Attack on the White House - Essay Example

"Attack On The White House" Table of Contents I.Mitigation 5 IX.Bibliography 12 Introduction In the modern paced up world of innovation and perfection very few people will deny United States of America as being the leading nation. Viewed from any perspective, U.S.A confirms to the highest standards of any rigorous evaluation. In the aspect of technology, U.S.A takes the lead with many past innovations and bulks of budget expenditure on research paving the way for ample of present and future inventions. In the sphere of economic well being U.S.A can be termed as being the healthiest with huge multinationals and other major commercial activities blessing U.S.A with the ultimate power of money to enhance its performance. Space exploration has been left behind by the U.S.A being equipped with satellites apt enough to eye any corner of this world in a matter of minutes. Defense wise as well, U.S.A has the elite position having large chunks of budget being attributed towards the armed forces and most importantly the nuclear sector. Thus, there should be a general consent that the U.S.A is in present world the "ultimate power". Such a concentration of power and authority has not been under calm and tranquil circumstances. Instead, the U.S.A has attracted strong criticism and opposition of many rivals. They can be termed as terrorists in the American 'terminology'. Owing to such a criticism, many sensitive and central points in the U.S.A are at stake as can be observed from the past events like ninth September. The next best point of such a hunt can even be the statue of liberty, the pentagon and also the white house. Thus, to counter the lethal effects of such an emergency certain steps should be adopted to either curtail or minimize the losses as much as possible. The white house has a place of paramount importance in the U.S.A. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington D.C, it is not only the residence of the president of the U.S.A but also a shelter for many governing executive operations. It was built on a neo classical style between 1782 and 1800. The names such as Executive Mansion (1810- 1901), President's House, President's Palace and President's Mansion were also used interchangeably for it in the past. Apart from its official significance, it is also of concern to the civilians as it houses the museum of American history and art. Hence, this structure spread over 7.3 hectares (18 acres) retains utmost importance. Returning to our topic, any kind of terrorist attack on such a prominent place of a dominant nation as the U.S.A could therefore, have serious consequences. To manipulate such a situation of emergency effectively certain steps as mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery should be followed. However, such an incident could lead to several severe economic, social, academic and other consequences both within the national perimeters and across the border. Whereas, the rivals might in their own interest benefit from such a situation. But we shall see which impact has the highest weightage as we continue. I. Mitigation The technique of mitigation primarily revolves around the principle of not letting the attack happen on the first hand. Such a step is surely tough but if successful it can promote insurance of many lives and losses. Coupled with this, it may also include the calming down of a chaos disaster if white house is attacked. In the U.S.A, the Citizen Corps should train to inculcate this skill into volunteer's stock of craftsmanship to not only survive but also make the surroundings survive as well. In addition, the Department of Homeland Security should adopt necessary steps to detect any suspicious activity and operation beforehand. Certain gadgets and sophisticated cameras with latest updates should be installed to make the white house fool proof. Preparedness Nothing in this highly developed world as well is perfect. Even the flawless technique could prove untrustworthy as we walk further in time. Time teaches a man lesson from mistakes. Therefore, to make success definite one should be a bit pessimistic and prepare oneself for the worst even if the worst is not to happen at all. This is what explains our concept of preparedness. Thus, the authorities concerned with protecting the white house in times of emergency as the Department of Homeland Security should adopt this technique in case of attack on the white house. Certain steps should be devised and rehearsed as to get the building evacuated. Moreover, the safety of the president should be assured by the presence of evacuation facilities as underground bullet trains. Training to the security force personnel should be given regularly under real life tense conditions. In addition, warning devices and backup life line services should also be present. Last but not least, there should be a hidden escape path to use in case of such a situation. III. Response If unfortunately terrorists succeed in attacking the white house by whatever means possible, the step of response or reaction is very important. There can be many innocent lives lost if proper services as ambulances and fire brigades are not highly alert all the time. These services can only be provided on the right time only if the right means are present that is effective communication between the white house and the outside world. Indeed in this world of third generation mobile phones communication would not at all be an issue. However, such an emergency in the white house would make every second vital. Specialist teams should always be on the job for search and rescue operations in the white house. The resources for all this will be provided after the Secretary of Homeland Security initiates the National Response Plan (NRP). IV. Recovery The last phase of emergency management and planning involves restoration of the white house to its previous state. This is carried out after the immediate requirements are met following the attack on the white house. It is a responsibility of the Department of Homeland Security and resources for it will be allocated for it according to the Homeland Security Act of 2002. Other agencies that may be involved include Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the United Nations Office of Coordination for the Human Affairs. The white house would be rebuilt and repairs will be done including corrections of previous flaws that lubricated the attack. In addition, many people will also have to be reemployed if certain excessive skills are required. Thus, the completion of this last step of emergency management and planning enables us to further review the consequences. V. National Implications The attack on the white house would have numerous national and international consequences; however, for reasons of clarity we will first discuss how the U.S.A will be affected as a result of the attack. Any violation in the peace and security of the U.S.A is attributed to Muslims. The reason being a major opponent of the U.S.A being a Muslim himself. Thus, the discrimination on the ground of religion would become rampant in the U.S.A. Firstly; the Muslims throughout the U.S.A will suffer socially attracting the vigilance of security forces and being viewed with hatred from the eyes of Non-Muslims. Therefore, strict rules will be imposed on Muslims to follow. The Islamic traits and practices will attract criticism. There will be a limit to the number of mosques in an area. The recent examples of such considerations are worth merit at this time being put forth by a European political party. In addition, economic and academic freedom of Muslims will be curtailed. Not all academic institutions will accept Muslims for the fear of facing another such misfortune. Apart from Muslims, a civil unrest would stem from such an attack. A feeling of fear and dread would be prevalent throughout the U.S.A. People will have to undergo rigorous checking and security procedures. This will lead to longer queues in either airports or public places. Thus, many people might be affected by depression and anxiety. The next ruthless consequence could be the loss of priceless innocent lives in the attack. Many civilians visiting the white house museum might die. Even the prominent personalities responsible for smooth running of the nation might be at stake including the president himself. Apart from all this, the political system of the whole nation would be adversely affected. Political unrest would accompany civil unrest to aggravate the situation. This will be of greater concern if president himself faces any misfortune. Therefore, the national implications of the attack will be quite collateral. VI. International Implications Nobody is an island and external factors influences a lot. Similarly, the U.S.A also has closely bonded relationships with other nations. Any internal factor has external implications in the same way as external factors have internal implications. Therefore, we can now derive the external consequences that a possible attack on the white house can have. Firstly, from the economic perspective we may observe that after the attack the U.S.A would have to change its foreign trade policies radically in response of the suffered attack. The U.S.A would devise new policies which are non friendly with its rivals. For instance, import barriers might be erected against the rival country's imported commodities. In addition, there could be more red tapism coupled with quotas, embargos and increased tariffs as a part of the import restriction campaign. This would have serious drawbacks for the rival exporting countries which will now lose their bulks of foreign exchange due to eroding relationship with the U.S.A. Apart from the economic implications, political sphere also carries great significance as this particular field might also undergo a drastic change. For instance, if the elements behind the attack are recognized, strict action would be taken against them. Moreover, this strict action could be in the form of either a negotiation or a war. Thus, the gravity of the situation would vary. If a war is waged against such terrorism, we might be easily able to spot some highlighted potential drawbacks which will follow. Firstly, waging a war is an expensive business thus, quite a major part of the nation's scarce funds which might have otherwise been used on health and education, will now be spent on buying arms, ammunition, aircraft, tanks and on troop equipment. Therefore, a great benefit of that fund's use would be forgone. In addition, a lot of innocent lives will be lost if such a war is waged. As can be seen from past events, many thousands of people have died and the counting still continues. These casualties along with including the target will also include the American soldiers who are involved in this cause of countering terrorism. Therefore, another wave of violence would be felt across the globe. Some international social consequences also need to be identified to thorough our knowledge. The relatives living abroad of American citizens will have the feeling of fear and insecurity of losing their loved ones. In addition, the wars would engrave an undesirable impression of the U.S.A in the hearts of people who will protest against such a decision. We have observed similar events in the past. Moreover, the head of the U.S.A or the president would now be viewed with skepticism. Thus, the social implications of such an action are also significant. Among the many nations of the world Saudi Arabia is one of the leading trading partners of the U.S.A contributing to a considerable provision of energy and fuel. Thus, the U.S.A will not afford any worsening of its relations with the Saudi Arabia. For instance, if Saudi Arabia strongly opposes American steps, the U.S.A would face a great challenge being dead locked to make critical choices. Hence, we have seen how economic, political and social constraints act upon the U.S.A in such a state of emergency. The attack on white house would compel the U.S.A to take crucial decisions which would determine its future well being. VII. Brighter side of the coin It is a point to ponder whether there can be any benefits to be reaped from such a situation. Perhaps there may be a few pros if we study it in depth. Firstly, the intentions with which the attack was launched will be fulfilled. The attackers will be thrilled by the messages of 'mission accomplished' lingering in their minds unaware of the consequences which loom. In addition, the other rivals not involved in the attack in any way will also feel a bit of satisfaction. Musing further over the situation, we will identify one more benefit. There would be yet another addition in the history of events to learn from. Perhaps the future would tend to abstain from such initiatives. In addition, the U.S.A would strengthen the frail Achilles heel vulnerable to threats. Therefore, the waste of resources after such chain of events would pave the pathway for future reforms. The world would notice the futility of actions as these. Hence, we may hope for a better future. VIII. Conclusion "There was never a good war or a bad peace" (Benjamin Franklin) The people living in this world should learn how to coexist together in harmony rather than spread riots and chaos. Extremists should not resort to means as attacking someone. This world should be seen as one nation with diminished roles of borders, discrimination and prejudice. We should in the end realize that we all are humans sharing similar physical, emotional and somatic traits. However, the natural instincts of men will continue to invoke the search of might and power. Thus, such misfortunes are imminent. The authorities should therefore, adopt the proper procedures to tackle such an emergency situation. Moreover, the consequences of ones actions should always be considered in great depth. To conclude the following quote is worth merit: "If they want peace, nations should avoid the pinpricks that priced cannon shots" (Napoleon Bonaparte) IX. Bibliography www.myfamousquotes.com www.whitehouse.org www.encarta.com www.britannica.com Read More