Exercise 2. Read the text. Exercise 1. Learn the following words and word-combinations

Exercise 1. Learn the following words and word-combinations.

Text E Terrorism

abstain from – воздерживаться (от)

charged – заряженный

civil disorder – гражданские вол-нения

coercion – принуждение, насилие

commit – совершать

compel – заставлять, принуждать

concerted – согласованный

deliberately – умышленно, нароч-но

disguise – маскировка

disregard – пренебрежение, игнорирование

distinguish – различать, рассмот-реть

further (verb) – способствовать, содействовать

genuine – истинный, подлинный

impact – воздействие, эффект

intentional – преднамеренный

intimidate – пугать, устрашать

legally – законно, с юридич. точки зрения

non-combatant – военнослужа-щий, не принимающий непос-редственное участия в военных действиях

objective – цель, стремление

perpetrate – совершать

quasi – как бы, почти

target – цель, мишень

unconventional – нешаблонный, нетрадиционный

unlawful violence – противозакон-ное насилие

The modern English term “terrorism” dates back to 1795 when it was used to describe the actions of the Jacobin Club in their rule of post-Revolutionary France, the so-called “Reign of Terror”.

Terrorism is “the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion.” There is no internationally agreed definition of terrorism. Most common definitions of terrorism include only those acts which are intended to create fear (terror), perpetrated for an ideological goal (as opposed to a lone attack), and deliberately target or disregard the safety of non-combatants. Some definitions also include acts of unlawful violence and war.

Terrorism is also a form of unconventional warfare and psychological warfare. The word is politically and emotionally charged, and this greatly compounds the difficulty of providing a precise definition.

Terrorism has been used by a broad array of political organizations in furthering their objectives; both right-wing and left-wing political parties, nationalistic, and religious groups, revolutionaries and ruling governments.

The word “terrorism” was first used in reference to the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution. In many countries, acts of terrorism are legally distinguished from criminal acts done for other purposes, and “terrorism” is defined by statute.

In November 2004, a United Nations Security Council report described terrorism as any act “ intended to cause death or serious bodily harm to civilians or non-combatants with the purpose of intimidating a population or compelling a government or an international organization to do or abstain from doing any act.”

Official definitions determine counter-terrorism policy and are often developed to serve it. Most government definitions outline the following key criteria: target, objective, motive, perpetrator, and legitimacy or legality of the act.

Violence – the only general characteristic of terrorism generally agreed upon is that terrorism involves violence and the threat of violence. However, the criterion of violence alone does not produce a useful definition, as it includes many acts not usually considered terrorism: war, riot, organized crime, or even a simple assault. Psychological impact and fear – The attack was carried out in such a way as to maximize the severity and length of the psychological impact. Each act of terrorism is a “performance,” devised to have an impact on many large audiences.

Perpetrated for a political goal – Something all terrorist attacks have in common is their perpetration for a political purpose. Terrorism is a political tactic, not unlike letter writing or protesting, that is used by activists when they believe no other means will affect the kind of change they desire. The change is desired so badly that failure is seen as a worse outcome than the deaths of civilians.

Deliberate targeting of non-combatants – It is commonly held that the distinctive nature of terrorism lies in its intentional and specific selection of civilians as direct targets. Specifically, the criminal intent is shown when babies, children, mothers, and the elderly are murdered, or injured, and put in harm’s way.

Disguise – Terrorists almost invariably pretend to be non-combatants, hide among non-combatants, fight from in the midst of non-combatants, and when they can, strive to mislead and provoke the government soldiers into attacking the wrong people, that the government may be blamed for it.

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