Origins and Evolution of Terrorism

1. Why was the hostage crisis at the Munich Olympics a turning point in terrorism?

The hostage crisis at the Munich Olympics was a major turning point in terrorism because of the events had a lasting impact on the world due to the lessons that other terrorists learned from those events. Terrorists learned that they could capture the world’s attention if they chose the right targets. They learned that the impact of their actions would be far greater with a wider audience. They also began to realize how powerful it was to strike at important symbols.

2. The reading says that state-sponsored terrorism increased after the U.S. hostage crisis in Iran. What did many governments learn from that event?

            The governments learned that supporting terrorism would give them an opportunity to try to destroy the influence of the United States in the Middle East. They also saw that supporting terrorism provided a means for less powerful states to strike at stronger states.

           

3. The past fifteen years have seen a sharp rise in religious terrorism. What motivates these terrorists? 

            A common motivation is the belief that something has gone terribly wrong with the world. Some factors which contribute to that feeling are foreign military occupation of territory, corrupt secular governments, and the decline of traditional values within a society. Also, the fear of losing one’s identity to intruding foreign value systems contributes to the belief that something is wrong in the world. Religious terrorists started turning to religion to find motivation and justification for their goals. They believe their actions are defensive reactions to moral and spiritual corruption in the world. Religious terrorists also believe that they have no other options. They do not believe that traditional political methods will fulfill their goals. They are frustrated and feel powerless and humiliated and would turn to terrorism believing it to be the only option for change. They see social or political struggle as a war between good and evil. In their minds of course they are the promoting good with the United States and its allies as the “evil.” Religious terrorists are also motivated to choose their targets and the timing of that choice for symbolism in order to strike against targets that represent the things or ideas that the terrorists are struggling against.   

4. How have these new terrorists changed the way terrorism is carried out? 

            The new terrorists not only want to have a large audience viewing their evil deeds, they also want to kill a lot of people. They use other techniques such as suicide bombings. They also are trying to acquire and use new types of weapons including nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. Because of their escalating methods in their techniques and the deadlier force that they use, terrorism is even more frightening than in the past.