Question

What is old terrorism and what is new terrorism and how did they emerge what are the groups that fit into both? What makes them different from eachother?

Answer 1

Terrorism is not a new concept, and despite it was used very often over the past decade, it remains one of the most difficult issues to define. Its ambiguity comes from the different connotations that the term has gained over history. Although the definitions of terrorism vary widely, the all come from a common point: terrorism is a tactic characterized basically by the use of violence and the spread of fear; it can take many forms and often indiscriminately targets non-combatants. The starting points for the most disagreements about terrorism are the purposes for which violence is used, and its root causes .The new terrorism, although is not so new, has changed its purposes over the decades. The new terrorist’s religious point of view is related to the pursuit of mass casualties. Because their goals are religious, the “new” terrorists seek to kill as many people as possible.Very often associated with Islamic terrorists, nowadays the terrorist groups have widely developed in the fields of transport, communications and weaponry, due to the massive process of globalization. Therefore, they produce greater violence and climate of fear, in easier ways and with a lower level of risk. In the present, the most debated and feared terrorist network is the Islamic organization Al-Qaeda led by Osama bin Laden. According to Global Security, it was established around 1988 by bin Laden. In 1998, Al-Qaeda issued a statement under banner of “The World Islamic Front for Jihad against the Jews and Crusaders” saying it was the duty of all Muslims to kill US citizens-civilian or military-and their allies everywhere. In consequence, on 9/11, 2001 a series of suicide attackers, members of Al-Qaeda hijacked four commercial airplanes, two of them crashing into the World Trade Centre in New York City, the third one into the Pentagon, and the fourth plane, crashing into a field, after being redirected to Washington D.C. (Global Security 2006). Therefore, if the old terrorism could be resembled more with a form of guerrilla warfare, the new terrorism, become global war, representing a much greater danger.On the other hand, the organization is widely different between old and new terrorism.the new terrorists are often described as a network rather than an organization. By contrast, the old terrorist’s organization is thought to have been hierarchical and centralized. The new terrorism is said to be horizontal and flat, whereas the old terrorism is vertical and pyramidal.Moreover, another crucial difference between old and new terrorism is the massive use of high technology of the new terrorism groups.