The most efficient method of deterring terrorism is to examine the motivation of the individuals and groups responsible for acts of terror, Penn State professors say.

The media portrays terrorism as senseless and aimless acts of violence when in fact, the aims of terrorists are crystal clear, said Colin Flint, professor of geography.

"It's not random violence without a purpose. We don't call that terrorism," Scott Bennett, professor of political science, said.

"The violence is often random, but it has a purpose, which is to spread fear in the name of some goal."

There is no such thing as mindless terror, said Cray Fraser, professor of African and African-American Studies.

"There is a possibility for meaningless violence but not meaningless terror," Fraser said.

"The media focuses on the acts of terror rather than on the root causes," Fraser added.

A terrorist organization implements fear tactics as an attempt to achieve a policy change on the part of the targeted group, Bennett said.

Individuals, organizations and states use terror to reach political ends, Fraser added.

"Terrorists try to win not by defeating their opponent militarily, but by making citizens and or soldiers afraid to induce a policy change," Bennett said.

Terrorism is a method used to bring about change when there is a feeling of political marginalization and all other alternatives have been exhausted or were nonexistent in the first place, Flint said.

"It's the thought of many that it's not a good idea to spank a child," Flint said. Likewise, it's not a good idea to spank a terrorist, he added.

In its fight to combat terrorism, the United States must take long-term security into account, Flint said.

"Short term security operations are necessary. However, they are being conducted in a manner that will not provide long term security and are not likely to prevent future terrorism," Flint said.

"Dropping Daisy Cutters on people, many of them innocent, causes altruism to fade and the perception of bold face power to become more obvious," Flint added.

The fundamental issues that trigger terrorism must be addressed or the response to the terror may provide further motivation, Fraser said.

"The goal of responding to acts of terrorism is that the acts aren't repeated," Flint said.

"The only way to arrive at a long-term solution is to examine the political motivations of the terrorists. Terrorism is a political cause and all political causes can be negotiated."

Diplomatic failure will only create an endless cycle of violence, Fraser said.

"The critical issue is that terror doesn't operate in a vacuum," he added.

Flint said that although terrorism can't be eliminated, it can be controlled.

"It comes. It goes. It peaks. It troughs. It can't be alleviated because there is always the possibility of sleeping (terrorist) cells that haven't been discovered," Flint said.