Protecting the Homeland - Essay Example

? Protecting the Homeland Your Full Your Protecting the Homeland Preparedness is a concept that defines readiness or being prepared for what is coming. There are several ways of implementing a preparedness plan for federal agencies. Homeland Security regulates strict quarters on dealing with the control of minimizing possible terrorist attacks. However, there is on segment of United States soil that can be considered a wild card against upcoming attacks by terrorists. That wild card would be the United States Federal Prison System. Discussion Being able to comprehend the extent to which preparedness has to be integrated one must understand that it is not a definite means to an ends. There is no specific way to determine that being prepared will eliminate signs of trouble, disaster, or negative effects. The process simply adjusts the mindset of the individuals involved to meet the adversity head on and with as much resistance that can be managed. In the nations past a preparedness program was successfully demonstrated by President Woodrow Wilson. President Wilson was against the United States being involved in World War I. However, he was denied any advances for an agreement of peace amongst the U.S. and Germany. When terms were not agreed upon the President decided to focus attentions on preparing the Army, marines, and navy for being forced into the war. At the time some individuals felt as though Wilson was planning to push the U.S. into war because of his strategy. In 1917, the President was drawn into the war on Germany despite his “He Kept Us Out of War”, campaign. The major event here was the amount of readiness the President possessed on behalf of the U.S. With the determination of his armies, Wilson retrieved an Armistice from Germany in efforts to further a peace agreement. With these efforts the President was able to deliver his Fourteen Points speech that would be a big factor to ending the war completely (Woodrow Wilson, p. 1). Based on earlier arguments, it is conceived at this point that although President Wilson took necessary steps to avoid the United States interaction in World War I, he also prepared us for war. Not only did he get his troops in line, the President was well enabled to produce a solution to the issues that spawned a full war in the first place. Wilson was not able to stay out of battle. It actually took him well over a year to get Congress to sign off on his Fourteen Points. This tactic is a good example of what preparedness is about. Fighting and disagreement may not always be completely avoidable, but a solution and plan should readily be prepared to produce a means for an end. It should also be acknowledged that even with preparedness concept efforts there have been several terrorist attacks focused on United States soil. More importantly, there have been attacks directed at symbols of the nations success and power such as the World Trade Center. These types of attack demonstrate a will of terrorists to damage the United States image as a major authority. Being able to defy that authority at whatever level is a specific aim by any attack. The message that terrorists deliver will not be one that seeks to minimize damage to the U.S. or its citizens. In February of 1993 a bombing attack was demonstrated on the World Trade Center. There was a truck positioned beneath the North Tower intended to collapse the North and South Towers of the Trade Center. The bomb did not successfully kill thousands but it did manage to kill nearly ten individuals and injure over one thousand. Then again on September 11 of 2001 there was another significant attack on the World Trade Center. In this case planes hijacked by terrorists were aimed at taking out the Towers. Of the four planes taken two hit the mark and leveled the Twin Towers. This time the terrorists attempts managed to bring about the demise of over three thousand individuals. Attacks like these have attempted to crumble the United States position for decades. In light of all the attempts at the expense of the United States the nation has been expected to practice preparedness. The difference in the amounts of damage that have been caused by terrorists in the past tell us that attempts have and will continue to progress. The will to continue attacking images of our success will not cease to be a vocal point of attacks. The attacks will simply be transformed into something more alarming and tragic. The United States has to be able to recognize what systems and entities pose the most interest for terrorists and terrorist groups. The United States houses Federal Prisons and control unit prisons that are established to house the highest security risk prisoners. These prisons are made to create an environment that segregates individuals that are a risk to national and international security and the worst criminal minds known to man. For that matter measures are taken create a prison environment that will keep these types of individuals locked in, but there is nothing keeping the United States Federal Prison System from being an extreme target of terrorist intentions. Federal maximum security prisons are located in thirty-one locations across the United States. The largest is located in Florence, Colorado known as the ADX. They are typically located in areas that are not populated by general population or typical city locations. These prisons keep prisons on lock down in solitary confinement for approximately twenty-three hours a day. When inmates are let out of their cells to exercise they are sent to a massive whole in the ground that looks like a swimming pool. The ADX has reportedly never had an escape since it was built in 1994. It houses criminals such as the infamous Ted Kaczynski (the Unabomber), Richard Reid (the Shoe Bomber), and Ramzi Yousef (World Trade Center attack of 1993 terrorist). The inmates are typically confined to cells that are 10’ wide by 15’ deep. The cells are also occupied by a bed, shower, toilet, and sink. In theses cells inmates learn privileges like watching television or listening to the radio. Meeting rooms in these locations have no windows and bathrooms that lock on the outside of the doors (Francescani, p. 1 - 4). These facilities harbor some of the worst inmates and criminals known to man. Aside from that fact they house some reputable terrorists that have successfully and unsuccessfully demonstrated a terrorist act on the United States. Being prepared for attacks on behalf of these locations is one that may not be looked on as an issue. However, there is nothing to offset the idea that concentrating on a mass prisoner breakout by terrorists would not cause the United States severe collateral damage. It is likely that any terrorist event surrounding prisons will not come from the doing of the inmates. However, the inmates in these prisons will be more enthusiastic toward the assistance of the ultimate plan once it is recognized. The major type of attack in these cases would be for one or of the following reasons: 1. To release the inmates on society: This will cause a major disruption for law enforcement and like agencies. The communities will be forced to counteract the release of all individuals maximizing the use and efforts of all government authorities. This tactic would make the United States a victim of its own products and inmates. 2. The terrorists could like the positioning: In this scenario individuals would like to inhabit the prisons for their own wrong doing. As tightly secured as they are, maximum security prisons offers a harbor for those who wish to use its elements for bad. If terrorists managed to take over three or more of these units, they would be in a powerful bargaining position with the United States government. Terrorists may possibly look at the benefit of attacking maximum security prisons. There are several attributes to signify the importance of destroying or attacking the prison system. The control units can be used as a benefit for terrorist attacks and a threat on U.S. citizens. These threats have been viewed as follows: 1. The prisons offer up a symbol of the United States power of authority: The presence of authority that the federal maximum security system offers could be a primary reason for terrorists wanting to eliminate the prison systems position. 2. Criminal inmates are not reformed: This is a threat because inmates are inmates at these facilities for a reason. Dismantling the system that has been used to detain them could very well put a lot of random individuals at harms way. 3. The utilization of security: It is no secret that maximum securities are hard to get out of. That being the case they are also hard to get into. The systems are controllable by the administration. Visitors have to go through rigorous events simply to gain entry. This would be a good outlook for position if a terrorist group wanted to take these units over. Aside from having several threats to offer up the United States the prison system has vulnerabilities to terrorist attacks. The system itself demonstrates weaknesses that can be used to the advantage of terrorists. These vulnerabilities are listed as follows: 1. Location of prisons can be used as a sign of weakness: These prisons are located in areas that do not surround general population. They would be accessible by terrorists and without immediate response from governing facilities or public interference. Isolating the prisons keeps criminals defined in a location but it does not keep others from accessing the weakness of the locations. 2. Information systems collection is a shopping list: The circulation of information within federal maximum security prisons hold the profiles of hundreds of dangerous individuals. This information could be intercepted and used by terrorist cells to determine which locations are of priority attack amongst all the locations. 3. The use of master control centers inside of prisons gives operators access to all units: Should maximum security prisons be infiltrated by terrorist there access to the entire prison is done from a single location in the control center. This give them access to all the prisons working systems and its inmates. Focusing on the preparedness model for the maximum security system in the event of a terrorist attack there can be several implementations prepare facilities for the possibility of terrorist attacks. These plans can be used to prevent and respond to attempt on infiltrating the system. There are also measures that can be taken to mediate events that occur during and after infiltration is comprised. In order to protect information shared amongst federal agencies the United States does use agencies like the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), local law enforcement agencies, the National Security Agency (NSA), the Department of State’s Bureau of Intelligence Research, and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The communication amongst these agencies is implied by Hulnick to be very important sources of documenting data. However, sharing this data across boards is easier written than done. In order for intelligence in the federal maximum security prisons to be fully informed, these agencies need to allow structural access platforms for these prisons. Utilizing the National Information Management System (NIMS) as a more interactive device between government agencies and the federal prison system could be the communication process needed. In order for federal prisons to be actively prepared for potential attacks the NIMS process could be useful. The following is a descriptive measure of what NIMS could be for the counter-terrorists acts on the federal prison system (Preparedness, p. 1): 1. Planning: The federal prison system should ultimately plan for the infiltration of terrorist cells due to the massive amounts of information held on individuals and the potential hazard levels of individuals being housed. 2. Organizing: The prison system should organize a communication scheme between all above government facilities to intercept terrorist intentions. These communications should be data based in a maximum alert process for individual areas of maximum security prisons. 3. Training: Training should be implemented on behalf of all local and emergency facilities in the areas of all maximum security prisons to respond to terrorist alerts. The training should establish routine behaviors for prison protections during the alert process, the attack, and proceedings after a successful attack. 4. Equipping: All maximum security facilities should be equip with data base information separate from the central control center within the prison to analyze and communicate terrorist threats. The equipment should include technology for processing as well as terrorist attack enabled uniforms. This equipment should also include backup systems in the event that the facilities systems have to be erased or deactivated. 5. Exercising: Demonstrating the policies of the new preparedness plan should be done on a state wide level for all maximum security prisons. All facilities in cooperation with the plan should demonstrate acting out the actions of each group on behalf of terrorist alerts. These should be done for past events and unforeseen events that can be established. 6. Evaluating: Teams should be specialized in evaluating alternative acts on behalf of the exercises demonstrated for the communication of the preparedness plan. The groups should be expected to demonstrate alternative actions in the case of upset attempts at countering terrorist attempts. 7. Taking Corrective Action: Corrective action should be the plan of action during the foreseen events that a terrorist attempt is being processed. The individuals involved in eliminating these actions should be responsible for informing the magistrates of the planning process to begin the implementation for the foreseen issues. This could also include the elimination of the facility. It has also been established that the sharing of information of details is important to know in order to counteract against your enemy. Hulnick established the use of an intelligence system being used to record and analyze enemy activities. In this case agencies work together to share information about possible terrorists that are targeting specific areas (Hulnick, p. 65). The communications to the federal maximum security system could be delivered directly with the use of the Hazards United States (HAZUS) system software. This concept is one that was presented by Peterson in the attempt to express that coordination on all state, federal, and local levels of government should be readily available (Peterson, 94). Enabling this communication raises awareness for all units involved and allows interception on all levels of attack. Assuming that the attackers have to do recon on the information systems of the desired prisons, an alert can be dispensed to all involved locations. Intercepting these types of proceeding gives the federal prison system the heads up on events to come. Should alerts go up, there will be a process available to ensure securities of the system. The entire system should be based on prevention of terrorist events. Otherwise, the United States has to focus on two facts. The first is that terrorists are willing to die for their cause. The second is that almost all inmates in all facilities desire freedom. In order to avoid any possible collaboration of these types of individuals preventive methods have to be distributed and of common knowledge. Previously, Emergency response was the immediate reaction of the September 11 terrorist attack on the United States. The emergency response system was a team comprised of the first respondents in the attempt on the facility. These individuals consisted of the safety professionals in the facility, fire fighters, police, innocent bystanders, and emergency response teams (9/11 Commission, p. 278). In the event of a massive terrorist attack on any federal prisons, this reaction will be the ultimate determinate in how far along the attack gets before it can be intercepted. Assuming that preventive methods are not successful emergency response will be needed. This process should be unified amongst all like facilities. The following is the process that should be taken: 1. The imposed prison should be isolated from all outside communications: All communications available in the prison should be taken away in order to disable further correspondence with other terrorist cells. 2. All other like prisons should begin NIMS reactions on their own behalf: The likelihood that more than one target is possible. All like facilities should begin an immediate process to disable attempts on that facility. Control of one unit is easier to eliminate than ten. 3. All inmates should be treated as hostile: There is no way to determine how many inmates have been initiated into the terrorist takeover. All inmates should be treated as the threat they were recognized as. 4. All professionals in the facility should interact immediately: History tells us that allowing the terrorists follow through with their plans results in the untimely demise of all involved. If the professionals in the unit do not react promptly to avoid the terrorist’s efforts they may not be able to at a later time. 5. Events that become extremely out of control should be terminated: In the 9/11 Commission it was understood that the National Command Authority (the President of the United States and his Secretary of Defense) had the authority to order shoot down any enemy aircrafts that do not comply with correspondence (p. 17). This same initiative should be taken in consideration for prison facilities that are demonstrating disreputable damage to outside facilities and communities. Conclusion History has shown us the effects of preparedness. In the use of the program some federal prison facilities should be acknowledged as more of a terrorist attraction than they are led to be. Comprehending this acknowledgement allows the United States to formulate a system that can prevent and respond to these potential attacks. Preventing the attacks is the first measure, but being able to control the efforts of the infiltration has to be well thought out. The federal maximum security prisons are definitely a potential target of terrorist cells. Works Cited 9/11 Commission: The 9/11 Commission Report.(W.W. Norton 2004). Retrieved from http://www.9-11commission.gov/report/911Report.pdf Francescani, C., Unger, E., and Carson, K. August 2007. How to survive a supermax prison: An inside look at the nations toughest lockup, which makes its home in a picturesque rock mountain town. Retrieved from http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=3435989&page=1 Hulnick, A.S. (2004) Keeping Us Safe Secret Intelligence and Homeland Security. Praeger. Peterson, M.B., Morehouse, B., and Wright, D. (2001). Intelligence 2000: Revising the Basic Elements. IALEIA and LEIU. Preparedness. FEMA. Retrieved from http://www.fema.gov/emergency/nims/Preparedness.shtm Woodrow Wilson. The White House. Retrieved from http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/woodrowwilson Read More