Essay: Religious Fanaticism

Sample Essay

Words 1,004

This essay discusses religious fanaticism. The state of affairs today is not equivalent to that of 40 years ago. Then, only a handful of states possessed nuclear weapons, and a notion of “mutually assured destruction” existed-the assumption that neither the Soviet Union nor the United States would choose to commit collective suicide.

The state of affairs today is not equivalent to that of 40 years ago. Then, only a handful of states possessed nuclear weapons, and a notion of “mutually assured destruction” existed-the assumption that neither the Soviet Union nor the United States would choose to commit collective suicide. Those who had access to enormously dangerous weapons were responsible, rational people, at least as far as their own survival was concerned. They were not fanatics bent on world conquest or global destruction. Today, given broader access to nuclear weapons, the thought of mutual assured destruction does not preclude terrorist acts; governments can only manage deterrence to a limited extent. For some states, when war becomes too perilous or costly, weapons of mass destruction used by proxies can continue conflicts by other means. However, states are no longer the only actors on the international stage, and the convictions, mental state, and behavior of the new players have confirmed to be far from predictable.

Given the indiscriminate and capricious nature of terrorist violence, to what extent will the disgrace attached to biological and chemical weapons influence terrorist groups Terrorist groups may still refrain from using certain weapons of mass destruction, if only for pragmatic reasons-the same reasons that chemical weapons were not used on the battlefields of World War II. While radical elements of these groups may be restrained by their own compatriots, it is unrealistic to depend on this hope at a time when even governments are undertaking major efforts to obtain deadly weapons.

Kindly order custom made Essays, Term Papers, Research Papers, Thesis, Dissertation, Assignment, Book Reports, Reviews, Presentations, Projects, Case Studies, Coursework, Homework, Creative Writing, Critical Thinking, on the topic by clicking on the order page.