Impacts of the Non-State Actors and Transnational Organizational Crimes on the US National Security - Assignment Example

The Impacts of the Non Actors and Transnational Organizational Crimes on the National Security of the United s By : Professor: Date: The Impacts of the Non-State Actors and Transnational Organizational Crimes on the National Security of the United States The security of the United States has for many years been sabotaged by various forces from either within the state or from external sources. Major criminal and terrorist attacks have taken place in the country leaving many questions on the national security. The 9/11 terrorist attack remains to be the worst ever criminal event that faced the United States and indicated there could be weaknesses within the national security of the country. A lot of researches have been done to try and identify what could be the source of the incompetent national security. Books and articles have been written all showing authors’ personal research on various factors that impact the national security. The two main factors that many authors have identified to affect the United States national security have been the non-state actors and the transnational organizational crimes. Non-state actors refer to organizations that have power and influence on both national and international level. The non-state actors do not associate themselves with any particular state. According to Hough, in his book “Understanding the global security” he discusses the non-state actors and the trouble and turmoil they have caused to many states around the globe for many years.1 Hough identifies non-state actors as the major issue that has threatened the global security.2 The national security of the United States has been affected by the emerging non-state actors around the globe. Most of these non-state actors are military-oriented thus being referred to as non-state military groups. The most common non-state military groups include nationalists, religious groups with strong beliefs, Marxist, fascist and armed pressure groups. The United States has fallen victims of some of these groups such as nationalists, religious groups such as Christianity and Islam and armed pressure groups. According to Hough, these non-state actors have impacted the national security of the United States negatively by killing the American people, destroying the Americans property.3 This has led to the destabilization of the United States government since it exposes the security loop holes and the incompetence of the leaders. The United States gained its independent through the battles fought by the nationalists, and they gained the independence. The spirit of nationalism has never died in the United States, and this poses a threat to the national security. The religious groups such as Islam and Christianity related have affected the security of the United States and caused a lot of harm to the state. The al-Qaida terrorist group with strong Islam beliefs attacked the United States on September 11, 2001 causing damage that has remained to be a pain in the American people. This religious group has been one of the major threats to the security of the United States for many years. The American people in the United States have been attacked by armed pressure groups that claim to be pro-life. Doctors have died from attacks by these groups due to the doctor`s procuring abortions. A lot of deaths, property destructions, disabilities and depressions have been some of the impacts caused by the attacks from non-states actors. Despite non-state actors having negative impacts on the United States` national security, there have been some positive impacts. The United States defense forces have been strengthened with world class military training. The country has also participated in wars and killed strong perpetrators such Osama Bin Laden and Sadaam Hussein. Hough continues to discuss the impacts of transnational organizational crimes on the national security of the United States.4 Transnational organizational crimes refer to act of crimes committed by organized groups of individuals whose aim is to gain power, money and influence. These transnational organized crimes have been one of the factors affecting the national security of the United States. These groups are involved in illegal activities such as smuggling drugs to the United States, human trafficking, selling weapons, selling human body parts and nuclear-related materials. According to Hough, these crimes have impacted the national security of the United States negatively and for so long. These crimes have been difficult to control; thus their spread continues to grow. The transnational organized crimes have led to the increase of firearms within the civilian’s hands in the United States. The level of internal insecurity in the country has risen due to the high access to firearms. Cases of homicides, assaults and robbery have increased in the country all caused by these groups propagating transnational organized crimes. The smuggling of drugs into the United States has threatened the national security of the country since drug users commit many of the registered crimes in the country. Besides, Clarke and Knake argue that the transnational organized crimes have increased the cyber-crimes in the United States.5 The impacts of cyber-crimes have been reported cases of drained bank accounts and organized attacks in the United States. According to the IMF, in 1988 to 1998, $5000billion was reported to be criminally acquired.6 This was an indication of the impact of the transnational organized crimes on the national economic security of the country. The transnational organized crimes have expanded matured and gained a lot of power thus posing a huge threat to the United States security. The civilians no longer feel safer since they might be attacked any time. The trust on the security apparatus is declining due to the registered inefficiency. On the contrary, the transnational organizational crimes have had positive impacts on the United States national security due to the following reasons. These crimes have sent a strong alarm to the country`s security forces and led to the strengthening of the forces. The United State has been working hard to eradicate crime in the country by creating policies such as increased imprisonment of the convicts. Significant National Security Policy Challenge That Has Risen Since 9/11 The 9/11 was the day the United States demonstrated a failure in its security systems. The worst terrorist crime to have ever hit the country took place at a time when the United States was regarded to be a super power. Approximately 2000 people died in the 9/11 attacks when al Qaida launched an attack on the twin towers and the Pentagon. Major security loops were recorded which left many of the Americans wondering how the country could be easily attacked without the knowledge of the government. The American community could not understand how planes could be high jacked without the knowledge of the authorities. This demonstrated inefficiency in security policies that were governing the country by then. Since the 9/11 attack, the government has created various policies to add to the older policies regarding the national security of the United States. Besides, these policies have been having challenges in the implementation since the 9/11. The most significant national security challenge since the 9/11 has been the change in the operations of the non-state actors and transnational organizational crimes since they started embracing technology. The United States came up with policies that could help it protect its citizens from crime perpetrators though they have faced challenges since 9/11. The country formed policies governing the immigration departments and any entrance into the United States but still have not proved to be competent enough to protect the country from potential attacks. According to Richard et al. cyber-crime has become a new form of threat to the national security of the United States.7The use of internet has grown extensively with almost every person having access to a computer. The non-state actors such terrorist groups have embraced the internet thus propagating most of their crimes through cyber. This has made it difficult for the policies of the United States to take effect. Terrorists no longer go as illegal immigrants to the United States because they can execute surveillance through the internet. According to Arquilla and Ronfeldt, the information revolution has altered the trend of committing crimes.8 The technological advantage that has come with information revolution has made the increase of networking among the non-state actors and transnational organizational crimes. The increase in networks has posed a challenge to the United States` national security policies since it is difficult to trace the networks and how they work. This has increased the level of crime not only in the United States but also around the globe. Drug traffickers and smugglers rely on networks that they have formed through the internet to transact their illegal businesses. The groups can communicate and coordinate a mission through the cyber without the knowledge of the security forces.9 Another major challenge to the United States` national security policies has been the increase in the number of failed states around the globe. The states in the Middle East and Africa have been faced with war crimes that have rendered them failed states. It is in these failed states where the non-state groups carry out their activities thus harboring them. According to Robert, failed states have always lost control over some sections of the territories thus leaving them under the control of the militant groups.10 Richard gives the examples of Somalia and DRC, which are among the known failed states.11 It is under these uncontrolled territories the non-state actors get a chance to plot from. They operate in the absence of any surveillance, and they attack whenever they get a chance. The failed states have made the policies put by the United States become impracticable. Civilians have always been fleeing from these war tone countries and illegally entering the United States. This has made the immigration policies set after 9/11 become almost impracticable. According to Logan and Preble, the failed states were the main reason The 9/11 attack hit U.S. The country was trying to fix Afghanistan by the time the militant group from the same country bombed the twin towers. The challenge of the failed states remains to be one of the difficult problems the United State has to deal with.12 In conclusion, the United States has had the best national security in the world but this has not barred it from certain factors sabotaging it. The non-state actors and transnational organizational crimes have been some of the main factors affecting the United States national security for years. The lapse in security has been due to either non-state actors or transnational organizational crimes. The government has been creating policies aimed at redefining the national security system and eradicating crimes in the country. This has not been without challenges. The failed states such as Afghanistan and information revolution has been some of the critical challenges affecting the implementation of the security policies. BIBLIOGRAPHY Arquilla, John, and David Ronfeldt. Networks and netwars: The future of terror, crime, and militancy. Rand Corporation, 2001. Clarke, Richard A., and Robert K. Knake, Cyberwar: The next threat to National Security and what to do about it. New York: HarperCollins. 2010. Hough, Peter. Understanding global security. Routledge, 2014. Logan, Justin, and Christopher Preble. Washingtons Newest Bogeyman: Debunking the Fear of Failed States. CATO INST WASHINGTON DC, 2010. Rotberg, Robert I., ed. When states fail: causes and consequences. Princeton University Press, 2010. Read More