conforming to their expectations of repressed social behavior for black people.
These types of tactics (violence or the threat of violence) have been used by all kinds of people and organizations as a means of influencing large groups of people in such a fashion as to achieve some sort of goal.
Gangsters do it to increase their power and dominance over groups or organizations as a means of remaining in power and continuing to make money.
Bullies in school do it for much the same reasons, though usually on a smaller scale.
Oppressive governments do it in order to assert dominance over their populations and remain in power.
Some people and organizations representing ideologies of various kinds do it in order to spread their ideologies.
International terrorists do it to foment public opinion for their cause at the expense of their target's and to get their targets to take actions which are economically expensive and morally reprehensible to their citizens.
Terrorists use tactics designed to inspire fear and other strong emotional reactions to ultimately support their cause, whatever it may be.
by The Anonymous Witch on August 29th, 2010
religion, money , greed . politics . power . and" police-ing the police" .
by CreoClayton on August 29th, 2010
Terrorists? Ha...no but in all seriousness ,the main reasons terrorism and terroristic acts happen is probley De Humanization-"the process of reducing people to objects that do not deserve to be treated as humans" of those outside the terroristic group ,and Extreme political devotion.
by Nightwatchdog on August 29th, 2010
Ignorance.
by Marky Mark on August 29th, 2010
The desire of nations to dominate and exploit other nations (which makes peaceful co-existence impossible).
by Flipper on August 29th, 2010
Sexual deprivation
by Have A Nice Day on August 29th, 2010
The Koran.
by TERRYTUKER on November 16th, 2009
disrespect, Obama was coool when he he fully bowed to the emperor of Japan, that shows respect
by Nightwatchdog on November 16th, 2009
Beards!
The longer the beard you have - the more insane and prone to violence you are.
by Amorphous Blob on November 16th, 2009
Fear. I believe that a person can face the world with love or with fear. To do it with love consistently and without attachment requires a live of the Spirit, attention paid to God. If you don't do that, you start to doubt that you're good enough, that ultimately you're safe. You think that your beliefs must be imposed on others because if you don't struggle for them them "the others" might win.
by everton on November 15th, 2009
cowards
by qwerty on November 13th, 2009
Idiotic ideals and the lack of support for your views that you have to resort to violence
I should add that I consider PETA a terriorist group
by ExactlyTwentyLetters on November 13th, 2009
Arabs.
by Gene H on November 15th, 2009
Fearerism?
by Jacques on November 13th, 2009
Only Eliza holds the key:
http://www.manifestation.com/neurotoys/eliza.php3
by Ray Del Sol on November 13th, 2009
desperation and fear
by AnonymousGirl on September 15th, 2010
Fear? Anger? Hate? Hostility? Grudges? Resentment? Self-justification?
by xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx on August 29th, 2010
When other people come and pork thier nose in other people business.
by -O-uknow on August 30th, 2010
If looking for a main cause to anything, if such a thing, it is always SIN in the form of disobedience to the way of conduct Christ laid out for us.
by qwerty on August 29th, 2010
Religion
by three cousins from the 313 on August 29th, 2010
The powerful exploiting the poor that leads to power sturggles and acts of terrorism dictates which struggle (rich or poor) shall shape the future.
by keiran on August 29th, 2010
Idiots
by Go123 on August 29th, 2010
The main reason is "Power and Money". He who holds the keys to power, he can own the world.
by Moongrim on August 30th, 2010
Religion.
Of the middle eastern variety most often.
by Talimze on August 30th, 2010
All you need to have terrorism is three things:
1) A group of people in desperate situations
2) Inability for that group to improve their situations through non-violent means
3) Another group of people the first group can blame for their situations
That's all you need. Religion is not necessary, but it is a bonus, because saying that an entire religion is on the side of your cause gives it validation.
Terrorism is a tactic employed by desperate people. They fight the way they do because they really can't fight any other way. In the world the terrorist comes from, it's likely that many of the people there do not even think of him as a terrorist, but rather as a rebel fighting oppression.
by Twisted Taco on October 4th, 2010
It's not "what" but rather "who" and the answer is: the US and Israel or the United States of Israel for short.
What is the difference between a terrorist and a freedom fighter?
by mikedsign on December 3rd, 2011
| 1 person likes this
What is the difference between a terrorist and an enemy combatant?
by mikedsign on December 3rd, 2011
| 1 person likes this
So the guy in Massachusetts decided.....
by Epistaxis on September 29th, 2011
| 1 person likes this
What do you think of the iPhone that instead of giving directions for abortion clinics send users to religious pregnancy crisis centres?
by Ombliss22 on December 3rd, 2011
| 1 person likes this
Today; news reports; US has accussed the Iran gov of plotting assasinations and terrorism. Is this another scam to start another war?
by paulizone on October 11th, 2011
| 1 person likes this
You're reading What is the real cause of Terrorism?
- which can also be phrased in the following ways:
Your favorite Q&A site is on Facebook! Become a fan to connect with the ever-growing community of Answerbaggers, share your thoughts and find out what Answerbag's up to next!
Comments
I often wonder what has happen to common sense. there have been terrorist doing things since the 1970's. back then they were just called Terrorist. But, now they are all called "Radical Islamic Terrorist", even though the majority of them have always been of Arabic decent since the 1970's.
I agree with your answer, and I think if both sides of the story was told, people could understand, and not just think they are crazy people that just want to blow things up.
perfect example would be the Hostage crisis of the 1970's. If you look at the history of the US in Iran up to that point, you would understand why they did what they did. we had basically took over their country, dictated who could buy oil from them, and forced them to only use US based oil producers to pump and ship the oil, we were getting rich off of resources that they had in their country.
by olan black on August 29th, 2010
Both organisations I mentioned in my answer date from long before the 1970s. What you seem to be saying is that the USA wasn't affected by terrorism until that time - much of the rest of the world was.
by Brian I on August 30th, 2010
Yes, and I wonder why the US has not learned from Israel regarding it. they put forth maximum effort in the 1970's and 1980's to eliminate terrorism, and failed. I think the "War on Terrorism" is an open ended war.
by olan black on September 3rd, 2010