Abstract

Terrorism is one of the most remembered and feared

occurrences in the world. Terrorism changes the lives and hearts of everyone
that it affects. This paper explores the different types of terrorism, who
commits the acts, how it affects the surrounding world, and what can be
done to prevent it. This review of the different types of terrorism focuses
primarily on the specific types of terrorism. This paper then tries to relay to
the reader the understanding of all types, and the differences between them.

Keywords: Terrorism, Media, Police force, Arm forces, Types of Terrorism,

protective measures.
 THE RECIPROCAL ROLE OF POLICE, SECURITY
FORCES, MEDIA AND GENERAL PUBLIC IN THE WAR
AGAINST TERRORISM.

As 2008 ends and we move into 2009, one has been

seeing extremely gloomy accounts of 2008 triggered by the attack by the
terrorists of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba (LET) in Mumbai from
November 26 to 29,2008, and the serial explosions that preceded it in
Jaipur(May), Bangalore ( July), Ahmedabad (July) and Delhi (September).
Some analysts have even called 2008 as the worst year in India's fight
against terrorism.

* What is terrorism?
Terrorism can be defined as acts violence and methods of intimidation or
coercing a government or community by a person or a group to achieve
political objectives.
“…if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought.
A bad usage can spread by tradition and imitation,
even among people who should know better.”
- George Orwell
The Task Force classified terrorism into following categories.
* Civil Disorders – A form of collective violence interfering with the peace,
security, and normal functioning of the community.
* Political Terrorism – Violent criminal behavior designed primarily to
generate fear in the community, or substantial segment of it, for political
purposes.
* Non-Political Terrorism – Terrorism that is not aimed at political
purposes but which exhibits “conscious design to create and maintain high
degree of fear for coercive purposes, but the end is individual or collective
gain rather than the achievement of a political objective.”
*State sponsorship of terrorism –Also known as "state supported"
terrorism, when governments provide supplies, training, and other forms of
support to non-state terrorist organizations. One of the most valuable types
of this support is the provision of safe haven or physical basing for the
terrorists' organization. Another crucial service a state sponsor can provide is
false documentation, not only for personal identification (passports, internal
identification documents), but also for financial transactions and weapons
purchases. An example of state sponsorship is the Syrian government's
support of Hamas and Hizballah in Lebanon. Syrian resources and protection
enable the huge training establishments in the Bek'aa Valley.
*Bio-terrorism – Biological agents are organisms or toxins that can kill or
incapacitate people, livestock, and crops. The three basic groups of
biological agents that would likely be used as weapons are bacteria, viruses,
and toxins. Many break down quickly when exposed to sunlight and other
environmental factors, while others, such as anthrax spores, are very long
lived. Biological agents can be dispersed by spraying them into the air, by
infecting animals that carry the disease to humans and by contaminating
food and water.
*Chemical Terrorism: A chemical attack could come without warning.
Signs of a chemical release include people having difficulty breathing;
experiencing eye irritation; losing coordination; becoming nauseated; or
having a burning sensation in the nose, throat, and lungs. Also, the presence
of many dead insects or birds may indicate a chemical agent release.
There is ultimate relationship between the public, Media, Army and
Police force with Terrorism.
* Media and Terrorism: Terrorists, governments, and the media see the
function, roles and responsibilities of the media when covering terrorist
events from differing and often competing perspectives.

* WHAT TERRORISTS WANT FROM MEDIA:

 Terrorists need publicity, usually free publicity that a group could
normally not afford or buy. Any publicity surrounding a terrorist act
alerts the world that a problem exists that cannot be ignored and must
be addressed. From a terrorist perspective, an unedited interview with
a major figure is a treasured prize, such as the May 1997 CNN
interview with Saudi dissident, terrorist recruiter and financier Usama
Bin Ladin.
 They seek a favorable understanding of their cause, if not their
act... Terrorists believe the public "needs help" in understanding that
their cause is just and terrorist violence is the only course of action
available to them against the superior evil forces of state and
establishment.
 Legitimacy. Terrorist causes want the press to give legitimacy to
what is often portrayed as ideological or personality feuds or
divisions between armed groups and political wings. For the
military tactician, war is the continuation of politics by other means;
for the sophisticated terrorist, politics is the continuation of terror by
 other means. IRA and Hamas are examples of groups having
"political" and "military" components.
 In hostage situations--terrorists need to have details on identity,
number and value of hostages, as well as details about pending rescue
attempts, and details on the public exposure of their operation.
Particularly where state sponsors are involved, they want details about
any plans for military retaliation.

*WHAT GOVERNMENT LEADERS WANT FROM THE MEDIA:

 An important goal is to separate the terrorist from the media to
deny the terrorist a platform unless to do so is likely to contribute to
his imminent defeat.
 They seek publicity to help diffuse the tension of a situation, not
contribute to it. Keeping the public reasonably calm is an important
policy objective.
 It is generally advantageous if the media, especially television, avoids
"weeping mother” emotional stories on relatives of victims, as
such coverage builds public pressure on governments to make
concessions.
 During incidents, they wish to control terrorist access to outside
data to restrict information on hostages that may result in their
selection for harm; government strongly desires the media not to
reveal planned or current anti-terrorist actions or provide the
terrorists with data that helps them.
 After incidents, they want the media not to reveal government secrets
or detail techniques on how successful operations were performed--
and not to publicize successful or thwarted terrorist technological
achievements and operational methods so that copycat terrorists do
not emulate or adapt them.
 They want the media to be careful about disinformation from
terrorist allies, sympathizers, or others who gain from its broadcast
and publication. Many groups have many motives for disseminating
inaccurate or false data, including, for example, speculation as to how
a plane may have been blown up, or who may be responsible.
 They want the media to boost the image of government agencies .
Agencies may carefully control leaks to the press giving scoops to
newsmen who depict the agency favorably and avoid criticism of its
actions.
 * WHAT THE MEDIA WANT WHEN COVERING TERRORIST
INCIDENTS OR ISSUES:
 Media want to be the first with the story. The scoop is golden, "old
news is no news." Pressure to transmit real time news instantly in
today's competitive hi-tech communication environment is at an all-
time high.
 The media want to make the story as timely and dramatic as
possible, often with interviews, if possible. During the June 1985
TWA Flight 847 hijack crisis, ABC aired extensive interviews with
both hijackers and hostages. (A photo was even staged of a pistol
aimed at the pilot's head.
 Most media members want to be professional and accurate and not
to give credence to disinformation, however newsworthy it may seem.
This may not be easily done at times, especially when systematic
efforts to mislead them are undertaken by interested parties.
 They want to protect their ability to operate as securely and freely
as possible in the society. In many instances, this concern goes
beyond protecting their legal right to publish relatively unrestrained; it
includes personal physical security. They want protection from threat,
harassment, or violent assault during operations, and protection from
subsequent murder by terrorists in retaliation providing unfavorable
coverage.
 Media members often have no objection to playing a constructive
role in solving specific terrorist situations if this can be done
without excessive cost in terms of story loss or compromise of values.

* WHAT POLICE AND ARMFORCES WANTS FROM MEDIA:

 Limiting information on hostages which could harm them: e.g.,
number, nationality, official positions, how wealthy they may be, or
important relatives they have.
 Limiting information on military, or police, movements during rescue
operations.
 Limiting or agreeing not to air live unedited interviews with terrorists;
 Checking sources of information carefully when the pressure is high
to report information that may not be accurate--as well as limiting
unfounded speculation.
 Toning down information that may cause widespread panic or amplify
events which aid the terrorist by stirring emotions sufficiently to exert
irrational pressure on decision makers.
* ARMFORCES AND TERRORISM:
The intelligence gathering in India is not at all satisfactory. It
has never come to notice that security agencies have unearthed any mission
of terrorists except in our Bollywood movies. From Parliament to Judiciary,
everything in this nation is targeted and we swung into action after strike
takes place and then get relax for another to happen. At national level, there
is a need of a high-level anti-terrorist squad, which should have its branch in
every state.

* POLICE FORCE AND TERRORISM:

It is pathetic to see the sight of poor policemen with same old
arms to fight the terrorist. Except for few elite groups, rest of our policemen
has outdated arms which are fit to be kept in museums. Complete need for a
centralized security system and improve it. It is also necessary to have a
centralized system of information gathering and disbursement. There is a
need for one or two toll free phone numbers, which any body can take
information from about victims after such strike or in the case of natural
calamity. It is also necessary that if anybody has any suspicion then he or she
can call a toll free number and can share the information with the
government. No such method is available. Even if someone finds something
suspicious, he chooses to remain quiet, as majority do not want to deal with
local ’khaki’ clad. Government must provide an option to those who want to
share any information without being harassed. Unfortunately as of now, no
such thing exists in our nation.

* HOW TO PREPARE AGAINST:

The following are general guidelines:
 Be aware of your surroundings.
 Move or leave if you feel uncomfortable or if something does not
seem right.
 Take precautions when traveling. Be aware of conspicuous or
unusual behavior.
 Do not accept packages from strangers. Do not leave luggage
unattended. You should promptly report unusual behavior,
suspicious or unattended packages, and strange devices to the
police or security personnel.
 Learn where emergency exits are located in buildings you frequent.
Plan how to get out in the event of an emergency.
  Be prepared to do without services you normally depend on
electricity, telephone, natural gas, gasoline pumps, cash registers,
ATMs, and Internet transactions.
If you are exposed to a biological agent:
 Move away quickly.
 Remove and bag your clothes and personal items. Follow official
instructions for disposal of contaminated items.
 Wash body with soap and water.
 Listen to the media for official instructions.
 Seek medical attention if you become sick.
 Wash yourself with soap and water and put on clean clothes.
 Seek medical assistance. You may be advised to stay away from
others or even quarantined.
Guidelines for what you should do in a chemical attack:
If you are instructed to remain in your home or office building, you
should:
 Close doors and windows and turn off all ventilation, including
furnaces, air conditioners, vents, and fans.
 Seek shelter in an internal room and take your disaster supplies kit.
 Seal the room with duct tape and plastic sheeting.
 Listen to your radio for instructions from authorities.
If there is an explosion, you should: During an Explosion
 Get under a sturdy table or desk if things are falling around you.
When they stop falling, leave quickly, watching for obviously
weakened floors and stairways. As you exit from the building, be
especially watchful of falling debris.
 Leave the building as quickly as possible. Do not stop to retrieve
personal possessions or make phone calls.
 Do not use elevators.
 Do not stand in front of windows, glass doors, or other potentially
hazardous areas.
 Move away from sidewalks or streets to be used by emergency
officials or others

*REFRENCES:
1) Brannan, D. W., Esler, P. F., & Strindberg, N. T. A. (2001). Talking
to "terrorists": Towards an independent analytical framework for
the study of violent sub state activism. Studies in Conflict &
Terrorism, 24(1), 3-24.
 2) Nacos, B., Terrorism and the Media, Columbia University Press,
New York, 1994.
3) Paletz, D., Schmid, A., (ed.) Terrorism and the Media, Sage
Publications, London, 1992.
4) Schlesinger, P., Media, State and Nation: Political Violence and
Collective Identities, Sage Publications, London, 1991
5) Schmid, A., de Graaf, J., Violence as Communication: Insurgent
Terrorism and the Western News Media, Sage Publications,
Zondon, 1982.
6) America’s National Strategy for Combating Terrorism September
2006.
7) http://www.neopagan.net/Terrorism.html
8) www.globalresearch.ca/articles/PUM306A.html
9) www.publicbookshelf.com/history/terrorism-global-
scourge/types-terrorism

Author: Mr. Haresh Gambhir Chaudhari (Lecturer)

Address: (Office) Pratap College, Amalner.
Tal: Amalner, Dist: Jalgaon. Pin: 425401
Maharashatra.
(Residence) Shri ram Colony, Shirur naka, Amalner
Tal: Amalner, Dist: Jalgaon. Pin: 425401
Maharashatra.
Ph. (02587)227348
Mob: 9860321233

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