How Can We Stop Terrorism?

Mrs. Shearer

Evander Childs High School

Global History IV

Vocabulary:

1. Terrorism: the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.
—FBI Definition

Introduction:

“On September 11, 2001, four groups of terrorists hijacked four commercial jet airplanes in Boston, Newark, and Washington, D. C. The hijackers flew two of the airplanes directly into the World Trade Center towers in New York City, destroying both buildings and causing a number of surrounding buildings to collapse. A third hijacked plane slammed into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. The fourth plane crashed into an isolated area of Pennsylvania, diverted from its apparent objective in Washington, D.C. by heroic passengers. Thousands of people were killed, including all persons above the airliners.

The U. S. government accumulated evidence indicating that these acts had been carried out by al-Queda, the terrorist organization of Osama bin Laden. Bin Laden had used his inherited fortune to train terrorists in Afghanistan, which was controlled at the time by a militant Islamic group, the Taliban. Bin Laden was also suspected of directing earlier terrorist attacks against the United States, including the bombing of two U.S. embassies in Africa in 1998 and the attack on the USS Cole in 2000.

Following the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks, United States president George W. Bush vowed to wage war on terrorism. The United States developed a global coalition of nations to rid the world of terrorist groups, a process that began with military action against Afghanistan in October 2001.”

--Jackson J. Spielvogel, World History, Glenco McGraw-Hill

Acts of terror, such as those described in the above document, have become a regular aspect of modern societies. Groups of terrorists use the killing of civilians (especially by bombing), the taking of hostages, assassinations of political figures, and the hijacking of airplanes to draw attention to their demands or to achieve their political goals. We simply cannot sit by and allow the terrorists to win. What can we do to stop terrorism? How can governments combat terrorism?

Task:

Imagine that you are a member of a special United Nations task force that has been commissioned to research the problem of international terrorism with the hope of finding solutions. Specifically, you have been asked to write a two to three page report about recent acts of terrorism in two separate countries, using the following questions as guidelines:

1. Give a brief description of the events that occurred in the two countries selected.

2. Compare how these terrorist acts were similar and how they were different.

3. Why do you think the terrorists chose to pursue these acts?

4. How have the people in the particular countries you chose to research been affected?

5. How have the governments responded to the terrorists acts? Do you think these measures are adequate?

6. What other recommendations do you have for effectively fighting and putting an end to terrorism in these countries and the world community?

For this project, you should also use the five-step public policy analysis:

PROCESS:

Step 1: You will be divided into groups of four.

Step 2: Each group will select a leader.

Step 3: Each group will Define the Problem and write a brief summary in your notebook.

Step 4: The leader will assign members to work on a specific aspect of the project. For example, one or two persons could research the effects of terrorist acts on civilians. Another person might examine the measures instituted by the government of a particular country being studied to combat terrorism.

Step 5: Group members will begin their internet research by using the search engines and websites listed in “Resources” below.

Step 6: Once the research has been completed, fill out the five-step public policy worksheets.

Worksheet 1: Identify the Problem (MSWORD version)

Worksheet 2: Gather the Evidence (MSWORD Version)

Worksheet 3: "Determine the Causes"(MSWORD Version)

Worksheet 4: "Evaluate the Policy"(MSWORD Version)

Worksheet 5: "Comparative Analysis"(MSWORD Version)

Step 7: Write your report. This should be typed and double-spaced and written in your own words.

Step 8: Group presentations

Resources:

You should use the following websites to gather information for your paper. You may also use your own websites

Terrorism in Bali-Indonesia

http://www.efreedomnews.com/News%20Archive/Terrorists/BaliTerrorism.htm

http://intranet.usc.edu.au/wacana/isn/global_terrorism_why_bali.html

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,65524,00.htm

http://www.worldpress.org/Asia/785.cfm

http://www.diplomaticnet.com/uk/act/act70.html

http://www.persecution.org/letters/president-2001-12-06.html

Terrorism in the Middle East

http://www.usis.usemb.se/terror/rpt1996/middle.html

http://judaism.about.com/library/israel/israel_conflict/aa050102a.htm

http://judaism.about.com/cs/terrorism/

Terrorism: Attacks and Responses

http://www.library.vanderbilt.edu/romans/terrorism.html

September 11, 2001 Resources

http://www.academicinfo.net/usa911.html

Terrorism remains a Global Issue

http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/itgic/0297/ijge/gj-1.htm

Efforts to combat Terrorism

http://www.state.gov/p/wha/rls/rm/7667.htm

http://www.utrikes.regeringen.se/inenglish/frontpage/terror.htm

http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/itps/1101/ijpe/toc.htm

You may also use the following search engines:

https://www.google.com/

http://www.altavista.com/

Evaluation:

The following rubric will be used to judge your project.

	Exceeds Expectations	Meets Expectations	Does Not Meet Expectations	Score
Points Earned	3	2	1 or 0
Factual Information	All information correct	Most information correct	Little or no information correct
Variety of Sources	Excellent variety of sources; excellent use of relevant materials	Adequate number of sources; adequate use of relevant materials	Inadequate number of sources; inadequate use of relevant materials
Discussion/Detail	Excellent discussion/detail	Adequate discussion/detail	Vague/shallow discussion/detail
Depth of Insight/Analysis	Impressive depth of insight/analysis	Adequate depth of insight/analysis	Unexceptional insight/analysis
Form and Style	Effective introduction	Adequate introduction	Weak or missing introduction
Conclusion	Effective conclusion	Adequate conclusion	Weak or missing conclusion
Organization	Clear organization	Adequate organization	Confusing or weak organization
Transitions	Smooth transitions	Adequate transitions	Awkward or missing transitions
Spelling and Grammar		Correct grammar; no spelling mistakes	Incorrect grammar; many spelling mistakes
References in Footnotes and Bibliography		Correctly credits references	Incorrectly credits references or credits missing
			TOTAL SCORE

This webquest focuses on the following Social Studies and English Language Arts Performance standards:

Social Studies

Standard 2: World History

Students will investigate key events and developments related to international terrorism to identify how these events have affected the world community.

Students will interpret and analyze documents related to the problem of international terrorism.

Students will research analytical questions, formulate conclusions, and raise new questions or issues for further investigation.

English Language Arts Standards

Standard 1: Language for Information and Understanding

Students will listen, speak, read, and write for information and understanding. As listeners and readers, students will collect data, facts, and ideas; discover relationships, concepts, and generalization; and use knowledge generated from oral, written, and electronically produced texts. As speakers and writers, they will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language to acquire, interpret, apply, and transmit information.

Standard 3: Language for Critical Analysis and Evaluation

Students will listen, speak, read, and write for critical analysis and evaluation. As listeners and readers, students will analyze experiences, ideas, information, and issues presented y others using a variety of established criteria. As speakers and writers, they will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language to present, from a variety of perspectives, their opinions and judgments on experiences, ideas, information and issues.

Standard 4: Language for Social Interaction

Students will listen, speak, read, and write for social interaction. Students will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language for effective social communication of others to enrich their understanding of people.

Conclusion:

By working on this project, students will be able to: (1) determine the causes and effects of international terrorism, and (2) assess the effectiveness of various public policies that have been instituted in different countries to fight terrorism.