AN OVERVIEW OF TERRORISM

ASP Rahimah Bte Suhai

Prior to the events of September 11, 2001, there was scanty discussion in the world about terrorism and what it was, even though it was a problem the world has been facing long before the said tragic events. As such, there has been a lack of a universally defined accepted definition of terrorism, because as some have said, one mans terrorist is another mans freedom fighter. Until there is uniformity in the definition and understanding of terrorism, efforts to control it will be inconsistent and ineffective. According to the United Nations, war crimes are considered as acts of terrorism. However, attacks on military installations, bases and personnel during times of war are not acts of terrorism but rather acts by freedom fighters. Terrorism, according to the official US definition is the unlawful use of force and violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives. It is rather a crime committed for a political or social reason. Examples of criminal acts of terrorism which have been committed throughout history include that of bombings, suicide bombings, assassinations, kidnapping, hostage taking, hijacking and skyjacking, armed attack, maiming and arson. Terrorists often resort to other criminal activities in order to raise funds for their cause. Unlike traditional criminals who are motivated by money or greed, the motivation for many terrorists is ideological. Most criminals wish to avoid law enforcers but terrorists as shown by the events in Iraq and Afghanistan have actually targeted the police. This phenomenon was true in the early 1970s in the United States as a number of domestic terrorist organizations targeted law enforcement agencies. Law enforcement agencies were thus forewarned to prepare themselves for any forthcoming attack as inability to prevent these activities could cause a loss of confidence in them. After the events of September 11, 2001, all law enforcement agencies in the United State were tasked with the responsibility in preventing terrorist acts. Anti-terrorism units were formed with added personnel trained to be highly mobile, flexible, innovative, intelligence driven and able to do many things with limited resources. Terrorists have evolved over the course of time. They are now more flexible, innovative and are able to rapidly respond to a given situation. The evolution of terrorism soon became widespread. The growth of satellite television in the 1980s allowed people all over the world to have instant access to news on the bombings in Oklahoma City in 1995, the Aum Shinrikyo attacks in Tokyo in 1995, as well as the bombings of US embassies in Africa in 1978. Similarly the September 11, 2001 attacks in

Journal of the Kuala Lumpur Royal Malaysia Police College, No. 5, 2006

An Overview of Terrorism

USA, the March 11, 2004 attack in Madrid, the Beslan school takeover in Russia in 2004 and the simultaneous bombings in London in July 2005 all received widespread news coverage. One of the unfortunate things about terrorist attacks over the course of the last 20 years was that they have become increasingly more deadly. Terrorists have caused mass casualties and the events include the bombing of Pan Am 103, the East African bombings, the bombings in Bali and the attacks on the World Trade Centre. As a result of recent terrorist attacks in Madrid and London, law enforcement agencies have started to place greater emphasis on collecting and sharing information to prevent further attacks. These four attacks alone caused approximately 3700 deaths. Thereafter, much attention has been placed on terrorists from Islamic fundamentalists, in particular the Al Qaeda, and its affiliates around the world including those in Southeast Asia, such as the Jemaah Islamiya. Terrorism is meant to cause fear, create panic, commit violence and cause disruption. For the foreseeable future, terrorism threatens the stability of the world. It is often difficult to understand the goals of terrorists. Many terrorists feel disenfranchised and believe they are unable to change the way the government operates through legitimate and democratic means. Some terrorist groups fear democracy itself believing that they (or their cause) will be left behind. As a result, they are unable to achieve their goals by conventional means. And international terrorists resort to violence to put forward their ideological or religious message by terrorizing the general public. A number of factors contribute to the rise in terrorism. There are changes in global politics, social conditions and economics. Global markets exist for both licit and illicit commodities. There are also weak and unstable governments with volatile political and economic conditions, which encourage corruption; and there are increasing number of immigrants leading to heterogeneous societies in countries not used to it. Advance technology makes it easier for terrorists to operate with electronic financial transactions. Borders are porous and there is a desire for both money and power. Drug trafficking certainly plays a role for terrorists in South America as well as Afghanistan. There are economic pressures as well as widespread ethnic turmoil not to mention religious turmoil in many countries. Terrorists have changed their strategies and targets in the last four years. They are shifting their targets to the economic sector. They have shifted their focus to softer targets where little or no security exists. The greatest challenge that the world faces today is the prevention of terrorism. Only in terrorism prevention is there zero tolerance for failure. In many other areas of law enforcement there is a general understanding that crimes can not be prevented totally. Terrorism is the one exception because of the significant cost and loss of life. In terrorism, we are expected to prevent the first crime, every time. The prevention of terrorism is an exercise of the use of actionable intelligence. Actionable means that information obtained can be acted upon straight away even if it should only

Journal of the Kuala Lumpur Royal Malaysia Police College, No. 5, 2006

ASP Rahimah Bte Suhai

be meant for further analysis. Intelligence collected is more valuable and conclusive than casual observations and thus regular sharing of information is most important. Police managers must be aware of successful strategies utilized around the world by other agencies, domestically and internationally. There must be international collaboration against the common enemy. Police management and strategies must change and reassessed on a regular basis in order to meet the global challenges of preventing terrorist acts. Organizations must change and leaders of organizations must ensure they change them to meet the current crisis. These challenges require the improvement of management training, policies and procedures, which will allow all agencies to be engaged in counterterrorism endeavours and stay one step ahead of our adversary.

Journal of the Kuala Lumpur Royal Malaysia Police College, No. 5, 2006