Citizenship: Terrorism
...ups of people being “vile killers.” It clearly shows that it is disgusted with the activities of “these” groups. It generally refers to the killers as “they”, so it blames all those who are terrorists. The article from the Guardian titled “The age of terror” is also very strongly opposed to terrorism. It also mentions Al-Qaida as being responsible for terrorism, but this article places a lot more emphasis on Al-Qaida and Osama Bin Laden. This is clearly presented in summary of the article on left, “Al-Qaida looked weakened and on the run…been able to evade intelligence systems and kill hundreds…Bin Laden’s network remains so elusive.” The article also makes mentions other groups like Eta, countries where terrorisms groups are based e.g. Algeria, Egypt, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq and also through western countries that are being targeted. It talks about “Training camps...small scales facilities cropping up once again.” The article shows how Al-Qaida is beginning to gain power. It also says, “The war in Iraq has presented a new opportunity for Al-Qaida to swell.” The impression given from the Guardian article is that the enemy of peace in the world is once again gaining power and will not stop to until they achieve destruction. However, if you think about it, terrorism is actually taking place because they (the terrorists) wish to get revenge against the countries that have invaded and killed them. If the USA and other countries did not commit atrocities (Iraqi peoples’ point of view) in the first place, then there wouldn’t be anyone wanting payback. Of course, it wouldn’t be shown as atrocities in the Western media because they wouldn’t want the West to look bad at itself. There is a controversy over why there was a war on Iraq. Many people are of the opinion that apart from the “War on terrorism” that George Bush has declared, he actually invaded Iraq so that America would benefit from taking over the oil stores in the East. This would mean many riches and wealth to the US, and that was one of the main reasons for the war. I am of the opinion that by invading Iraq, the USA, Britain and other supporters have simply given more reason for terrorist groups to retaliate and attack the western countries. The article from the Guardian begins by saying, “You love life, we love death” the chilling phrases quoted by an Al-Qaida leader. The fact that the article places emphasis on this type of quote which mentions the word “we” and also places particular emphasis on the countries where Al-Qaida is based e.g. Pakistan, Afghanistan, Egypt .etc makes it seem as if the article is targeting the blame at the Asian people, of whom are Muslim. I am aware that many Muslims in the UK feel targeted by the media after the 9/11 attacks, and feel that the media associate terrorism with Islam. This has become a major issue in the UK and London because law-abiding Muslims feel betrayed because extremist Islam militants have misinterpreted the teachings of Islam and are using them wrongly. However, extremists like Abu-Hamza at Finsbury Park mosque who spread terrorist and anti-western messages have not helped in proving that Islam is a peaceful religion. The article by the Guardian is quite negative suggesting that, “Bin Laden has every reason to believe that he is so far winning the battle” and the title “The age of terror” suggesting that terrorism is something that will remain for a long time to come, it cannot be eradicated. It also says “Bin Laden’s network remains elusive,” also showing that they still about, which will give the reader a sense of fear. Unlike this, the article in the Daily Mirror shows that we will succeed in eradicating terrorism. This is firstly shown in the headline, “These vile killers must not prevail,” suggesting intention of stopping them. As the article goes on it shows a more positive approach to us beating terrorism, “Just…a war….terrorists have declared a war on the civilised world, everything that is decent…they don’t even have a basic sense of humanity, but that is why the will be beaten.” The key bits, ...