The Future of Terrorism - Term Paper Example

Name of the Student] [Name of the Professor] [Name of the Course] [Date] The Future of Terrorism Introduction The US received a very nasty surprise with the Islamic terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001. The outcome was a transformation in perception, rearrangement of national priorities and the emergence of novel government entities. The latter change witnessed the creation of the US Department of Homeland Security, in the year 2003. The expressed objective of the DHS is to provide leadership for the interventions being made to protect the nation against the forces that seek to harm the US. However, the responsibility of the DHS does not come to a standstill, with this, as it has been vested with the additional duty of responding to natural disasters, such as earthquakes and floods[Nat10]. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) envisages several important issues, in the areas of emergency management and disaster assistance programs. With its formation, in the year 1979, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) had undertaken the task of national emergency management. Subsequently and similarly, the DHS had been vested with leadership in generating and managing a national mechanism for safeguarding the security of the US[Bul12]. Moreover, the DHS is instrumental in correlating the homeland security endeavors of the nation with the stakeholders of the federal, local, private and state sectors. A major challenge faced by the DHS relates to effective strategy planning. Such planning is crucial for the success of any organization. With regard to the DHS, this assumes specific significance, due to the wide ranging nature of the responsibilities imposed upon it. As such, the DHS has to provide clarification regarding the manner, in which the activities and responsibilities of the stakeholders come together to deal with security efforts[Rab05]. As such, for a successful management of anti – terrorism, the DHS has to coordinate with many other departments. The following discussion establishes that the DHS was unsuccessful in adopting adequate measures to counter terrorism. The DHS constitutes the largest procurer of goods and services pertaining to anti – terrorism. It is in this context that the DHS has been severely upbraided for indulging in wasteful expenditure, ineffectiveness and absence of contract oversight. As of the year 2005, this entity had incurred an expenditure of $17.5 billion at the time of issuing around 67,000 contracts[Sto06]. Moreover, the House Committee on Government Reform, in its July 2006 report declared that the DHS had failed to exhibit responsible, competent contract management. As such, this report identified 32 contracts, involving an expenditure of $34.3 billion, which depicted abuse, mismanagement or waste, on the part of the DHS[Sto06] However, it has been acknowledged that a successful homeland security policy has to be developed on the basis of the capability to preserve economic, political and social functions after a major onslaught. The customary military and police forces do not have much significance, in this context. This is due to their inability to safeguard all possible targets. Moreover, military units cannot launch an attack against an organization that does not have a national sponsor[Whi13]. More than ten years have passed, since the 9/11 Islamic terrorist attacks upon the US. However, the function of emergency management and disaster assistance, in the context of DHS and national homeland security have not been determined with sufficient clarity. This is borne out by the response of the federal government to Hurricane Katrina in August 2005[Bul12]. These efforts have been futile and even after several years, the recovery efforts are in continuation. However, these continuing efforts have not been of much assistance. It is essential for the DHS to adopt the necessary measures to prevent the marginalization of the nation’s emergency management and disaster assistance competencies. Furthermore, new devices that will ensure the management of the novel terrorist threats have to be provided to the emergency management agencies[Bul12]. The DHS has undergone several setbacks. For instance, in the year 2011, it totally abandoned a five – year surveillance technology initiative. This was aimed at securing around 6,000 miles of the US border and involved a cost of $6.7 billion. This project was widely regarded as a dismal failure, and its failure was attributed to the defective strategy and poor oversight of the concerned contractors[Vla12]. Moreover, in the year 2011, the Coast Guard declared that its five – year $24 billion attempt to increase and renovate its fleet had to be discarded. For instance, one of these projects of the Coast Guard, which had entailed an expenditure of $100 million, had been aimed at modifying eight of its obsolete boats into modern patrol vessels. This project had to be discarded and the new vessels had to be abandoned for re – commissioning[Vla12]. Furthermore, the Secret Service, a major component of the DHS, has attracted considerable criticism. This has been with regard to the conduct of its agents, during assignments. In one instance, these agents had created an international controversy by entertaining women of questionable morals at their hotel. This transpired during an assignment in Colombia[Vla12]. In addition, the Transportation Security Administration constitutes a department of the DHS. This entity was created in the aftermath of 9/11 and was merged into the DHS in the year 2003. Several of its workers have been condemned for incompetence. This was the outcome of a number of reports that clearly described the failings of this entity. A number of its screeners had permitted contraband to enter the nation through the checkpoints, and in several cases explosives had made their way into the nation[Vla12]. The DHS was formed by the US Congress, subsequent to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. This organization was required to supervise the functioning of 22 federal agencies. The objective behind the creation of this umbrella organization was to enhance coordination between the various agencies involved in the counterterrorism efforts of the federal government. However, the outcome of the development of the DHS has been merely the expansion of the bureaucracy[Rit11]. One of the reasons behind the ineffectiveness of the DHS is that it consists of several subsidiary divisions in widely disparate areas. For instance, the very same cabinet official supervises departments responsible for totally different activities, such as counterfeiting investigations, disaster preparedness, border security, biological warfare defense, federal law enforcement training, and computer incident response[Rit11]. Despite these initiatives of the federal government, the citizens of the US have not been provided with greater safety and the competence of the government has not improved. As such, Americans have not become safer, because the DHS has been vested with the simultaneous responsibility for airport security and the efforts of the government to address the issue of potential flu epidemics[Rit11]. One of the primary responsibilities of the government is national defense. However, concentrating a veritable plethora of resources on attempts to safeguard every potential terrorist target is certain to promote wasteful expenditure. It would be far better to employ the limited resources of the nation, upon investigating and detaining prospective terrorists. The DHS has been made responsible for aviation security, domestic surveillance and port security[Rit11]. This has made it very convenient for politicians to divert funds to other activities, by claiming these to be for homeland security. It would be advisable and in the interests of the nation and its people to disband the DHS and to reorganize its various constituents into more useful groups. For instance, a new grouping termed Border Security Administration could be established by bringing the agencies responsible for immigration, border security and customs enforcement, under its aegis. Furthermore, the Federal Air Marshals Service and the Transportation Security Administration could be brought to an end. Moreover, the federal government could discontinue support for fusion centers. Finally, the balance of the organizations in the DHS could be repatriated to their parent agencies. A very serious and pressing problem is presented by terrorism. Nevertheless, this should not be used as an excuse by policy makers to shroud their activities and strategies in secrecy. It is imperative for these policy makers to take the US public into their confidence and seek their active cooperation in combating terrorism[Rit11]. Conclusion National defense is the principal preoccupation of the government. However, in order to achieve this objective, it is essential to coordinate the functions and activities of various departments, such as aviation security, domestic surveillance and port security. However, this serves to dilute the efforts of DHS in safeguarding national security. As such, the policy makers should desist from overreacting to every possible terrorist threat. These individuals should not accord more than the required importance to these dangers. At the same time, these policy makers should implement cost effective initiatives, in order to make the optimal use of the scarce resources. This is imperative for the US to overcome the evil designs of the terrorists. Moreover, there has been a dismal absence of correlating the information provided by the different departments engaged in promoting the security of the nation. As a result, there has been duplication of effort, leading to delays and tremendous expenditure. The security of the nation has not been promoted to any major extent. In the absence of a better system to coordinate the efforts of the various agencies, and take the required preemptive action, in a timely manner, the situation stands to deteriorate. This establishes the contention that the DHS has failed to significantly improve the security of the nation. Works Cited Nat10: , (National Research Council), Bul12: , (Bullock, Haddow and Coppola 327), Rab05: , (Rabkin), Sto06: , (Stoller), Whi13: , (White 421), Vla12: , (Vlahos), Rit11: , (Rittgers B.3), Read More