General Motives Among Terrorists - Assignment Example

What is counterterrorism motivations behind terrorism when engaged in counterterrorism efforts? What kind of general motives might you find among terrorists in this country and abroad? Counterterrorism are the tactics and strategies adopted by the government and related agencies to counter the threat of terrorist attack on government agencies and endangering civilian rights and properties. It is “choice of the forms of action available and potentially effective in meeting the challenge of international terrorism on a global scale” (Baregu). It is very important to understand the motivations behind the terrorism when engaged in counterterrorism efforts, mainly because today the terrorism has become high tech and spread globally, infiltrating the society to the extent that if not handled with cautious and premeditated techniques and strategies, involving the in-depth analysis of the socio-psychological background of the terrorist, it would be extremely difficult to take effective steps to countermand their intended actions, targeting the innocents and holding them to ransom. The general motives of the terrorists in this country and abroad involve coercive tactics and unlawful intimidation of the government bodies to force the government to accede to their vested interest regarding political, ideological or religious demands. Is counterterrorism a tactic of warfare or crime-fighting? What role does due process play in either context? What are the implications when terrorists can be characterized as the "enemy" rather than mere criminals? Counterterrorism is neither a tactic of warfare or crime-fighting but it an amalgamation of both, depending on the motives of the state or the people carrying out the deliberate act of aggression against the innocents. Tactics of warfare is normally adapted when the terrorism is sponsored by the state and counterterrorism needs to be spread over a large area involving sophisticated use of resources in order to protect the lives and property of the civilians and the innocents. Terrorists are people or individuals who commit intended violence against the innocents with the sole intention of harming the public and destroying the property in order to make them meet their vested political goals and religious fanatics’ demands. “For our terrorist enemies, violence is not only justified, it is necessary and even glorified..” (internet). When the objectives of the violence perpetrated against a large number of people, exceeds the individual vested interests of the perpetrators, to include the collective demands of certain political or religious ideology, the violence and the nefarious intentions represent the acts of enemies or terrorists and not of mere criminal who defy the state laws for their individual interests. How has surveillance changed from the "traditional" to "new surveillance"? Are these changes potentially problematic for civil liberties in any way in the United States? Should law enforcement be permitted to use all technological resources available to accomplish its mission, including in the fight against terror? Are there limits? Counterterrorism has been taken up in a multifaceted way, one of which is that of ‘surveillance’ of the ‘suspected terrorist’ and important government and public places which may be targeted by the thems. Apart from the surveillance of the government and public places, the ‘traditional’ way of surveillance has been replaced with the new high tech electronic surveillance. The new high tech surveillance involves the electronic surveillance with the use of sophisticated gadgets that are used to keep track of the mobility and financial transactions of the suspects who may be directly or indirectly involved in the terrorism. “The Terrorism Surveillance Program (TSP) is the surveillance program, authorized and described by the President which involves the targeted interception by the National Security Agency (NSA) of communications, in which one party is outside the United States and there are reasonable grounds to believe that at least one party to the communication, is a member or agent of al Qaeda or an al Qaeda affiliated terrorist organization” (white paper). The latest technologies may sometime infringe on the civil liberties of the public but in the larger interests of the public, the government needs to use these measures so as to anticipate the moves of the terrorists and help prevent any major catastrophe. The technological advancements have not only benefited the general public but they are now being used by the terrorist outfits to carry out acts of terrorism in the far flung areas to create terror and instability among the masses and general public. It is therefore, necessary for the law enforcement to use the latest technology and resources so that proper tabs can be maintained against all terrorists’ organizations and suspects and destruction and violence against humanity can be averted. The only limits that must be imposed by the law enforcements should be the necessary safeguard for the innocent civilians who may get trapped in false identification. What is the FISA Court? Explain how it works. What authorities can it grant law enforcement? How is it different from traditional courts? What concerns exist about expanding the use of FISA? Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act or FISA is a government act that legitimizes the collection of information regarding foreigners by the state intelligence to protect the state against espionage, terrorism, sabotage, assassination, hijacking or any other such activities that may be conducted by the foreign agency or state or such elements. FISA court is a special court with 11 federal court judges who are appointed by the Chief Justice. Each of the judges individually reviews the applications of the Attorney General for authorization of the electronic surveillance for foreign intelligence information and “Requests are adjudicated by a special eleven member court called the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court” (internet). It allows the law enforcement authorities to use electronic surveillance like wire tapping, eavesdropping, permits physical entries for investigation and any other such activities to gain information from agents regarding foreign intelligence that may be against the interest of the state. It is different from the ordinary court in the sense that its proceedings are non adversarial and the information gained may not be revealed, even to the person suspected of being ‘foreign agent’. FISA powers are wide ranging and vague and the secrecy of the proceedings is liable to be misused and abused. How has aviation security changed since 9/11? What were the provisions of the Aviation and Transportation Act? Did this act changed aviation security in a dramatic way? What role does racial or religious profiling play in securing the aviation industry and its consumers? What role should it play? The aviation security has changed drastically since 9/11. The vulnerability in the screening of the passengers and the luggage to detect the presence of explosives and arms and other dangerous items, as well as the weak security in air control rooms and the access to secure areas at the airport and other sensitive places, have all been addressed. “Aviation and transportation Security Act was enacted on 19 November 2001, which created Transportation Security Administration (TSA) with its primary responsibility of ensuring security in aviation and other modes of transportation” (internet). TSA has deployed more trained marshals and better screening facilities for the passengers and the luggage as well as for air cargo. Use of advanced technology and thorough checking of the credentials of the airport staff, including biometric indicators, are incorporated to ensure enhanced security. After the act, the aviation security has changed dramatically. More intense and thorough screening by the trained staff coupled with more sophisticated and high tech gadgets have facilitated better screening. The use of CAPPS II (computer assisted passengers prescreening system) using finger printing and biometric indicators, have been made compulsory. CAPPS II also uses national security and commercial databases to assess risk and identify passengers for extra screening raising concern about privacy rights and civil liberties. The post 9/11 scenario has seen a marked paradigm shift in the outlook of the racial and religious background of the passengers. The use of CAPPS in the screening has been especially traumatic for people of different race and religion specially that of Moslem origin and Asians. The biased outlook is especially frustrating for the innocent passengers who are harassed for just being of that race and religion. The TSA should be a neutral agency that should execute its functions in an impartial manner giving same respect to all passengers irrespective of their race, religion and color. Reference Baregu, Mwesiga. Terrorism and Counterterrorism: Dialogue or Confrontation? Available: < http://www.un-globalsecurity.org/pdf/baregu.pdf> [13 November, 2007]. Department of Justice, USA. 22 June, 2006. Counterterrorism White paper. Available: [13 November, 2007]. [13 November, 2007]. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Available: [13 November, 2007]. Today’s Terrorist enemy. White House. Available: [13 November, 2007]. Transport Security: Post September 11th Initiatives and Long Term Challenges. Available: [13 November,? Why is it important to understand the 2007]. Read More