Tanvi Patel The greatest threats, the toughest wars, and the most devastating political disasters have

one thing in common: terrorism. Terrorism is nothing new; it has existed since the dawn of time, but today, terrorism in our society if far more fierce and destructive. The increased severity of terrorism can be attributed to the new developments in society, such as the cultivation of newer technology. Because of new developments like the Internet, terrorism has reached a whole new level. Technology, like terrorism, is not a new element in human society. The first man-made flame, thousands of years ago, was the illuminating mark of technology. Interestingly, the transition from open fires to controlled fires used in ones home took hundreds, if not thousands, of years to complete. Yet today, we are able to advance from one new technology to another within years. The leap from I-Pod Nanos to I-Pod Touches is a clear indicator of the speed at which technologies accelerate in our society. This technology and the ease with which we can now spread information is responsible for the 21st century being coined the Information Age. In our day and age, information is truly at ones fingertips and can be accessed by anyone. This is no doubt an impressive and beneficial advancement, but at what cost? Throughout history, we have also seen the continuous abuse of technology by those with an agenda to terrorize others. In essence, the information age has led to the widespread prevalence of terrorism, and its transformed nature. There is no universal definition for terrorism; the term holds different values for each and every person, but there are some common characteristics. Terrorism incites fear. This is essentially the purpose for terrorists, but many times, some terrorists will also use these attacks as bargaining chips. Rather than just create terror, they will use the terror to push governments into agreeing to their demands. This is not a universal principle; some groups conduct terrorist activity simply to make a point, with no intentions of deals. This does not mean that they have no

Tanvi Patel political aims; on the contrary, their political goals are even clearer. A clear example of this is how Hamas fires rockets into Israel but refuses to enter negotiations; the goal behind the rockets is to essentially scare Israeli officials into agreeing to their terms. On November 18th, 2012, Hamas called for an end to the long blockade which has was established by Israel as a condition for any cease-fire. The group is not ready to actually negotiate with Israel, but rather uses their cessation of violence as a bargaining chip against Israel, to get what it wants. Whether this is effective or not, there is definitely increased pressure upon the Israeli government to reach a resolution. In terms of international terrorism, there is one essential factor; there will always be a political aim. The question is why does it work? The answer is a bit roundabout. Terrorists have few to no fears. They do not care if they are put in jail. They do not care if they die. They just want to make their statement or die fighting for it. What is more, terrorists often do not even have a personal connection with the causes that they are fighting for. Many of the jihadist soldiers fight for Islamic beliefs when they have had little to no religious training. They claim to be defending people whom they barely even know; whose integral ideals are completely different. There are also those who do believe that their beliefs are above all others and should be adopted by all others. These terrorists fight for what they believe to be their purpose on this planet. Although this is by no means a justification for their actions, it gives us more insight as to where the cause for terrorism lies. These essential facts are what warrant the dramatics involved in terrorist activity. The attacks are most effective when they result in large numbers of civilian casualties and when the acts are almost theatrical. With no fear of the repercussions of their actions, terrorists are able to overtly instill fear in the most terrifying ways. This lack of fear enables terrorists to conduct actions that are not only condemned by society but truly hated.

Tanvi Patel Terrorists must neither answer to anyone nor ensure the safety of a population. This puts them at an advantage over governments. The general public is quick to blame a government for almost all harm done to the people. We question the lack of knowledge, the lack of preparation, the lack of effective laws. What we forget is that the government has to make each and every decision with hundreds of groups in mind; governments are expected to answer to their constituents, the international community, and critics from countless organizations and communities. After the process of considering these groups and ensuring that no further damage is done by their actions, the government is left with a list of very few, if any, actions that they can take. This is the primary reason why terrorists have been so successful. There is also another huge reason which stands behind the predominance of terrorism in the Information Age, the media. Today we have many types of media sources, television news, social media, websites, etc. These sources report from and to the whole world and this can cause many problems. If a terrorist group is successful in its attack, it is immediately reported to the entire world in moments. This will outrage the masses, but there will be a few who will be instigated into following in the same footsteps and so the cycle begins. Through the reporting of successful terrorism, the media actually incites terrorism around the world because if nothing else, these attacks gets international attention and in the Information Age, that is the goal of everyone with a political aim in mind. In the past, terrorist groups were only concerned with ensuring that the party they were addressing but in the 21st century, terrorists want to ensure that no one goes against them and so they are able to use the media to ensure that everyone understands the repercussions of standing against them. There are some who argue that terrorism has not become worse, but a simple glance into history will clearly depict the dramatic changes that the world has seen regarding terrorism. In

Tanvi Patel the 1940s, terrorism played a major role in the early stages of the Arab-Israeli conflict. One major example of terrorism in this time period is the Kind David Hotel bombing. The attack was a mode of retaliation by a Zionist underground organization, the Irgun, which killed 91 people and injured 46. These terrorist attacks primary goal was to ensure that the British understood that staying in Palestine would prove to be costly and dangerous for them but they also had another goal, to destroy documents which held proof against the terrorist organization. What is more, mass casualties were never the goal; the organization wanted to scare people, but not kill them. In order to reduce the number of deaths, calls were made to the hotel and neighboring buildings to warn the people. This is completely different than the terrorism in the Information Age. In the King David Hotel bombing, the damage was isolated in one region; there was no way for the group to expand their attacks or to be recognized at an international level. The comparable lack of technology at the time would have made that very difficult. Today, this is no longer the case; the terrorist of our time are highly capable to causing enough damage to kill thousands from thousands of miles away. Terrorism is definitely worse in the Information Age than any other time period of our past. Living in a world where terrorism is so prevalent and powerful, we are definitely scared. In our fear, we quickly point to government and question them for all the harm that we face. We question its lack of knowledge, the lack of preparation, the lack of effective laws. What we forget is that in the Information Age the government has to make each and every decision with hundreds of groups in mind; governments are expected to answer to their constituents, the international community, and critics from countless organizations and communities. With the internet, media, and a more intelligent population the government must now answer to so many groups that sometimes conducting any action becomes impossible. After the process of

Tanvi Patel considering these groups and ensuring that no further damage will be done by their actions, the government is left with a list of very few, if any, actions that they can take. This is the primary reason why terrorists have been so successful. Governments are often unable to take serious action against terrorists because they are unknown and hidden within communities of innocent civilians. How does one wage a war when there is no battleground, no known location of enemies and never an actual battle? Yet this is exactly what nations attempt to do when they are faced with these tragic attacks. The attacks of 9-11 exemplify the extent of terrorist organizations power. After such attacks, after such apparent proof of their power, no nation would be able to put the attacks in the past without taking action. Despite the many controversies associated with the issue, one truth exists; the armed conflict that began in Iraq is a perfect depiction of war in the Information Age. This is a war where the soldiers can never truly be prepared for battle because they never know where or when the battles will be. Terrorism is used in every aspect possible, from car bombings to suicidal human bombs. The use of fear was not one-sided in this situation; the soldiers who were deployed there were often forced to use terror tactics in hopes of achieving order. International terrorism has forced countries to also adopt terrorist tactics in the hopes that fighting fire with fire will showcase the ineffectiveness of the terrorist's attempts to intimidate. There are thousands of civilian casualties in these wars; innocents lose their lives when caught between the two enormous egos of a terrorist organization trying to make its mark and a world dominating country trying to keep its respect. The two different groups use different modes of terrorism but the result is the same, innocents die. Countries must fight these wars where they are continuously on the defense; wars where very little is known about the actual power and capacity of the opponent. This is war in the Information Age.

Tanvi Patel The Information Age is based on the immense technological advancements that society has seen in the past 50 years. While most of these technological advancements were beneficial, they also possessed negative effects. How is this new problem when scientific discoveries have been encountered all throughout history? Unfortunately the answer to this lies with what is considered to be the most revolutionary invention of our time: the internet. The 21st century is almost completely reliant on the internet and life without it is unimaginable for most of society. In a world where information is literally a fingertip away and basic education is the priority of every nation, terrorism cannot be restrained. Anyone with the ability to read and write and has access to a computer can become a terrorist. Not only is it easier to become a terrorist, but there are more reasons to want to become one today. In the Information Age, where it is so much easier to access and learn about different cultures and religions, it is also easier to hate them. If one were to distinguish between terrorists, there would really only be one real difference those who are in the Information Age and those who are not. The latter are the type which groups like the Taliban rely on for their suicide bombers. These are usually the people in poor countries who were sent to religion based schools and are kept ignorant in the interest of these groups. Many of them have been brought up believing that the best use of their life is to commit suicide in the name of their god. The other type of terrorists, who are arguably the more dangerous of the two, are those who are welleducated and knowledgeable. These terrorists are well-aware of neo-colonialism which is what generally pushes them towards these destructive activities. Although both groups are active participants in terrorist activity today, there is no doubt that the terrorist groups of the Information Age, those who control the terrifying attacks in our society, are the knowledgeable terrorists.

Tanvi Patel A clear example of the prevalence of knowledgeable terrorist in our society can be found in Al-Qaeda. The establishment and early responsibilities of this militant group were regarding the communist Soviet Union. This was mainly a religious group that wanted to stop the takeover of a large nation. This is quite similar to many countries situations during this time; nations were no longer willing to allow powers to take them over. Throughout Al-Qaedas battles with USSR, America stood behind the group and helped in all possible ways. Unfortunately, once the Soviets had been driven away, the group decided that America and all other Western nations were just as bad and decided to fight them. Although the entire organization has both knowledgeable and outright ignorant terrorists, those calling the shots are definitely knowledgeable. Today, Al-Qaeda is believed to operate in 40-50 countries all over the world. Some supporters are even westerners themselves. The reason that Al-Qaeda is so strong is the fact that it has a weak base. Unlike the Red Brigades of Italy which were extremely tight-knit, Al-Qaeda is an organization whose individual cells have a lot of autonomy but are capable of coming together should there be a need to do so. In a day and age when the world is so close together, it would seem silly to spread out a group, but it is actually the most effective way. Instead of having too many chefs in any one kitchen, they just opened up many restaurants, but if there is ever a need for any one restaurant to create an enormous meal, all the chefs can come together. The simple lack of a well-rounded education or knowledge would deter the ignorant terrorists from ever being able to construct an organization as intricate as Al-Qaeda. The real problem is not terrorism itself, but rather the extent as to which it has handicapped society. Terrorism is a tactic; an inevitable fact of society. As long as there is order, there are those who will cause chaos and want changes. The problem, the reason why terrorism in the Information Age is so detrimental is technology. The internet, mass international transport,

Tanvi Patel the spread of culture and ideas, etc, are all technology or results of technology which have intensified terrorism in society. There is no cure to this disease nor is there a vaccine, but it is extremely important of every person in the world to be aware of its existence. If everyone works towards better understanding all the effects, not just the positive, of developments in science, and technology, we may be able to lessen the force of these disasters and handicap the terrorist organizations. For this to happen though, society as a whole must acknowledge that the Information Age has definitely had an effect in the increased prevalence and destructiveness of terrorism. This will enable us to find new ways to deter terrorists and even stop people from becoming terrorists in the first place. Whether this is through better regulations of nations infringing on other nations or providing better neutral education in poor areas, we will be able to make a positive difference, but only if we understand the cause behind the persistent growth of terrorism in our world. We must stop our fear of terrorism and begin to ask questions, for the more questions we ask the more answers we will find; it is only through searching that we can find solutions.