Terrorism Americans\' Views of Terrorism Were Forever

Terrorism

Americans' views of terrorism were forever established on September 11, 2001, when terrorists flew two planes into the World Trade Towers in New York, collapsing them both, and one plane into the Pentagon, causing severe damage. A fourth plane crashed into the countryside in Pennsylvania instead of hitting its target, probably in Washington, D.C., only because passengers challenged the hijackers and fought back. Over 3,000 people lost their lives that day.

Until that day, terrorism had been a somewhat distant concept to most Americans. We heard about terrorism in Israel, and perhaps some of us had friends or family to worry about, and we heard about I.R.A. attacks in Great Britain, but September 11 was the firsts time international terrorists had done major damage on U.S. soil. Virtually everyone in the United States became vocally opposed to terrorism on that day even if they hadn't given it much thought before then.

In fact, it is difficult to think anything positive about terrorism, especially in the era of smart bombs, when our military is able to bomb with such precision that civilians are rarely killed and injured, and only the target is taken out. The fact that our military is able to conduct war with a precision never before achieved is one reason why terrorism seems more shocking than ever before. There's a jarring difference between warfare and terrorism in 2004. When the United States wages war we go to great lengths to protect the civilian population as much as possible. The opposing forces have taken advantage of that fact in Iraq, storing weapons in mosques and allowing combatants to use them as a staging arena for their efforts.

The truth is that terrorism has changed since its beginnings. The United States was born out of terrorism and revolution. If the American Revolution were taking place today, the British would describe the Boston Tea Party as a terrorist act, and the guerilla-like tactics used by small bands of civilian men against British encampments during that time would be viewed as crimes. In more recent times, many French citizens were outraged at how easily their country gave up and surrendered to the Nazi German army, and even more distressed to see how completely the Vichy government cooperated with those who had defeated them in war. The French resistance movement was one result. Private citizens who were determined to continue to fight for their country. At great risk to themselves and their families, they worked under cover of darkness to blow up bridges so the German army could not use them, snuck British spies into the country and reported troop movements to the Allies. Because the Allies won the war and France was liberated, they are called heroes, but if Germany had won, they would have been terrorists. The victors write history.