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Andrew Schow
Professor Jerri A. Harwell
ENGL 2010-067 (Position/Proposal)
5 April 2016
Terrorism: Its Components and its Solutions
On September 11, 2001, Americas eyes were opened to the outside world. At 8:45 A.M.
on that fateful day, the North Tower of the World Trade Center was hit by a plane that had been
hijacked by terrorists (History.com Staff). Up to this point, terrorism, while a legal term, was not
commonly used in American vocabulary. But September 11 was not the first, nor was it the last
terrorist attack on American soil. Between the years of 1978 and 1996, the domestic terrorist Ted
Kaczynski, also known as the Unabomber, terrorized
America by means of letter bombs sent to universities and
airlines (FBI). The Unabombers brand of terrorism has
all but disappeared from America, and terrorism has
changed in the wake of new waves.
America has, in recent years, been the target of
multiple terrorist attacks. On April 15, 2013, two Chechen

Fisch
North face south tower after

brothers set off bombs at the Boston Marathon


(Wikipedia). Again, on July 16, 2015, Muhammad Abdulazeez attacked a military recruitment
center in Tennessee after being radicalized by an Islamic terrorist group (Wikipedia). Later, in
November, one Robert Lewis Dear was arrested in Colorado Springs following a shooting at a
Planned Parenthood clinic in protest of abortion (Wikipedia). Terrorism is all about fear.
Whatever the terrorists other goals, they rely on the fear of others to manipulate their targets into

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meeting their demands. Fear makes people unpredictable; that can work in the terrorists favor,
but it can also backfire.
Terrorism is a very real problem, and it continues to threaten people the world over.
Nobody is arguing against this, but they are arguing. The problem then becomes the fact that,
while people argue that we are not handling this problem properly, nobody seems to have a better
idea for how to handle terrorism. As terrorism is about fear, fear would seem to be a necessary
part of the equation. However, I do not believe that. I believe that the solution to the problem
must be one that removes fear from the equation, or maybe even feeds on that fear and turns it
into something positive. I propose that the answer is courage.
I am not saying that we should not be afraid. Given everything that has happened, I
would be inclined to think that there was a problem if we were not afraid. Fear is nothing to be
ashamed of. According to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Courage is not the absence of fear,
but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear (17). I would pose
this question: without fear, what is courage? Courage is an interesting thing, in that it does not
denote any specific action so much as describe how and why. That said, when one knows how
and why he would act, that knowledge would also determine what action, if any, he takes.
Since September 11, we have taken certain measures in an attempt to prevent
future attacks. We have tightened airport security in an attempt to prevent further hijackings,
with mixed reviews and results. There are those, like myself, who are grateful for the sense of
security this increase provides, regardless of whether or not it actually helps. There are also
those who view this increase in security as a placebo, even going so far as to call it an invasion
of privacy and a sign of an overreaching government (Mosca). According to Mosca, Last year
on Nov. 23 a flight arrived in JFK from Cancun, Mexico carrying approximately 150 passengers
who were allowed [to] deplane and leave the airport without being screened by customs.
Acknowledging that, had this been an isolated incident, it could have been a simple oversite, this

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same thing happened on January 24 this year only two months later (Mosca). To reinforce her
opinion that airport security is an illusion, she states that the screening the average American
endures shows the lengths to which security goes to prevent an act of terrorism. (Mosca) The
evidence tends to point to accuracy in both sides of this argument. Mosca spoke specifically
about the underwear bomber who struck on Christmas of 2009, while another article from The
New York Times discusses the relative rarity of airline hijackings (Clark).
Another response we have had to terrorism is the war on terror itself. One thing that has
come about as a result of this war is greater technology. The desire to finish as quickly, and with
as few casualties, as possible has led to the
development of weapons such as Unmanned
Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), and the revelation of
cyberwarfare (Hennigan).

War on Terror
Photo courtesy of Bing Images

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As people, we have an apparent tendency to find scapegoats, people or groups we can
blame for our problems. This tendency, combined with the fact that most, but certainly not all of
the terrorists mentioned were Islamic
radicals, has led Americans to the
aforementioned Islamophobia: the fear of
Muslims. Sadly, we resort to this, and feel
justified. They attacked us, therefore they
are bad. This train of thought is not only
incorrect, but potentially dangerous.
Should we start grouping all Muslims in with the likes of Al-Qaeda and ISIS, we would alienate
those who would wish us no harm, potentially making enemies of even them. In addition, our
Islamophobia has led us to debate, and even oppose, the idea of granting refuge to those in need
simply because of their country of origin (de Rugy).
Courage in this instance would lead us to the realization that not every Muslim is a
terrorist, and to acceptance of those members of the Islamic faith who have done nothing wrong,
and bear us no apparent ill will. It would also lead us to the realization that not every terrorist is
Muslim Discrimination After 9/11
Photo courtesy of Bing Images

the majority of what we see currently.

necessarily Islamic, though that may be

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This same fear has lead us to increase
security at our borders, including those on
land and by means of airplane. This action,
while motivated by fear, may also be
influenced by courage. Those guarding our
borders and securing our airports must
certainly have a measure of courage to do
what they do, placebo effect aside. Obviously
terrorists have attacked our airports, and will
probably continue to do so thanks to the large

World War II Propaganda


U.S. Department of Defense

volume of people who use them. Security, of any type, is an inherently dangerous position, and
the greatest advantage had by those in that position comes in the form of training. Without that
training, security officers are just civilians in uniforms, who maybe have guns. For that matter,
the same could be said for soldiers. I have friends who have served during the war on terror,
some of whom still serve in the armed forces. I have a great amount of respect for them, and I
am grateful that they are willing to defend this country. I am also grateful that they have
returned from their various tours safely, as not everyone is that fortunate.
In conclusion, I believe that if we, as a nation, can learn to be courageous and overcome
our fear of Islam, we can begin to provide aid to those in need. We can continue to secure and
strengthen ourselves, and as we strengthen ourselves, we will be able to help strengthen and
secure our allies. We will find that courage can be contagious. As we do so, we will find great
strength within ourselves, and in our allies; both those we now have, and those we may gain if
we simply show them that we have found something more important than our fear.

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Works Cited
Clark, Nicola. Why Airline Hijackings Became Relatively Rare. 29 Mar. 2016. Nytimes.com.
Web. 30 Mar. 2016.
de Rugy, Veronique. "Taking in Refugees Is Good for America." Reason. Mar. 2016: 16. SIRS
Issues Researcher. Web. 22 Mar. 2016.
FBI. FBI 100 The Unabomber. April 2008. FBI History. Web. 30 Mar. 2016.
Hennigan, W. J. "U.S. Is Using a New Weapon in War." Los Angeles Times. 01 Mar. 2016: A.1.
SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 22 Mar. 2016.
History.com Staff. 9/11 Attacks. 2010. History.com. Web. 29 Mar. 2016.
Mosca, Marie. "Airport Security Mishap Causes Concern Among Flyers." University Wire. 09
Feb. 2016: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 30 Mar. 2016.
Roosevelt, Franklin D. Franklin D. Roosevelt Quotes. n.d. Goodreads.com. Web. 3 Apr. 2016.
Wikipedia Staff. Boston Marathon Bombing. 1 Apr. 2016. Wikipedia.org. Web. 4 Apr. 2016
Wikipedia Staff. List of Terrorist Incidents, July-December 2015. 29 Mar. 2016. Web. 30 Mar.
2016

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