Global terrorism cannot be stopped as it is based on belief and ideology. In examining the
Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting, the terrorist was clearly targeting Jewish people. There is a mentality and philosophy behind the actions. While this is a situation that could be stopped in isolation, if there was warning and red flags were activated, global terrorism cannot be stopped just by halting one attack. According to Ahmed (2020), ideology influences and motivates terrorism because one believes that there is a duty behind the action. One is taking steps to affirm
a position in a society. Religious extremists believe they are going to a better life when they commit these actions and die (Ahmed, 2020). There is no stopping that ideology because there is no punishment worse than death, and they celebrate death as a new life. The United States has embraced the idea of world’s policeman, but it is not justified. The U.S. has a strong presence in policing the Middle East. However, by doing so it pushes values and a way of life on others, which is irrational. If the United States completely removed itself from the Middle East, the terrorist threat would not end. However, policing the Middle East has not led to positive outcomes for the Americans (Ahmed, 2020). They have taken accountability to be the leaders of the world, but have fallen short as they push ideologies on those unwilling to accept or adjust.
Military force is not the only way to prevent terrorism. Changing the mentality of a would-be terrorist is needed in the cases explained. Remember that they are using ideology to turn an idea into a behavior, where their decisions can be catastrophic. In that case, changing the mentality and philosophy of a terrorist is a central path forward, which is only possible when one
is willing to embrace peace and ethical values over their extreme belief system.
References
Ahmed, R. (2020). How Ideology Influences Terror
. Cambridge Scholars Press.
