Catastrophic Terrorism - Research Paper Example

Catastrophic Terrorism s 1st march, One of the most important things in life is to have peace and tranquility in your community of residence. Social structure and order, the running of a society and political platform is dependent on a smooth communication. A good communication requires that there is agreement on terms between the parties involved in a certain conversation. Terrorism can dramatically tamper with communication and cause serious consequences on the equilibrium of the society. A country that has prioritized in peace of their citizens is likely to have more development than a country that has been in constant and endless wars. Peace is friendly, peace is helpful, it is merciful and for these reasons, it validates itself as an indispensable requirement in any country. Terrorism has serious ramifications on various sectors of the economy, children and development of a country as a whole. To ensure continuity, oneness and communalism in the society, the issue of terrorism must be dealt with and ensure that peace prevails in the midst of all the citizens. Introduction Global terrorism has been on the rise in the last couple of years and as much as it has been met with a considerable amount of retaliation by the world’s superpower, it has not been completely dealt a major blow to an extent that it can cease. Terrorism has a number of definitions but the simplest one is “the illegitimate use of combat methods or force to achieve a certain political objective by targeting innocent people (Bruce, 2015). Further, it can also be referred to as a “set of combat methods rather than a recognizable ideology or a movement and involves use of violence against the innocent people to inflict a psychological effect of fear on others other the immediate targets (Bruce, 2015). While the effects of terrorism cannot be quantified, catastrophic terrorism aims at victimizing a large number of people, causing more damage to a larger proportion; otherwise called mass destruction. Today’s terrorism, whether local, regional or international act on greater variety of motives than it has been before. Accessibility to weapons of mass destruction such as nuclear devices, germ dispensers, poison gas weapons and even more interestingly, computer viruses has made the world that we live in more vulnerable to catastrophic terrorism. Catastrophic terrorism has become more of a possibility now due to dependence of technology and this has facilitated the terrorists with an easy way to targets. Catastrophic terrorism poses a major threat now more than ever before due to use of nuclear and biological weapons, disruption of the very important communication infrastructure or conventional explosives. Stopping these possible attacks should be the major objectives of any counter terrorism (Nelson, 2013). Although execution of these attacks requires a well-financed and high profile terrorist organization, there are such terrorist organizations with such capabilities around the globe in the form of Al Qaeda, Hezbollah and perhaps Hamas. Most of these organizations have international coverage and have operations in various parts of the world and the involvement of various nationalities. This means that the threat of catastrophic terrorism is very serious now compared to before due to the tremendous growth in the levels of technology. These terrorist organizations are on par with technology and can cause irreparable damages with it. This is not a subject that is supposed to be taken lightly; the threat is real, it is serious and it is a big possibility (Wise & Nelson, 2015). Although these terrorist organizations have large and stable bases globally, it is possible to stop them. To begin this process, anti-terrorism movement must recognize that such terrorism organization have a particular political and social objective to achieve; not necessarily to just to kill large numbers of innocent people or to create an economic disequilibrium. It is good to understand that these organizations count on the support and perseverance of the countries in which they operate. Due to different political, economic and social objective of these countries in which the terrorists operate from, one of successful strategies to curb this menace is to work on the differences that exist between the host country and the guest terrorist organization diplomatically (Wise & Nelson, 2015). The strategy must be focused on using this rift to eradicate or neutralize the terrorist group by using diplomatic, economic and unconventional means. These measures place unbearable pressure on the host country which renders it to release important information about the impending attacks, dissemination of valuable intelligence information on terrorist operations and personnel and the likes. Some argue that in the case of Afghanistan, the idea of bringing the host country and the terrorist group worked. Therefore, catastrophic terrorism can be effectively prevented but by using adept means and a qualified group of individuals to carry out that assignment or risk aggravating the terrorist group. The American Homeland Security is charged with the responsibility of protecting the United States of America as a nation and her territories from terrorist attacks, man-made accidents, and national calamities or disasters (Nelson, 2013). The Department of Homeland Security works with the public protecting the United States from within and outside of its boarders. The ultimate goal the DHS is to prepare for, prevent and respond to national emergencies especially terrorism. Since its creation in the year 2002, Department of Homeland Security has worked extremely well to keep the country safe from catastrophic attacks (Nelson, 2013). However, it has endured some difficult challenges including integrating some 22 already existing agencies into one strong agency. Its interaction with the public has struck a balance between privacy and security and although many have had an argument that DHS has been unable to operate smoothly, the record is clear for all to see; America has never had a major attack on its soil since the creation of DHS and it should be congratulated for that. In my opinion, a catastrophic attack on American soil would really test the functionality of DHS, but it is adequately equipped to take care of such cases (Nelson, 2013). Its relationship with public would help them in revealing any foreign terrorists in the country. Its collaboration with several other departments would make dealing with the attack in a more effective way. On that note, I think that the Department of Homeland Security would be able to deal with a catastrophic attack and it that it would not be affected that adversely. The danger posed by a potential catastrophic attack is far reaching and the society would bear the burden and pay the price at the wake of an attack. Society, whom most of its residents may know little or nothing of a potential catastrophic attack is so much exposed to the consequences. First, there would be an extreme loss of innocent lives (Catastrophic Terrorism: Tackling the New Danger, 2014). A successful attack with weapons of mass destruction would certainly claim tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of lives. The atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki would be a perfect example. With today’s increased population, a large number of people would lose their lives, and on top of that; the threat of radioactivity. During the World War II, the explosion of Hiroshima and Nagasaki yielded 200 different radioactive isotopes and upon mixing up high in the atmosphere, there occurred “black rainfall.” This radioactive water stained the skin, clothing and buildings and it caused radiation poisoning. The same scenario would arise if such a bomb was dropped anywhere in our societies. The society will lack peace and fear will dwell within them for a very long time. Instilled fear will leave them unsettled, dissatisfied with the level of security in their own country hence low development (Un.org, 2013). To shorten this statement, any form of terrorism would destabilize governments, undermine civil society, jeopardize peace and security of the societies and threaten social and economic developments (Un.org, 2013). To say the least, the dander posed by catastrophic attacks is deep penetrating into the hearts of lives of normal citizens and governments must have mechanisms for dealing with them whenever they occur. It would be unthinkable to imagine how our society would be like when our computer had been infected by viruses or atomic and nuclear bombs being dropped onto our neighborhoods! As this study already pointed out in the beginning, the advancements in technology have created an opportunity for terrorists to upgrade their ways of terrorism. This is to make them more invincible in their terrorism dealings. More importantly, governments and anti-terrorism units must not be left behind; they should advance with the advancement of technology, otherwise the terrorist organizations would subdue them technically. Having said that, I think that the Department of Homeland Security is likely to be expanded in future through more partnerships with various departments for more efficiency. A new institution under it to gather intelligence information on catastrophic terrorism could be set up to analyze information on a suspected catastrophic attack (Catastrophic Terrorism: Tackling the New Danger, 2014). Conclusion Peace and tranquility of a nation’s public is the root of all developments and conducive societies to live in. without these two virtues in the society, survival and coexistence proves to be almost impossible and so is national progress. To safeguard the interests and the well-being of the citizens, governments must be in control of the security matters, by ensuring that peace and calmness are one of the top priorities. The dynamics of terrorism has significantly changed since the World War II and the global population has immensely increased. The world’s super power, USA, must ensure that it has all the necessary tools required to curb any form of terrorism. Cyber theft has been on the rise due to flawless technology, the threat of atomic and nuclear bombs has lived in our midst; more terror groups including the Al Qaeda and the rest have grown in power too. The USA should ensure that it can protect its citizens from any claws of attack, including unprecedented catastrophic ones. It should also ensure that the DHS has all the necessary facilities to detect, warn and protect the citizens from any kind of attacks. References Bruce, G. (2015). Definition of Terrorism – Social and Political Effects. Journal Of Military And Veterans Health, 21(2). Retrieved from http://jmvh.org/article/definitionof-terrorism- social-and-political-effects/ Catastrophic Terrorism: Tackling the New Danger. (2014). Foreign Affairs. doi:2014 Nelson, R. (2013). Homeland Security at a Crossroads: Evolving DHS to Meet the Next Generation of Threats. CENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES. doi:1 February, 2013 Wise, R., & Nelson, R. (2015). Homeland Security at a Crossroads: Evolving DHS to Meet the Next Generation of Threats | Center for Strategic and International Studies. Csis.org. Retrieved 1 March 2015, from http://csis.org/publication/homeland-security-crossroads-evolving-dhs-meet-next-generation-threats Un.org,. (2013). Terrorism has a "very real and direct impact" on human rights, High Commissioner Navi Pillay tells Committee. Retrieved 1 March 2015, from http://www.un.org/en/sc/ctc/news/2013-10-31_UNHCHR_CTC_Briefing.html Read More