From the definition, the common elements of terrorism are seen as; threats, violence and targeting of civilians. Terrorists plan their attacks to ensure massive publicity in order to spread their agenda. Extended periods of time, sometimes years, are spent preparing for these attacks. An example is the simultaneous bombing of the American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, which took five years to prepare. The plans are usually very secretive, and each step is carried out by a different team (Stuart 9).
Terror organizations comprise of an extensive network of constantly evolving insurgents all over the world. The terrorists are making good use of globalization, technology, and the information age to disseminate their attacks and actions. Globalization is also being used to spread their ideologies and cultures. New terror organizations are being formed while others are merging to form bigger organizations. Several others have pledged allegiance to more prominent groups.
Terrorists target civilians because they are the most vulnerable and easiest to attack. The violence involves a number of ways including; bombing, shooting and use of other weapons such as knives and machetes. Sometimes, terrorists target structures and facilities aiming to mass deaths or crippling essential players in the economy to create publicity. There have been efforts to educate the general public on ways of identifying and countering terror activities. The terrorists most certainly come out to accept responsibility for attacks done. They also justify their actions as being in line with the wants of God. The terrorists have embraced Jihadism ideologies that have new views on Jihad and the unity of God. The ideologies are based on the words of Abd al-Whahab, Hasan al-Banna, and Sayyid Qutb, who call for blatant killings in an aim to destruct the Unites States and its allies (Scott 42). Their views are not in line with general Muslim views since they are fundamentalists.
