Unit VII Research Paper The purpose of this assignment is to provide you with the opportunity to apply the knowledge you have gained toward mitigating the probability of a terrorist attack based on the information provided in the scenario list provided in

Terrorist Attacks

Troy Mead

Columbia Southern University

6/10/2018

Attack during a debate in Atlanta Chastain Park.

Because terror groups are targeting areas with a mass number of people, there is a high probability of experiencing an attack during the event of debate in Atlanta Chastain Park. The paper, therefore, seeks to address various issues concerning the security during the said day. Therefore, the federal government, as well as the state government, should play an important role in security matters during the event to ensure that the people are secure.

There are various federal government agencies that can be used to provide security. They are central intelligence agency (CIA), the Department of Defense (DOD) that includes the army, air force, marines, navy and National Guard. The federal can manage the security by the use of national special security event which is under the arm of United States Department of Homeland Security (Sinai, 2015). Through the use of all those agencies, the federal and the state government can ensure the safety as well as the security of those who are planning to attend the debate event since it is a national event.

As the risk analyst of the physical facilities to be used during the debate, I will recommend various issues that are important in case of an attack. First, creating awareness to the participant on the possibility of occurrence of an attack and inform them of the various measures they can use in case such attack happens. The people need to be aware of the various ways in which the attacks are likely to occur (Mueller & Stewart, 2011). The facility needs to be organized in a way that it is not congested and should have various routes of evacuation. People should not be confined to an area that they are to run for their safety in case an attack occurs. As the risk analyst of the debate event, I would likely say that there is a planned attack on that day in the park. The reason for this is because the park will be hosting many people and that the terror attackers will take it as a chance to undertake their activity (Moore, Bakker, & Hill, 2011). Therefore, security forces need to be reinforced before, during and after the event to ensure enough security to the participants.

Another risk analysis should be done to the security personnel, and their equipment to ensure they are set for the event before the start. Such analysis identifies loopholes in the security category and tries to eliminate or make them at early stages. Therefore, to ensure full security enforcement, there should be strict entry and exit in and out of the park to make sure that there are no terror suspects who enter the park. Before the event, also there will be a thorough investigation to curb any possibility of planted explosives by the attackers that they might use during the event (Matthews, 2010). Security personnel will be placed in the park one week before and three days after the event to ensure total security for the participants as they move in and out of the park.

As far as the existence of terror activities that are witnessed during various events, other threats might pose during such events. The participants are likely to become violent and cause harm to one another. They might be angered by the behavior of some politician who is participants in the debate and tries to demonstrate that can cause violence. Other possible threats that are likely to occur are violent crimes amongst the participants, calamities occurrence, gate crashers, equipment and personal property theft (Haveman, Shatz, & Vilchis, 2015). During such an event the security details will ensure that the participants are protected from any possible threat that can be prevented by use of workforce. Preparedness of the security details is the key to the safety of the participants.

With the knowledge that any attack will be undertaken in the Atlanta Chastain Park, there is a need for preparedness towards such an attack. The security detail can develop a plan to counter the terror attack, and the plan can be in various measures. The plan can entail checking of air conditioning ducts to prevent gases from being released and removing the unused equipment in the park which can be used as hiding areas by the attackers. The plan will also include the installation of crash tested barriers to prevent vehicles from using pedestrians to ferry in explosives into the venue (Levitin & Hausken, 2010). The plan will also involve the united nation global counter-terrorism strategy. The strategy has four strong pillars that if well applied by the security details will curb the security threats during the events.

The first pillar involves addressing the conditions conducive to spread of terrorism. Which looks at the causes of terrorism and the factors that accelerate the activities. The second pillar is on preventing and combating the terrorism. It is the essential pillar to be applied at this event. The protocols involved need to know in various ways on how to prevent the attacks. Thirdly, there is a need to build on states capacity and strengthening the role of the United Nations in curbing terrorism.

References

Haveman, J. D., Shatz, H. J., & Vilchis, E. I. (2015). An Overview of US Port Security Programs. The Economic Impacts of Terrorist Attacks. doi:10.4337/9781845428150.00018

Levitin, G., & Hausken, K. (2010). Resource Distribution in Multiple Attacks Against a Single Target. Risk Analysis, 30(8), 1231-1239. doi:10.1111/j.1539-6924.2010.01410.x

Matthews, P. S. (2010). Nuclear Deterrence of Terrorist WMD Attacks. doi:10.21236/ada520082

Moore, W. H., Bakker, R., & Hill, D. W. (2011). How Much Terror? Dissidents, Governments, Institutions and the Cross-National Study of Terror Attacks. SSRN Electronic Journal. doi:10.2139/ssrn.1977262

Mueller, J., & Stewart, M. G. (2011). Terror, Security, and Money. doi:10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780199795758.001.0001

Sinai, J. (2015). The Terrorist Threats Against Russia and its Counterterrorism Response Measures. Connections: The Quarterly Journal, 14(4), 95-101. doi:10.11610/connections.14.4.08