CRJ 499 assignment 5

Running Head: Identifying 1

Identifying 5

Identifying the Challenge

Tiara Miller

Strayer

CRJ 499

4/21/16

Identifying the Challenge

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) defines terrorism as any act of violence or any dangerous act that that poses a threat to human life that violates federal and state laws. If the said violent acts are designed to try and influence the state government to act in any way through intimidation and/or coercion then that definitely is terrorism. Those performing acts of terror do so hoping to achieve a political, ideological or religious aim This acts of violence may include part or all of kidnapping, assassinations or mass destruction. Terrorism is of two type, that is, domestic terrorism and international terrorism. Domestic terrorism are act of terror that occur primarily within the territorial jurisdiction of a particular country. International terrorism on the other hand are acts of terror perpetuated and planned in other foreign countries other than the country in question.

Terrorism is a relatively new phenomena in the world. As recent as the turn of the millennium acts of terrorism were minimal up until September 11th, 2001when all hell broke loose. Al Qaeda masterminded one of the deadliest attack on American soil by blowing up the World Trade Centre by crashing four planes that they had hijacked into the building. Masterminds of this attack were Khaled Shaykh Muhammad and Osama Bin Laden (Riedel, 2011). From this point on words acts of terror have been on the rise with recent attacks witnessed in Paris 2015 and Brussels 2016.

So as to protect its citizen’s post 9/11, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) undertook several measure to fight this vice. The DHS implemented a four point policy structure that touched on key issues such as:

1. Creation of a Homeland Security Enterprise that functioned to train personnel with the appropriate technical skills to detect and combat terror. It also has a system that detects and reports suspicious activities to the authorities. This enterprise also had funding to the tune of billions of dollars to aid in the fight against terror. This money would be used for training and purchase of specialized equipment.

2. Improved passenger screening so as to Prevent Travel Terrorism.

3. Detecting, Preventing and eliminating Biological and Nuclear Threats.

4. Protecting Crucial infrastructure and

Terrorism needs to be addressed so as to bring peace to the world. Our kids should be able to safely go to school without the fear that some lunatic would hold them hostage in a class room as he or she demands this or that. Economies are failing because of terrorism. A case in point is Somalia. In Somalia the government can be overthrown any minute when the rebels Al-Shabaab feel like doing so. The capital city of Mogadishu is in ruins and tatters because of the frequent bombings on its buildings. Defenseless women and children are killed when bombs are blown up. Children are orphaned and they end up being taken up by terror groups when there is no one left to take care of them. By joining these groups, they contribute in make terrorism grow and that is not something we want. Terrorism needs to be addressed rather urgently and measure on how to stop it be drafted and implemented so as to make the world a better place to live.

When terror hits, the first to be affected are the casualties and their close family. Losing a loved one through acts of terrorism is really painful. The victims suffer for the rest of their lives and as such terrorism need to be eradicated for their sake. Small economies such as Kenya and Colombia are really affected when they are hit with terrorism. Terrorism reduces a country’s GDP and curbs development (Sandler and Enders, 2010). This is because tourists will be discouraged from visiting the country. Externally, foreign relations will be compromised therefore affecting a country’s ability to receive financial aids and grants.

Terrorism is yet to be solve in the world because cases of terrorism are still being reported. As recently as November 2015 the city of Paris was hit at two places claiming the lives of about 150 people. Terrorism will not end soon because there are plenty of sympathizers of terror groups. The Saudi’s of Saudi Arabia are among the leading financers of Al Qaeda (Meyer, 2008). If such groups continue getting monetary support, then what is to stop them from acts of terror? The west needs to stop overthrowing rulers by arming rebel group to fight the said rulers (Washington Blog Post, 2015). These same rebel group would later blow up buildings in cities in the west.

References

Economic consequences of Terrorism in Developed and Developing Countries: An overview by Todd Sandler and Walter Enders, 2010.

Washington Blog Post, Retrieved from www.washingtonsblog.com

Saudi’s Faulted for Funding Terror by Josh Meyer The LA Times, 2008

Federal Bureau of Investigation website www.fbi.gov

Department of Homeland Security www.dhs.gov