Terrorism and Terrorist Groups
Response to question 1
Terrorism acts from homegrown terrorists have been on the rise. A research conducted by the New American Foundation in collaboration with Syracuse University on terrorism since September 2011 has revealed that the rightwing extremists are responsible for 95 percent of violent acts. The Rightwing extremist groups can be divided into three including; hate oriented, antigovernment and those opposing single issue such as abortion (Simonsen and Spindlove, 2009). These groups recruit new members by playing on their suspicions on a numbers of emerging issues including animal rights, abortion and economic crisis. This shows that Al Qaeda and other Middle East terror groups are no longer more deadly compared to the domestic terrorists (Simonsen and Spindlove, 2009). An example of a recent violence associated with these groups is the shooting of three police officers in Pennsylvania in 2009.
Response to question 2
Understanding the History and background of terrorism is a vital component in war against it. The nature of terrorism has been changing but learning from the past experiences can help in combating this heinous acts. Some acts of terrorism can be as a result of political and social injustices. A clear understanding on these root causes can help in addressing the issues thus preventing future occurrences of terrorist attacks. Another important reason for understanding the background of terrorism is to address the precipitants that set the stage for the attacks (Simonsen and Spindlove, 2009). The former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on his speech in 2003 during the heads of States conference stressed the importance of addressing the root causes of terrorism. The conditions that create a favorable climate for the terrorist attacks need to be addressed for effective combat on terrorism. This in the long run will help reduce the terrorist attacks.
