Redefining Terrorism - Essay Sample

Introduction

"Terrorism is a psychological warfare. Terrorists try to manipulate us and change our behavior by creating fear, uncertainty, and division in society" (Patrick J. Kennedy).

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An American politician and mental health advocate, Patrick J. Kennedy, presents a statement explaining that terrorism greatly affects the emotional and mental state of individuals. Not only do terrorist acts give rise to chaos amongst the people that are affected, but these acts also create interference within the American government. Because of this, I think that terrorism must be dealt with as a military threat to American security and not as a simple law enforcement issue. This threat is surely one of, if not the most pressing problem to all Americans. Threats of terrorism are pressing to such a great extent because terrorists are typically desensitized people who cannot think through such consequences or rethink these horrifying decisions (Crenshaw 425). Terrorism is not a new issue. It has been reoccurring for centuries, and if this situation was being dealt with as a military threat, strides could have been made to reduce or even prevent terrorism from ever taking place.

The attack on September 11, 2001, is described as a group of Islamic terrorists who are supposedly members of the al-Qaeda with the goal of ambushing the Twin Towers, which included the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. They would attack the Twin Towers by hijacking four different commercial airlines. Three out of the four airlines successfully achieved these attacks. From this sickening event, the U.S. code of law explains terrorism as "activities that involve acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State, [and that] appear to be intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion or to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping" (Nunn 91). Terrorism is "a constant threat to American security [which has] enforced National Security Decision Directive 138" (Silverstein 6). This enforcement could essentially deploy the nation to withstand terrorism with every weapon that the counter-terror arsenal America has.

Many necessary changes were made to America's security after this shocking event of 9/11 took place. For instance, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was created (RAND 1). DHS intends to unite federal capabilities and defend America from future terrorist attacks. In addition to the creation of the DHS, "federal agencies removed thousands of pages of public documents about the nation's infrastructure from their websites, including maps of pipeline and water supply locations and data about shipments of hazardous materials and security breaches at airports" (Eggers, Steinberg and Graham 3). If America didn't treat terrorist acts as the single largest threat, the safety of the country could be at stake.

The FBI plays a major role in dealing with this military threat to American security. Following the major terrorist attack of 9/11, "new legislation and presidential orders made [terrorism] a primary responsibility of the FBI" (Feldstein 8). The FBI's responsibilities included "oversee[ing] terrorist activities and required each local FBI office to create an intelligence gathering and analysis group" (Feldstein 8). Additionally, the FBI "has developed a Command Center to assist in monitoring and coordinating the activities of agents on the scene of a crisis" (Monroe 144). Their mission is to ultimately protect all American individuals while preserving the Constitution of the United States.

After the major effects terrorism had on America, the U.S. "has dramatically ramped up its intelligence capabilities" (Monaco 1). The American government has "created new agencies and instituted a new paradigm for intelligence" with task groups to promote joint interagency action (Monaco 1). This new paradigm for intelligence has decreased casualties caused by terrorism tremendously. Before 9/11, "a total of 234 victims were killed or wounded in bombings by lone wolf terrorists," but after this incident, there were "only six victims of lone wolf bombings" (Hamm and Ramon 7). The Government Accountability Office also recorded "the number of U.S. deaths resulting from other attacks exceed those caused by radical Islamists in thirteen of the fifteen years following 9/11" (COUNCIL on FOREIGN RELATIONS 7). The fact that the government has incorporated a handful of progressive changes made specifically to advance the quality of intelligence information goes to show the demand for stringent security upon these military threats (Eisenberg and Silver 3).

While terrorism should not be dealt with as a simple law enforcement issue, one may think that it is not managed as a military threat for the security of America. Many believe that in order to "fight against terrorism effectively, Americans must avoid the cardinal mistake of regarding the notion of terrorism as a label that might be glued anywhere in accordance with current political interests" (Bolechow 788). However, the "United States was relatively immune to terrorism committed by its residents and citizens" (Brooks 7) for these alleged Americans coming from countries of different backgrounds having their own social status and degree of assimilation manifested. The act of terrorism caused by Americans of different backgrounds is referred to as homegrown terrorism. This kind of terrorism "is a growing concern for security and a puzzle for social science" (Moskalenko and McCauley 5). Homegrown terrorism is when America is "under attack from terrorists both within and outside of our borders" because the terrorist "operate without rules" and have "a single mission of destruction" (Homeland Security 52). These habituated individuals cannot be reasoned with or restored.

Today, technology is made to provide many benefits for people throughout everyday life. Technology has also been used to aid in counterterrorism and law enforcement action. September 11, 2001, signified a turning point in the lives of all Americans. It recognizes terrorism as a new kind of military hostility that demands governmental action. America is incriminated in an undeclared war, and the government must take similar measures when threatened by terrorism. Working to prevent more terrorist hostility in this decade is necessary at this crucial point in time for America.

Works Cited

BIBLIOGRAPHY Bolechow, Bartosz. "The United States of America Vis-a-Vis Terrorism: The Super Power's Weaknesses and Mistakes." American Behavioral Scientist 48.6 (2005): 783-794.

Brooks, Risa A. "Muslim 'Homegrown' Terrorism in the United States: How Serious is the Threat?" International Security 36.3 (2011): 7-47.

COUNCIL on FOREIGN RELATIONS. "The Real Terrorist Threat in America." 2 November 2018. Council on Foreign Relations. March 2019. <https://www.cfr.org/conference-calls/real-terrorist-threat-america>.

Crenshaw, Martha. "Why America? The Globalization of Civil War. ." Current History 1000.650 (2001): 425-432.

Eggers, Andrew, James B Steinberg and, Mary Graham. "Building Intelligence to Fight Terrorism." 21 September 2003. Brookings. March 2019. <https://www.brookings.edu/research/building-intelligence-to-fight-terrorism/>.

Eisenberg, Nancy and, Roxane Cohen Silver. "Growing up in the Shadow of Terrorism: Youth in America after 9/11." American Psychologist 66.6 (2011): 468-481.

Feldstein, Martin S. Designing Institutions to Deal with Terrorism in the United States. Cambridge: National Bureau of Economic Research, 2008.

Hamm, Mark and Spaaj Ramon. Lone Wolf Terrorism in America: Using Knowledge of Radicalization Pathways to Forge Prevention Strategies. n.d.

Homeland Security. "Home and Away: DHS and the Threats to America, Remarks delivered by Secretary Kelly at George Washington University Center for Cyber and Homeland Security." 18 April 2017. Department of Homeland Security. March 2019. <https://www.dhs.gov/news/2017/04/18/home-and-away-dhs-and-threats-america>.

Monaco, Lisa. "Preventing the Next Attack: A Strategy for the War on Terrorism." Foreign Affairs 96.6 (2017): 23-29A.

Monroe, Charles P. "Addressing Terrorism in the United States. ." The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 463.1 (1982): 141-148.

Moskalenko, Sophia and Dark McCauley. "The Psychology of Lone-Wolf Terrorism. ." Counselling Psychology Quarterly 24.2 ( 2011 ): 115-126.

Nunn, Samuel. "Incidents of Terrorism in the United States, 1997-2005." Geographical Review 97.no. 1 (n.d.): 89-111.

RAND. "How Prepared Are State and Local Law Enforcement for Terrorism?" 2004. RAND CORPORATION. <https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RB9093/index1.html>.

Siverstein, David. "An American Strategy Against Terrorism." 23 August 1991. The Heritage Foundation. March 2019. <https://www.heritage.org/homeland-security/report/american-strategy-against-terrorism>.