The Aspect of terrorism as a Transnational Threat - Research Paper Example

? The effectiveness of organizational actions, structures, and multiagency involvement (local, and federal level) in response to homeland security The Issue The aftermath of the attack of the world trade centre in September 11, a series of dramatic events cropped up with response to those events exposing the United States of America (US) to highly escalating risks of terrorist attacks. The US government established the Department of the Homeland security (DHS) with an endeavor to adapt the changes in the policies taken by the US in dealing with the terrorism issue. The United States (US) and its allies became embroiled in the significant wars between Iraq and Afghanistan and rigorous steps were taken up by the government in order to find Osama Bin laden and its operation and the other terrorist organizations. Terrorism is definitely a serious issue for the super power America as it has faced one of the most devastating terrorist attacks in century (Bullock et al, 2012 p. xv). Positioning statement The department of the Homeland security( DHS) was founded by the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (P.L. 107-296) signed on November 25, 2002 with departments from 22 different government agencies initiating official operations on March1, 2003. The DHS has since then underwent a series of restructurings and reorganizations with the aim to improve its efficiency and effectiveness. This section will deal with the actions taken by the US government in tackling the counter terrorism aspect and its subsequent development of a strong base structure with the involvement of the multilateral agencies engaged in tackling the counter terrorism issue. Literature Review Background of the problem The aspect of terrorism is a transnational threat that entails potential risks to the global interests of United States’ manifested and developed from the international and the domestic surroundings. The core theme of the United States efforts in addressing these transnational issues is to detect, deter and defeat the terrorist faction, primarily the Al Qaeda (Painter, 2011, p. 8). Supporting evidence The Obama administration recognized the significance of the home ground jihadist threat in two of its recent strategy documents. In June 2011, the administration announced the National strategy for the counter terrorism which focused on the Al Qaeda, its affiliates and its adherents. Obama’s top counter terrorism advisor John Brennan publicly described that homeland security is the primary area of emphasis with respect to counterterrorism efforts. In August 2011, the Obama administration released a strategy for combating the violent extremism revolving around the counter action of the radicalization of all types of potential terrorists. The domestic focus of the policy was the protection of the civil rights, federal cooperation with the local leaders in the private and the public sectors. In 2004, Congress passed the project Bio Shield in order to encourage the private sector to develop certain biological counter measures to protect the lethal effects of the biological menace done by the terrorist attacks (Painter, 2011, pp. 8-10). The National Counterterrorism Center is the primary organization for the integration and analyzing the processes involved with terrorism. The system provides all source intelligence support to the government wide counter terrorism activities and establishment of the information technology systems and architectures and infrastructure between the NCTC and the other agencies. The NCTC serves as the chief advisor to the Director of National Intelligence on the international organizations for the strategic operation planning of the counter terrorism (Counterterrorism, n.d., p.3). In the fall of 2001, the anthrax incidents induced the potential biological attacks against the nation. In January 2001, President Bush declared a supplementary appropriation with an amount of around $ 1 billion to tighten the states’ capabilities of the bio-terrorism. Developments were made by the states in the utilization of the Human Services funding. The state of North Carolina has established a registry of biological and chemical agents and on the other hand a large number of states have developed and implemented systems of real time surveillance of the data of the public health. Again in Kansas, around hundred countries participated in the “Prairie Plague” bio-terror drill which was the largest and the most formidable protection of the bio defense applications in the history of the states. The “Sooner Spring” exercise in the state of Oklahoma acts as a platform of the states activities in the training and preparation of the state against the biological terrorist attacks. The critical infrastructure assets protection also became a major arena of protection against the terrorist ambush post 9/11. As for example in Pennsylvania, the National Guard troops have been rigorously engaged in the strict supervision of the nuclear power facilities of the states. The assessment of the critical infrastructure has been the major components of the efforts of protection. In Texas, there was a formation of the State Infrastructure Protection Advisory Committee which was enforced with the tasks of the reviews and suggestion of policy recommendations for protection which will complement the counter-terrorism efforts of the Governor’s Task Force on Homeland Security . The state of Missouri has also developed on the similar lines of evaluation and assessment policies by attaching weights of high priorities. Thus with the critical assessment and perfect information exchange from the law enforcement and other government agencies, the state leaders are in the realms of a strong base of decision making with respect to the infrastructure protection (State and local actions for Homeland Security, 2002, p. 2). There has been also the threat of the electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack in the US and it has been one of the heated debate over the past decades. The EMP is the unusual and frightening outcome of the harmful radiations emitted from the explosion of the nuclear bombs on the earth’s surface. Commissions have been appointed in order to formulate necessary measures against the EMP attacks. Infrastructure has been hardened by the US for tackling the vulnerability of the EMP attack. Huge amounts of money are also required to create a formidable barrier against such attacks (Stewart & Hughes, 2010). The duties of the EMP commission were aimed at assessing the nature and magnitude of high-altitude EMP threats to the United States from all potentially antagonistic states or non-state actors that already possess nuclear power or are in the verge of acquiring it within the next 15 years, special attention to the vulnerability of the civilian infrastructure as a matter of emergency preparedness and the also the assessment of the feasibility and the cost of tightening the military and the civilian systems against the EMP attacks (Commission to assess the threat to the United States from the Electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack, n.d.) . Conclusion The country has taken steps and penetrated into the core to tighten the homeland security against highly vulnerable terrorist attacks. The states have exercised leadership in a multifaceted fashion on tackling the homeland security issues. The National Governors’ Association, Council of State Governments, National Conference of State Legislatures, American Legislative Exchange Council, National Association of Attorneys General and various other organizations have come in the forefront and committed themselves in addressing of the critical and the complex issues which are faced by the state executive and the legislative officials. Rebuttal Positioning statement Despite of the overemphasis on the counter terrorism, USA lacks in several dimensions leading to the ultimate protection of the nation which has enhanced risks and the spillover effects in other sectors like disaster management and illegal migration also hampered the homeland security. Review of literature Background of Opposing Position The US government focused tremendously on the terrorism issue post 9/11 world in America. Stressing more on the terrorism issue, the American government has neglected the other dimensions of the security paradigm such as the coping up with the natural disasters and the immigration policies. The after effects of the hurricane Katrina devastated the geographical structure of America and brought into effect a large sweeping legislative changes to the Federal Emergency Management Agency ( FEMA), within the DHS and reminded the officials of the severe effects of the natural disasters that can bring on the nature and the society. Apart from that another important issue which has been overshadowed by the extreme governance on the counter terrorism issues is that infiltration of illegal immigration into the country which exaggerates the risks of more terrorist attacks. Apart from that there has been many hindrances faced by the government in tackling counter terrorism. Although USA identified the threat of the EMP attack, USA is almost a failure in this respect (Bullock et al, 2012 p. xv). Supporting evidence Several divisions have been acting against the counter terrorism issues within the border and immigration zone and several organizations are not being able to adapt quickly to address the necessary requirements required for tackling this grave issue. Although many loopholes have been encountered there is limited scope of discussing all of them. In the reflection of the historical gaps between the intelligence community and the all front-line border services, there exist deficiencies of protection in the legal and the illegal entry channels. In the legal entry channels, all the source scrutiny of travel documents and individuals has not yet been systematically integrated into screening. For illegal entry channels, the network for the information delivery and the relationships between the intelligence community and the border authorities has not been institutionally established (Ginsburg, 2006, p.8). Many of the Americans have come to understand that the liberal welcoming policies are a ground for easy exploitation by the terrorists and the porous borders and lax immigration enforcement are no longer feasible option for the country. Facts reveal that at least 8 million illegal immigrants are living in the US and nearly one million new illegal immigrants arrive each year and thus increasing the threat of high potential terrorist attacks in the United States. The former assistant Secretary of Homeland Security C. Stewart Verdery, Jr stated that, “Most such migrants [illegal aliens] are gainfully employed here, pay taxes, and many have started families and developed roots in our society... But others seeking to cross our borders illegally do present a threat – including potential terrorists and criminals. The current flow of illegal immigrants and people overstaying their visas has made it extremely difficult for our border and interior enforcement agencies to be able to focus on the terrorists, organized criminals, and violent felons who use the cloak of anonymity that the current chaotic situation offers” (Does illegal immigration pose a terrorist threat to the U.S.?, 2009). The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was responsible for tackling the disasters occurring from the catastrophes like Hurricane Katrina which has brought severe devastations and snatched away thousands of lives. Lack of responsibility can be regarded as a primal cause for the failure of the government in tackling the disaster management issue. The agency’s director Michael Brown was appointed by President Bush in 2003. Brown had no previous experience in the disaster management. He worked as a commissioner at an Arabian horse association. Apart from the inexperienced hierarchical power distribution, FEMA also encountered an exodus of well experienced officials in the past four years. By the time the hurricane heralded there were three senior positions were vacant in the Katrina-ravaged Mississippi and Alabama. James Lee Witt, the Clinton-era FEMA director who was famous for lifting the scandal prone “it's like a stake has been driven through the heart of emergency management” (Exposed by Katrina, FEMA's flaws were years in making, 2005). The United States faces a deep challenge in order to maintain and sustain the technical competence for the understanding and creating effective measures for mitigating the adverse effects of the nuclear weapons including the EMP. The Department of Energy and the National Nuclear Security Administration has embarked on the establishment of an extensive Nuclear Weapons Stockpile Stewardship Program throughout the last decade. But no comparable efforts have been initiated to assess the lethal effects of the nuclear weapons that produce on the modern systems of the nation. The review of the commission reveals that the current national capabilities to understand and manage the effects of EMP has been pessimistic in nature and the country is on the technical competence losing dynamics in this area and the role of the government, National laboratories and the Industrial communities have also shown negative contribution (Foster et al, 2008, p. viii). Dr William Graham, the chairman of the bipartisan congressional Commission stated that the America is totally not prepared for an EMP attack that would push back the economy back into the 1800s and also predicts of the situation that a vast majority of the Americans will die from starvation or disease and the civilians would freeze to death. He also further adds that most financial records are stored electronically. ATMs which strictly depend on both the power and telecommunications would be unavailable. The banks are generally not well prepared for the awareness of the EMP problem. And for this reason, Graham states that the financial and the stock brokerage records would be drastically not accessible and will be unavailable to all (Kessler, 2010). Conclusion For controlling the illegal immigration of population the structural organizations are required to integrate several border zone agencies in a well coordinated operational and managerial environment and for the disaster management the roles and responsibilities of the officials engaged in working in the disaster management arena should be clearly fixed on the basis of their prior experience. Optimal coordination and spontaneous action is also necessary. An EMP attack on the national civilian infrastructure is a serious problem and can bring devastating results on the geographical and biological parameters which have the ability to paralyze the economy in a very short span of time. But the effects of the attack can be neutralized with coordinated and focused efforts between the industry and the government. A serious national commitment is required to address the threat of the EMP attack which will develop a national posture which will reduce vehemently the pay offs for such an attack and will allow the government of USA to recover in a timely and just manner if such attacks take place. References Bullock, J. Haddock, G. and D.P. Coppola (2012), Introduction to Homeland Security: Principles of All-Hazards Risk Management, Elsevier Commission to assess the threat to the United States from the Electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack, (n.d.), Retrieved on June 7, 2012 from: http://www.empcommission.org/ Counter terrorism (2009), Retrieved on June 6, 2012 from: http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/new_pubs/jp3_26.pdf Does illegal immigration pose a terrorist threat to the U.S.? (2009), Retrieved on June 7, 2012 from: http://immigration.procon.org/view.answers.php?questionID=000786 Exposed by Katrina, (2005) FEMA's flaws were years in making, USA Today, Retrieved on June 7, 2012 from: http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2005-09-07-our-view_x.htm Foster et al, Report of the Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) Attack, Critical National Infrastructures, (2008), Retrieved on June 7, 2012 from: http://www.empcommission.org/docs/A2473-EMP_Commission-7MB.pdf Ginsburg, S. (2006), COUNTERING TERRORI ST MOBILITY: Shaping an Operational Strategy, Retrieved on June 7, 2012 from: http://www.migrationpolicy.org/pubs/MPI_TaskForce_Ginsburg.pdf Kessler, R. (2010), EMP Attack Would Decimate America, Retrieved on June 7, 2012 from: http://www.newsmax.com/RonaldKessler/emp-electromagneticpulse-William-Graham/2010/04/05/id/354742 Painter, W. (2011), Issues in Homeland Security Policy for the 112th Congress, Retrieved on June 6, 2012 from: http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/homesec/R42025.pdf State and local actions for Homeland Security, (n.d.), Office of Homeland Security, Retrieved on June 7, 2012 from: http://www.ncs.gov/library/policy_docs/State_and_Local_Actions_for_Homeland_Security.pdf Stewart, S. and Hughes, N. (2010) Gauging the Threat of an Electro-Magnetic Pulse Attack in the US, Retrieved on June 7, 2012 from: http://articles.businessinsider.com/2010-09-09/news/30031326_1_emp-nuclear-explosions-nuclear-weapon Read More