Terrorist Attacks - Essay Sample

There have been many cases of terrorist attacks throughout history. The perpetrators of these attacks have some form of personal, religious, or political agenda when performing the acts. There are many definitions of terrorism among different people and government agencies. One of the most common definitions is that terrorism is the use of violence or threat of violence in order to purport a political, religious, or ideological change (Combs, 2015). Though terrorist attacks have been there for a long time, the paper will focus on modern ones where the battle has been mainly between individuals or groups with different ideological and political views. Further, the paper will discuss the methods, associated with such attacks, the motives, and the intent.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

One of the most recent terrorist attacks on U.S. soil involved mass shooting of innocent people in San Bernardino, California. The incident which occurred on December 2, 2015, was done by a married couple, Syed Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, who declared allegiance to the ISIL (Ryan, Goldman, Phillip, & Berman, 2015). The couple conducted the attack at a private holiday party that was going on at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, California. They used weapons that they had modified as fully automatic assault rifles. Also, the couple had planted an explosive device outside the Inland Regional Center which was supposed to harm the emergency responders when they arrived (Bruton, Lucht, & Ortiz, 2015). However, the remotely operated device failed to detonate.

A few weeks before the mass shootings at San Bernardino, multiple shootings and bombings occurred in Paris, France. Apparently, the ISIL was retaliating against the French government who were involved in airstrikes in Syria and Iraq (Dalton, Horobin, Varela, & Landauro, 2015). During the incidence, 130 lives were lost without the inclusion of the seven out of the nine attackers. Additionally, 368 people were injured with some of them being in very critical condition (BBC, 2015). ISIL declared responsibility for the attack and together with the motive, it can be considered a terrorist attack.

Continuing with the threat of ISIL, two men had attempted to conduct an attack in Garland, Texas during an event hosted at the Curtis Culwell Center by the American Freedom Defense Initiative. The two men, Nadir Soofi and Ernest Simpson, both American citizens were armed with three handguns and three assault weapons (Hallman & Leszynski, 2015). They drove to the event and started shooting at a parked police cruiser which was occupied by a police officer and a security guard. However, the attackers did not manage to enter the event as other officers returned fire killing the two men.

Finally, the November 27, 2015, Colorado Springs shootings were a real case of domestic terrorism. Robert Lewis Dear, Jr. opened fire around and in the Planned Parenthood Westside Health Center using a semi-automatic rifle (Fausset, 2015). During the incidence, three people were killed and nine injured. After a standoff that lasted five hours, police were able to breach the front of the Planned Parenthood Westside Health Center using an armored vehicle and captured the perpetrator. On more than two occasions, Dear has stated that the motivations for his attacks are related to baby parts (Gurman, 2015). Apparently, he has some radical views on abortion.

Based on the earlier stated definition of terrorism, all the cases discussed can be considered as acts of terror. The cases show that terrorist attacks can occur in different places and have many faces. The methods, skills, motivations, and intents can vary as well. A comprehensive review of these incidences shows that most modern terrorist acts are associated with different religious views of individuals or groups. Additionally, many of the incidents have continued to involve indirect targets and weaponry that are easily accessible. However, this generalization may not continue to be true in the coming years as terrorists will continue to gain more following as seen in recent events. Therefore, it is paramount for there to be effective preparations for the range of possibilities with regards to terrorism.

References

Bruton, B., Lucht, K., & Ortiz, E. (2015). San Bernardino Killers Appear to Have Been Radicalized. NBC News. Retrieved 17 December 2016, from http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/san-bernardino-shooting/san-bernardino-massacre-suspects-appear-have-been-radicalized-n473261

Combs, C. C. (2015). Terrorism in the twenty-first century. Routledge.

Dalton, M., Horobin, W., Varela, T., & Landauro, I. (2015). Seven Militants Led Deadly Paris Attacks. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 17 December 2016, from http://www.wsj.com/articles/paris-attacks-were-an-act-of-war-by-islamic-state-french-president-francois-hollande-says-1447498080

Fausset, R. (2015). For Robert Dear, Religion and Rage Before Planned Parenthood Attack. The New York Times. Retrieved 17 December 2016, from http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/02/us/robert-dear-planned-parenthood-shooting.html

Gurman, S. (2015). Suspect in Colorado clinic attack will face murder charges. Miami Herald. Retrieved 17 December 2016, from http://www.miamiherald.com/latest-news/article47206975.htmlHallman, T. & Leszynski, R. (2015). Police: Men killed in Garland shooting had assault rifles, body armor | News | Dallas News. Dallas News. Retrieved 17 December 2016, from http://www.dallasnews.com/news/news/2015/05/03/police-men-killed-in-garland-shooting-had-assault-rifles-body-armor

Paris attacks: Search goes on for missing - BBC News. (2015). BBC News. Retrieved 17 December 2016, from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34836330

Ryan, M., Goldman, A., Phillip, A., & Berman, M. (2015). Officials: San Bernardino shooters pledged allegiance to the Islamic State. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 17 December 2016, from http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-san-bernardino-shooting-20151208-story.html