Terrorism and Homeland Security in the US - Essay Example

The second wave of terrorism (1900-1959) also had vestiges of domestic issues (such as domestic politics which was epitomized by the assassination of President William McKinley on September 6, 1901) and targets but started taking on international influence. The blowing of a 15 tone barge of refined gunpowder off Harbor Island by German agents marked the phase of actualization of terrorist attacks by foreign agents. Terrorist activities and attacks even in the second phase of the 20th century still lacked radical religious views. For instance, the radical leftist association, Weatherman detonated a bomb in the US Capitol as a way of protesting the invasion of Laos in the US. Likewise, the Jewish Defense League is thought to have detonated a bomb outside Aeroflot’s NY City office in protest against the mistreatment of Soviet Jews.

Smith and Damphouse (1999) contend that the 1980s saw the advent of ideologically and religiously minded terrorism. The extent and sophistication of terrorism also were unprecedented to this extent. For instance, for the first time and in 1984, the US experienced the first incident of bioterrorism at the hands of the Rajneesh Movement. According to US health officials, 751 people were infected with salmonella while about 50 were hospitalized. As attacks became more sophisticated, government involvement became more pronounced. This is underscored by the fate of the Pan Am Flight 103 which was involved in the Lockerbie Bombing, and thereby killing 243 passengers and 16 flight attendants on board. The three-year joint investigations by the US FBI and Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary seriously implicated two Libyan nationals whose arrest warrants were issued in November 1999. Interestingly, the former Libyan President Muammar Qaddafi flatly refused to hand them over. It took 8 years for Qaddafi to hand over the two bombers, though his development was a culmination of protracted spates of UN sanctions and negotiations.

This Lockerbie bombing was followed by another terrorist attack on the World Trade Center on February 26, 1993. This terrorist attack claimed the lives of 6 Americans and left 1,000 injured. This attack had been carried out by a member of the Al Qaeda, Ramzi Yousef (Horgan and Braddock, 2012).

According to Chermak, Freilich, and Simone (2010), the September 11 Terrorist Attack on the Twin Towers was a milestone in efforts by the United States in the war on terror. In response, the US would move to form Homeland Security in 2003 following the passage of the Homeland Security Act 2002 (to secure the United States from terrorist attacks), becoming more aggressive in exporting the war on terror and Antiterrorism Bill. What informed the exportation of the antiterrorism bill was the fact that the US had interests throughout the globe and the need to safeguard them was inevitable (White, 2013).

According to Pitcavage (2001), the US has made several amendments to its law to aid the war on terror. Presently, the US is debating the relationship between a terrorist suspect and Miranda Rights (the right to remain silent, the right to determine how long to remain silent, and the right to an attorney), following the Boston Marathon bombings and the subsequent capturing of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Following the 2009 Christmas Day bombing by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Miranda Rights were reviewed. As is explained by Attorney General Eric Holder, the new rules now allow law enforcement agents and investigators to hold domestic terror suspects longer than other criminals. The officers can do this without giving the suspects their Miranda Rights and by enjoying the privileges and powers to expand exceptions to legal instructions that govern the handling of criminal suspects.