Does Terrorism Have An Economic Motive?

Reenita Malhotra — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 18:31:31 +0000

In the world Islamic fundamentalism, most of us believe that terrorism is brought about by religious bias. But the terrorist might in fact have an economic motive. It is abundantly clear that he who risks and often sacrifices his own life in the very act of creating terror does not have a personal economic motive however it is likely that he is motivated to destroy economies. Wealth, abundance and prosperity after all symbolize the ‘evil’ that the Islamist sees as an adversary.

Terrorist attacks occur almost daily in larger and smaller numbers impacting civilians all over the world (Terrorism Research Center) however it is the large scale attacks in major global financial centers that leave the world reeling in shock. An attack on a town in Afghanistan, Gujarat or Dagestan is quickly forgotten as people resume their daily lives the next day. But an attack on New York or London destabilizes the country’s entire economic machine for several days, leaving its citizens and those elsewhere in the world fearful and helpless. When the major financial center is Mumbai, the nerve center of an economy that is growing at 9% per annum, the terrorist’s motive is greater. Perhaps because economic growth in a country with which a terrorist can ethnically identify, is a telling sign that the threads of ‘evil’ have become deeply ingrained within his own people.

BBC released a documentary in 2005 entitled “The Power of Nightmares.” It outlines the history of the Neo-Conservative movement in America and interestingly enough it shows how Al-Qaeda and the Neo-Conservatives were rooted in the same ideology: that the economic prosperity of the West represented a decline of social values. For the Neo-Cons this spurred a desire to create state terror in the guise of war. For Al-Qaeda it spurred a desire to declare war in the guise of terror.

Mumbai Terror Update: Terrorists Have Planned This For 6 Months

Reenita Malhotra — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 19:18:50 +0000

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Over 150 people have been killed in a Mumbai terror scene that eerily resembles the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York. The terror scene has been unfolding in Mumbai since late Wednesday night (November 25th) and has carried on beyond 48 hours. Although a group known as the Deccan Mujahideen has claimed responsibility, there is speculation that that the series of coordinated attacks is part of a larger international conspiracy. One of the terrorists that was arrested has confirmed that the attack was planned more than 6 months ago and that more than 40 terrorists came to India - 29 of them were from Pakistan and the others were from Bangladesh.

Green Options » Taj hotel

Does Terrorism Have An Economic Motive?

Mumbai Terror Update: Terrorists Have Planned This For 6 Months

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154 dead, 327 injured; Indian commandos and hotel staff from the Taj and Oberoi hotel are looked upon as heroes.