Terrorism is a global phenomenon that has affected every nation in one way or the other. Most terrorist groups originated from the Islamic religion in the Middle East and North Africa. Many innocent lives have been lost to terror attacks worldwide, making it one of the biggest challenges the world faces. North Africa and the Middle East have suffered from international and domestic violence, making them champions of the same in their quest for revenge. Terrorism rise amid a civil war where the youths are told that the rest of the world is waging war against Islamic nations (Moore, 2015). There are constant civil wars in the Middle East with groups trying to overthrow current governments, fighting for liberation and natural resources. The most vulnerable people are the women and children who lose their lives during the wars. The USA has been at the forefront of eradicating such wars and terrorist attacks globally. Recently, some Middle East countries have implemented policies on terrorism, such as Iran, Iraq, and Syria. However, these nations still indirectly fund extremist groups making it a complex task for the world's war against terrorism.
Iran and Terrorism Policies
Since the Islamic revolution in 1979, Iran has had a connection with terrorism. Iran is known both as a financier and a victim of terrorism. The major Islamic extremist group in Iran is ISIS which has terrorized the nation for a long time (Witty, 2015). The biggest challenge of the fight against terrorism is that it is diversifying. Fighting the terrorist attacks in Iran, three policies were formulated. Prevention policies in Iran are among the most prominent policies in fighting terrorism. The policies aim at terrorism root cause examination and have faced disputation overtime. Most disputes have been either liberation acts or terrorist acts. The policy seeks to know the groups' financiers, motivation, and who is involved and combating it at that level. Legal penalties are policies that emerged during the third commission for the human rights committee of the UN. The policies focus on violation of human rights as anti-terrorism measures and not terrorism. With the aid of the penal code of Iran's Islam, Moharebeh's sentence has been determined for terrorist acts where the criminal justice in Iran has to be followed. Administration, police, and judicial systems should internally push it. The system of criminal justice in Iran involves prosecution, investigation, and determination. Recent attacks have led to the formulation of Repressive policies. The policy's primary objective is terrorism elimination by introducing it as a criminal offense. Under these policies, terrorism is fought mainly using intelligence, police, and the military.
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Syria and Terrorism Policies
Syria is one of the Middle East nations that have been severely affected by terrorism. In the past, it has been one of the major supporters and financiers of terrorism acts, especially against the Western nations. As a result, it has facilitated many attacks internally and globally in the name of vengeance and liberation. However, in recent years, Syria has joined the world in eradicating terrorism by actively playing a part in the efforts. In mid-2014, ISIS was on the rise forcing an international collaboration against ISIS militants in Iraq and Syria (Lister, 2020). Policies formed both by Syria and the international community aimed at counterterrorism seemed to have succeeded then after the defeat of the Jihadist group. Tones of Syrian soldiers are dying through ISIS attacks under military attack policies by Syria, indicating that ISIS has not been defeated but has grown stronger. Despite stiff preventive and legal policies put in place by Syria, it needs help from the international community as many terrorist groups are growing stronger. Liberation movements are forming due to the Syrian government's policies and failures to provide people with security by eradicating these terrorist groups. Many people, especially the vulnerable group, are at risk of losing their lives. Additionally, with the rise in ISIS's strength, the international community is at stake as terror attacks could be launched in their countries by the terrorists.
Iraq and Terrorism Policies
Since Saddam Hussein's times, Iraq has been in wars, pulling them down economically and losing many innocent lives. They were part of the ISIS group, which planned terror attacks both locally and internationally (Megally, 2019). Iraq has been a financier of terrorist groups and also a victim. In the recent past, after experiencing adverse effects of terrorism, they have come up with several policies to curb terrorism. In collaboration with the US, the Counter-Terrorism service of Iraq was formulated. Its principal aim was to fight the Islamic state and maintain effective cohesion when Iraq's military and security forces have collapsed. Other policies made in Iraq are the law of counterterrorism no 13. In terrorism cases, the policy prescribes two sentences: life imprisonment and death. This helps Iraq stop terrorism as it facilitates severe punishment for such acts. Iraq also provides a victims justice policy that ensures every victim of a terror attack gets justice.
History of Terrorism in the Middle East and Correlation with Current Policies
The creation of Israel as a state, colonial error, and the failure of post-colonial attempts triggered a series of anti-western and Marxist movements and transformations in the Middle East. The movements believed that they would be achieved political objectives through terrorism. It led to international odder terrorism wherein the 1960's movements in Palestine in the quest for liberation started where innocent civilians were targeted. There were wars in 1967 between Israel, Arabs, and Palestine through the popular front for the liberation of Palestine-General command (PFLP). The rise of the Organization of Abu Nidal (ANO) launched attacks in 20 countries, leaving at least 900 people injured or dead. Over the years, terrorism has been between the Western nations and the Middle East (Moore, 2015). Other Islamic organizations such as Al-Queda under Osama Bin Laden in the 1990's-2000's and ISIS launched many terror attacks globally, leading to the loss of many lives. Such extremist and jihadist groups grew stronger over the years (Moore, 2015). It was hard and still is to fight jihadists as they believe that death during terror attacks is holy war thus desires to die. In recent years, the Middle East countries such as Iraq and Syria have been on the front line to make policies that fight terrorism. However, there is no certainty of the countries' true intentions; thus, it's hard for other countries to trust them as terror attacks are still ongoing.
Effects of Middle East Policies on the US efforts of counterterrorism
The US plays a significant role in fighting terrorism globally and specifically in the Middle East. This has been through military power to fight extremist groups and assisting them in policy formulation (Hamilton, 2018). Some of the policies have helped the US in counterterrorism measures. Policies encouraging human rights and justice for all support the US efforts as terrorist groups are eliminated. However, it's tough to trust the Middle East countries. Since countries such as Syria and Iran in the past have been the financers of terrorist groups, the idea that they support anti-terrorism fights poses questions. In recent years, terrorist groups are on the rise, and terrorism attacks increased. Some policies bring confusion as they go against their objective as stipulated. Policies such as in Iraq where terror acts sentence is death or life imprisonment have not been put to place despite the rise in terrorism groups in the Middle East. There is a level of uncertainty between the Middle East Policies and their actions.
Conclusion
Terrorism remains one of the most dangerous attacks any nation could face in the world. Terrorism is spreading and diversifying, and now it's not only associated with the Muslim religion. Politics has been one of the significant factors igniting terrorism because a particular group can rise to liberate the nation from the leader leading to extremism when a leader fails. Jihad is a notion that has been fed to Islamic youths through training and in worship centers, thus developing an urge to kill people. As seen in the Middle East, despite their efforts to fight terrorism, it's still on the rise due to certain motivating factors. Muslims are fed with ideas that Western nations are constantly waging war against Muslims to eradicate them. Therefore, the Muslim young men are promised money and convinced that they are fighting for their religion and society. When formulating policies to fight terrorism, it is critical to know that terrorism is evolving and that jihadists are not afraid of dying.
References
Hamilton, C. (2018). The European Union: Sword or shield? Comparing counterterrorism law in the EU and the USA after 9/11. Theoretical Criminology , 22 (2), 206-225.
Lister, C. (2020). In Syria, we're getting counterterrorism all wrong . Middle East Institute. Retrieved 1 April 2021, from https://www.mei.edu/publications/syria-were-getting-counter-terrorism-all-wrong.
Megally, H. (2019). Iraq: Heavy-handed Counterterrorism Approach Risks Undermining Success against ISIS | Center on International Cooperation . Cic.nyu.edu. Retrieved 1 April 2021, from https://cic.nyu.edu/blog/iraq-heavy-handed-counterterrorism-approach-risks-undermining-success-against-isis .
Moore, J. (2015). The Evolution Of Islamic Terrorism - An Overview | Target America | FRONTLINE | PBS . Pbs.org. Retrieved 1 April 2021, from https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/target/etc/modern.html.
Witty, D. (2015). The Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service . Brookings Institution.
