The Face of Terror (Essay Sample)

The Face of Terrorism
Name
Institution
The Face of Terrorism Introduction
Terrorism is becoming more familiar in the world today owing to the rise in threats and terror attacks in many countries in the world. The fight against terrorism from the international community has made terror plotters to diversify their tactics (Law, 2009). The investigations of the criminal investigation agencies and the activities of Interpol have bred a smarter modern terrorist who can slip through all the traps.
Planning of the 9/11 on the World Trade Center
The attack on the World Trade Center demonstrated an attack that took time and resources to plan and execute. The terrorists hijacked planes and crashed them at the World Trade Center (Bodden, 2006). However, only two of the planes hit the target; that is, the World Trade Center. The planner of the attack was the Al-Qaeda terrorist group whose terrorists hijacked the airplanes belonging to the United Airlines and American Airlines.
The attacks were a brainchild of the famous Al-Qaeda terrorist; Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (Miniter, 2011). He tabled his idea to then Al-Qaeda leader, Osama Bin Laden in the last quarter of 1996. During that period, Osama alongside other Al-Qaeda members had moved from Sudan and were in Afghanistan (Williams, 2002). After the success of the attack against African embassies in 1998, Osama became increasingly interested in staging an attack in America.
Two years later, he seconded Mohammed's suggestion and gave him a go ahead to plot the 9/11 attack in the United States. Osama, Mohammed and his deputy; Mohammed Atef; carried out a chain of meetings in the wake of 1999. Atef's duty was to access the plot, suggest other target sites and help the hijackers to travel to their destination. During the meetings, Osama rejected some target destinations like the United States Bank Tower in Los Angeles arguing that planning such a serious attack needed more time. Osama's role in the attack was to lead the terrorists, choose attackers and fund the plot.
Osama's choice of the attackers included Khalid Al-Mihdhar and Nawaf Al-Hazmi, who had a wealth of experience in jihadism and were part of the troops that fought in Bosnia. The two jihadists landed in the United States early 2000 where they enrolled in a flying school in San Diego in California. Although they performed very poorly and were incompetent English speakers, they succeeded in becoming muscle/secondary hijackers. Other terrorists scheduled to take part in the attack included Ramzi Bin Al-Shibh, Marwan Al-Shehhi, Mohamed Atta and Ziad Jarrah (Miniter, 2011). All of them were German citizens. Osama recommended them because they were competent English speakers and knew the geography of the West. New recruits joined the troop on the basis of their skills and Hani Hanjour was one of them owing to his possession of a commercial pilot license. The group landed in America in 2000 while secondary hijackers landed in 2001.
Funding
The nature of the 9/11 attacks shows that the terrorists spent quite a fortune in terms of finance to execute the attack. They might have spent an amount, not less that $500, 000 to organize and execute the attack. The primary sources of funding were Al- Qaeda's reserves alongside contributions from its sympathizers. Some of the means that they used to ensure that the hijackers got enough cash included transfers from bank to bank, use of credits and debit cards and transporting money physically. They used the money to pay for the travel expenses and to secure entry into their destination. Similarly, the money paid for the training that the hijackers went through to become secondary hijackers as well as allow them to receive basic flying lessons. The funds also helped them secure a residence and pay for their basic needs as they planned to execute the attacks (Hoffman, 2006).
The activities that they conducted during the planning phase were important in the execution of the attack. Some such as flying lessons were meant to help the hijackers to learn the art of secondary hijacking and fly with a lot of ease. Similarly, the training would enable them direct the plane in question to the target destination.
Use of Bombs as a Terror Tactic
Terrorists have always embraced the use of bombs as a terrorist tactic since 1950s because they had proved that it is one of the most effective weapons of mass destruction. Bombs became popular during the 1950's during the Algerian conflict. The opponents would place a bomb in areas where many people gather to increase the number of casualties as well as ensure maximum destruction (Pyszczynski, Greenberg and Solomon, 2003). Some of the most common bombs during the 1950's were the Improvised Explosive Devices. The attackers placed them in buildings such as churches, commercial enterprises and other infrastructures that house many people (Richardson, 2007).
On the other hand, suicide bombers would attach an explosive or a bomb in an automotive such as a car, airplane or a truck and direct it to the building. Suicide bombers target innocent civilians with the aim of spreading a message symbolically (Bloom, 2007). It is an effective tactic to spread fear because citizens become increasingly afraid to go about their normal duties. Many close their businesses and relocate; thus, making the economy collapse. The innocent citizens may also protest against the rise of insecurity; thus, airing the issues that the suicide bombers targeted.
Kidnapping and Assassination in the Terrorist Toolbox
Tactics such as assassination and kidnapping have their share in the terrorist toolbox. They use such threats to compel the government and other groups to give in to their demands. They may also use assassinations and kidnaps to execute revenge (Laqueur, 2001). Assassination is one of the oldest terror tactics in use even today. They may kill their subjects through shooting.
Kidnapping is easier although it is more complex than as...