Counterterrorism Efforts - Assignment Example

Counterterrorism Efforts The world has had efforts that have disrupted the activities of the terrorist in the after the attacks onthe United States of America on September 11. Despite this fact, the United States of America still faces serious and continued threats by the terrorists that mostly come from the Islamic terrorist groups. The Al-Qaeda terror group is still being seen as the most threatening group to the United States of America. The terror group is believed to continue facilitating its ability to attack the United States of America cooperating with the regional terror groups. As a result, the United States of America has put down some strategies that would help them to counterterrorism. There have been strategies that focus on ensuring that the terrorists are not able to travel internationally. This includes across the borders of the country or also within the borders that has come out to be limiting their effectiveness. Ensuring that terrorist and their tools of destruction have not entered the country makes it difficult for the terrorists to identify targets. It becomes hard for the terrorists to plan and launch attacks in the country since they have no chance to enter the country (National Strategy for Homeland Security, 2007). This is backed by strengthening the security offered for travels and documents through improving the methods used to share information with all American partners. All visitors and cargo entering the United States of America are seriously screened to infiltrate the operations and attacks of the terrorists in the country. According to the National Strategy for Homeland Security (2007), the government of the United States of America is trying to identify the weaknesses in their travel system. This enables the government to make the transportation security more efficient and stronger. The accessibility of ports entry can be controlled through improving the screening system of those that apply for Visas. Improved screening enables the government to easily identify the travelers who may pose security threats to the country. This is done through advanced techniques used to interview the travelers, checking the travelers on the background, and collecting and comparing the biometrics. The use of security personnel is expanded abroad that aims at identifying security threats. The expansion of security personnel also helps identify the fraud documents that are used during Visa application. The government is also working with the foreign partners in the counterterrorism and sharing terrorists’ watch-lists. The cooperation also ensures that there are accurate electronic databases, they are updated and managed appropriately (National Strategy for Homeland Security, 2007). It is possible for the terrorists to secretly smuggle their weapons of mass destruction and other equipments of terror in the country. Improved screening of cargos has been put as the appropriate strategy to counter the infiltration of the terror tools. Nuclear materials are prevented from being penetrated in the country through improving the type of information that is collected and improving the screening and scanning of the cargo entering in the country. Screening and scanning g is also strengthened and enhanced at all the U.S ports both the maritime and land on all the cargos that are entering or leaving the country. Most importantly, detection capabilities of the cargos moving around the country have been strengthened. It is important to improve the international commercial systems security as an effort to counterterrorism. This has been done through improving the Customs-Trade Partnership against Terrorism that helps in establishing a relationship between the public and the private partners participating in commerce and transportation. The private sector improves the security from the factory to the intermediaries such as the vendors, to the sea ports and also across the borders of the country. The public-private relationship stimulates the development and implements the best practices. It also improves the approaches used in risk management and the codes of conducts of industries. Some terrorists may intend to use illicit pathways into the Homeland while others continue exploiting the normal channels in moving their personnel and terror tools within and into the country. Illicit pathways are venture through the use of trucks, rail, foot, cars and many other transportation means. To discourage the use of the illicit pathways, a system of people that is integrated, technology and a tactical infrastructure are implemented. This has successfully been done through the Secure Border Initiative that detects, identifies as it responds and resolves illegal entrance into the country. The coordination of air and water surveillance by watercraft and the aircrafts have been improved and enhanced. The government is working with the neighbors and its international partners to destroy the networks used for travelling by transnational criminals. The activities of these human smugglers and the drug traffickers facilitate the exploitation of the American borders. The United States of America and its partners are attacking the terrorists and their networks directly and continuously. It is in an attempt to deny the terrorists what they need for their survival and operation overseas. The government is also working with its partners to expose terrorists and their activities within the American borders. Preemption and disruption of the terrorist activities and businesses is also underway as an effort to fight terrorism. The government has ensured that there are legal tools that would be used to accomplish the objectives (Kraft & Marks, 2012). The rights and civil liberties of all the American citizens are taken into consideration and observed as they accomplish the objectives. To uncover the terrorists and their activities in the diverse society, people must be aware of the actions, events and trends that take place in their environment. The entire community that is involved in the law enforcement process of the country must enhance their understanding of the environments that they operate. By understanding the environment it is easier to identify anomalies and any deviant behavior that would suggest a terrorist activity taking place (Kraft & Marks, 2012). This effort can be enhanced by the private sector reporting any suspicious or unusual behavior. By the public understanding how the suspect activities relate to their environment is an important tool in identifying terrorists and the terrorist activities. The community involved in law enforcement and the intelligence community are working together to enhance and improve the understanding of the operations undertaken by terrorist enemies. Terrorist activities and networks are disrupted through investigation, arresting and removing the terrorist leaders, those that train them and the operatives. The terrorist activities have also been disrupted by freezing their funds, disrupting the funding sources and interdicting the financial transfer mechanisms they use. The government is focusing on the criminal and deviant behavior and other methods that the terrorists use in their financing. The government has also ensured that the terrorists do not have access of the tools and equipments they need to survive. This also includes the weapons they use to kill the innocent people (Kraft & Marks, 2012). The Department of Homeland and Security remains aware of the new and the existing threats just to protect the United States of America from attacks by the terrorists. The government of the country analyses and disseminates the information on terrorism as it utilizes the threat analysis. The government is committed in the integration of the data sources by allowing for the screening and vetting operations around the country. The government increases and integrates the awareness among the citizens and the intelligence of the citizens on protecting their rights and civil liabilities (Department of Homeland Security, 2016). The operations of the terrorists are disrupted and deterred by sharing information, leveraging the technological elements and the policy making elements within the Department of Homeland Security. These elements facilitate and enhance the operational responses that are coordinated. The government has also developed sources of intelligence, research and analysis that identify and illustrate the tactics and behaviors of the terrorists. According to Department of Homeland Security (2016), detecting malicious passengers and dangerous items entering the country through strengthening of the transportation plays a major role in the fight against terrorism. The coordination between the government and the foreign government is improved to enhance screening and the transportation security in order to reduce the risks from the overseas. Various committees have been formed to counter terrorism in all the countries of the world. The United Nations Council Counterterrorism committee has been formed with a resolution of diminishing all the financial capabilities of the terrorists by making all the activities of the terrorist’s criminal. The committee has trained several countries all over the world of the requirements of preventing terrorist acts both in the country and across the regions. The Non-Proliferation committee ensures that weapons of mass destruction have not reached the hands of the terrorists. The means through which the terrorists can acquire such weapons are also blocked. The committee calls for all its members to find the controls that ensure there is no proliferation of the dangerous weapons to the terrorists. There is a committee that monitors the al-Qaeda activities through introduction of the sanctions and bans against the travel and finances of the al-Qaeda. There are treaties that have been made by the United Nations that have helped the United States of America counterterrorism greatly. The treaties aim at providing the legal basis that prevent the financing of the terrorists and cooperate jointly in enforcing intelligence against the terrorists (Lum & Kennedy, 2011). The United Nation treaties also help in implementing criminal justice in areas that have poor criminal justice systems. The United Nations also provides its member countries with tools that help fight terrorists and their activities. As well, there is a strategy that the United Nations has implemented on countering terrorism globally. It is a strategic plan that has been employed by all the member states that include the steps to be taken locally and internationally. The steps help to solve the conditions that facilitate spread of terrorism, ensure that there are no terrorists acts in the country and that if any, they are combated. The strategy also helps in building the capacity of the state and improving the United Nation’s ability to fight terrorism (Lum & Kennedy, 2011). It ensures there is coordination among the member states of the United Nations and protects the rights of the citizens and the law that is ruled in the combat against terrorism. The task force implemented by the United Nations help in Countering terrorism through coordinating the efforts by the United Nations in implementing the strategy of fighting terrorism globally. The task force is made up of twenty four members who examine the conditions that favor terrorism. The conditions if not handled properly may lead to violent extremism (Jacobson, 2006). The United Nations has also helped the United States of America in ensuring that weapons of mass destruction have not fallen into the hands of the terrorists. The agency dealing with atomic energy provides the members of the United Nations with information and technicalities that are beyond their capacities about the weapons. There are organizations that work toward eradicating chemical weapons whose efforts have led to all weapon production facilities being deactivated(Jacobson, 2006). The United Nations through the use of its power has ensured that it continues to bring the communities together and coordinate the efforts that have been made to counter terrorism. The efforts by the intelligence of the United States of America provide the National Security Council together with the president the information necessary. This is for the purpose of making decisions that concern the development and how the foreign defense conducts itself. It also provides protection to the interests of the United States from the foreign securities (Bures, 2013). Through considering the rights of the people of the country enable the government to obtain information that they can rely on to protect the country and its interests. America has given special emphasis on detecting and countering threats by the foreign powers directed to the countries and their activities. The threats may be to the state and its interests of development. The state, the local, and the tribal governments of the United States of America have cooperated in defending the country terrorism and any other form of threat to the country and its interests (Jacobson, 2006) All intelligence departments have been given the permission to prepare and provide intelligence to enhance exchange of free and full information on terrorism. The government has continued to strengthen their dialogue with the Muslims who are the most likely to be exploited by the terrorists. The government also holds dialogues with the non Muslims since all the races, religions and ethnicities have a role to play in the war against terror (Bures, 2013). There is work to ensure that liberty of the citizens is preserved and the enforcement of religious pluralism. It also ensures the enforcement of civil rights and implementation of hate crime laws. The law enforcement officers continue to identify and deal with the sources of radical extremism in the country. Some places such as the prisons have been identified with having witnessed radicalization and there are continued efforts to identify more places (Gottron, 2010). The government has continued to support the community and the initiatives that do not allow the use of violence and specific terror acts whenever they occur. There are efforts to do away with the claims that The United States is fighting with the Islam, and fight all forms of propaganda that destroy or misrepresent the United States of America policy. All levels of the government have been strengthened institutionally and in the human resource in a way that it has increased the ability to prevent Islamic extremism that may be violent. It is identified whenever it occurs and new trends are spotted and developments made in the radicalization process. The United States law enforcement personnel has continually undergone training and education on the Islamic culture and the norms as they prioritize the recruitment and retention of those that acquire language skills that are relevant and the cultural backgrounds (Gotron,2010). References Bures, Oldrich (2013): EU Counterterrorism Policy: A Paper Tiger? Ashgate Publishing Critical Foundations, Protecting Americas Infrastructures, Report of the Presidents Commission on Critical Infrastructure Protection, dated October 1997 Department of Homeland Security Strategic Plan FY 2012-2016 Department of Homeland Security Strategic Plan FY 2012-2016 Department of Homeland Security Strategic Plan FY 2012-2016 Gottron, Frank (2010): Federal Efforts to Adress the Threat of Bioterrorism: Selected Issues for Changes. DIANE Publishing. Executive Order 13549, dated August 2010 - Program for State and Local Jacobson, Michael (2006): The West at War: U. S and European Counterterrorism Efforts, Post-September 11. Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Lum, Cynthia & Kennedy, Leslie (2011): Evidence-Based Counterterrorism Policy. Springer Science & Business Media  Kraft, Michael & Marks, Edward (2012): U. S Government Counterterrorism: A Guide to Who Does What. CRC Press. National Strategy for Homeland Security, updated - October 2007 and July 2002 Rabkin, Norman (2008): Department of Homeland Security: Congressional Testimony. DIANE Publishing. Satterthwite M, Huckerby C. J (2013): Gender, National and Counter-terrorism: Human Rights Perspectives. Routledge Uda, Robert (2009): Combating Terrorists in the USA: Protecting the Conus from Terrorists. IUniverse Read More