The Ethical Implications Of Terrorism - 1959 Words

When we approach the people who are terrorists and terrorism, we have to also consider and ask the question â€Å"are their behavior ethical and what the ethical ramifications of their behavior are. First I see terrorism as war and a terrorist in my view is a soldier going to war for certain purpose and reason to destroy. If captured, they should be treated as prisoners of war. Terrorists are engaged in a war like any other: they unite to undertake military action in favor of a specific cause. The fact that they do not represent one individual nation and that they are not at war with a specific list of states does not undermine this: It can be argued that terrorists are not engaged in a war. Their actions are aimed at destruction of civil†¦show more content†¦Terrorists also commit aggression. They have their own armed forces and they too, can deploy armed force in violation of someone else s basic rights. When they do so, they forfeit any right not to suffer the consequen ces of receiving death in response. Terrorists commit aggression when they act, since terrorism is precisely the use of random violence especially as a killing force against civilians, with the intent of spreading fear throughout all population. Thus the immediate federal response to the World Trade Center attack by some terrorist group was the passage of the Patriot Act which included the following elements with some to strengthen domestic security and some with ethical issues. The first section pertains to the country’s protection of civil liberties, authorizes federal money to accomplish much of the act s provisions, allows the Secret Service to create a nationwide electronic crime task force. The president can confiscate the property of any foreign person who is believed to have aided in a war or attack on the United States. The act gives the ability to law-enforcement agencies to conduct surveillance on agents of foreign powers. intercept communications related to terrorist activities, allows law-enforcement agencies to share information in terrorist activities with federal authorities, authorizes roving surveillance by