Counterterrorism on Terrorist Groups - Annotated Bibliography Example

Annotated Bibliography Annotated Bibliography Smith, D. J., Jeter, K., & Westgaard, O. . Three Approaches to Center of Gravity Analysis. JFQ: Joint Force Quarterly, (78), 129-136. Retrieved from: http://eds.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=31eb556b-65a5-49d0-ab62-ba3ae92b608c%40sessionmgr114&vid=2&hid=114 This article demonstrates the role that the center of gravity (COG) concept in military science has played in combating the menace of terrorism. COG has been considered a fundamental planning factor by the author of the literature in all sciences of joint military doctrine. Its proper consideration and implementation has been considered crucial for the successful attainment of the desired combat goals and purposes. COG is essentially a joint operation plan that serves to provide moral, physical and technical support to militia, with an inherent capacity that gives them a competitive edge over the opponents. In this concept, the first step is essentially to have the right group of people with the required critical skills and capabilities, then identifying ends and taking strategic positions. The other important facet is to have sufficient resources to support the mission and the most important tenet of the COG concept is execution. Training is one thing and executing is another. There is need for the team to have the inherent ability to perfectly execute the laid out plan for success to be a guarantee. This material is relevant to our topical discussion as it propounds practical military approaches that can be implemented to detect movement patterns of the enemy and counter them before they strike hence relevant. Moreover, it is a unique approach that makes use of intelligence gathering ascribed to opponents in lieu of physical groundwork used in most combat systems. The evident shortcoming from the literature is that the author highly focused on the theoretical concepts and detailed methodological procedures that make the COG concept appear complex and difficult to execute. The positive aspect of the review on the other hand is that the approach has demonstrated success and has been used by the American Armed Forces during various instances with positive results. It is reliable for conducting offensive operations, seizing territories as well as neutralizing the opponent. Cronin, A. K. (2015). Counterterrorism on Terrorist Groups. Foreign Affairs, 94(2), 87-98 The article has focused on studying the operations of ISIS and how to possibly combat their movements. The author sought to demonstrate how the terrorists take advantage of the most vulnerable people to strike terror and spur tension in the rest of the nation. Some take hostages from a section of the residents and ask for ransoms. ISIS has been known for their retaliatory attacks, more so on USA, when the nation interferes with the operations of the Islamic states. The article considers the fight against terror as an international concern that requires joint efforts from all the nations suffering at the hands of terrorists. As construed by the author, it is very difficult for a single state to successfully combat and regulate the operations of the terrorist, as most of the attacks are spontaneous. They are mysteriously planned and executed and in most instances find he target unaware. With joint collaboration, the movement of terror groups can be easily detected through a holistic joint combat against the heinous plans before being executed. This approach is unique in the sense that it gives the terrorists no place to run as the nations stand together to expose them and their movements. The strength of this approach lies in the fact that the terror attacks can be easily prevented with very little effort due to the joint efforts by the military as well as the common citizens worldwide. Working together to fight terror is also critical to establishing peaceful coexistence hence spurring economic development. The research however lacks in-depth elucidation on how the collaboration among states can be established as well as the credibility of the approach given the disharmony and numerous civil tensions between neighbouring states of the world. EICHENWALD, K. (2015). THE BLOWHARDS HELPING ISIS. Newsweek Global, 165(7), 20-22. Retrieved from: http://eds.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=faad7520-72d3-44c5-883c-e609392cd820%40sessionmgr110&vid=4&hid=114 In this literature, the author serves to demonstrate his personal views on the role that president Barack Obama and other politicians and individuals in positions of power in fighting terror. He claims that the recent rise in terror cases is primarily is attributed to laxity among administrative officers and reluctance by leaders to fight the terror menace. According to the author, leaders have a very big role to play towards the realization of a safe, terror-free society. Groups such as the Islamic State and al-Qaeda need to be combated with the magnitude of military combat they so desire. America has a well-furnished and equipped military force that is not being utilized to their full potential and capacity and Obama’s administration needs to engage the radical Islamic terrorists until they surrender. The article relates aptly with the subject matter, as it demonstrates the need for the leaders to take the requisite initiative to fight rather than giving promises to citizens. Given the magnitude and strength of the world’s most powerful military forces, the terror group cannot be a big challenge given that most of their hideouts and operations can be tracked. The federal government has an obligation to harmonize the whole army to deter or completely eliminate such groups from the society. The positive aspect of the research is pegged on the role of leaders in fighting terror. It is evident that most leaders fear for their lives hence are reluctant in the course of fighting terror. Political decisions and unresponsive leadership have largely affected the military forces and operations. However, the approach advocated for in the research is not very reliable and may lead to the loss of many innocent lives in the process, hence the approach needs to be revised. di Giovanni, J., McGrath Goodman, L., & Sharkov, D. (2014). THE MONEY BEHIND THE TERROR. (Cover story). Newsweek Global,163(19), 26-41. Retrieved from: http://eds.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=8c94eb4d-4ec2-4591-9ab8-014445e96ea5%40sessionmgr110&vid=1&hid=11 This article seeks to offer a concise discussion on aspects of funding among the Islamic State (ISIS) terror group. The authors primarily focused on how the groups find resources for their terror activities. He supposes that most of the income originates from non-bank channels, smuggled cash and money laundering. This article relates with the topical issue owing to the fact that the author advocates more the monitoring of the sources of funds used to finance the terror group. Identification of the sources can be used as a strategy to fight the terror and their plans by way of cutting their links with the funding sources. This will be very instrumental to incapacitating the operations of the terrorists and their trends, and potentially deter any possible terror strike. This approach of freezing the finances of the militia groups is an indirect way of fighting terror, hence makes the research a unique approach. The positive attribute of the research is that there is no use of force and bloodshed, rather intelligence units to combat and deter attacks. It is however difficult to know and cut off all the funding sources, making it difficult for the approach to yield positive results. Should the House Authorize U.S. Support for the Training and Equipping of Syrian Rebels to Fight ISIS?. (2014). Congressional Digest, 93(9), 14-32. Retrieved from: http://eds.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=8c94eb4d-4ec2-4591-9ab8-014445e96ea5%40sessionmgr110&vid=1&hid=114 The article seeks to gather the opinion of the congressmen and congresswomen regarding matters of terrorism and how to combat them. The U.S. House of Representatives is considering funding and resourcing the Syrian rebels in an effort to fight the ISIS terrorist group. This article serves to offer insight on the possible avenues that can be used to fight terror and using rebel groups is exploited as one of the possible options. As construed by the author, ISIS is believed to have a direct threat to the U.S. and so the country is exploiting all possible avenues to fight back. This approach is meant to use the rebels to fight ISIS without the Americans or its citizens being involved in the war. The topic is relevant as it is a continuation of terror operations and ways to combat and deter them from striking. The approach is however questionable as the state uses Syrian rebels as a shield against their enemies. As to whether the research as any strength remains debatable owing to ethical concerns. The intentions of the Americans are self-centred to guard their territories while using their resources to manipulate others for the good of the country without considering the welfare of the other parties In spite of fighting terror; the approach used in this instance has ethical concerns. Baker, A., Michels, P., Urquhart, C., & Calabresi, M. (2014). Blowback. Time, 184(1), 34-38 The article on blowback seeks to establish the radicalization of Western people by various terror and militia groups from the Middle East, who possibly cause terror attacks in their countries of origin. The author goes further to state that the enrolment of youths into such groups has been primarily influenced by the high incidences of unemployment. The article rates well with the topic of discussion as the incidences of terrorism are slowly and steadily increasing. Given that new recruits are being introduced, it makes it easy for them to spearhead attacks against their own countries. In order to fight this menace, there is need for the government to engage youths in different development programs within the country. This ensures that they are not vulnerable to enrolment into the terrorists groups. The strength of this approach lies in the fact that it helps the government engage its youthful citizens in development initiatives; hence the militia group slowly dies away for lack of new entrants. However, the approach may not help deter terrorists before they strike, hence is a limiting aspect of the research. The article is directed to governments to work in safeguarding their boundaries but more importantly empower their labour force so that joining such groups does not fall in their list of possible income sources. Read More