Terrorism

Interlinked Thematic Vocabulary UnitNº 56 v.11

      Main Terms

1. terrorism 1 |n| the use of violence such as bombing, shooting, etc. for political purposes.
2. terrorism 2 |n| the calculated use of violence (or the threat of violence) against civilians in order to attain goals that are political or religious or ideological in nature; this is done through intimidation or coercion or instilling fear.
3. terrorism 3 |n| the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) defines terrorism as “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.”
4. terrorism 4 |n| the US Department of State defines terrorism as 
5. “premeditated politically-motivated violence perpetrated against non-combatant targets by sub-national groups or clandestine agents”.
6. anti-terrorism |n| is defensive, intended to reduce the chance of an attack using terrorist tactics at specific points, or to reduce the vulnerability of possible targets to such tactics.
7. “Defensive measures used to reduce the vulnerability of individuals and property to terrorist acts, to include limited response and containment by local military and civilian forces."
8. counter-terrorism |n| refers to offensive strategies intended to prevent, deter, preempt, and respond to terrorism. In other words, counter-terrorism is a set of techniques for denying an opponent the use of terrorism-based tactics, just as counter-air is a set of techniques for denying the opponent the use of attack aircraft.
9. “However, Muslim groups and civil rights groups have expressed concern at the way the FBI uses stings in counter-terrorism cases.”

      Kinds of Terrorism

1. bioterrorism |n| terrorist acts involving the use of harmful agents and products of biological origin, as disease-producing microorganisms or toxins.
2. cyberterrorism |n| the illegal use of computers and the internet to achieve some goal.
3. domestic terrorism |n| terrorism practiced in your own country against your own people.
4. “The 1995 bombing of a federal building in Oklahoma City was an instance of domestic terrorism.”
5. eco-terrorism 1 / environmental terrorism 1 |n| sabotage intended to hinder activities that are considered damaging to the environment.
6. eco-terrorism 2 / environmental terrorism 2 |n| political terrorism intended to damage an enemy’s natural environment.
7. eco-terrorism 3 / environmental terrorism 3 |n| is a recently coined term describing violence in the interests of environmentalism. In general, environmental extremists sabotage property to inflict economic damage on industries or actors they see as harming animals or the natural enviroment. This have included fur companies, logging companies and animal research laboratories, for example.
8. eco-terrorism 4  / environmental terrorism 4 |n| the FBI defines eco-terrorism as “the use or threatened use of violence of a criminal nature against innocent victims or property by an environmentally-oriented, subnational group for environmental-political reasons, or aimed at an audience beyond the target, often of a symbolic nature.”
9. state-sponsored terrorism |n| terrorism practiced by a government against its own people or in support of international terrorism.
10. state terrorism 1 |n| acts of terrorism conducted by governments or terrorism carried out directly by, or encouraged and funded by, an established government of a state (country) or terrorism practiced by a government against its own people or in support of international terrorism.
11. “State terrorism is as controversial a concept as that of terrorism itself."
12. state terrorism 2 |n| terrorism by a government.

      Kinds of Terrorist Attacks

1. terrorist attack |n| a surprise attack involving the deliberate use of violence against civilians in the hope of attaining political or religious aims. 
2. suicide attack |n| a suicide attack is an attack upon a target, in which an attacker intends to kill others and/or cause great damage, knowing that he or she will either certainly or most likely die in the process.
3. bombing 1 |n| the use of bombs to attack a place.
4. “The southwest of the country suffered an intensive bombing campaign.” 
5. bombing 2 |n| the use of bombs for sabotage; a tactic frequently used by terrorists. 
6. “They were planning bombing raids in some of America´s major cities.” 
7. false flag operation |n| a covert operation designed to deceive; the deception creates the appearance of a particular party, group, or nation being responsible for some activity, disguising the actual source of responsibility.
8. suicide bombing |n| a terrorist bombing carried out by someone who does not hope to survive it.
9. “Last year, it carried out suicide bombings on high-profile targets such as the headquarters of the UN and the police in the capital.”
10. hijack |v| illegally seize control of an aircraft, shop, or vehicle, while in transit.
11. “A Chinese airliner was hijacked by two passengers and forced to fly to Taiwan…"
12. “The recent series of airplane hijackings.”

     Some Weapons Used in Terrorist Attacks

1. weapon |n| instrument for use in attack or defense in combat.
2. "He immediately reported the matter to his superior officers in order to avoid being punished for losing his weapon."
3. "So obviously that is a weapon we are prepared to use."
4. "Registration does not authorise the person to carry the weapon."
5. weaponry 1 |n| weapons or weaponlike instruments collectively.
6. "The rocket attacks marked an escalation of violence not just in number, but also in weaponry."
7. "Reducing levels of armaments and eliminating the most destructive and destabilizing weaponry is a crucial contribution to alleviating mistrust and tensions."
8. "The costs of personal clothing, gear and equipment and of personal weaponry were excluded from the analysis."
9. grenade |n| a small bomb thrown by hand or launched mechanically. 
10. “Police carried out raids across France on Saturday after DNA on a grenade that exploded at a kosher grocery story led them to a suspected jihadist cell of young Frenchmen recently converted to Islam.”
11. IED|n| a bomb that has been made using whatever materials are available, especially one used to blow up soldiers travelling through a place. IED is short  for “improvised explosive device”.
12. “Several soldiers were killed when an IED exploded as their convoy drove by.”
13. letter bomb |n| a device inside an envelope which explodes when the envelope is opened.
14. ricin 1 |n| a toxic protein extracted from castor beans, used as a chemical reagent; can be used as a bioweapon.
15. ricin 2 |n| a very strong poison, which has sometimes been used by terrorists.

      People

1. bomber |n| a person who drops or sets bombs, especially as an act of terrorism or sabotage.
2. terrorist 1 |n| a person who uses terrorism in the pursuit of political aims.
3. terrorist 2 |n| a person who intentionally commits, causes, aids, furthers or conceals an act of terrorism or attempts to commit, cause, aid, further or conceal an act of terrorism".
4. "All it needed was setting a notorious terrorist free and once again death come calling at our door."
5. "That act is a further manoeuvre to cover up guilt of that confessed international terrorist."
6. "Finally, the last man is an international terrorist on his way to the airport to hijack a plane."
7. gunman |n| a man who uses a gun to commit a crime or terrorist act.
8. "Today, a terrorist gunman infiltrated the Israeli-Syrian border, north-east of Kazerin."
9. "Subsequently, on 6 March, a terrorist gunman opened fire at a Jewish religious school in Jerusalem, killing eight young Israeli students and wounding 11 others, which the United States and many other Governments rightly condemned as a vicious targeting of innocent civilians."
10. "After the third shot, the gunman lowered the gun, looked down and then detonated the explosives."
11. martyr 1 |n| one who chooses to suffer death rather than renounce religious principles.
12. martyr 2 |n| a person who is killed or who suffers greatly for a religion, cause, etc.
13. martyr 3 |n| a person who is put to death or endures great suffering on behalf of any belief, principle, or cause.

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