Causes and Effects of Growing Terrorism

Causes and Effects of Growing Terrorism Chapter 1 Introduction The Threat from Terrorism There are very few humans in the world today who have not had their lives altered or affected in some way through terrorist acts or the threat from terrorism. The highly publicized terrorist attacks in the United States, London, Madrid, and Mumbai were seen worldwide and have lead to sweeping changes in the security postures of many western and developed nations, as well as to a multi-nation war in Afghanistan. For those that have not felt the direct effects by losing someone close to them, there are many life altering after-shocks have had global reach and thus have effected nearly everyone. Every person who uses public transportation, rides in a plane/train, or crosses an international border will feel the effects of international terrorism through vastly increased security measures. Terrorism has changed foreign policy for many nations and has lead to wars.[1] In all, terrorism is rewriting the geopolitical map as we see it now and in the decades to come, will continue to change t he world as we know it. Radical Militant Islamic Groups There are many religions and political factions that have terrorist cells. In fact, in this day and age, one would be hard pressed to find a country or religion that does not have some form of fundamental or radicalized terrorist group in its midst. Groups espousing terror find roots in Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism and Hinduism.[2] This being said, in recent times, the most dangerous threat to western and developed nations comes from the Radical Militant Islamic Groups. These Islamic Militants have not only local and national reach, but can project their influence regionally and even globally (as seen with Al Qaeda and Hezbollah), and thus will be the focus of this dissertation. Shifting Sands: Since as far back as history dates, there has been war between peoples. Sometimes these peoples were evenly matched, and the battles pitted large armies against one another. Yet at other times, the odds were heavily in favor of one side, and the lesser of these groups had to resort to non-traditional warfare to inflict losses on their enemy. Sometimes these attacks were focused on the enemys military, and sometimes these attacks were focused on the citizenry of the enemy nation. The enemies could be nation vs nation or sometimes they were nation vs a non-state actor group. The pendulum has swung back and forth throughout history as to what is the root of terrorist groups. With the emergence of Al Qaeda we have seen that in the present day the non-state actor terrorist groups have taken center stage, though this may be about to change. Attempt to predict the future This paper engages the probability of predicting the future of global terrorism. This is achieved by analyzing the history of the origins and conceptual changes of terrorism over years past and current trends of terrorism as seen through the data available from the terrorism scholars of today. Though terrorism is not a completely Islamic phenomena, this paper will focus on terrorism from Radical Militant Islamic Groups, as this is the most predominant form of terrorism seen in the present day. It will attempt to lay out the evolution of terrorism to give some basis for a review of the current most important trends in terrorism. It will discuss the origins of ethno-nationalist (or state sponsored) terrorism and further discuss how this has morphed into the new transnational (or non-state actor) terrorism of today. Finally the paper will set the stage for the prediction of a future shift back to state sponsored terrorism and outline the reasons why this is going to occur. Chapter II Evolution of Terrorism – Historical Roots Mr. Speaker, I agree with those who say that the Global War  on Terrorism is actually a Global War of Ideas and that  terrorism is one of the tactics used in that War. Mac Thornberry (US Congressman) P re-Modern World: 1st Century BC to the 13th Century The history of [6] 1793: The Origins of Modern Terrorism In 1793, following the French revolution, Maximilien Robespierre instigated a reign of terror on those who opposed the French revolution.[7] This reign of terror is conventionally known as the birthplace of the word Terrorism.[9] Robespierres sentiment is the keystone in the beliefs of many modern terrorists, who consider violence the best and most efficient way to get to their desired outcome. As decades passed, the categorization of terrorism as a state action has blurred, as the idea of terrorism as an attack against an existing political order became more prominent. 1950s: The Rise of Non-State Terrorism Terrorism in the 1950s got its start from the guerilla warfare tactics popular with many insurgent groups of the time. This rise of guerrilla tactics by non-state actors in the last half of the twentieth century was due to several factors. These included the blossoming of ethnic nationalism (e.g. Irish, Basque, Zionist), anti-colonial sentiments in the vast British, French and Dutch empires, and new ideologies such as communism. In near recent times, terrorist groups with nationalist agendas have sprung up in every part of the world. For example, the Irish Republican Army grew from the desire of Irish Catholics to form an independent republic, and break their ties with Great Britain.[10] Similarly, the Kurds, a distinct ethnic and linguistic group in Turkey, Syria, Iran and Iraq, have sought national autonomy since the beginning of the 20th Century.[13] 1970s: The International Turn of Terrorism International terrorism came to the forefront as a prominent issue in the late 1960s, when hijacking of large airliners became a favored tactic. In 1968, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine became the first group to hijack an aircraft.[18] 1990s: 21 st Century: The Rise of Religious Terrorism Though an argument can be made that the rise of religiously motivated terrorism got its modern day start in Iran and Afghanistan to counter the political issues of the Shah and the Soviet Union, it came to the forefront with many highly visible violent acts committed during the 1990s. Groups that justify their violence on Islamic grounds Al Qaeda, Hamas, and Hezbollah come to mind first. But Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism and other religions have given rise to their own forms of militant extremism.[19] In recent years RMIGs have taken center stage for their astoundingly violent acts perpetrated against the citizenry of non-Muslim cultures. Chapter III Trends in Terrorism When you give religiously inspired zealots weapons of mass destruction and you promise them that if they kill innocent people they will go to heaven, imagine what the consequences are. Major Changes are Ahead There are major changes coming to terrorism in the years ahead. These changes can be seen from the trends of today, and will deeply change the threat to marked nations by terrorists and the terms on which we must fight the war against RMIGs. The top trends that will influence the changes in Terrorism Globally are summarized below. Fertility rates will lead Western Countries to come under Islamic rule In contrast to the developing world, many industrialized countries are currently, or will soon, see fertility rates below the replacement level and hence significant declines in populations, excluding the effects of immigration[22] Militant Islam continues to grow in both membership and power It has been clear for years that many Islamic nations face severe problems with religious extremists who are dedicated to advancing their political, social, and ideological views by any means necessary.[23] Nearly all of the Muslim lands are overcrowded and short of resources. Many are poor, save for the oil-rich states of the Middle East.[27] The Terrorist Ranks Are Growing The post 9/11 invasion of Afghanistan that lead to the unseating of the Taliban regime deprived Al Qaeda of a safe haven, striking a major blow against the global terrorist movement, yet by not following up effectively on that initial success, a great deal of benefit that could have been solidified was squandered. Additionally, with the invasion of Iraq, Al Qaeda and its sympathizers now have new grounds from which they can unite their members and, more importantly, recruit new ones.[32] At the heart of the Middle East fundamentalist movement are the wahabists of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia has recently been forced to enact a program designed to keep Muslim men from going to Iraq to wage war against the coalition forces in a global jihad.[35] In this way, the foundation for terrorist cells are built which are independent of Al Qaeda but resolutely committed to the same objectives. Examples of this have been seen in the Madrid railway bombings which were carried out by Al Qaeda inspired Moroccan terrorist cell who were motivated by the Iraq invasion.[39] It is clear that RMIGs have significant sympathy among Europes Muslim population. The French riots of October and November 2005 affected at least twenty cities in that country, resulting in 2,888 arrests, leading to a further spill over of violence in Greece, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Denmark, and Switzerland.[40] It has been proven that Saudi Arabia continues to fund and maintain connections with a broad group of religious schools, stretching from Pakistan to New York, and from the Philippines to India.[44] Individuals from Europe and the Middle East are embracing the extremist teachings, traveling to Afghanistan, Kashmir and Iraq to fight, and returning to their own countries, with the rights of western citizens to carry the fight against the very nations they were born to. RMIGs Will Gain Access to Weapons of Mass Destruction It must be assumed that tomorrows terrorists will make every effort to ensure that they have more than unconventional amounts of conventional explosives with which to make their violent point.[46] Pakistan represents by far the greatest opportunity for would-be nuclear terrorists to become nuclear terrorists. If Muslim extremists cannot gain access to stolen weapons from the former Soviet Republics, Islamabad may be their provider. Thankfully, this seems not to be a guarantee that terrorists will use nuclear weapons against the potential western targets. RMIGs will most likely receive large, hard to conceal, low-yield devices that will be difficult to smuggle to their target. Though one can be certain that terrorist organizations will try anyway, other weapons of mass destruction (WMD) look to be a much more likely option. Clouds of toxic gas or incompletely weaponized bacteria could find their way into New York City, London or Paris. Even more likely is the chemical weapon threat. As the Japanese cult Aum Shinrikyo, demonstrated in a Tokyo subway in 1995, chemical weapons are available to essentially anyone who wants them badly enough to put in a modest effort to make or buy them.[47] The Home Grown threat from Muslim extremists is on the rise A 1994 terrorism study by the US Department of Defense predicted that by 2020 a majority of the worlds most important Muslim lands could be controlled by extremist religious governments.[52] Beyond that, for the first time, an Islamic country, Pakistan, has nuclear weapons. As previously mentioned, Islamic extremists view this technology as an Islamic bomb that could be used to promote their apocalyptic ideology, making nuclear terrorism a realistic threat. This threat will grow as Iraq, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, and other countries establish fundamentalist regimes that are willing to back the cause of jihad against the West. Saudi Arabia is well on the path to be taken over by a fundamentalist regime, and to attempt to postpone this, the Saud family will continue to provide more support to extremists and endeavor to direct the RMIGs attention to the West.[53] The overthrow of the Taliban in Afghanistan and the war in Iraq have strengthened the global jihadist movement, given them a training ground and built up the contacts for future terrorist acts. The gap between the Haves and the Have Nots will continue to increase The growing gap in wealth between the rich and poor countries looks as if it will further destabilize the world order, continuing to encourage prospective RMIGs in the less developed nations to foment violence against the rich in their own countries, or when available against western targets. This rising gap in wealth within many prosperous nations has the possibility to set off discontent among the less well-off, possibly helping to inspire random violence and acts of domestic terrorism in the West. The growing gap in wealth and income between the rich and the poor also may inspire conversion to Islam in the West, principally among the underprivileged. As seen in England and Australia, this can be a source of violent extremism among both immigrant and native populations.[54] Population growth is highest in those countries least able to support the growth The greatest fertility rates are found in those countries least able to support their existing populations: the largest population increases projected between 2000 and 2050 include the Palestinian Territory (217 percent), Niger (205 percent), Yemen (168 percent), Angola (162 percent), the Democratic Republic of Congo (161 percent), and Uganda (133 percent).[55] The Muslim world is reproducing at an extremely high rate, with fertility rates of 7.5 in Afghanistan, 6.0 in Yemen, and 4.9 in Iraq.[57] Even these estimates appear to be on the low side. According to CSIS, most official projections underestimate both the fertility rates and age of mortality, as well as making the assumption that life expectancy will grow more slowly in the future, which seems unlikely as world healthcare only continues to get better. Growing Western prosperity relative to other countries with rapidly growing populations and overburdened economies will continue to make the developed nations a target for terrorism. Shortages of food could help to motivate extremism unless the industrialized nations make a determined, visible effort to provide for the worlds poor. (Food production in the next 40 years will need to be significantly higher then ever before in the worlds history to keep the exploding world population from starvation).[58] Urbanization, will continue to increase rapidly According to the Population Reference Bureaus 2006 World Population Data Sheet, Forty-eight percent of the worlds population currently lives in cities. By 2030 that figure is expected to grow to 60 percent, as approximately 2.1 billion more people move to the worlds urban centers.[59] In industrialized nations, on average, more than three-fourths of the population lives in urban areas (urban areas are defined differently for each country).[62] Right now, there are billions of people who live in urban areas who lack adequate clean water, shelter, toilets and hygiene areas, and/or electricity.[63] The problems this raises with reference to crime, violence, and religious extremism is readily apparent. Concentrating the poor, oppressed and powerless in large cloistered urban centers produces conditions ideal for the spread of crime and the type of religious extremism that lends itself to violent ideologies. Chapter IV Old Terrorism Any government that supports, protects or harbours terrorists is complicit in the murder of the innocent and equally guilty of terrorist crimes. George W. Bush Old Terrorism – Ethno -nationalist or Ideological, and state sponsored What are the differences between the legitimate tactics used by authorities in the quelling or defence of terrorism, and terrorism itself? Nations at times will use violence to control or manipulate parts of their populace, or use intimidation to get what they desire.[67] A government that is an adversary of Country B may apply terror tactics in an effort to make up for real or perceived inadequacies in conventional warfare capabilities. Repression through terror of the indigenous population of their own country may occur to stop the dissent or violent uprising inside the country that Country B might exploit. Special Operations forces, paramilitary forces and state intelligence assets could conduct terrorist operations against Country B interests both inter-regionally and as far outside the countries borders as the abilities of their external security apparatus will allow to destabilize Country B and bring desired visibility to the sponsoring governments issues. Finally, attacks on Country B on their home soil may be conducted by RMIGs of the state or by other domestic proxies.[68] This is being seen today in Iraq with the Iranian involvement to destabilize Iraq and kill coalition servicemen, as well as Pakistans efforts to destabilize the Jammu and K ashmir region of India. Forms of State Terror Governmental or State terror State involvement in terror State sponsorship of terrorism Turning a blind eye to the harboring/funding of terror groups in their borders[69] Governmental or State terror Governmental or State terror is normally seen when a regime uses threats or outright terror to its own populace to exert power over or suppress them.[73] These weapons were not used against the majority Muslim population in the southern 2/3 of Iraq, where he accomplished his goals using conventional state terror methods. State involvement in terror State involvement in terror includes the activities where government personnel perform operations using terror tactics that are directed against other nations interests, individuals or private groups that have opposing or controversial opinions/actions viewed as counter to that of the state. In essence, it is governmentally authorized terrorism, though these sanctions hardly ever come to public light. Some past examples of this governmentally authorized terrorism are the assassination include the Soviet and Iranian assassination operations aimed at state dissidents who moved abroad for fear of their lives. Additionally, the targeting and destroying (through a covert bombing campaign carried out by Libyan and North Korean intelligence officers) of international airliners was another past example of this form of terrorism.[75] A further form of state involvement in terror is pro-state terror. This is a terror campaign carried out by small groups or individual people who have no authorized status in the system. These type of attacks generally are lacking in official support as well. Pro-state terror may have the end result of a desired outcome which the government wants. In these cases, with official use of violent crime tacitly supported by the authorities, even though the groups or individuals have gone outside the rule of punishment of the terrorists is rare. State sponsorship of terrorism State sponsorship of terrorism, also referred to as state supported terrorism, represents a situation when non-state terrorist organizations are trained, equipped and operationalized by an authorized national governmental agency. A very productive aspects of this support is the providing of safe havens for terrorists organizations.[78] Examples of state sponsorship of terrorism are the overt support by the government of Syria to Hamas as well as Lebanons overt support and backing of Hezbollah. Syrian funding and the providing of safe havens facilitate many training areas in the Beka Valley territory.[81] Chapter V New Terrorism Terrorism is carried out purposefully, in a cold-blooded, calculated fashion. The declared goals of the terrorist may change from place to place. He supposedly fig problems his only solution is the demolition of the whole structure of society. No partial solution, not even the total redressing of the grievance he complains of, will satisfy him until our social system is destroyed or delivered into his hands. BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, International Terrorism New Terrorism – Transnational or Global Jihadism The first efforts to describe a new form of terrorism began to occur in the 1990s, when scholars of terrorism attempted to make sense of a phenomenon they were seeing that did not fit into the previous model of terrorism in the 1970s and 1980s. Attacks such as that of the religious cult Aum Shinrikyo did not make sense without a reconsideration of the old model. In reality, the term new terrorism truly came into its own only after the September 11, 2001 attacks.[82] In a short comparative of the new and old terrorism, it has been stated that: * The new terrorism is justified on religious and apocalyptic grounds, while the old terrorism was rooted in political ideology.[83] * The new terrorism aims at destruction as an end in itself, while the old terrorism used violent destruction as a means to a political end;[84] * The new terrorism is organizationally distinct from the old terrorism. It is hierarchical (has many equally authoritative points of leadership) and horizontal, rather than hierarchical and vertical; it is decentralized rather than centralized;[85] * The new terrorism aims at as much destruction as possible, whether through devastating forms of weaponry or techniques such as suicide terrorism, whereas the old terrorism sought to create a dramatic spectacle with as little damage as possible;[86] More recently, those who write about new terrorism have focused on a perceived new threat of mass casualties caused by chemical, biological or other agents.[89] On the counter point, when one looks holistically and historically at Terrorism, there seems to be no old or new terrorism, just a Darwinistic evolution of violence for political purposes. Even Martha Crenshaw, the noted terrorism expert who is a staunch advocate against the use of the term New Terrorism states the following in comparing and contrasting the goals, methods, and organization of New and Old Terrorism: Goals The new terrorism model assumes uniformly that religion, primarily of those groups with millennial and apocalyptic ideologies, is the main precipitating factor. The new terrorists are said to have ambiguous goals on the systemic level and to value destruction for its own sake (i.e., the means are the ends). By contrast, the old terrorism is seen as comprehensible, limited, more specific, and often tied to territory – thus making the grievance more susceptible to negotiation. How well does the new terrorism model fit the historical record? Crenshaw observes that the religion behind various groups (e.g., Aum Shinrikyo versus Al Qaeda) differs, as do their goals (i.e., local or global). She also notes that some of the old terrorist groups (e.g., the 19th century anarchists and the Red Army Faction) had broad, transnational goals.[90] Means According to the new terrorism model, groups seek to kill as many people as possible and are particularly drawn to weapons of mass destruction, whereas the old terrorism approach assumed that the groups were limited in their means as well as goals. Crenshaw acknowledged that the new terrorism model best fits with respect to this criterion. [91] Organization and structure The new terrorists are decentralized and networked, are inspiration-driven, and often include amateurs. By contrast, the old terrorists are centralized, top-down, professional organizations that are often state sponsored. The new terrorism distinction only partly meets this criterion as many of the old terrorist groups, such as the Red Army faction, were not so monolithic. The bottom line seems to lend itself to seeing terrorism as not new in kind, but in degree and structure.[92] The new terror groups of today (Al Qaeda being the most well known) center mainly around religion as a core for recruitment and promulgation of ideology. Islam is the religion of choice and has found a massive following in Middle Eastern Arab Muslims, especially the Wahabists of Saudi Arabia, but the splinter groups, or those groups loosely associated, have worldwide reach.[93] These organizations differ significantly from more traditional terrorist organizations of past decades. The groups of today do not depend on the sponsorship of a political state, and, unlike the PLO or the IRA, they are not defined by a particular conflict. Instead, these groups operate analogous to the businesses McDonalds or Starbucks. Al Qaeda is the franchise owner, providing financial and logistical support, as well as name recognition, to local, regional and transnational terrorist groups operating in such diverse places as the Philippines, Algeria, Eritrea, Afghanistan, Chechnya, Tajikistan, Somalia, Ye men, and Kashmir. Local groups may carry out acts in the name of al-Qaeda in order to bolster their own reputation—even if they are not receiving support from the organization. This is possible because the ideology that al Qaeda has developed and promulgated focuses their concepts to stress a few main tenants to ensure the survival and spread of the movement. Ensuring the perpetuity of the fight.[94] Obeying the individual obligation to fight Islams enemies regardless of the apparent outcome of battle[95] Institutionalizing a culture of martyrdom[96] Pinpointing Islams enemies through the refining process of jihad, and thus maintaining its identity[97] Establishing pride, brotherhood, and unity in the face of threats to the ummah[98] Creating a parity of suffering with Islams enemies—especially the Jews and Crusaders[99] Victory is seen in the maladies afflicting Gods enemies, especially economic recession and natural disasters[100] Observing miracles and dreams in jihad, which foretell of divine guidance and ultimate victory for the mujahedeen[101] As long as groups follow these main tenants, and focus their violence against the common enemy, then they are supporting the common cause. Due to this, Scott Atran argues that it is not religion, but group dynamics based off of social needs that fuels the Global Jihadist movement but small-group dynamics involving friends and family that form the diaspora cell of brotherhood and camaraderie on which the rising tide of martyrdom actions is based.[102] As mentioned by Crenshaw above, one of the main improvements of New terrorism is that of decentralized execution of actions that may or may not have been planned by some higher authority. As stated in the United States Air Force Defense Doctrine publication 1, Decentralized execution is, the delegation of execution authority to responsible and capable lower-level commanders to achieve effective span of control and to foster disciplined initiative, situational responsiveness, and tactical flexibility.[103] Chapter VI New Old Terrorism In todays wars, there are no morals. We believe the worst thieves in the world today and the worst terrorists are the Americans. We do not have to differentiate between military or civilian. As far as we are concerned, they are all targets. Osama Bin Laden Time magazine profile (16 September 2001) The Pendulum Swings Back For better or worse (and this author believes it is worsemuch worse) the pendulum is swinging back in the direction of state sponsored terrorism. For nations like Pakistan and Iran, the pendulum never moved, as these countries have been manning, training, equipping, and operationalizing terrorist groups for decades.[108] Iran has consistently been described by the United States as the worlds foremost state sponsor of terrorism. It actively supports terrorist groups, most prominently the Lebanese group Hezbollah.[115]. Iran and Hezbollah Hezbollah, a radical Shiite militia based in Lebanon, is a direct product of funding and training by Irans IRGC (QF). It was formally established in 1982 following the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, aimed at uprooting the PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organization) bases there.[119] RMIG takeover of Islamic Nations For other nations that have not been wholly engaged in state sponsored terrorism, there are growing dangers as well. There are two types of new and developing state sponsored terrorism which may very soon roll a number of these nations into the terrorist state fold. The first one, unfortunately, we are all familiar with, as the most accurate example being the Al Qaeda infiltration of Afghanistan. After the Soviet Union finally withdrew from Afghanistan in 1989 the communist Afghani government hung on for three more years, and then was finally overrun by RMIGs.[121] These services and practical, day-to-day contributions to the lives of ordinary citizens will provide a legitimacy and underpinning for future political activities by terrorist organizations. This RMIG sponsored ground root social support, combined with the reality that in almost every country in the Muslim world, western focused terrorism already has the sympathy of a majority of the population and the strong allegiance o f many, will in the near future give rise to terrorist based governments in many middle-eastern countries. The second development in state sponsored terrorism is focused at the western nations, with Europe directly in the crosshairs and North America soon to follow. The most dangerous and most likely future development in the spread of terrorism is that caused by population growth and immigration of Muslims into western lands. The bottom line is that there is a near irreversible trend in the expansion of Islam into Europe and Canada.[125] In essence, Europe in the next 50 years will be of a very different demographic makeup as it is now. Of all population growth in the EU in the last 20 years, 90% has been from immigrants, much of which were Islamic.[126] In France, though the statistics vary, the Islamic fertility rate is considered much higher than the 1.8 of native Frenchmen, as Islamic immigrants make up only 7.5% of the population yet account for 20% of the fertility rate.[128] It is not just France. As of 2001, the Muslim population in Great Britain rose from 82,000 in 1991 to 1,600,000 (Estimated at 2,500,000 today).[131] Compared to the decline in population of a majority of the industrialized nations, The United States (thanks to Latino immigration) will maintain the current fertility rate of 2.11 children per couple, thus providing the body pool to maintain strength in the global economy, as the European Union falls to third place behind the United States and China.[132] Whether it be by overthrow in an unstable middle-eastern country, or out-breeding the populations of western nations, it can be assumed that RMIGs will gain control of (or at least strong influence over) a functioning country in the next half century. If the terrorists do gain control of a country with a fully functioning and stable government, the nature of the game changes drastically. When terrorists becomethe government, all terrorism is state-sponsored The nations wealth, scientists, laboratories and research facilities can be focused to develop weapons of mass destruction of all types for use in the global jihad. Even in the absence of WMD, by gaining the status and legitimacy of a national government, radical Islamists will present western and developed nations with a difficult problem. We have seen in Afghanistan and Pakistan the benefits that a sovereign safe-haven has provi Causes and Effects of Growing Terrorism Causes and Effects of Growing Terrorism Chapter 1 Introduction The Threat from Terrorism There are very few humans in the world today who have not had their lives altered or affected in some way through terrorist acts or the threat from terrorism. The highly publicized terrorist attacks in the United States, London, Madrid, and Mumbai were seen worldwide and have lead to sweeping changes in the security postures of many western and developed nations, as well as to a multi-nation war in Afghanistan. For those that have not felt the direct effects by losing someone close to them, there are many life altering after-shocks have had global reach and thus have effected nearly everyone. Every person who uses public transportation, rides in a plane/train, or crosses an international border will feel the effects of international terrorism through vastly increased security measures. Terrorism has changed foreign policy for many nations and has lead to wars.[1] In all, terrorism is rewriting the geopolitical map as we see it now and in the decades to come, will continue to change t he world as we know it. Radical Militant Islamic Groups There are many religions and political factions that have terrorist cells. In fact, in this day and age, one would be hard pressed to find a country or religion that does not have some form of fundamental or radicalized terrorist group in its midst. Groups espousing terror find roots in Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism and Hinduism.[2] This being said, in recent times, the most dangerous threat to western and developed nations comes from the Radical Militant Islamic Groups. These Islamic Militants have not only local and national reach, but can project their influence regionally and even globally (as seen with Al Qaeda and Hezbollah), and thus will be the focus of this dissertation. Shifting Sands: Since as far back as history dates, there has been war between peoples. Sometimes these peoples were evenly matched, and the battles pitted large armies against one another. Yet at other times, the odds were heavily in favor of one side, and the lesser of these groups had to resort to non-traditional warfare to inflict losses on their enemy. Sometimes these attacks were focused on the enemys military, and sometimes these attacks were focused on the citizenry of the enemy nation. The enemies could be nation vs nation or sometimes they were nation vs a non-state actor group. The pendulum has swung back and forth throughout history as to what is the root of terrorist groups. With the emergence of Al Qaeda we have seen that in the present day the non-state actor terrorist groups have taken center stage, though this may be about to change. Attempt to predict the future This paper engages the probability of predicting the future of global terrorism. This is achieved by analyzing the history of the origins and conceptual changes of terrorism over years past and current trends of terrorism as seen through the data available from the terrorism scholars of today. Though terrorism is not a completely Islamic phenomena, this paper will focus on terrorism from Radical Militant Islamic Groups, as this is the most predominant form of terrorism seen in the present day. It will attempt to lay out the evolution of terrorism to give some basis for a review of the current most important trends in terrorism. It will discuss the origins of ethno-nationalist (or state sponsored) terrorism and further discuss how this has morphed into the new transnational (or non-state actor) terrorism of today. Finally the paper will set the stage for the prediction of a future shift back to state sponsored terrorism and outline the reasons why this is going to occur. Chapter II Evolution of Terrorism – Historical Roots Mr. Speaker, I agree with those who say that the Global War  on Terrorism is actually a Global War of Ideas and that  terrorism is one of the tactics used in that War. Mac Thornberry (US Congressman) P re-Modern World: 1st Century BC to the 13th Century The history of [6] 1793: The Origins of Modern Terrorism In 1793, following the French revolution, Maximilien Robespierre instigated a reign of terror on those who opposed the French revolution.[7] This reign of terror is conventionally known as the birthplace of the word Terrorism.[9] Robespierres sentiment is the keystone in the beliefs of many modern terrorists, who consider violence the best and most efficient way to get to their desired outcome. As decades passed, the categorization of terrorism as a state action has blurred, as the idea of terrorism as an attack against an existing political order became more prominent. 1950s: The Rise of Non-State Terrorism Terrorism in the 1950s got its start from the guerilla warfare tactics popular with many insurgent groups of the time. This rise of guerrilla tactics by non-state actors in the last half of the twentieth century was due to several factors. These included the blossoming of ethnic nationalism (e.g. Irish, Basque, Zionist), anti-colonial sentiments in the vast British, French and Dutch empires, and new ideologies such as communism. In near recent times, terrorist groups with nationalist agendas have sprung up in every part of the world. For example, the Irish Republican Army grew from the desire of Irish Catholics to form an independent republic, and break their ties with Great Britain.[10] Similarly, the Kurds, a distinct ethnic and linguistic group in Turkey, Syria, Iran and Iraq, have sought national autonomy since the beginning of the 20th Century.[13] 1970s: The International Turn of Terrorism International terrorism came to the forefront as a prominent issue in the late 1960s, when hijacking of large airliners became a favored tactic. In 1968, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine became the first group to hijack an aircraft.[18] 1990s: 21 st Century: The Rise of Religious Terrorism Though an argument can be made that the rise of religiously motivated terrorism got its modern day start in Iran and Afghanistan to counter the political issues of the Shah and the Soviet Union, it came to the forefront with many highly visible violent acts committed during the 1990s. Groups that justify their violence on Islamic grounds Al Qaeda, Hamas, and Hezbollah come to mind first. But Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism and other religions have given rise to their own forms of militant extremism.[19] In recent years RMIGs have taken center stage for their astoundingly violent acts perpetrated against the citizenry of non-Muslim cultures. Chapter III Trends in Terrorism When you give religiously inspired zealots weapons of mass destruction and you promise them that if they kill innocent people they will go to heaven, imagine what the consequences are. Major Changes are Ahead There are major changes coming to terrorism in the years ahead. These changes can be seen from the trends of today, and will deeply change the threat to marked nations by terrorists and the terms on which we must fight the war against RMIGs. The top trends that will influence the changes in Terrorism Globally are summarized below. Fertility rates will lead Western Countries to come under Islamic rule In contrast to the developing world, many industrialized countries are currently, or will soon, see fertility rates below the replacement level and hence significant declines in populations, excluding the effects of immigration[22] Militant Islam continues to grow in both membership and power It has been clear for years that many Islamic nations face severe problems with religious extremists who are dedicated to advancing their political, social, and ideological views by any means necessary.[23] Nearly all of the Muslim lands are overcrowded and short of resources. Many are poor, save for the oil-rich states of the Middle East.[27] The Terrorist Ranks Are Growing The post 9/11 invasion of Afghanistan that lead to the unseating of the Taliban regime deprived Al Qaeda of a safe haven, striking a major blow against the global terrorist movement, yet by not following up effectively on that initial success, a great deal of benefit that could have been solidified was squandered. Additionally, with the invasion of Iraq, Al Qaeda and its sympathizers now have new grounds from which they can unite their members and, more importantly, recruit new ones.[32] At the heart of the Middle East fundamentalist movement are the wahabists of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia has recently been forced to enact a program designed to keep Muslim men from going to Iraq to wage war against the coalition forces in a global jihad.[35] In this way, the foundation for terrorist cells are built which are independent of Al Qaeda but resolutely committed to the same objectives. Examples of this have been seen in the Madrid railway bombings which were carried out by Al Qaeda inspired Moroccan terrorist cell who were motivated by the Iraq invasion.[39] It is clear that RMIGs have significant sympathy among Europes Muslim population. The French riots of October and November 2005 affected at least twenty cities in that country, resulting in 2,888 arrests, leading to a further spill over of violence in Greece, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Denmark, and Switzerland.[40] It has been proven that Saudi Arabia continues to fund and maintain connections with a broad group of religious schools, stretching from Pakistan to New York, and from the Philippines to India.[44] Individuals from Europe and the Middle East are embracing the extremist teachings, traveling to Afghanistan, Kashmir and Iraq to fight, and returning to their own countries, with the rights of western citizens to carry the fight against the very nations they were born to. RMIGs Will Gain Access to Weapons of Mass Destruction It must be assumed that tomorrows terrorists will make every effort to ensure that they have more than unconventional amounts of conventional explosives with which to make their violent point.[46] Pakistan represents by far the greatest opportunity for would-be nuclear terrorists to become nuclear terrorists. If Muslim extremists cannot gain access to stolen weapons from the former Soviet Republics, Islamabad may be their provider. Thankfully, this seems not to be a guarantee that terrorists will use nuclear weapons against the potential western targets. RMIGs will most likely receive large, hard to conceal, low-yield devices that will be difficult to smuggle to their target. Though one can be certain that terrorist organizations will try anyway, other weapons of mass destruction (WMD) look to be a much more likely option. Clouds of toxic gas or incompletely weaponized bacteria could find their way into New York City, London or Paris. Even more likely is the chemical weapon threat. As the Japanese cult Aum Shinrikyo, demonstrated in a Tokyo subway in 1995, chemical weapons are available to essentially anyone who wants them badly enough to put in a modest effort to make or buy them.[47] The Home Grown threat from Muslim extremists is on the rise A 1994 terrorism study by the US Department of Defense predicted that by 2020 a majority of the worlds most important Muslim lands could be controlled by extremist religious governments.[52] Beyond that, for the first time, an Islamic country, Pakistan, has nuclear weapons. As previously mentioned, Islamic extremists view this technology as an Islamic bomb that could be used to promote their apocalyptic ideology, making nuclear terrorism a realistic threat. This threat will grow as Iraq, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, and other countries establish fundamentalist regimes that are willing to back the cause of jihad against the West. Saudi Arabia is well on the path to be taken over by a fundamentalist regime, and to attempt to postpone this, the Saud family will continue to provide more support to extremists and endeavor to direct the RMIGs attention to the West.[53] The overthrow of the Taliban in Afghanistan and the war in Iraq have strengthened the global jihadist movement, given them a training ground and built up the contacts for future terrorist acts. The gap between the Haves and the Have Nots will continue to increase The growing gap in wealth between the rich and poor countries looks as if it will further destabilize the world order, continuing to encourage prospective RMIGs in the less developed nations to foment violence against the rich in their own countries, or when available against western targets. This rising gap in wealth within many prosperous nations has the possibility to set off discontent among the less well-off, possibly helping to inspire random violence and acts of domestic terrorism in the West. The growing gap in wealth and income between the rich and the poor also may inspire conversion to Islam in the West, principally among the underprivileged. As seen in England and Australia, this can be a source of violent extremism among both immigrant and native populations.[54] Population growth is highest in those countries least able to support the growth The greatest fertility rates are found in those countries least able to support their existing populations: the largest population increases projected between 2000 and 2050 include the Palestinian Territory (217 percent), Niger (205 percent), Yemen (168 percent), Angola (162 percent), the Democratic Republic of Congo (161 percent), and Uganda (133 percent).[55] The Muslim world is reproducing at an extremely high rate, with fertility rates of 7.5 in Afghanistan, 6.0 in Yemen, and 4.9 in Iraq.[57] Even these estimates appear to be on the low side. According to CSIS, most official projections underestimate both the fertility rates and age of mortality, as well as making the assumption that life expectancy will grow more slowly in the future, which seems unlikely as world healthcare only continues to get better. Growing Western prosperity relative to other countries with rapidly growing populations and overburdened economies will continue to make the developed nations a target for terrorism. Shortages of food could help to motivate extremism unless the industrialized nations make a determined, visible effort to provide for the worlds poor. (Food production in the next 40 years will need to be significantly higher then ever before in the worlds history to keep the exploding world population from starvation).[58] Urbanization, will continue to increase rapidly According to the Population Reference Bureaus 2006 World Population Data Sheet, Forty-eight percent of the worlds population currently lives in cities. By 2030 that figure is expected to grow to 60 percent, as approximately 2.1 billion more people move to the worlds urban centers.[59] In industrialized nations, on average, more than three-fourths of the population lives in urban areas (urban areas are defined differently for each country).[62] Right now, there are billions of people who live in urban areas who lack adequate clean water, shelter, toilets and hygiene areas, and/or electricity.[63] The problems this raises with reference to crime, violence, and religious extremism is readily apparent. Concentrating the poor, oppressed and powerless in large cloistered urban centers produces conditions ideal for the spread of crime and the type of religious extremism that lends itself to violent ideologies. Chapter IV Old Terrorism Any government that supports, protects or harbours terrorists is complicit in the murder of the innocent and equally guilty of terrorist crimes. George W. Bush Old Terrorism – Ethno -nationalist or Ideological, and state sponsored What are the differences between the legitimate tactics used by authorities in the quelling or defence of terrorism, and terrorism itself? Nations at times will use violence to control or manipulate parts of their populace, or use intimidation to get what they desire.[67] A government that is an adversary of Country B may apply terror tactics in an effort to make up for real or perceived inadequacies in conventional warfare capabilities. Repression through terror of the indigenous population of their own country may occur to stop the dissent or violent uprising inside the country that Country B might exploit. Special Operations forces, paramilitary forces and state intelligence assets could conduct terrorist operations against Country B interests both inter-regionally and as far outside the countries borders as the abilities of their external security apparatus will allow to destabilize Country B and bring desired visibility to the sponsoring governments issues. Finally, attacks on Country B on their home soil may be conducted by RMIGs of the state or by other domestic proxies.[68] This is being seen today in Iraq with the Iranian involvement to destabilize Iraq and kill coalition servicemen, as well as Pakistans efforts to destabilize the Jammu and K ashmir region of India. Forms of State Terror Governmental or State terror State involvement in terror State sponsorship of terrorism Turning a blind eye to the harboring/funding of terror groups in their borders[69] Governmental or State terror Governmental or State terror is normally seen when a regime uses threats or outright terror to its own populace to exert power over or suppress them.[73] These weapons were not used against the majority Muslim population in the southern 2/3 of Iraq, where he accomplished his goals using conventional state terror methods. State involvement in terror State involvement in terror includes the activities where government personnel perform operations using terror tactics that are directed against other nations interests, individuals or private groups that have opposing or controversial opinions/actions viewed as counter to that of the state. In essence, it is governmentally authorized terrorism, though these sanctions hardly ever come to public light. Some past examples of this governmentally authorized terrorism are the assassination include the Soviet and Iranian assassination operations aimed at state dissidents who moved abroad for fear of their lives. Additionally, the targeting and destroying (through a covert bombing campaign carried out by Libyan and North Korean intelligence officers) of international airliners was another past example of this form of terrorism.[75] A further form of state involvement in terror is pro-state terror. This is a terror campaign carried out by small groups or individual people who have no authorized status in the system. These type of attacks generally are lacking in official support as well. Pro-state terror may have the end result of a desired outcome which the government wants. In these cases, with official use of violent crime tacitly supported by the authorities, even though the groups or individuals have gone outside the rule of punishment of the terrorists is rare. State sponsorship of terrorism State sponsorship of terrorism, also referred to as state supported terrorism, represents a situation when non-state terrorist organizations are trained, equipped and operationalized by an authorized national governmental agency. A very productive aspects of this support is the providing of safe havens for terrorists organizations.[78] Examples of state sponsorship of terrorism are the overt support by the government of Syria to Hamas as well as Lebanons overt support and backing of Hezbollah. Syrian funding and the providing of safe havens facilitate many training areas in the Beka Valley territory.[81] Chapter V New Terrorism Terrorism is carried out purposefully, in a cold-blooded, calculated fashion. The declared goals of the terrorist may change from place to place. He supposedly fig problems his only solution is the demolition of the whole structure of society. No partial solution, not even the total redressing of the grievance he complains of, will satisfy him until our social system is destroyed or delivered into his hands. BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, International Terrorism New Terrorism – Transnational or Global Jihadism The first efforts to describe a new form of terrorism began to occur in the 1990s, when scholars of terrorism attempted to make sense of a phenomenon they were seeing that did not fit into the previous model of terrorism in the 1970s and 1980s. Attacks such as that of the religious cult Aum Shinrikyo did not make sense without a reconsideration of the old model. In reality, the term new terrorism truly came into its own only after the September 11, 2001 attacks.[82] In a short comparative of the new and old terrorism, it has been stated that: * The new terrorism is justified on religious and apocalyptic grounds, while the old terrorism was rooted in political ideology.[83] * The new terrorism aims at destruction as an end in itself, while the old terrorism used violent destruction as a means to a political end;[84] * The new terrorism is organizationally distinct from the old terrorism. It is hierarchical (has many equally authoritative points of leadership) and horizontal, rather than hierarchical and vertical; it is decentralized rather than centralized;[85] * The new terrorism aims at as much destruction as possible, whether through devastating forms of weaponry or techniques such as suicide terrorism, whereas the old terrorism sought to create a dramatic spectacle with as little damage as possible;[86] More recently, those who write about new terrorism have focused on a perceived new threat of mass casualties caused by chemical, biological or other agents.[89] On the counter point, when one looks holistically and historically at Terrorism, there seems to be no old or new terrorism, just a Darwinistic evolution of violence for political purposes. Even Martha Crenshaw, the noted terrorism expert who is a staunch advocate against the use of the term New Terrorism states the following in comparing and contrasting the goals, methods, and organization of New and Old Terrorism: Goals The new terrorism model assumes uniformly that religion, primarily of those groups with millennial and apocalyptic ideologies, is the main precipitating factor. The new terrorists are said to have ambiguous goals on the systemic level and to value destruction for its own sake (i.e., the means are the ends). By contrast, the old terrorism is seen as comprehensible, limited, more specific, and often tied to territory – thus making the grievance more susceptible to negotiation. How well does the new terrorism model fit the historical record? Crenshaw observes that the religion behind various groups (e.g., Aum Shinrikyo versus Al Qaeda) differs, as do their goals (i.e., local or global). She also notes that some of the old terrorist groups (e.g., the 19th century anarchists and the Red Army Faction) had broad, transnational goals.[90] Means According to the new terrorism model, groups seek to kill as many people as possible and are particularly drawn to weapons of mass destruction, whereas the old terrorism approach assumed that the groups were limited in their means as well as goals. Crenshaw acknowledged that the new terrorism model best fits with respect to this criterion. [91] Organization and structure The new terrorists are decentralized and networked, are inspiration-driven, and often include amateurs. By contrast, the old terrorists are centralized, top-down, professional organizations that are often state sponsored. The new terrorism distinction only partly meets this criterion as many of the old terrorist groups, such as the Red Army faction, were not so monolithic. The bottom line seems to lend itself to seeing terrorism as not new in kind, but in degree and structure.[92] The new terror groups of today (Al Qaeda being the most well known) center mainly around religion as a core for recruitment and promulgation of ideology. Islam is the religion of choice and has found a massive following in Middle Eastern Arab Muslims, especially the Wahabists of Saudi Arabia, but the splinter groups, or those groups loosely associated, have worldwide reach.[93] These organizations differ significantly from more traditional terrorist organizations of past decades. The groups of today do not depend on the sponsorship of a political state, and, unlike the PLO or the IRA, they are not defined by a particular conflict. Instead, these groups operate analogous to the businesses McDonalds or Starbucks. Al Qaeda is the franchise owner, providing financial and logistical support, as well as name recognition, to local, regional and transnational terrorist groups operating in such diverse places as the Philippines, Algeria, Eritrea, Afghanistan, Chechnya, Tajikistan, Somalia, Ye men, and Kashmir. Local groups may carry out acts in the name of al-Qaeda in order to bolster their own reputation—even if they are not receiving support from the organization. This is possible because the ideology that al Qaeda has developed and promulgated focuses their concepts to stress a few main tenants to ensure the survival and spread of the movement. Ensuring the perpetuity of the fight.[94] Obeying the individual obligation to fight Islams enemies regardless of the apparent outcome of battle[95] Institutionalizing a culture of martyrdom[96] Pinpointing Islams enemies through the refining process of jihad, and thus maintaining its identity[97] Establishing pride, brotherhood, and unity in the face of threats to the ummah[98] Creating a parity of suffering with Islams enemies—especially the Jews and Crusaders[99] Victory is seen in the maladies afflicting Gods enemies, especially economic recession and natural disasters[100] Observing miracles and dreams in jihad, which foretell of divine guidance and ultimate victory for the mujahedeen[101] As long as groups follow these main tenants, and focus their violence against the common enemy, then they are supporting the common cause. Due to this, Scott Atran argues that it is not religion, but group dynamics based off of social needs that fuels the Global Jihadist movement but small-group dynamics involving friends and family that form the diaspora cell of brotherhood and camaraderie on which the rising tide of martyrdom actions is based.[102] As mentioned by Crenshaw above, one of the main improvements of New terrorism is that of decentralized execution of actions that may or may not have been planned by some higher authority. As stated in the United States Air Force Defense Doctrine publication 1, Decentralized execution is, the delegation of execution authority to responsible and capable lower-level commanders to achieve effective span of control and to foster disciplined initiative, situational responsiveness, and tactical flexibility.[103] Chapter VI New Old Terrorism In todays wars, there are no morals. We believe the worst thieves in the world today and the worst terrorists are the Americans. We do not have to differentiate between military or civilian. As far as we are concerned, they are all targets. Osama Bin Laden Time magazine profile (16 September 2001) The Pendulum Swings Back For better or worse (and this author believes it is worsemuch worse) the pendulum is swinging back in the direction of state sponsored terrorism. For nations like Pakistan and Iran, the pendulum never moved, as these countries have been manning, training, equipping, and operationalizing terrorist groups for decades.[108] Iran has consistently been described by the United States as the worlds foremost state sponsor of terrorism. It actively supports terrorist groups, most prominently the Lebanese group Hezbollah.[115]. Iran and Hezbollah Hezbollah, a radical Shiite militia based in Lebanon, is a direct product of funding and training by Irans IRGC (QF). It was formally established in 1982 following the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, aimed at uprooting the PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organization) bases there.[119] RMIG takeover of Islamic Nations For other nations that have not been wholly engaged in state sponsored terrorism, there are growing dangers as well. There are two types of new and developing state sponsored terrorism which may very soon roll a number of these nations into the terrorist state fold. The first one, unfortunately, we are all familiar with, as the most accurate example being the Al Qaeda infiltration of Afghanistan. After the Soviet Union finally withdrew from Afghanistan in 1989 the communist Afghani government hung on for three more years, and then was finally overrun by RMIGs.[121] These services and practical, day-to-day contributions to the lives of ordinary citizens will provide a legitimacy and underpinning for future political activities by terrorist organizations. This RMIG sponsored ground root social support, combined with the reality that in almost every country in the Muslim world, western focused terrorism already has the sympathy of a majority of the population and the strong allegiance o f many, will in the near future give rise to terrorist based governments in many middle-eastern countries. The second development in state sponsored terrorism is focused at the western nations, with Europe directly in the crosshairs and North America soon to follow. The most dangerous and most likely future development in the spread of terrorism is that caused by population growth and immigration of Muslims into western lands. The bottom line is that there is a near irreversible trend in the expansion of Islam into Europe and Canada.[125] In essence, Europe in the next 50 years will be of a very different demographic makeup as it is now. Of all population growth in the EU in the last 20 years, 90% has been from immigrants, much of which were Islamic.[126] In France, though the statistics vary, the Islamic fertility rate is considered much higher than the 1.8 of native Frenchmen, as Islamic immigrants make up only 7.5% of the population yet account for 20% of the fertility rate.[128] It is not just France. As of 2001, the Muslim population in Great Britain rose from 82,000 in 1991 to 1,600,000 (Estimated at 2,500,000 today).[131] Compared to the decline in population of a majority of the industrialized nations, The United States (thanks to Latino immigration) will maintain the current fertility rate of 2.11 children per couple, thus providing the body pool to maintain strength in the global economy, as the European Union falls to third place behind the United States and China.[132] Whether it be by overthrow in an unstable middle-eastern country, or out-breeding the populations of western nations, it can be assumed that RMIGs will gain control of (or at least strong influence over) a functioning country in the next half century. If the terrorists do gain control of a country with a fully functioning and stable government, the nature of the game changes drastically. When terrorists becomethe government, all terrorism is state-sponsored The nations wealth, scientists, laboratories and research facilities can be focused to develop weapons of mass destruction of all types for use in the global jihad. Even in the absence of WMD, by gaining the status and legitimacy of a national government, radical Islamists will present western and developed nations with a difficult problem. We have seen in Afghanistan and Pakistan the benefits that a sovereign safe-haven has provi

What Is Astrology :: essays research papers

What Is Astrology Astrology is the study of planetary influences and their affect on the world and everything in it. Astrology is usually limited to human beings--their nature, and their affairs, although a chart can be drawn up for just about any event. The horoscope is a blue print or pattern of the solar system cast for a particular moment of time. It is from this that the astrologer bases the interpretation or delineation as indicated by the nature of the sun, moon, and planets. The natal horoscope is a chart drawn at the moment of birth to see and understand the nature and makeup of the soul of the newborn as it takes residence in the physical vehicle or body. The human soul is a focal point of cosmic energy, and the pattern of the heavens, as charted in the horoscope, is the means the soul comes to know itself and its destiny. Astrology points the way to soul development and growth. The soul's strengths and weaknesses are noted in the horoscope. Life is an opportunity given to soul for further enhancement. Because the heavens are in constant motion, and because this motion is quite ordered and exact, it is possible to project the positions of the sun, moon, and planets for any given time. Astrologers use this information to draw-up a horoscope and forecast the "influences" that will affect the soul at that time. Astrologers usually do not predict actual events in the future. They can only say what might happen, or could happen, but not what will happen--much like a weather forecast; although many psychics do make predictions, and astrology is the tool they use to focus their abilities. Another common feature of astrology is the comparison of birth charts to ascertain the compatibility of two people. This is a straightforward method used by over-laying one chart upon the other. The aspects or angles formed by the planets are then analyzed to determine how the energy fields of each person blend together.

Oedipus :: essays research papers

In ancient Greece, the people believed that the gods ruled their lives and controlled their destiny. Their emphasis on fate was shown in their plays. This stands true to Oedipus, he could not c0ontrol his fate. Fate kept Oedipus alive through a murder attempt and to kill his father, and to marry his mother. When Oedipus was born his father was so afraid of the prophecy that he gave his son away to be killed. The will of the gods protected Oedipus and found two people to raise him. If the gods didn’t control the lives of these people, Oedipus would surely be dead. Fate kept him alive to fulfill his prophecy. Oedipus was put in a situation where he couldn’t protect himself, but was still able to overcome it. Oedipus is now older and leaves the people whom he thinks is his parents. While traveling he runs into a stranger. He gets into an argument with this stranger and kills him. The stranger turned out to be the king, and also his father. With the king away a sphinx shows up and causes mischief. Oedipus answers the riddle correctly and with it the sphinx leaves. Because of this Oedipus is given the throne. Fate has kept him alive and given him the chance to kill his father and overtake the thrown. Now that he is king, he meets the old queen and falls madly in love with her. He marries her and he has two children, who in all reality are actually his half sisters. Oedipus has no way of knowing that his wife is actually his mother. Just when it had seemed to Oedipus his life was becoming fulfilled, he runs into a blind prophet who explains why the city is having such problems. Slowly but surely Oedipus’ fate comes back to haunt him. It begins with the burning question of, why is the city is undergoing such terrible plagues? The whole town seems to be under a curse from the gods and Oedipus wants to know why.

Poems

English Coursework Compare how strong human emotion Is conveyed in three poems from Section C of the Anthology and three other poems you have studied. Poetry engages readers with different forms of emotion; these emotions can be conveyed through stylish and subtle use of extraordinary language, form, structure and context, all of which provide an additional dimension to the literature. Emotion Is defined as a â€Å"strong feeling† and this will be explored in the paired poems: ‘Having' and ‘Remember'; ‘A Mother In A Refugee Camp' and ‘Mother Any Distance'; ‘Sonnet 1 16' and ‘If.The key themes in these passages are the universal feelings which we all experience, such as love and resentment. The poems In each pair share similar subject matter and messages. Poetry Is a thought-provoking way to explore the challenges encountered throughout our lives. These are demonstrated by the look and shape of a poem, the sophisticated vocabulary and emotion which can be depicted. Looking at the poems, I will explore how emotion is displayed and communicated to the reader. A Mother In a Refugee Camp' by China Achebe Is about the sadness of a mother who prepares o have her dear son take from her due to an unfortunate illness in the midst of a civil war refugee camp. The poem goes through four changing stages of emotion: reflection, sickness, pride and subsequently yet unfortunately ending in death. These emotions are universal experiences. Meaningful language Is used In the first line, â€Å"No Madonna and child could touch†, a religious reference used to describe the epitome of a mother and son relationship.The poem vividly describes the horrors taking place in the civil war, in lines such as, â€Å"heavy odors of diarrhea† and unwashed children with washed-out ribs† which graphically depict the experiences of disgust, as Intense pathos Is created at the expense of the children. Strong language is used so the reader can detect the stench of the odors and conceptualize the unwashed ribs of the children, as they're so desperate and in need of care. Huge pity Is Invoked In the reader as they can vividly picture what is happening In the camp.The â€Å"ghost-smile†, Is a false, fake smile displayed as the mother tries to behave with courage and strength at the most emotional time of her life, also provoking the reader as it did for me into feeling condolence and sympathy awards her. She is there in the present yet her mind is completely taken away from the camp Into reflecting upon memories. Comparatively ‘Mother Any Distance' by Simon Remarriage is a more thought-provoking poem as it delves into the ordeal of a young man leaving home and breaking free from his mother.It is thought-provoking because it allows the reader to reflect on one's own thoughts of this whether it is yet to come or a previous encounter. Loss and separation are two emotions felt In the paired poems but in contras ting contexts. ‘Mother Any Distance' focuses more on restoration whilst ‘A Mother in a Refugee Camp' on total heartbreak. ‘Mother Any Distance' is written in free verse allowing flexibility in structure and vocabulary.Likewise, words invariably used to portray distance are used to create a sense of the loss that Is soon to take place, â€Å"acres†, â€Å"years† and â€Å"zero-end†, these Impact the reader leading them to understand that the distance between the mother and son in this 1 OFF created through such lines as â€Å"she soon would have to forget† and â€Å"other mothers there had long ceased to care†. However, in both poems there is a feeling of not being able to deny something that looms large.The repetition of the word ‘mother' shows us the maternal love she feels and the inability to let go of her son as he moves into adulthood. Fantastic imagery is used such as the metaphors â€Å"Anchor†, safe foundation s and â€Å"Kite†, this represents the process of flight. The â€Å"endless sky to fall or fly', the son is preparing to fly, to leave safety, knowing not what lies ahead. In ‘Mother Any Distance' the stanza size seems to increase as the distance between them grows. As in ‘A Mother in a Refugee Camp' the mothers are devoted until the end.I feel that ‘Mother Any Distance' captivates me more as it has made me think owe my own experience will be and also because this is a more universal event. By contrast, ‘A Mother in a Refugee Camp' is something that many cannot relate to or cannot understand the pain and agony. Carol Ann Duffy ‘Having' focuses on the emotions of loss and separation. Having or Miss Having as she is known in Charles Dickens' ‘Great Expectations' is an elderly character who in her younger life was left at the altar and continues to obsess over this.The selection to not include the Miss at the start of her name is unknown; I f eel that it may be due to her coming creature-like and Duffy wishing to focus on her as person and not Just a spinster. Duffy self-consciously transforms this novel character from being depressed in ‘Great Expectations' to a more aggressive angry character in the poem ‘Having'. An interesting and controversial alliterative ‘B' oxymoron â€Å"Beloved sweetheart bastard. † is used in line one. This shows that possibly Having still has thoughts of love towards her ex-fiance ©e but still holds a grudge long after their parting.Duffy uses vivid colors as symbols, starting in line three, â€Å"dark green pebbles for eyes† Rene representing the emotion of envy, with her sinister thoughts. Also, â€Å"pebbles† demonstrate that her feelings are unhealthy as she wishes such hatred to another human being. From line three, this turns out to be a continuous theme throughout the rest of the poem. At the end of the poem, emphasis is used with â€Å"the hea rt that b-b-b-breaks. † Having is hiding from the outside world as she is old and trembling whilst she reflects on her younger years.The poem is written in free verse, allowing a flow through freedom of a variety of words and sentence structures as there are no constraints as in a sonnet. The stanzas are broken down into lines of four, called a quatrain; the stanzas go through four stages of emotion; hatred, horror, reflection and further hatred, finishing the way it started, returning to the emotion of hatred. ‘Remember' by Christiana Rosettes is written in first person as is ‘Having' thus the reader has a sense of a relationship with the protagonists in the poem, creating more pathos.Rosettes was bought up in the times of the Pre-Raphael movement, possibly explaining why her poems were controversial with formerly inaudible religious references such as â€Å"Pray'. In these paired poems protagonists are similar in hat they are soul-destroyed and are both going th rough or reminiscing on emotional break downs. Repetition of the personal pronouns â€Å"me†, â€Å"you†, â€Å"our† and â€Å"l† highlight the intimacy of the personal relationship and highlight loss between two people, also affecting the way we interpret the poem as it could be about anyone. Having' in its regular verses of four is much unlike ‘Remember' with a solid block of emotional her. â€Å"Remember me when I am gone away', a very melancholy line stating how sad she is and that soon she will be departing, setting the tone and atmosphere for the rest of the poem. Gone far away into the silent land† says that where she is going will not be dreadful, she can be calm and relaxed here but â€Å"far away'; she will not be able to return. However, this could be viewed as a euphemism for death and like Hafnium's â€Å"beloved sweetheart bastard† create an oxymoron feel. Remember' is a sonnet (a 14 lined poem), self-contradictory in it s paradoxical form in which the feel of the poem changes two lines from its conclusion from a demanding command at the start of each quatrain â€Å"remember me† to â€Å"better by far you should forget and smile† a happier and quite nostalgic quote. It follows the rhyme pattern, ABA and iambic pentameter, which are regular patterns; this gives the poem a flow and beat. Along with the precise use of punctuation, used in the middle of lines on clause emphasis, called a caesura, often incorporated to emphasis a point, â€Å"Nor I half turn to go, yet turning stay. Compared to Having which follows no rhyme scheme, this is due to the constant use of enjambment. The emotions conveyed in ‘Having' and ‘Remember' are those of confusion and love. ‘Sonnet 116' by William Shakespeare was published in 1609 in the form of a Shakespearean sonnet. The focal point is the emotion of love which is defined as â€Å"a strong feeling of affection†, which in Shakesp earean times perhaps had more meaning and more importance.Love is prominent throughout the poem through the use of poetic devices and fanciful language in the metaphors, â€Å"the star to every wandering bark† and â€Å"an ever-fixed mark', in an attempt to define the indefinable love. Shakespeare is trying to declare to us that love can't be altered by any means â€Å"love alters not with his brief hours and weeks. † Love is eternal, â€Å"bears it out even to the edge of doom†. To summaries what Shakespeare is attempting to say Where there is life there is love'. The poem has a rhetorical theme of love and what it is, which can be interpreted in many different ways.Comparably love, like the poem, has no real end or conclusion. After all, love is a philosophical perception. Rudyard Kipling ‘If like ‘1 16' explores the conflicting emotions of love and pride. ‘If is a didactic poem, meaning to give instruction. ‘If serves as an instructio n in this case to an exceptional leader, illustrating the actions a man should take throughout life, such as never giving up, â€Å"If you can wait and not be tired by waiting†. The creative use of an exclamation mark, manfully be a man, my son! † captivates the reader's attention and adds sudden enthusiasm to a rather serious poem.Writing to children, the rhyme scheme ABA assists coherence and comprehension. The paired poems are written in iambic pentameter, offering a regular pattern which also adds a ironically and infatuating quality to the poem. ‘If' is written in four stanzas of eight rhyming lines, in its order of ABA, whilst ‘1 16' is split into three quatrains and a couplet. The structure of the paired poems emphasizes the emotions depicted. The rhyme scheme in ‘If gives a sincere yet uplifting feel whilst ‘1 16' is more sophisticated.

A Little About Me

Livelihood of the people often sung to go with the movement of workers such as the kalusan (Ivatan), soliranin (Tagalog rowing song) or the mambayu, a Kalinga rice-pounding song; the verbal jousts/games like the duplo popular during wakes. Other folk songs are the drinking songs sung during carousals like the tagay (Cebuano and Waray); dirges and lamentations extolling the deeds of the dead like the kanogon (Cebuano) or the Annako (Bontoc).A type of narrative song or kissa among the Tausug of Mindanao, the parang sabil, uses for its subject matter the exploits of historical and legendary heroes. It tells of a Muslim hero who seeks death at the hands of non-Muslims. The folk narratives, i. e. epics and folk tales are varied, exotic and magical. They explain how the world was created, how certain animals possess certain characteristics, why some places have waterfalls, volcanoes, mountains, flora or fauna and, in the case of legends, an explanation of the origins of things.Fables are a bout animals and these teach moral lessons. Our country's epics are considered ethno-epics because unlike, say, Germany's Niebelunginlied, our epics are not national for they are â€Å"histories† of varied groups that consider themselves â€Å"nations. † The epics come in various names: Guman (Subanon); Darangen (Maranao); Hudhud (Ifugao); and Ulahingan (Manobo). These epics revolve around supernatural events or heroic deeds and they embody or validate the beliefs and customs and ideals of a community.These are sung or chanted to the accompaniment of indigenous musical instruments and dancing performed during harvests, weddings or funerals by chanters. The chanters who were taught by their ancestors are considered â€Å"treasures† and/or repositories of wisdom in their communities. Examples of these epics are the Lam-ang (Ilocano); Hinilawod (Sulod); Kudaman (Palawan); Darangen (Maranao); Ulahingan (Livunganen-Arumanen Manobo); Mangovayt Buhong na Langit (The Ma iden of the Buhong Sky from Tuwaang–Manobo); Ag Tobig neg Keboklagan (Subanon); and Tudbulol (T'boli).

Current Market Conditions Competitive Analysis (Apple vs Samsung)

The marginal product of labor varies depending on the number of products a company is currently making such as cell phones, and tablets. This company is equipped with multiplies of workers to use all there equipment weather it’s their children or themselves. When the corporation doesn't have sufficient labors to custom all of its tools, an extra worker can harvest many more substances with its current equipment such as the tablet in this case or the Galaxy phones, so the marginal product of labor is high. If Samsung have more workers that the machine it produces by hiring more people, so the marginal product of labor is lower, which is known as the law of diminishing returns.The amount of demand by any service that Samsung and Apple is significant to the amount of the services that the buyers are willing and able to purchase. But really these two companies are competing in the tablets and the IPhones all the other brands are just added benefits to the company to make more prof its. The amount that these two companies fund whether it is goods or services is the amount that they are willing and able to make profit. While Samsung have a wide range of cell phones Apple only has the IPhones but they both have services to make these device work.Now that we have understood the supply and demand for these products and services, we need to determine the value and the amount of the goods and services sold to the community. Finding the equilibrium price which is the amount of the goods that people who are willing and can afford to buy. Both of these companies have both cell phones and tables/ IPads. IN the world we live in today cell phone are a must especially if you have children.There are schools as well as business that require the students to have IPads which is what’s being giving out in the schools then you have employments that require there workers to have cell phones. Cell phones and tablet from Samsung are the products that customers buy because Ap ple is overpriced and many people can afford to buy their goods.

Applying theoretical ethics to applied ethics Essay

Applying theoretical ethics to applied ethics - Essay Example Passive euthanasia is assisting the patient to die with non provision of treatment or life sustaining procedures to save the patient’s life. The permissibility of each however is bombarded with many controversies making proponents of each view provide intelligent arguments and examples to indicate their point. Generally, the argument lies on the morality of active and passive euthanasia. Rachel claims that active and passive euthanasia has no moral difference and that both should be accepted with equal treatment. A different view holds that the morality of euthanasia depends on what the person cares about. This paper is going to argue that the stand of Rachel on active and passive euthanasia uses only hypothetical imperatives. Hypothetical is defined by Foot as â€Å"acts which are good only as a means to something else†. The paper has the following structures. Part 1 is going to explicate Rachel’s argument on active and passive euthanasia. Part 2 will present my arguments using the idea of Foot that the morality of active killing and passive omission is situated on what a person cares about. Part 1 Rachel claim there is no moral difference between active and passive euthanasia. The morality depends on how people view active killing and passive omission of duty. ... Most people look at active killing as more evil owing to the reason that the cause of death would be the action of the physician. On the contrary, if the medical team refrains from resuscitating a terminally ill patient in a situation where she/he is in cardiac arrest, it is acceptable because it is inculcated in the mind of many that it is the right thing to do. Passive method is not considered evil since the cause of death would be the illness itself although there is a deliberate withholding of foods and treatments. The ultimate result of withholding treatment is not directly seen and connected with death making passive euthanasia acceptable to most people. Another factor influencing the view of people on active killing and passive omission is how death is conceptualized by many. In most part of the globe, death is considered bad or evil since a love one is expected to die. The painful separation from that person and the unacceptable truth that death is inevitable makes death evil and people who cause it goes with that concept. If the doctors caused the death through injection, he is considered evil. Letting die on the other hand is viewed as natural death regardless of the intentional omission of a duty to care, feed, comfort, and most especially to treat the sick. Rachel is clear in maintaining his point that there is no difference in the morality between active and passive methods even in situations where the physician simply does not act. It was pointed out that omission of duty does not mean lesser evil more so that it does not justify the end. Omission of the act has the same ultimate goal with that of active killing. The difference is situated in how the act is done. For instance,