The Future of Terrorism - Essay Example

Critical examination of the 2007 DHS Task Force Report On the Future of Terrorism Introduction: The terrorist attack targeted at New York’s World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, not just shook the nation but sent shockwaves throughout the political and national infrastructure (Poynter Institute, 2001, P.47). The nation became vulnerable to the stream of attacks, and the government’s capability in countering terrorism became questionable. To secure the homeland, and protect American nation, a Department of Homeland Security was created in 2002 (Ward, Kiernan & Mabrey, 2006, p.1). The DHS brought together 22 of the most important governmental agencies, including the CIA, FBI, and FEMA to work collectively, and sort out effective tactics to be immediately implemented for combating terrorism (Ward, Kiernan & Mabrey, 2006, p.2). The Future of Terrorism Task Force is also a part of the US government’s strategic foundations on protecting America, and was created for predicting the status of terrorism in the coming years. The main task for this force was to accumulate evidence regarding the scope of terrorist activities in future, and then develop effective policies and recommendations for the Government to prevent upcoming attacks from happening. The January 25, 2007 report contained guidelines for the next five years. This paper is aimed at reviewing this report presented by the Future of Terrorism Task Force. Review and Critical analysis of the January 2007 Future of TerrorismTaskforce Report: “In designing homeland security policies, uncertainty about the forthcoming threat creates a number of problems. If we do not know the scale and nature of future threats, deciding how many resources to devote to homeland security efforts and choosing among different security measures is difficult” (Jackson, 2008, P.11). This explains the reason behind the creation of a proper task force to assess the future of terrorism and determine the most effective actions to counter terrorism. In the report, firstly the areas of weaknesses have been acknowledged and presented before the DHS to evaluate and respond, which is commendable (Security & Council, 2007, p.3). That is because first-hand knowledge and an in-depth analysis of the areas to work on will not just ensure the workability of these recommendations but effective policy management too. Another point to be noted is that the task force has covered every aspect of probable terrorist attacks, ranging from reviewing al-Qaeda’s future status to cyber terrorism and state-sponsored terrorism possibilities (Security & Council, 2007, p.3). This provides an overview of the diversity of ways the nation could be attacked along with expressing the magnitude of research this task force went through in order to assess the threats (Security & Council, 2007, p.3). This is why the task force report seems to be a combination of predictions regarding the future of terrorism, strategies on how to perceive it, and suggestions on eradicating the threat effectively. It presents a compilation of the deficiencies prevailing in the governmental procedures, and the actions required to implement the proposed recommendations. The analysis of the 2007 report brings forth the information that there were three workable areas for which the recommendations were formulated (Security & Council, 2007, p.4). The changes required in the existing policies, the insufficient awareness among public regarding terrorism, and the main issue of what was the future of terrorism(Security & Council, 2007, p.6). The magnitude of terrorist attacks had grown immensely post 9/11 and the scope for newer forms of spreading terrorism evolved greatly, which is also highlighted in the first section of the report (Security & Council, 2007, p.5). Suggestions incorporate every aspect of terrorism involved, and not just the most common themes, which provide a thorough guideline for policy maker. Moreover, one thing that clearly comes across is the applicability of the suggested points and the realistic approach of the task force (Security & Council, 2007, p.6). Recommendations wise, the task force report had guidelines that encircle state level, national level, and community-level solutions to continue the fight against terrorism effectively (Security & Council, 2007, p.6). The inspiring thing is that this report reviews the terrorism status, and provides functional suggestions for every department, with explaining whose job is it and how should it be done rather than just giving the layout on what needs to be done (Security & Council, 2007, p.6). The most significant advice for state was to create “a program to address prisoner radicalization and post-sentence reintegration” (Security & Council, 2007, p.11). The proposal for creating a Correctional System is a workable solution. Creating a correctional facility, and then training the employees and parole officers to immediately identify a prisoner under influence to a radical movement during the time behind bars will be beneficial. As quoted in the report “There is great potential to de-radicalize prisoners through monitoring and rehabilitation at the time of their re-entry into society” (Security & Council, 2007, p.11). The report also lays emphasis that this training should include guidebooks and training documents prepared by the DHS and department of Justice (Security & Council, 2007, p.11). The reason behind the successful accomplishment of the 9/11 terrorism attack was the lack of proper communication and timely information sharing between the governmental agencies and intelligence (Eggen & Witte, 2006). Then the inefficiency in upgrading and modernizing the information sharing system post 9/11, like the debacle of FBI’s Virtual Case File, shows that a deficit in this process was what could weaken the homeland security process (Eggen & Witte, 2006). The report has a lot of advices for boosting international relations and enhancing information sharing. According to the task force report “State and regional capability to gather, process and share information within local regions and with the federal government must remain a priority” (Security & Council, 2007, p.7). For this purpose, the task force has various suggestions, all of which are workable and integral. The report advises the DHS Secretary to conduct “– a Quadrennial Security Review – of all homeland security threats, assets, plans and strategies with a view toward long-term planning and modernization” (Security & Council, 2007, p.7). Subsequently emphasis is made on the inclusion of intelligence agencies like FBI, etc., and other departments like Health and Human Services, Justice, and Defense in the QSR process. If this need was recognized in the 90s, then the attacks might have been predicted and prevented from happening. “Placing a renewed emphasis on recruiting professionals of all types with varied perspectives, world views, skills, languages and civilizing backgrounds and expertise” is also an important advice” (Security & Council, 2007, p.8). Since the terrorist groups have diverse cultural preferences, and their ethnicity also varied, so there should be expertise available from every perspective to understand their mindset and suggest counter-terrorism actions (Security & Council, 2007, p.8). Prior to this report, there were many strategies proposed, but never acted upon in full strength by the DHS. There is a point mentioned in the report that DHS should “move immediately to implement the recommendations contained in earlier HSAC reports on information sharing” (Security & Council, 2007, p.10). This explains how much time had been wasted, since this report was proposed in January 2007, and inclusion of this advice shows the failure of the department in addressing the issue of information sharing between the agencies. What the department failed to acknowledge was the fact that such a deficiency could provide a handful of opportunities to the terrorists, and they might be planning another attack of similar magnitude. That is why effective information sharing and spontaneous feedback from all the intelligence agencies are very important for planning the future strategies (Security & Council, 2007, p.10). NATO has always stated in its counter terrorism policies that “Terrorism is a global threat that knows no border, nationality or religion. It is therefore, a challenge that the international community must tackle together” (NATO Guidelines, 2012). Gathering worldwide support and promoting the collective efforts among security professionals worldwide is probably the most functional strategy to predict and ward off terrorism attacks(NATO Guidelines, 2012). This requirement was recognized by the task force and it was suggested that the DHS “must use all avenues of international cooperation and instruments of statecraft to boost existing and form new partnerships to foster and maintain a global network that permit, among other things, robust intelligence and information sharing” (Security & Council, 2007, p.11). By developing a network of various networks worldwide, the security and intelligence forces will be able to defeat the enemy anywhere around the globe (Security & Council, 2007, p.11). On a national level, this report suggests that an Office of Net Assessment (ONA) must be established (Security & Council, 2007, p.7). This will be required to further develop, and keep a check on the progress of response plans. This department will only focus on assessing the future of terrorism and prepare long-term counter terrorism plans. This will be done by calculating the frequency of previous attacks and the growing capabilities of the extremist groups that pose a threat to America’s sovereignty (Security & Council, 2007, p.7). Along with this, an in-depth research was conducted by the future of terrorism task force to understand the issue of home-grown radicalization, which probably is what terrorism of any kind stems from. Emphasis was made in their recommendations to find out how and why these terrorists are indoctrinated and under what circumstances do they decide to switch to violence (Security & Council, 2007, p.7). The report suggests that “Countering home-grown radicalization must be one of the Department’s top priorities by using the Departments Radicalization and Engagement Working Group (REWG) to better understand the process – from sympathizer to activist to terrorist” (Security & Council, 2007, p.8). This is beneficial because by stopping terrorist from being created, the groups eventually will not be able to expand and prosper. “Counterterrorist efforts must be viewed on balance because they often involve fundamental alterations to civil liberties, policies toward ethnic minorities, international relations, and the economic system” (Nagai, 2002). Terrorism is an international problem, and it is important to engage the public into understanding the root causes of terrorism, and making rightful choices. Therefore, formulating a community-level strategy is very important and this was realized by the taskforce. “It is critical that the American public becomes engaged in understanding and preparing for terrorism” (Security & Council, 2007, p.1). The need for creating awareness within and about the Muslim community, and narrowing the gap between Muslims and the west is also the need of the day. For this purpose, there are advices in the report. It lays emphasis that the DHS should “ensure that the lexicon use within public statements is clear, precise and does not play into the hands of the extremists” (Security & Council, 2007, p.9). There is always a possibility that the terrorists might exploit the governmental statements as anti-Islamic or anti-Muslim. That is why sophisticated statements are indeed important, which should be prepared by keeping in mind the sentiments of every ethnicity and community and not just fulfills the western interests (Security & Council, 2007, p.9). Then there is a suggestion for the creation of Muslim Outreach Programs, which is a great solution intended on reaching out to the Muslims and making them feel as an integral part of the community (Security & Council, 2007, p.9). Muslim outreach programs could play a very important role in not only guiding the Muslims in realizing who actually is trying to exploit them, and will substantially bridge the gap between the Muslims and other citizens who has been created post 9/11. It is also suggested in the report that “Broader avenues of dialogue with the Muslim community should be identified and pursued” (Security & Council, 2007, p.9). This describes how much importance was given to provide a platform for Muslims to speak, and emphasis was made on understanding their views. This approach could play a significant role in reducing the threat of terrorism in the future. Such strategies at a community level are beneficial for understanding the future of terrorism, and countering any probable attacks. To understand the needs and problems of a particular segment of society can only be done at a community level, because it is people who create a community. If one suffers, then it might affect all, which seems to be the most integral reason behind the sudden rage of extremist terrorism. The task force did realize the situation and provided a functional solution towards resolving this problem. All in all, the Future of Terrorism Task force Report on 2007 is a complete plan for not only evaluating the future of terrorism, but in planning strategies for the fight against terrorism. References Jackson, B. A. (2008). Marrying prevention and resiliency balancing approaches to an uncertain terrorist threat. (p. 11). RAND Corporation. Retrieved from http://www.rand.org/pubs/occasional_papers/2008/RAND_OP236.pdf Ward, R. H., Kiernan, L., & Mabrey, D. (2006).Homeland security: An introduction. (pp. 1-2).Elsevier. Retrieved from http://books.google.com.pk/books?id=AxW8qpNKeusC&pg=PA1&lpg=PA1&dq=department of homeland security creation&source=bl&ots=w_uXRuoV2Y&sig=7w87Wlwge77rpgQMapkKwAF_6rA&hl=en&sa=X&ei=GnQfUJWrPIf_4QTC5ICIBQ&ved=0CDwQ6AEwAw Poynter Institute. (2001). September 11, 2001. (p. 47). Andrews McMeel Publishing. Retrieved from http://books.google.com.pk/books?id=_bjMCM9JuVgC&pg=PA47&lpg=PA47&dq=The World Trade Center September 11, 2001,&source=bl&ots=TQNASfYzZ2&sig=SPj-wuPdlHEs2eBN97sjvB4obag&hl=en&sa=X&ei=WnMfULXSMKqL4gTF3oCgCg&redir_esc=y Nagai, T. (2002, May).Terrorism: Security and ambiguity. Retrieved from http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/terror/overview.php Eggen, D., & Witte, G. (2006, August 8). The fbis upgrade that wasnt. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/17/AR2006081701485.html Security, U. D., & Council, H. S. (2007, January).Future of terrorism task force report. Retrieved from http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/hsac-future-terrorism-010107.pdf NATO Guidelines. (2012, May 23). Countering terrorism. Retrieved from http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_77646.htm Read More