What is terrorism?

Unquestionably, terrorism is the use of terror to produce a condition of fear and submission. Internally, it can be used to support or topple regimes. That is why there is the saying, "One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter." This explains why up to now, there is no universally accepted definition of terrorism, local or international.

The first thing one does in any discussion is to agree on the definition of the matter discussed. Grand Wardlaw, author of the book Political Terrorism, defined it as: "Political terrorism is the use, or threat of use, of violence by an individual or group, whether acting for or in opposition to established authority, when such action is designed to create extreme anxiety and/or fear-inducing effects in a target group larger than the immediate victims with the purpose of coercing that group into acceding to the political demands of the perpetrators."

The trouble with that definition is that it cannot be applied to the perpetrators of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. First, because contrary to the past pattern of terrorist groups, those responsible for the declaration of war on the United States have not claimed responsibility for their actions; second, they have not made any political, military or economic demands.

The United States has reacted by declaring war not only against the terrorists, but also on those who harbor them, but to this moment, they cannot positively state the individual, group or nations actually involved. They have a main suspect in the person of Bin Laden. They have announced that they want him dead or alive. The problem is how to get him extradited.

Brian Jenkins, Program Director of the Rand Corporation Security and Subnational Conflict has the perfect answer to the problem of defining terrorism. Long before the Sept. 11 attack in New York happened, he wrote: "If terrorism is defined by the nature of the act then, not by the identity of the perpetrators or the nature of their cause, an objective definition of terrorism becomes possible. All terrorist acts are crimes. Many would also be violations of the rules of war, if a state of war existed. All involve violence or the threat of violence, often coupled with specific demands. The targets are mainly civilians. The motives are political. The actions generally are designed to achieve maximum publicity. . . . And, finally, it is intrinsic to a terrorist act that it is usually intended to produce psychological effects far beyond the immediate physical damage. One person’s terrorist is everyone’s terrorist."