Cultures Effect on Terrorism

In general, there are a broad array of reason that one might become a terrorist. Money plays a large factor, sometimes revenge, but today, a vast amount of terrorism springs up from cultural diversity. In the middle east, war is rampant and sometimes the reasons is just for being or belonging to another cultural group. The Sunnis, the Shiites, Syrian rebels, Muslim extremists, the list goes on.
One example is the conflict between the Shiites and the Sunnis. This has been a widely religious conflict that for a long time was not a problem until relatively recently. Because of the widespread use of communication devices and with borders being drawn in different places, the “assumed” Sunni superiority started to be challenged, and old previous conflicts reappeared and started causing a large amount of problems. “Many of today’s most militant Islamic terror cells, including the Taliban and al-Qaeda, are members of a fundamentalist Sunni sect called Wahhabi.  Since the earliest days, Wahhabis have been particularly hostile toward the Shiites” (aim.org).
Another example is killing an “enemy of god” where in someone may kill someone(s) who is deemed an enemy and usually killing them in a way that qualifies as terrorism. This is common among people in the holy war, or jihad, when following muslim interpretations of the Koran. With the promise of splendid things in heaven, this is also often a motivation for terrorist acts. The following is an excerpt about a legend and what happened to him after being rendered unconscious: When he awoke, he found himself in the fabled garden, where the young women fed him morsels of the most delicious foods. They treated him to every sexual delight he had ever heard of, and to some that he had never imagined. When he awoke the next morning to his usual surroundings he recounted his adventure. Someone told him that he had received a gift from Allah by allowing him a glimpse of the highest level of heaven reserved for those martyrs who die for their faith. The delights he had experienced so briefly would happen to him through all eternity if he met the test for his faith. Now he begged for nothing more in the world than to die in the service of Allah. In answer to his plea, he received intense training to kill an enemy of God, identified by his leader, a grand master.”
Cultural motives for terrorism are perhaps the most prominent and in this “sub group” of terrorist motivations, religion is probably a larger component than anything. “ religiously oriented and millenarian groups typically attempt to inflict as many casualties as possible. Because of the apocalyptic frame of reference they use, loss of life is irrelevant, and more casualties are better. Losses among their co-religionists are of little account, because such casualties will reap the benefits of the afterlife. Likewise, non-believers, whether they are the intended target or collateral damage, deserve death, and killing them may be considered a moral duty. The Kenyan bombing against the U.S. Embassy in 1998 inflicted casualties on the local inhabitants in proportion to U.S. personnel of over twenty to one killed, and an even greater disparity in the proportion of wounded (over 5000 Kenyans were wounded by the blast; 95% of total casualties were non-American ). Fear of backlash rarely concerns these groups, as it is often one of their goals to provoke overreaction by their enemies, and hopefully widen the conflict.”
There are however, a couple more cultural motives for terrorism. Things like the implementation of a different government can do the trick. Sometimes it could even be as simple as a military presence that prompts a terrorist attack but by in large, the cultural side of things is the most prominent.




http://www.terrorism-research.com/goals/
http://www.aim.org/guest-column/sunnis-and-shiites-why-do-they-fight/
http://www.nobeliefs.com/terrorism.htm

The Division of Syrian Rebel Forces

Word Count: 695 Sophie W-C

Syria has been a relevant feature in world news daily for the last two years. The Syrian civil war continues to be a destructive force in the Middle East, without a foreseeable end in sight. Part of why the Syrian civil war is so complicated and at such a stalemate is due to the fact that the war is being fought by many parties. Those are the Syrian Army, and…everyone else. The opposition to the current regime is being fought bitterly by thousands of individuals united by only one goal: the ousting of Bashar al-Assad.

The Free Syrian Army is a term that we’ve been hearing a lot of. It is the largest militant opposition of Assad.  The Free Syrian Army established a presence in January 2011. Initially it was created by a group of defectors from the Syrian army. When the military of Syria began a violent crackdown on civilians, many military personnel refused to fire at civilians. Those that escaped military executions for disobeying orders formed a small coalition that produced a movie explaining their goals of protecting unarmed civilians and overthrowing Assads government.

The response to reports of the establishment of the Free Syrian Army was mass defections from the Syrian Army. Often whole units would leave, mostly filled with low-ranking officers. The movement gained momentum when high-ranking officers began joining, such as colonels and generals. The FSA continues to be the biggest violent opposition to the current regime. However, it is also highly disorganized. As it is the most widely-recognized, it often absorbs smaller factions opposing the current regime.

The Muslim Brotherhood is a party that makes up much of the rebel forces. The Muslim Brotherhood party has been oppressed in Syria since the Ba’ath regime. Membership became a capital offense in 1980, and members have been specifically targeted by both Hafez al-Assad and Bashar al-Assads governments.  The Muslim Brotherhood is very prevalent in the FSA, holding much of the command structure. Factions have also created their own opposition forces, separate from the FSA with fundamentalist goals that directly contradict other secular movements opposing Assad.

The nucleus of secular and democratic opposition to Assad comes in the form of the Coalition of Secular and Democratic Syrians. It was formed from Christians and Muslims, Arab and Kurds calling upon the minorities of Syria to support the fight against Assad. Much other political opposition to the government takes form in socialist, democratic, communist, and Arab nationalists. In addition, the regime of Assad has a fair share of opponents based on ethnicity. Factions of Kurds, Druze, Palestinians, and Turkmen make up many units in the FSA.

The last of the largest opposition to Assads regime in the FSA is the presence of foreign fighters. These ranks are primarily made up of radical Islamists who want a piece of Syrias new government when the Assad government falls. Al-Qaeda has a huge presence in Syria, both in the Free Syria Army, and in militant groups of their own, most prominent, the Syrian Islamic Front, and Jabhat al-Nusra. Jabhat al-Nusra in particular is an extremist coalition of Islamists often labeled as terrorists. In this group alone there are three ideologies coming together; those of Sunni Muslims, Islamic fundamentalism, and Salafist jihadism. The radical foreign fighters making are making their way to Syria from Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, as well as many places in the West. This presence is terribly worrisome to Western leaders, who are adversely opposed to supporting groups they deem terrorists.

All these different groups and hundreds more are fighting for a change in regime in Syria. The only common goal is the ousting of Bashar al-Assad. All these factions of the militia have different reasons for wanting the overthrow, different ideas of how it should happen, and what the aftermath will be. For now, they are working together with a semblance of communication and structure. But the chaos and disorganization make everything difficult. And one can only wonder, what happens if and when the secular socialists, radical Islamists, and former members of government manage to overthrow the current government and find themselves no longer united by a common enemy?

Bennet, Alex. "Who Are the Syrian Rebels? A Basic Intelligence Briefing On the Assad Resistance." PolicyMic. PolicyMic, June 2013. Web. 10 Oct. 2013.

News Middle East. "Syria Profile." BBC News. BBC, 19 Sept. 2013. Web. 26 Sept. 2013. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-14703995>.

Stanford, Eleanor. "Countries and Their Cultures." Culture of Syria. Every Culture, Sept. 2008. Web. 10 Oct. 2013.

The Clouded Judgment over GMOs

There is a trend in America to go “natural” and “organic”, even though these terms aren’t always what people think they are. People are quick to jump to the assumption that natural and organic mean healthy. They are also quick to jump to the assumption that GMOs are unnatural, and therefore not healthy. There is a lot of press against GMOs for many different reasons. I think the controversy over GMOs is understandable and expected, and a lot of the issues surrounding GMOs are actually serious and need to be discussed. But what I’m focusing on in this post is how people perceive GMOs and the culture of jumping on the bandwagon. People are scared of change, and GMOs are a new technology that a lot of people don’t understand, resulting in many people being anti-GMO. I think a lot people have legitimate reasons to be anti-GMO, but I also think they’re a lot of people who just go with the trend and decide they’re anti-GMO because it seems like the right direction to lean.

            A lot of people believe that things labeled natural and organic are healthier for you, but ironically, Kashi, an American company, markets their products as natural when they contain GMOs. For a long time psychologists have observed a continuum in what we perceive as natural or unnatural. Natural are things that we find more familiar while what we consider unnatural tends to be perceptually and experientially more unfamiliar and complex. A more cognitive effort is needed to understand less familiar and more complex ideas, like GMOs. As I said before, natural is seen as good, while unnatural is not. GMOs involve human manipulation so are seen as highly unnatural, even though the history of agriculture is humans breeding seeds and animals to produce desirable traits.

            Unlike GMOs, organic foods are put in a very positive light. Researchers at Cornell University found that how food is labelled affects our perception of its nutritional value, taste and how much we’re willing to pay for it. They conducted an experiment where 150 shoppers were given three different food pairs, and in each one was labelled organic and the other regular. Though the two items were identical, when the shoppers were asked to rate the taste and nutritional value as well as how much they’d be willing to pay for the products, the researchers found that the shopper’s calorie estimates for the organically labelled foods were consistently lower and the shoppers also thought they tasted less artificial and more nutritious than the regular labelled foods, and in turn were willing to pay a lot more for them. Though the two foods they tried were exactly the same, because they attributed these things with organic food, they really believed that the so-called “organic” food was inherently better.

            While the perception of organic food is overall very good, GMOs suffer from the opposite, because they’re associated with being unnatural they’re seen as unhealthy and unsafe. People don’t trust unnatural foods and because GMOs are seen as unnatural, people are often times against them just off the simple basis that they are unnatural. Just as people’s beliefs about organic food skewed their perception of the foods they tasted, people’s perception about GMOs are skewed and impacts how they evaluate GMOs overall. They’re far more likely to only pay attention to the risks and not weigh the risks and benefits equally because they already distrust and have preconceived notions about GMOs. Psychologist Paul Slovic who has been studying perceptions of risk since the 1950s pointed out as early as 1979 that when it comes to new, unknown technologies, data always loses out to emotion.

            On top of the effects of distrusting and having certain associations with a new technology, once that initial opinion has been formed, it’s very hard to change even with new evidence. A piece of evidence can be interpreted in opposing ways depending on your starting viewpoint and if you are against something, you tend to focus a lot more on the negatives. I think Slovic sums up what I’m trying to argue very well. He states that three things stand in the way of a logical, analytical risk assessment of new technologies: our level of dread, our degree of familiarity or lack of, and the number of people we believe the technology will affect. GMOs are highly dreaded and have a large impact, while many people don’t even understand what genetic engineering of foods actually entails. I think that there needs to be more openness on both sides of the debate, the companies that make GMOs need to provide more information to the public and the people that are against GMOs need to weigh the risks and benefits equally.

Works Cited

"GMOs Spotlight | Learn Science at Scitable." Nature Publishing Group : science journals, jobs, and information. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Sept. 2013. <http://www.nature.com/scitable/spotlight/gmos-6978241>.

Hennessey, Rachel. "GMO Food Debate In The National Spotlight - Forbes."Information for the World's Business Leaders - Forbes.com. Forbes, 3 Nov. 2012. Web. 10 Oct. 2013. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelhennessey/2012/11/03/gmo-food-debate-in-the-national-spotlight/2/>.

KONNIKOVA, MARIA . "The Psychology of Distrusting G.M.O.s : The New Yorker."The New Yorker. N.p., 8 Aug. 2013. Web. 10 Oct. 2013. <http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/elements/2013/08/the-psychology-of-distrusting-gmos.html>.

Threatened Animals and Cultures: Which is More Important to Preserve?

October 7, 2013                                                                                                                         635 words

Humans have been living off the land and its inhabitants for millenia. Over time, certain animals and plants became a part of the culture of an area, occupying roles that are necessary for the lifestyle and health the community and the people within it. As climates and ecosystems are disrupted, those plants and animals become threatened. Sometimes they die off, either from natural events or human activities, and sometimes they are placed in so much danger that people step in and set up laws and regulations protecting the plant or animal. This is usually beneficial to the endangered population but often has adverse effects for the culture that relies on it.

One of the biggest ways animals are present in a culture is in its medicines and superstitions. Cultures often have beliefs that certain parts of animals can heal or prevent sickness, cancer, impotency, or disease. Tigers are killed for their organs, snakes skinned alive for their gallbladders, rhinoceros and elephants butchered for their ivory. Recently, the animal medicine trade has increased exponentially and the animal populations, often already endangered by habitat loss and human activities, are not able to support the demand. Ironically, as the number of animals available falls the demand for the animal rises. Although laws do exist to prevent these animals being hunted or farmed, they are often not very well enforced and smugglers have found ways around them. Animals are often treated very inhumanely with painful traps, starvation, bad living conditions, and brutal slaughter.

Regulation on the use of endangered species is very beneficial to the animals and their environment, but often it can result in harm to the cultures that depend upon them. One example starts with the 2000 UN conference on trade in endangered species. The UN sought to impose a global ban on commercial whaling as whale populations are dramatically declining. Norway and Japan objected to this law, claiming that they should be exempt as whaling is an integral part of their culture and heritage. Many villages that had hunted whales and fish for hundreds of years depended on them for income. Without them, the local economies could collapse and the traditional fishing lifestyle lost. Norway refused the law on the grounds that it was an imposition of other countries' cultural values that contradicted its own. In some cases, the people have revolted against the law and gone hunting anyway. A few years ago, native Innu in Labrador hunted and killed sixty-four caribou who were in a protected area, protesting that it was in violation of their traditional rights. The Red Wine Herd of caribou numbers fewer than one hundred and is protected by law in that area. A much larger herd was also in the area and that is the herd the hunters went after, but the herds could have been mixed and harm could have been done to the caribou population.

The question is, which is more important? Preservation of culture or protection of endangered or threatened species? Although both are necessary, the prevention of pain, suffering, and loss of life to an animal or species takes precedence. The disappearance of animal species causes ripples throughout ecosystems and entire biomes. If one species goes extinct, it could cause a chain reaction that does more harm to human populations and cultures than the protection of that species ever could. Laws and regulations need to be put into place and properly enforced, and conservation efforts need to be established to boost the populations of the threatened animals. Once the population has recovered, regulated use of the animals can be slowly re-introduced. Cultures do not face the loss of their heritage forever. In fact, the protection of threatened species will ensure that their practices, as long as they are reasonable and legal, can continue for a long time yet.

Sources:

• Oliver, Moore. "Labrador Innu break hunting ban, kill 64 caribou." Globe and Mail. 20 Nov 2009: n. page. Web. 9 Oct. 2013. <http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/labrador-innu-break-hunting-ban-kill-64-caribou/article1370834/>.
  
  
• Nilsson, Greta. "The Endangered Species Handbook." The Animal Welfare Institute. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Sep 2013. <http://www.endangeredspecieshandbook.org/index.php>.
  
  
• "Wildlife Protection and Cultural Rights."Globalization 101. SUNY Levin Institute. Web. 9 Oct 2013. <http://www.globalization101.org/wildlife-protection-and-cultural-rights>.
  
  
• Zielinski, Sarah, and Joseph Stromberg. "Ten Threatened and Endangered Species Used in Traditional Medicine." Smithsonian Magazine. 19 Oct 2011: n. page. Web. 9 Oct. 2013. <http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/Ten-Threatened-and-Endangered-Species-Used-in-Traditional-Medicine.html?c=y&story=fullstory>.

The Opium Revolution

Sebastian A

1217

            There are many rising global powers, but the People’s Republic of China tops them all. One of the world’s current superpowers, China has the second highest GDP in the world as well as the highest growth rate amongst other major economic powers. The People’s Republic of China is also the largest merchandise exporter, second-largest merchandise importer, second-largest destination of foreign direct investment (FDI), largest manufacturer, and largest holder of foreign exchange reserves. Even the US, with the top GDP and the strongest military, recognizes the strength of their biggest trading partner, to whom they are also over 1 trillion dollars indebted. China’s influence can only be measured on a global scale to be depicted accurately, and this influence continues to grow. Economics experts have predicted that it’s only a matter of time (possibly only a few years) before China overtakes the US in terms of GDP and influence, and based on the data I’ve seen I have to say that I agree. But how did China get to be in this position?

This is a very interesting question, considering that China’s rise started in the 1980s, and didn’t really become significant until the 1990s. Just 20 years ago, people thought of China as a relatively weak nation that might eventually become important. 30 years ago, the People’s Republic of China had barely begun to recover from a terrible economy and mass abject poverty! The speed of development of China, and the sheer magnitude of this development, is something I find staggering. However, if we look at China’s history, and the number of innovations and inventions that have come out of China that can be considered critical to modern life (paper, gunpowder, the compass, and printing, to name but a few), it really isn’t too shocking. There have been a few specific turning points in China’s history that have been particularly influential and beneficial, especially the years following the fall of the Maoist era. However, I think that perhaps one of the most influential moments in Chinese history was centered on the Opium Wars. Although the Opium Wars didn’t set up China’s economy for success like Deng Xiaoping did at the end of the Maoist era, I believe that the Opium Wars were significant in accustoming and opening China up to the West, in destroying the rule of dynasties, and in establishing China as a center of trade, even though none of this was brought about by purposeful action on China’s behalf. In other words, the Opium Wars brought China out of seclusion and integrated it into the world. It was a very harsh lesson that the Chinese experienced, but one that did not go unheeded.

             Before I get to that though, I want to introduce a little on China’s history. Chinese civilization is one of the world’s oldest, dating back to more than 4,000 years ago. Dynastic ruling was the primary method of government for a very large part of that time, with the most recent dynastic rule beginning in the 17^th century and ending in the 19^th century AD. The end of the dynastic rule in China began when Britain invaded China and fought with the dynasty rulers at that time (this was the Qing dynasty). The results of this confrontation were an exploding population growth as well as mass social strife, an increase in Western influence, economic stagnation, and, of course, the Opium Wars.

            The Opium Wars came about from the massive foreign opium trade that almost bankrupted China.  This trade, which was a result of China’s very isolated and exclusive trading policies that came about as an attempt to restrict harmful Western influence. China tried to limit trading with foreign nations by declaring that they would only import silver, but British and American merchants perceived a different desire, and due to the imbalance of trade they began to import this commodity in massive amounts, which was opium. What started out as a hobby that was exclusive to the rich and idle, by the mid-1830s approximately 90% of all Chinese males under the age of forty in coastal regions were active users of the drug, while an estimated 12 million people were addicted. By this point, China, who had previously been  receiving a lot of income from foreign demand for exotic items and spices, was barely getting any money at all, while the expenditures on opium were only going up, even though the Emperor had declared that opium trading was illegal. Not only was the trade bankrupting China, but people began to get very lethargic due to the drug, with business activity in rapid decline and the standard of living also degrading, as well as widespread public official corruption.  In this effect, with the Chinese ruling class trying to eliminate the drug and the British and American merchants continuing to trade the drug, a conflict was sure to occur. Thus the first Opium War happened.

This conflict was between the British and the Chinese. Chinese officials began to take drastic measures to ensure that merchants would stop smuggling opium, such as arresting them and not letting them go until the Chinese government was given all their opium. Then, after receiving the opium shipments, the Chinese officials burned it in public as a display of intolerance. The British attempted to negotiate a compromise, but the Chinese were unwilling to listen. They just wanted the British out, and for them to take their opium with them. The British, in turn, attacked China, using their navy to close off ports and invade, until the British were in control of much of southern China. After this, the Chinese and British tried to come to terms, which were expressed through a series of unfair treaties. These treaties basically granted control of much of China’s coast to the West, as well as seceded Hong Kong to Britain and made China pay reparations for the opium burned to merchants. Furthermore, China was compelled to abolish trading monopolies and limit tariffs, Britain was granted “most-favoured nation status” in terms of trade, and, most importantly, China enacted the principle of extraterritoriality, which made it so that Western merchants in China were only subject to the laws of their mother country, not of China. This set China up for the second Opium War, in which the fight was now between China and Britain, France, and the US. The Western powers easily whooped some tail, and, after a whole other round of reparations, established embassies in China and made the Chinese government allow for Chinese to be taken over to America as indentured work labor. This was the last of the Opium Wars.

            After that, a series of rebellions and reinventions of Chinese government threw China into chaos. However, as we all know, China eventually emerged and became one of the most prominent powers in the world. China eventually did overcome foreign exportation of opium by growing it natively and far out producing the other countries. Though the lessons initiated by the West were very harsh in this regard, the Opium Wars definitely opened China up and established it in trade with many countries, which it would eventually take to its advantage.

                                                  Works Cited

Allingham, Philip V. "England and China: The Opium Wars, 1839-60." The Victorian Web. N.p., 24 June 2006. Web. <http://www.victorianweb.org/history/empire/opiumwars/opiumwars1.html>.

"China: Rising Red Star over the East." Thomas White International. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://www.thomaswhite.com/world-markets/china-rising-red-star-over-the-east/>.

Chowdhuri, Satyabrata R. "Greater China." Asia Times Online. N.p., 21 Apr. 2005. Web. <http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/GD21Ad01.html>.

Morrison, Wayne M. "China’s Economic Rise: History, Trends, Challenges, and Implications for the United States." Federation of American Scientists. Congressional Research Service, 5 Sept. 2013. Web. <http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL33534.pdf>.

What Is The Red Cross and Why Is It Important?

Annie Caldwell

Global-Econ

Word count: 938

Henry Dunant a Swiss businessman and social activist founded the Red Cross, one of the most well known Nongovernmental organizations dedicated to health, in Geneva Switzerland in the mid 1800s. It was originally named The International Committee For Relief For The Wounded, but was changed in 1876 to The International Committee Of The Red Cross because they started doing more than just caring for the wounded.

Dunant wanted to start this organization, because when he visited Solferino Italy for a business meeting, he was witness to the Battle of Solferino, a battle in the Austro-Sardinian war and one of the bloodiest battles of the 19th century. In one day, around 40,000 soldiers from both sides were either dead or left wounded on the field. He was shocked at how little care was being given to those injured, and how there was little to no medical attendance. He abandoned his original plans, and instead provided medical attention and help to those that were wounded.

He later wrote a book about his experience, and published it with his own money. In this book, he outlined a plan that said that the nations of the world should form relief programs to help those wounded in war. The program should - be sponsored by a board of the nations leading people, appeal to every person to volunteer, train these volunteers to treat the wounded in battle and care for them until they are recovered. In 1863, Geneva lawyer, and president of the Geneva Society for Public Welfare, Gustave Moynier found Dunant’s book very interesting, and brought it to a meeting of that same society. Five men along with Duntant created a committee that explored the possibility of putting Dunant’s plan into action and subsequently formed the Red Cross. On August 22nd 1864 twelve nations signed the Geneva Convention treaty which guaranteed neutrality for those helping the wounded (known as sanitary personnel), made sure that they got supplies quickly and to adopt a signature identifying sign which is in almost all instances a red cross on a white background.

Clara Barton, one of the first women to gain a job in the federal government, is also the founder of the American Red Cross. She visited Europe, and heard about the International Red Cross. Once she got back to the United States, she continued pursuing the Red Cross and the treaty. Barton tried several times to get the American Government to sign the treaty. She first took it to President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1877 but he rejected it. She took it to his successor President James Garfield who was supportive and seemed ready to sign it when he was assassinated. Her third try she took it to President Chester Arthur who signed it in 1882, and a few days later it was ratified by the senate.  

In 1881 with the signing of the treaty up ahead, Barton along with a group of supporters started the American Association of the Red Cross. The organization was given charters - a document outlining privileges and purposes - in both 1900, and 1905. The charter given in 1905 provided the foundation for the American Red Cross we know today. Clara Barton was 60 years old when she founded it in 1881, and would go on to lead it for the next 23 years. The amount of things that Barton did during those years blows my mind. The American Red Cross was mostly devoted to disaster relief for the first 20 years. In 1881, the Red Cross flag was flown for the first time in America when Barton expressed a public appeal to provide funds and clothing to aid victims of a disastrous forest fire in Michigan.

Before the First World War, the Red Cross introduced its first aid, water safety and public health nursing programs. When the war began, the Red Cross experienced huge growth. The number of local chapters went from 107 in 1914, to 3,648 in 1917. The number of members also increased from 17,000 to over 11 million junior and 20 million adult Red Cross members. The public donated large amounts of money and material to back Red Cross programs including the ones for American forces, Allied forces, and refugees.

After World War Two, the Red Cross implemented its first civilian blood donation program that now supplies over 40% of the blood and blood products in the country. During the 1990s, they arranged a large modernization of the blood services to greatly improve the safety of the blood products and continued to provide support to members of the armed forces and their families, during the Korean, Vietnam, and Gulf wars.

Although it started out as mainly helping the wounded after wars, the Red Cross has expanded it’s sights to civil defense, CPR/AED training, education about HIV/AIDS and providing support and emotional care after natural disasters. Since 2006 the Red Cross has worked with FEMA to help other governmental organizations to plan, integrate and administer the feeding, shelter and reconnecting family members of those affected by natural disasters.

The Red Cross is really important because it gives other smaller organizations hope. It shows that one man’s idea, and dream can turn into something incredibly useful, and very well known. It gives students the inspiration to follow their dreams, and to try and achieve their goals because they might start something big with one little thought. I know that reading about the Red Cross has inspired me even more to pursue my dream of becoming a nurse and I hope the Red Cross can keep inspiring and will keep teaching for many more years to come.

MLA CITATION

: "Henry Dunant - Biographical". Nobelprize.org. Nobel Media AB 2013. Web. 1 Oct 2013. <http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1901/dunant-bio.html>

"Our History | American Red Cross History." American Red Cross | Disaster Relief, CPR Certification, Donate Blood. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Oct. 2013. <http://www.redcross.org/about-us/history>.

"Clara Barton | American Red Cross Founder | Who is Clara Barton." American Red Cross | Disaster Relief, CPR Certification, Donate Blood. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Oct. 2013. <http://www.redcross.org/about-us/history/clara-barton>.

"History of the ICRC." International Committee of the Red Cross - ICRC. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Oct. 2013. <http://www.icrc.org/eng/who-we-are/history/overview-section-history-icrc.htm>.

The War on Terrorism

States, perhaps the most significant instance of terrorism was the 9/11 attacks. Since the attacks, terrorist organizations and cells have started to appear more and more. Some are still more prominent than others. For example, the terrorist organization al Qaeda is still a developing threat. The F.B.I., referring to al Qaeda says: “Ten years later, the group still demonstrates the intent and capability to attack the United States. Although al Qaeda’s last successful Western attack was in the United Kingdom in 2005, a steady stream of the group’s operatives have been detected and disrupted over the past 10 years in the United States, Norway, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Pakistan.” It seems that 9/11 was a major starting point (at least in the media) of most terrorist and counter terrorist movements. The F.B.I. says “Following 9/11, the United States faced a threat from al Qaeda not only as an organization but also as an ideology. A new global jihadist movement composed of al Qaeda-affiliated and -inspired groups and individuals began to unfold. Although these groups threatened U.S. interests overseas, they did not rival al Qaeda in the threat they posed to the homeland.” The result of counter terrorist forces is a decrease in terrorist leaders and training assets, yet does not come close to solving the terrorism problem. The F.B.I. report of terrorism in 2001 says that there were a lot of instances of terrorism between 1991 and 2001. The report reads: “Between 1991 and 2001, 74 terrorist incidents were recorded in the United States. During this same time frame, an additional 62 terrorist acts being plotted in the United States were prevented by U.S. law enforcement.” However, of these terrorist attacks, not all of them were through cells from the middle east. Clearly there has been an active effort against terrorist plots but this has not eliminated the threat altogether. Not only are there terrorist plots and actions in the United States but there are even more in the middle east. The total death toll over the years compounds to be over 100,000 casualties, most of which are civilian. Here is a report of a terrorist act in 2000: “December 20, 2000. Five Suspects Indicted in Embassy Bombing Conspiracy. On December 20, 2000, a grand jury in the Southern District of New York (SDNY) returned an indictment against five suspects in the case of the United States v. Usama bin Laden, et al. The five suspects, Saif Al-Adel, Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah, Muhsin Musa Matwalli Atwah, Ahmed Mohamed Hamed Ali, and Anas Al-Libi were charged in the overall conspiracy, led by Usama bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda organization, to kill U.S. nationals and engage in other illegal acts. In addition, Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah has been charged for his role as the mastermind of the August 7, 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.” This is just one of 74 terrorist incidents.

Terrorism has evolved in a large way since the beginning of the war on terror. First there were threats of bombs but now, in this new age of technology, there has been a new wave of cyber terrorism. Hacker organizations breaking into classified databases and the like has been a been a major way that terrorism has evolved. Just as weapons tech evolves, terrorism will evolve with it to best fit the times. Whenever a new weapons systems comes out, a terrorist organization will almost inevitably get their hands on it.

To review, here is a overview of terrorism since the 1970s: In the 1970s, terrorism continued to escalate. More efforts were being made at that point in time. New agents were hired, more vehicles bought, and additional technology and equipment added to the anti terrorism arsenal. Additional training was given and handbooks about counter terrorism distributed. Then in the 1980s, the amount of terrorist attacks and acts continued to rise, sometimes exceeding 100 acts in a year. New organizations were formed and more surveys and research were done. New state of the art (at the time) technologies were introduced and implemented in the communications departments. Namely, moving operations to a more electronic base. In the 1990s the new technologies implemented in the 80s were put to great use and had an outstanding benefit. In the early 90s, a initiative to start paying for information on terrorism and terrorist acts was started, resulting in the capture of several terrorists and prevention of many terrorist acts. Today, terrorism continues to be a growing problem. With around 2000 agents in over 150 countries, our efforts continue to increase with the demand. Government agencies have also been working at helping to educate students about the threats of terrorism and have done classes, teaching over 31,000 students in over 125 countries.

In the future, an equal increase in terrorism can be expected. Not only terrorism, but attacks will be made and the best we can hope for is prevention or a fast recovery. There is a need for non-militaristic counter terrorism initiatives as some studies have said that combating terrorism with force is liable to reaffirm the terrorist goals. But, as with any issue, there are always causes and effects which have to be taken into consideration. The anti terrorism force is very prominent in America and will always continue to function.