Examining the Roots of Terrorism

In Walter Laqueur's book, No End to War, he discusses several "roots of terrorism". What he means by "roots of terrorism" is the reasons or motivations for terrorism or what underlying causes drive people to commit terrorist acts. Where do these actions stem from? If we can "pick a terrorist's brain" or understand there reasoning behind their actions, we can ultimately put an end to or at least be better prepared to "deal" with acts of terrorism. In Laqueur's words, "[...] the only way to remove or at least reduce terrorism is to tackle its sources, to deal with the grievances or frustrations of the terrorists rather than simply trying to repress terrorism by brute force" (11). In my opinion, the three most important roots that Lacquer discusses are economic reasons, religion and ideology, and "clash of civilizations" (19). With the British Broadcasting Company's miniseries, The Power of Nightmares and Lacquer's, No End to War, we can examine what specifically drives terrorists to violence and groups that have displayed these motivations in the past.