2006年VOA标准英语-Experts Say Terrorists Motivated by Divers

By Peter Fedynsky
Washington, DC
13 April 2006
 
watch Motivation report
 
  
  
Terrorism existed thousands of years before the word entered European languages following the French Revolution in the late 18th century.  The violent and random¹ tactics of terror have been used by groups on the political left and right, by religious fanatics² of various faiths, by the rich and poor, by nationalists and revolutionaries.  VOA's Peter Fedynsky looks at the various motivations of those who engage in terrorism.

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September 11th terrorist Mohammed Atta hated America.  That is why he flew an airplane into a New York City skyscraper³.  Ulrike Meinhof waged a terror campaign against West Germany.  Her reason?  Disenchantment with its society.   And well before he became a politician, former Israeli Prime Minister Menachim Begin was driven by a vision of an independent Jewish homeland to bomb a hotel in Jerusalem.  

 

Bruce Hoffman   
  

Whatever the reason - rational or irrational⁴; political, economic, religious, or personal - terror specialist Bruce Hoffman of the RAND Corporation think tank says those who engage in terrorism believe they have no alternative.

"And that becomes the justification⁵ or the rationale for violence.   Often attached to that, or married to that is the catharsis of violence, in other words, the satisfaction they feel of the David against a Goliath, the weak striking out against the powerful," he said.

A common perception of a terrorist is that of a poor and ignorant individual who acts out of desperation.  But the Red Brigades, which terrorized Italy in the 1970's and 80's are but one example of organizations created by educated members of the middle class.  

 
Bard⁶ O'Neill 
  
Professor Bard O'Neill, Director of Insurgency⁷ Studies at the National War College in Washington, says another such group is Al Qaeda, which launched the September 11, 2001 attacks against the United States.

"Al-Qaida people come from middle class backgrounds.  And when you begin to look at that, you find out that their motivation is very much psychological," he said.  "People who are searching for a sense of identity, a sense of respect, searching to address humiliation⁸, these are the kinds of things that tend to motivate them, rather than poverty."

Professor O'Neill notes, however, that poverty is a factor in terrorism perpetrated by some Palestinian refugees.

Another powerful motivating force is religion.  The RAND Corporation's Bruce Hoffman says Islamic terrorist organizations that recruit members who are willing to die, redefine self-destruction as a social good.

"It becomes positive in the sense that if it's a religious context, the bomber⁹ is rewarded with a glorious ascent¹⁰ to heaven," he said, "but there's also financial and material incentives¹¹ for the bomber's family that transcend¹² both religious and secular¹³ groups.  The families themselves are often well taken care of and looked after."

Scholars say that Islamic terrorists who volunteer to die adhere to the concept of istishad, or martyrdom, which promises entry into paradise for those who go to their deaths in an attack against an enemy.  However, terrorism by definition targets innocent civilians¹⁶, which violates Islamic teaching.  As a result, the prospective¹⁷ martyr¹⁴ is faced with a contradiction.

 
Dr. Radwan Masmoudi 
  
Dr. Radwan Masmoudi President of the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy in Washington, D.C. says it is resolved by mentally denying the civilian¹⁵ status of innocents on buses and in restaurants. 

"They are saying that 'no, these are not really civilians.  They are somehow associated with this war and that is why we are targeting them.," he said.  "They know that it is clearly forbidden in Islam to kill civilians, so they have to find an explanation or a way to say these targets are not really civilians, they are somehow associated with the military."

In recent years, Osama Bin¹⁸ Laden¹⁹ and other terrorist leaders have portrayed²⁰ the Western presence in the Muslim world as a humiliating social, economic and political attack on Islam.

Michael Scheuer, a former CIA officer who was involved in the hunt for Bin Laden, says U.S. foreign policy feeds that perception.

"Whether it's our unqualified support for Israel, our now military presence in Afghanistan, in the Philippines, and Iraq, our presence on the Arabian Peninsula, our physical presence is pushing that even further, the idea that jihad needs to be waged in defense²¹ of Islam," he said.

President Bush, however, says no grievance²² can justify²³ the murder of innocents.  He adds that victory in Iraq will lead to success in the larger war against terror.

"By securing Iraqi democracy, we'll make America and our friends and allies around the world safer," he said.

Experts recognize that terrorism often works on a tactical level by raising public awareness²⁴ about particular goals or grievances²⁵.  But they note that there are few examples of terrorists who gain and keep power without setting limits on violence and without an ability to peacefully engage in the art of politics.

1 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

2 fanatics   

狂热者，入迷者( fanatic的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The heathen temple was torn down by a crowd of religions fanatics. 异教徒的神殿被一群宗教狂热分子拆除了。
• Placing nukes in the hands of baby-faced fanatics? 把核弹交给一些宗教狂热者手里？

3 skyscraper   

n.摩天大楼

参考例句：

• The skyscraper towers into the clouds.那幢摩天大楼高耸入云。
• The skyscraper was wrapped in fog.摩天楼为雾所笼罩。

4 irrational   

adj.无理性的，失去理性的

参考例句：

• After taking the drug she became completely irrational.她在吸毒后变得完全失去了理性。
• There are also signs of irrational exuberance among some investors.在某些投资者中是存在非理性繁荣的征象的。

5 justification   

n.正当的理由；辩解的理由

参考例句：

• There's no justification for dividing the company into smaller units. 没有理由把公司划分成小单位。
• In the young there is a justification for this feeling. 在年轻人中有这种感觉是有理由的。

6 bard   

n.吟游诗人

参考例句：

• I'll use my bard song to help you concentrate!我会用我的吟游诗人歌曲帮你集中精神！
• I find him,the wandering grey bard.我发现了正在徘徊的衰老游唱诗人。

7 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

8 humiliation   

n.羞辱

参考例句：

• He suffered the humiliation of being forced to ask for his cards.他蒙受了被迫要求辞职的羞辱。
• He will wish to revenge his humiliation in last Season's Final.他会为在上个季度的决赛中所受的耻辱而报复的。

9 bomber   

n.轰炸机，投弹手，投掷炸弹者

参考例句：

• He flew a bomber during the war.他在战时驾驶轰炸机。
• Detectives hunting the London bombers will be keen to interview him.追查伦敦爆炸案凶犯的侦探们急于对他进行讯问。

10 ascent   

n.(声望或地位)提高；上升，升高；登高

参考例句：

• His rapid ascent in the social scale was surprising.他的社会地位提高之迅速令人吃惊。
• Burke pushed the button and the elevator began its slow ascent.伯克按动电钮，电梯开始缓慢上升。

11 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

12 transcend   

vt.超出，超越(理性等)的范围

参考例句：

• We can't transcend the limitations of the ego.我们无法超越自我的局限性。
• Everyone knows that the speed of airplanes transcend that of ships.人人都知道飞机的速度快于轮船的速度。

13 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

14 martyr   

n.烈士，殉难者；vt.杀害，折磨，牺牲

参考例句：

• The martyr laid down his life for the cause of national independence.这位烈士是为了民族独立的事业而献身的。
• The newspaper carried the martyr's photo framed in black.报上登载了框有黑边的烈士遗像。

15 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

16 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

17 prospective   

adj.预期的，未来的，前瞻性的

参考例句：

• The story should act as a warning to other prospective buyers.这篇报道应该对其他潜在的购买者起到警示作用。
• They have all these great activities for prospective freshmen.这会举办各种各样的活动来招待未来的新人。

18 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

19 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

20 portrayed   

v.画像( portray的过去式和过去分词 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• Throughout the trial, he portrayed himself as the victim. 在审讯过程中，他始终把自己说成是受害者。
• The author portrayed his father as a vicious drunkard. 作者把他父亲描绘成一个可恶的酒鬼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

21 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

22 grievance   

n.怨愤，气恼，委屈

参考例句：

• He will not easily forget his grievance.他不会轻易忘掉他的委屈。
• He had been nursing a grievance against his boss for months.几个月来他对老板一直心怀不满。

23 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

24 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

25 grievances   

n.委屈( grievance的名词复数 )；苦衷；不满；牢骚

参考例句：

• The trade union leader spoke about the grievances of the workers. 工会领袖述说工人们的苦情。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• He gave air to his grievances. 他申诉了他的冤情。 来自《简明英汉词典》