Terrorism in the United States
Terrorism Definition
It means the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion.
The U.S. Army definition is as follows: the calculated use of violence or the threat of violence to attain political or religious ideological goals through intimidation, coercion, or instilling fear.
The dictionary definition of “terrorism” has wider applicability than common usage. Underground organizations are labeled terrorist for the same acts that established powers such as the United States routinely perform. As a result, the word has lost its descriptive value, it is now simply a pejorative (credit for this observation goes to Terry Anderson and Robert Fisk, as reported in Fisk’s Pity The Nation, pages 435-436) or a dysphemism to make certain actions (e.g. the killing of children) appear less offensive (cf. the killing of terrorists). Before the word terrorist became popular, bandit was sometimes used.
Quote in relation to Terrorism
Noam Chomsky, Power and Terror, 2003, observes:
“In brief, for the United States, Eurasian geostrategy involves the purposeful management of geostrategically dynamic states and the careful handling of geopolitically catalytic states, in keeping with the twin interests of America in the short-term preservation of its unique global power and in the long-run transformation of it into increasingly institutionalized global cooperation. To put it in a terminology that hearkens back to the more brutal age of ancient empires, the three grand imperatives of imperial geostrategy are to prevent collusion and maintain security dependence among the vassals, to keep tributaries pliant and protected, and to keep the barbarians from coming together.”
Patriot Act: The Debate Over the Patriot Act Effectiveness in Fighting Terrorism
Introduction to Terrorism
The Patriot Act’s supporters argue that it has helped fight and suppress terrorist acts. Its opponents say it has not. It is difficult if not impossible to determine the truth of either position with any accuracy.
The government claims that many planned acts have been averted because of the information gained through the Patriot Act and also because authorities were able to detain many suspicious people who might have committed terrorist acts. But proving that something would have happened is hard to demonstrate or verify.” (1)
Finding the law: Terrorism in the U.S. Code
A collection of general and permanent laws relating to terrorism, passed by the United States Congress, are organized by subject matter arrangements in the United States Code (U.S.C.; this label examines terrorism topics), to make them easy to use (usually, organized by legal areas into Titles, Chapters and Sections). The platform provides introductory material to the U.S. Code, and cross references to case law. View the U.S. Code’s table of contents here.
Terrorism
In Legislation
Terrorism in the U.S. Code: Title 18, Part I, Chapter 113B
The current, permanent, in-force federal laws regulating terrorism are compiled in the United States Code under Title 18, Part I, Chapter 113B. It constitutes “prima facie” evidence of statutes relating to Crimes and Criminal Law (including terrorism) of the United States. The reader can further narrow his/her legal research of the general topic (in this case, Terrorism of the US Code, including terrorism) by chapter and subchapter.
Resources
Notes and References
- Information about Terrorism in the Encarta Online Encyclopedia
Further Reading
- Information about Terrorism in the Gale Encyclopedia of American Law.
Guide to Terrorism
Terrorism in the Context of Foreign Sovereign Immunities Legislation
Terrorism-Related Activities in International Civil Litigation
Analysis of the Terrorism-Related Activities, PRICE v. SOCIALIST PEOPLE?S LIBYAN ARAB JAMAHIRIYA Notes on Price in relation with the Foreign Sovereign Immunity and Jurisdiction of U.S. Courts over Foreign States.
Resources
See Also
- Choice of Law Rule
- Judicial Branch Jurisdiction
- Legislative Jurisdiction
- Supreme Court Jurisdiction
- Judicial Jurisdiction Definition
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