Terrorism, in this context, is described as the planned use of violence on civilians with the aim of attaining certain goals that are political, religious or ideological (Mueller, 2013). This paper evaluates certain terrorist attacks and provides a rationale to determine whether each one of them qualifies to be an act of terrorism.
Little Rock Shootings
In June 2009, Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, who was born Christian and converted to Islam, shot at soldiers who were just outside an Army enlistment center in Little Rock, Arkansas. In the event, one soldier died, and another was wounded. The motives for this attack were revenge for a United States foreign policy that is perceived to be aimed at killing Muslims as well as a yearning for martyrdom (Mueller, 2013). The attacker’s intention was to persuade the government to withdraw its military presence in Afghanistan and Iraq. The use of violence, in this case, was aimed at forcing a change in the United States foreign policy, and therefore, constitutes terrorism. By the definition of terrorism, both the intent and motive of the attacker qualifiers his actions as those of terrorism.
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Los Angeles airport Shootings
In July 2002, Hesham Mohamed Hadayet, an Egyptian immigrant, entered the Los Angeles International Airport and opened fire on the individuals using a .45 caliber Glock handgun at a ticket counter. The attacker managed to kill two people and injure three before he was shot dead by one of airport security guards. It was found that Hadayet was mostly motivated by several grievances as well as depression due to financial constraints and the fact that his family was in Egypt during his birthday (Mueller, 2013). Consequent reports revealed the conflicts between Hadayet and his Israeli neighbors, which explains why he skipped several ticket counters in the airport and targeted the El Al airline, which belongs to the Israeli government. Also, the attacker also complained about Israel’s military activities in Islamic countries in the Middle East. The FBI concluded that this was an act of terrorism since the shootings were intended to kill Israeli nationals and those who were visiting Israel and also to influence Israel’s foreign policy.
Fort Hood Killings
In November 2009, Major Nidal Malik Hasan, a fervent Muslim, and army psychiatrist used a pistol to shoot at soldiers camping at the Soldiers Readiness Processing Center at Fort Hood in Texas. Hasan managed to kill twelve soldiers and one civilian. He also injured thirty more military personnel. The FBI later ascertained that Hasan was against the deployment of US troops in the Middle East (Mueller, 2013). By killing American soldiers, Hasan intended to protect his fellow Muslims, who were likely to be killed if US troops were sent to Afghanistan. Thus, both his motive and intent were religious, making his actions to be considered as an act of terrorism.
Boston Marathon Bombings
The bombings occurred during the 117th Boston Marathon event on April 15, 2013. The two explosions took place even before the race had ended and led to three deaths and more than 200 injuries. The instigators of these attacks. The FBI identified the instigators of this attack to be Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who were brothers (Mueller, 2013). On the third and fourth day after their first attack, the brothers killed an officer and were engaged in a heavy and extended exchange of fire of fire with the police, also featuring a pressure cooker bomb similar to the ones used in the first attacks. Tamerlan died, and his younger brother apprehended a few days later. Their motive for the attack was mainly the killing of Muslims by law enforcement officers in the United States. Their aim was to convince the criminal justice system that such killings should not go unpunished; otherwise, more attacks were likely.
Reference
Mueller, J. E. (Ed.). (2013). Terrorism since 9/11: The American cases . Oxford University Press.
