Essay Sample on Terrorism: A Growing Threat to Global Security

Introduction

Notably, apart from the rhetoric regarding the rise of terrorist campaigns and Islamic State groups in various places of the world such as London, Brussels, Paris, and the US confirming these fears, they have also provided these countries and the whole world with substantial need for immediacy and urgency driving violent responses. Terrorist campaigns comprise of various phases varying from the decisions of launching them to the preparation and recognition of a sequence of attacks. Therefore based on some of the recent attacks, it is evident that terrorism activities tend to modify the planned environment between the governments and dissident campaigns by spawning a credible threat around conflict escalation. The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001and San Bernardino attack in 2015 comprises of two critical terror attacks that have facilitated to confronting terror attacks globally. Markedly these attacks have harnessed urgency for more sophisticated and comprehensive counter-terrorism policies and strategies to be set off on a worldwide basis. This essay focuses on comparative counterterrorism campaigns by considering two terrorism campaigns; the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and San Bernardino attack 2015 as well as identifying the policies against terror instigated in response to these terrorist attacks.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

The Terrorist Attacks of September 11, 2001

The September 11 attacks, commonly known as the 9/11 attacks, comprised a sequence of suicide attacks and airline hijackings committed by nineteen militants in 2001(Bossong, 2012). The terror attack associates with al-Qaeda, an Islamic extremist group against targets located in the United States. Markedly, the attack is considered a lethal terror attack on American soil experienced in US history (Bossong, 2012). During the raids, among the four hijacked planes, two of them hit the twin towers of the World Trade Centre in New York City and the third plane hitting the Pentagon. A few minutes later, the last plane crashed in Pennsylvania (Bossong, 2012). The entire attack led to about 3000 deaths. The terrorist attack against Washington, DC, and New York City caused extensive destruction and death triggering an enormous effort by the US in combatting terrorism. For instance, the US introduced more than 130 policies where the congress signed into law 48 resolutions and bills (Bossong, 2012). Some of these legislations include the USA Patriot Act that would facilitate information cooperation and sharing and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that would integrate departments and agencies of dealing with terrorist campaigns and other threats to national security (Bossong, 2012).

San Bernardino Attack 2015

San Bernardino Attack 2015 is the latest terror attack in the US. The incident occurred on a Wednesday during a Christmas party. The attack took place at the Inland Regional Centre, where San Bernardino Public Health Department had taken its staff for the holiday celebration. According to the Tactical lessons from San Bernardino attack (2017), the incident involved two attacks opening fire at the team and employees of San Bernardino during the attack, 17 people sustained severe injuries and causing deaths of 17 people making the shooting a fatal mass shooting eating place in the US after the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in 2013 . Two suspects in the attack identified as Farook and Malik amassed a massive gun containing thousands of rounds as well as remote-controlled bombs ad dozen of improvised explosives. Reports from the FBI investigation postulated that the perpetrators of the attack comprised of homegrown violent extremists who are inspired by foreign terror groups. According to the Tactical lessons from San Bernardino attack (2017), Active Shooter and Multiple Assault Counter-Terrorism Action Capabilities (MACTAC) training was the counterterrorism response to the attack. The new policy would provide officers with means of effectively and spontaneously controlling various threats.

Rationale of Sources

Bossong (2012) on September 11 attacks and Tactical lessons from San Bernardino attack (2017) on San Bernardino Attack 2015 are very credible sources of understanding terrorist attacks happens globally. The rationale behind selecting these sources is because it provides the associated counterterrorism efforts and policies implemented in response to these attacks (Hoffman, 2002). The national strategy around counterterrorism policies and initiatives in the US as well as in the whole World focuses at outlining the approaches of countering the evolving complex and increasingly terrorist attacks.

Notably, the two sources provide an appropriate comparison because they all show that the United States was comforted into common beliefs and perceptions that simultaneous and mass attacks in general and corresponding destructive potential evident from 9/11 attacks and San Bernardino Attack 2015 are likely outside the terrorist campaigns of many terrorists (Hoffman, 2002).

The comparison of the two terrorism campaigns draws more significant lessons that should be primarily considered when implementing counterterrorism policies in response to these campaigns (Hoffman, 2002). Arguably, the 9/11 attacks show that the US concentrated too absolutely on high-end threats such as cyber-attacks and chemical weapons or low-end threats caused by truck and car explosives against complex buildings (Hoffman, 2002). Another great lesson learned is the evidence of implicit assumptions made in the US counterterrorism planning scenario on mass shootings and massacre such as the San Bernardino Attack 2015 is that they were likely to involve chemical or germ agents (Hoffman, 2002).

From the two attacks, it is apparent that terrorist campaigns have always existed and will be planned, premeditated, recognized, and instrumental (Hoffman, 2002). For this reason, it becomes easier when dismissing terrorist campaigns as irrational homicidal fanatics than comprehending their depth of frustration, the central of their motivations and aims as well as appreciating how these elements tend to affect the choice of their targets and tactics.

The 9/11 attacks and San Bernardino Attack 2015 considerably are two terror attacks from terrorist campaigns. Counterterrorism policies in response to these attacks have always contained implicit assumptions failing to address the potential evolutions posed by terrorism (Hoffman, 2002). Therefore, counterterrorism responses should be designed at once in a way that blunt threat by utilizing a variety of means that can be implemented to bear in combatting terrorism.

References

Bossong, R. (2012). The evolution of EU counter-terrorism: European security policy after 9/11. Routledge. Retrieved from https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2018/621898/EPRS_BRI(2018)621898_EN.pdf

Hoffman, B. (2002). Rethinking Terrorism and counterterrorism since 9/11. Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, 25(5), 303-316. Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/105761002901223

Tactical lessons from San Bernardino attack. (2017, December 04). Retrieved from https://www.policefoundation.org/tactical-lessons-from-san-bernardino-attack/