1 DEFINING TERRORISM IS DIFFICULT Terrorism is hard to define It usually centers on a violent act or the threat of violence Terrorism is about more than just violence though Terrorists want to frighten people to achieve a political goal Not all violent acts that hurt people can be called terrorism The attacks of September 11 2001 are considered terrorism But the school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary on December 14 2012 is not The terrorists on 9 11 wanted the United States to change its policies in the Middle East The individual attacker at Sandy Hook did not seek any policy changes All People flee from the terrorist attacks on September 11 2001 4
11th of September 2001 The date of the worst terrorist attack on US soil Terrorism is difficult to define Terrorists use fear to achieve a political goal Terrorist acts can lead to change if citizens put pressure on their leaders terrorist acts have something in common fear Attackers try to use fear to force a change in how people behave Leaders might not change policies because might not change policies because of terror attacks But if large groups of terror attacks But if large groups of citizens become fearful they of citizens become fearful they might ask leaders for change This might ask leaders for change This TWO SIDES TO THE STORY What one person calls terrorism might not be called the same by another person Some attackers think their violent actions are justified Imagine two insurgents plant a road side bomb in Afghanistan The bomb injures or kills US troops Americans might call it a terrorist act But the insurgents would say they were defending their home from invaders makes terrorism popular among groups without power Terrorists g cannot fight back against stronger cannot fight back against stronger opponents But they can cause opponents But they can cause chaos and create fear by attacking chaos and create fear by attacking innocent people innocent people A US soldier and a bomb-sniffing dog search for roadside bombs in Afghanistan in 2009 5
Terrorism works by creating fear The fear of injury or death is powerful Terrorists want to use that fear to change behavior But the risk of death from terrorism is low Most people will never be affected by terrorism It is common to be frightened after an attack But the truth is that other dangers have greater risks More Americans suffer heart problems than die from terrorism People are more likely to be harmed by lightning than by terrorism The number of terror attacks in the United States is very low Many attacks that do happen do not target people People who travel RISK OF DEATH IS LOW 2 Lightning injures more people than acts of terrorism do 6
16 Number of terror attacks carried out or plotted in New York City since 2001 The odds of being impacted by terrorism are extremely low Americans are increasingly aware today This improves safety Governments are getting better at preventing terror attacks are making smarter choices Because Americans can be targets when they travel they are avoiding places where terrorism is high This lowers their risk of injury or death The US government has made changes to protect people better too Police train differently now Police officers are more aware of public behavior Law enforcement groups now work together more than in the past Police are now trained to look for unusual behavior in public places 7
