Terrorism

Terrorism is the intentional usage of methods that are combined together to execute the terror strike. Al Qaeda is a terroristic organization that has become the symbol of the global terrorism in the 21^st century. Moreover, any terrorism presupposes following or supporting some kind of ideology. Currently, terrorism is a traditional threat as the cases of terrorist attacks are increasing. These attacks kill people, destroy buildings, and pose a threat to people in public transport by putting bombs into it. Thus, terrorism is a threat to a state, and it provokes the necessity of the war against terrorism, leads to the international conflicts, and creates the uncertainty, panic, and fears within the state. The UAE should be concerned about terrorism as the incidents still happen there, and it is a target place for terrorist groups. Consequently, terrorism is a traditional threat to any state, and the UAE is not the exception, though the attacks in the Gulf region are not as frequent as in the USA due to the country’s relative security; however, they are also possible.

 

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Terrorism as a Traditional Threat to a State

Terrorism poses a traditional threat to a state’s security and safety as well as to national interests of citizens. First, it shows whether the state is vulnerable to the terrorist attacks, determines the level of defense there and the possibility to protect the citizens (Duan, 2012). For example, during the attack of 9/11, Al Qaeda was not able to conduct the successful attacks in the USA because the country invests much in law enforcement and homeland defense (Eikenberry, 2014). As to European states, they are less protected than the USA. For example, in 2005 London 7/7 incident took place, and after that, in 2011, Norway has become the victim of terrorism, which was accompanied by shooting and bombing and resulted in seventy-seven people killed (Eikenberry, 2014). Not without a reason, the states try to reinforce their security implementing relatively cheap countermeasures like better commercial airliner cockpit doors and airport screening.

Terrorism within a state can be of the international character as it manages to penetrate all barriers and result in small and medium-scale attacks that pose the threat to the entire state (Maogoto, 2005). In such a way, Al Qaeda is the terroristic organization that has a global character as it makes the states vulnerable and proves the weaknesses of the government and defense system (Mahan & Griset, 2012). Thus, Al Qaeda acts against the USA and its nuclear-armed nation-state competitors. Currently, Al Qaeda is less threatening as it is armed with low-caliber weapons (Bergen, 2011). However, it does not mean that terrorism is in the decline; it continues to challenge the stability of societies and assassin individuals, groups of people, and leaders using the different tools and tactics that are following: strategic (propaganda, recruitment), operational (communication and transportation), and tactical (attacks).

International terrorist organizations, like Islamic militant jihadist groups, are political, dynamic, and ideological. Despite the fact that they act in the geopolitical context, they can be traditional threats to states. Not without a reason, researchers are convinced that the struggle against terrorism cannot be effective if it is done in the national context, it should have more global character (Combs, 2012). Thus, the efforts associated with counterterrorism operations should be based on the recognition of the necessity of nation-states collaboration, a consideration of geopolitical context, and determination of the threats posed by terrorists (White, 2013). Moreover, it is necessary to consider the fact that terrorism is not limited to the regions and locations where terrorists live and operate as they are able to act in any state because globalization only benefits their collaboration and cooperation in the manipulation of people with the help of Internet, television, and satellite communication.

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The Reasons Why the UAE Should Be Concerned about Terrorism

Despite the fact that UAE is considered the location that has driven the development, growth, and expansion of terrorism, it has the reasons to be concerned about terrorism. First, any modern state has the reasons to worry about terrorism as nobody is protected against it. Moreover, the UAE is the country of tourists and foreigners; therefore, they can become the victims of terrorists. In addition, the state-sponsored terrorism is very popular in the Middle East and can take place in the UAE. Second, the UAE is an Islamic state; therefore, the terroristic attacks can have the ideological and religious character. For example, not all Muslims could be satisfied with their quality of life and use terrorism to influence the government (Katzman, 2010). Furthermore, terrorism can be active there because it is random in the Arabic countries, and there are the states that are sponsors of terrorism in both national and global contexts. The UAE is characterized by the relative safety, but such case as killing of the mother in the toilet by an individual who killed other people in 2015 proves that such incidents can happen even here. “… the murder of American teacher, Ibolya Ryan, highlighted the fact that incidents could still happen, even in the relative safety of the UAE” (Moukhallati, 2015:1). It means that the UAE should also increase the ways of the national defense to protect its citizens and tourists from terrorist attacks.

The UAE has a lower rate of terrorism than the USA; therefore, this state is rather safe, and there are many reasons for this. First, the citizens are homogenous and are the followers of the governmental policy. Moreover, the UAE does not have the inferiority toward the West. Furthermore, this state does not have the fifth column that can rebel against the existing policy. Second, the UAE does not have an aggressive foreign policy and tries to keep the positive and friendly relationships in the global environment. For example, their international relationships are deprived of confrontation and involve commercial ties (Katzman, 2010). Third, the UAE is committed to humanitarian interventions. Despite the fact that this state was accused of laundering money for some terroristic organizations, it has not been proved in a full measure. Fourth, the UAE has many non-residents who are here to provide a good and prosperous life, but they cannot change or influence something. The UAE leaders are idealists regarding the development and growth of their country, but they are rather pragmatic when it comes to the standards of living. Finally, the UAE is a policy state; therefore, it avoids power abusing and corruptive actions that can increase the threat of terrorism. Moreover, the power of the police is huge which allows controlling all processes within the state. The UAE does not practice the usage of the oppressive regime against its citizens using compromising and collaborative tools (Gulf News, 2017). Finally, the UAE can resist terrorism as it has the proper policy, money, friendly international relationships and ability to control and influence citizens.

In conclusion, it is necessary to say that terrorism is a traditional threat to any state as it is unpredicted and uses the different ways to pose the threat to individuals and groups of people. Terrorism defines the level of vulnerability of the state, its policy, and defense systems and has both national and international character. Terrorist attacks can be political, religious, and ideological but all of them are characterized by cruelty. The UAE should be concerned about terrorism because the issue is typical for any modern country, especially when it is Islamic. Moreover, the UAE is associated with terroristic groups as it was accused of laundering their money. However, there are also reasons why the UAE should not worry about terrorism, and they are following: relative safety, enough money for investments, strong policy, and governmental power.