How terrorism ends 1). Decapitating leaders of terrorist groups: What decapitation means? The literal meaning of decapitation is: “Decapitation (from Latin, caput, capitis, meaning head) is the complete separation of the head from the body.” But in the context of our discussion Decapitation refers to the removal by arrest or assassination of the top leaders or operational leaders of a group. The leader of a terrorist group can either be held alive or dead. Decision about whether to capture or kill a terrorist leaders is dependent upon the goals that the states aim to achieve. Capturing of a terrorist leader depicts the thought that he is a criminal authorised to a legal hearing. On the other hand, killing him is treating him as a challenger to the state’s peace. Thus this settlement depends upon the counterterrorism policies created by national rulers. With the emergence of the topic of decapitation, certain questions occupy our minds regarding the merits, demerits and effectiveness of this method of ending terrorist groups. Does the decapitation of terrorist …show more content…
Decapitating of the leaders, or the killing, arrest or capturing of the leaders of terrorist organisations, has become an essential feature of United State’s counterterrorism policy design. Many scholars and analysts claim that it weakens terrorist organisations and reduces the threat they pose. Unsurprisingly, the killing of Osama bin Laden on May 2, 2011, in Abbottabad, Pakistan, has proved to be a major tactical victory for President Barack Obama and specially for the war on terrorism. Despite the success of this operation and successive attacks on al-Qaida leaders, decapitation is unlikely to lessen the ability of al-Qaida to continue its terrorism in the long run. Rather, it may have counterproductive consequences, fortifying or nourishing the