Research Paper on Combatting Terrorism: Strategizing for a More Effective Domestic Intelligence Approach

Introduction

The declaration of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO) on April 8, 2019, by President Donald Trump, implies that his government has to scale up activities aimed at combating terrorism. Deploying strategies that encourage the utilization of a more effective domestic intelligence approach can help in identifying and eradicating terrorism in the United States (Wong & Schmitt, 2019). Strategies such as creating a new stand-alone agency to deal with issues of domestic intelligence, decentralization of resources to the local and state governments, and enhancing collaboration between agencies.

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Creation of a New Agency

Magen (2018) ascertained that the United States still experiences considerable problems when it comes to the utilization of domestic intelligence to prevent and combat terrorism. Modern terrorists are increasingly using highly-sophisticated strategies to plan attacks, train members, and commit crimes. As a result, domestic intelligence is a fundamental approach towards investigating vital tips and other information about suspicious behaviour to identify and convict terrorists. Domestic intelligence is different from law enforcement, which is a responsibility executed by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), because it entails exploratory activities that seek to understand behaviors of potential criminals and terrorists and, in turn, to combat their activities (Wong & Schmitt, 2019). The growing threat of terrorism across the country requires the government to enact a new policy through the Congress advocating for the establishment of a new agency to execute domestic intelligence.

However, the biggest challenge would be on how to create the agency. In this case, the most appropriate approach would be creating a stand-alone organization to help in the effective execution of domestic intelligence approaches. Therefore, Congress should advocate for the creation of a new autonomous domestic intelligence agency to allow the FBI to deal with law enforcement issues (Tavernise, Benner, Apuzzo, & Perlroth, 2019). The stand-alone agency will create clarity in executing domestic intelligent through improved sharing of information between its stakeholders, conducting investigations and exploration of potential cases of terrorism, and enhancing coordination between the local, state, and the federal government. This agency will also rely on a broader and more diverse recruitment pool to increase the understanding of the behaviors of potential terrorists. Potential employees will include linguistics, psychiatrists and psychologists, and historians who can help in identifying and convicting terrorists.

Decentralization of Resources to the Local and State Governments

Conducting successful domestic intelligence requires agencies and governments to have seamless access to adequate resources. Insufficient resources remain a significant challenge in the execution of domestic intelligence across numerous regions in the United States, including China town, a highly-populated area in the state of New York (Smith & Zeigler, 2017). The resources needed to carry out active domestic intelligence exist in different categories. First, the local and state governments must have adequate human resources, which refer to employees, such as criminologists, psychologists, linguistics, historians, and military officers in their criminal investigation departments to effectively conduct intelligence activities. These employees should be diverse and trained regularly to understand the trends characterizing the evolving concept of terrorism and how terrorism occurs (Magen, 2018). Training will also be crucial in motivating these employees and ensuring that they have adequate competence in terms of skills and knowledge required in identifying potential terrorists and convicting them.

Secondly, local and state governments require adequate monetary resources to use in purchasing goods and services and compensating employees to ensure the continuous and efficient running of domestic intelligence activities. Insufficient funds will render the entire domestic intelligence process useless and limit its success. However, the availability of such resources will be crucial in motivating and incentivizing employees to increase their commitment to identifying and addressing issues of terrorism (Tavernise et al., 2019). Lastly, criminal and terrorist investigation departments at state and local governments require adequate access to capital resources, which include the machinery used in investigation and exploration as essential elements of the domestic intelligence process. Some of the critical capital resources needed to achieving success in this process includes the availability of automated closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras to help in tracking the activities of potential terrorists.

Enhancing Collaboration between Agencies

Improving collaboration among different agencies is crucial despite the creation of a new independent domestic investigation agency by amending a section of the constitution through Congress. The stand-alone agency should work in collaboration with other private and governmental institutions to increase its devotion to counterterrorism. For example, the FBI should execute its differentiated responsibility of law enforcement by collaborating with the new agency to monitor, investigate, and explore the behaviour and plans of potential terrorists before convicting (Smith & Zeigler, 2017). FBI should be on the forefront of filing lawsuits for all suspects found guilty of planning or participating in any terrorist or related activities. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is also critical in this collaboration.

According to Magen (2018), CIA can partner with FBI to help in the process of collecting, processing, and analyzing information regarding national security with a specific focus on the United States and its territories through the use of human intelligence. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) should also increase its commitment to improving public security by collaborating and empowering with the FBI and the new domestic intelligence agency in protecting and preventing American citizens from all forms of internal attacks. The last agency, the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), also has a vital role to play in improving domestic intelligence to solve the issue of terrorism. This agency should enhance the participation of local and state governments in preventing terrorism across the United States (Wong & Schmitt, 2019). However, these agencies must have adequate resources in terms of money, capital, and human required to combating the threat of terrorist groups, such as IRGC.

Conclusion

Domestic terrorism is increasingly becoming a significant threat to the security of Americans. Declaration of IRGC as an FTO also puts pressure on the United States federal government to undertake appropriate strategies to combat domestic terrorism. Implementing critical recommendations, such as creating an independent domestic intelligence agency, decentralizing resources, and enhancing collaboration between agencies, can help to combat domestic terrorism, as discussed in this paper.

References

Magen, A. (2018). Fighting terrorism: The democracy advantage. Journal of Democracy, 29(1), 111-125. Retrieved from: https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/articles/fighting-terrorism-the-democracy-advantage/.

Smith, M. & Zeigler, S. M. (2017). Terrorism before and after 9/11 - a more dangerous world? Research and Politics, 1(2), 1-8. Retrieved from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/2053168017739757.

Tavernise, S., Benner, K., Apuzzo, M. & Perlroth, N. (2019 August). Shootings renew debate over how to combat domestic terrorism. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/05/us/politics/domestic-terrorism-shootings.html.

Wong, E. & Schmitt, E. (2019 August). Trump Designates Iran's revolutionary guards a foreign terrorist group. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/08/world/middleeast/trump-iran-revolutionary-guard-corps.html.