How Intelligence Community Exploitates Weaknesses in Terrorist Organizations - Admission/Application Essay Example

The Role of Intelligence Community in the Exploitation of Weaknesses in Terrorist Organizations Terrorism is one of the most hazardous threats to human civilization in the modern world and intelligence agencies across the globe have a crucial role to play in combating this menace. Since the main objective of terrorist outfits is to subvert the stability of nations through the use of violence and they believe that kidnap, extortion and robbing the citizens for terrorizing people are “legitimate forms of political action” the intelligence community has to remain extra cautious to confront the threat of terrorism (National Strategy for Combating Terrorism, 2003, p.1). Thus, with a view to contain terrorism, the US has partnered with other nations in a bid to “disrupt and degrade” terrorist’s attempts to destabilize the peace and tranquility of nations (p.9). Intelligence agencies of these nations, therefore, share intelligence as well as economic, technological and other resources including training, to counter the problem of terrorism, which has become a global threat. The US, in partnership with other nations, is developing various strategies for the effective prevention of terrorism by focusing on mapping terrorist outfits for deploying “forces and collection assets” for defensive action and gathering intelligence that can help in developing appropriate counter measures (p.16). Reliable information is a crucial instrument in combating the menace and, therefore, the intelligence community has a critical role to play in exploiting the weakness of terrorist organizations to determine the action toward them. Terrorism can be defined as “politically motivated violence” which groups, individuals or state-sponsored elements perpetrate for the purpose of creating terror in the people’s minds so as to influence the decisions by government or to bring about changes in behavior (Moghaddam, 2005, p.161). The author further proposes the “metaphor of a narrowing staircase” for a better understanding of the concept of terrorism, where the top of the building becomes the ultimate preparedness for terrorist act (p.161). Thus, as a person climbs the stairs one after other the doors and windows on each floor represent the options available for him or her. When climber finds a door or window that offers a suitable choice or opportunity, the person stops climbing and stays put on that floor. In other words, when the society offers ample opportunities to individual, they use these and remain in the mainstream society without causing any trouble. On the other hand, when individuals do not receive any opportunity to progress in life, they become frustrated and begin to act in a recalcitrant manner as a radical response to their “perceived deprivation” even though it need not be poverty or lack of educational avenues (p.163). The study further finds that terrorism is a “moral problem” with psychological rooting and the major concern in combating terrorism is dissuading younger people that unwittingly accept the moral philosophies of terrorist organizations. On the other hand, researchers such as Kruglanski and Fishman (2006) attribute dual psychological perspectives to the problem of terrorism such as “syndrome” and “tool” (p.193). In the former context, terrorism is considered as a disease and terrorists are different from normal people in terms of their “internal psychological make-up” as well as characteristics, motivations and social interaction (p.194). The latter, with its rooting on “goal-means relations” considers terrorism as a mean to attain an end and terrorists believe they can use violence as a tactic of the war field that anybody can resort to attain their goals (p.194). Thus, terrorist organizations will blindly indulge in inflicting violence on the society without any discrimination or consideration as to who become the victims of their act. In the modern day, with emerging technologies in the fields of electronics and telecommunication, terrorists have immense possibilities for using these technologies for acquiring and deploying the latest weaponry as well as to plan lightning strikes on targets across the world. Thus, intelligence agencies need to consider these aspects when they undertake surveillance and other counter terrorist activities. In addition, they also need to look for and understand the weaknesses of the terrorist organizations so that it can be utilized for the best advantages in combating the menace. Therefore, the intelligence agencies need to equip themselves in terms of infrastructure, technology, and other resources to enable them surpass the competencies of terrorist organizations. Besides, they must be able to properly assess the risks involved, threats to security as well as the vulnerability of the terrorist organizations. Once they have a correct evaluation of the situation and the strengths and weaknesses of the terrorists, they will be able to plan appropriate strategies and obtain necessary intelligence for taking the counter measures for combating terrorism effectively. The report of the Director of National Intelligence indicates that terrorists will continue to intensify their activities on nations by proliferating disruptive activities such as cyber attacks that can render “systems inoperable” and to disrupt banking operations and information exchange (Clapper, 2014, p.1). Under the circumstances, it has become highly significant for intelligence communities to penetrate the terrorist organizations and to exploit their weakness so that proper defensive strategies can be developed and appropriate offensive action taken against them. This can be done only if they coordinate their activities by establishing rapport with the intelligence agencies of other nations and exchange intelligence, training and other resources. The terrorist outfits, no matter how well organized and committed those are, remain vulnerable to exposure at some point of time in their existence. The vulnerability can be understood both in terms of the organization as whole or its individual members, who are “susceptible to exposure” as well as persuasion by intelligence agencies or confrontation with task forces (Day, 2009, p.31). On the other hand, due to the clandestine and highly furtive nature of their operations, it becomes a huge challenge for the intelligence agencies to anticipate and disrupt attacks by terrorists. However, when exposed, these organizations become vulnerable when they are “out in the open” outside of their so called safe operation zones (p.31). During this stage, if proper intelligence collection is done, the national security agencies have immense potential to ensnare the operatives of these organizations. Exposures mainly occurs when an operative moves out of the safe zone to meet with a leader or speaks to another member over cell phone or other modern communication devices and an undercover agent, working for the intelligence community, can intercept and exploit situations like these to the “fullest extent” (p.32). Thus, members of intelligence agencies have to remain extra vigilant by monitoring the movements of the suspected terrorist elements so that they can exploit the weakness of the terrorist organizations. Often times, when terrorists embrace family way of life, they become more vulnerable as they may want to attend obligations, both familial as well as social, and might come out of their protected zone. This will offer intelligence agents ample opportunities to place them under surveillance, or apprehend them, for extracting further intelligence. On the other hand, when arrested terrorists refuse to divulge information about their organization even after the lapse of long periods of time, intelligence agencies can use the tactics of sending them to meet their families. Once they return after spending time with the family and the fond experience is still “fresh in their minds,” the covert agents can flip them and extract information in exchange for the promise of another visit or early release (p.32). In the US, the CIA is the leading organization that coordinates all activities relating to the collection of intelligence, but since the 9/11 episode and declaration of the “War on Terrorism,” US military became actively involved in “enforcing international norms of law” (McCormack, p.46). The “institutional responses” to terrorist violence in the Western countries primarily focus on prevention, prosecution and military action against the perpetrators (p.39). However, in all the three types of responses, the availability of reliable intelligence is a crucial factor. Thus, it can be seen that intelligence agencies play a critical role in the identification, prosecution as well as the neutralization of terrorist operatives. Though political philosophers propose “compassionate persuasion of violence avoidance” as a means of dealing with terrorism, experience shows that this strategy failed to fetch the intended outcomes with most of the terrorist organizations (p.43). Thus, in the case of most terrorist outfits, the only option to nations is to deal with the issue by means of retaliatory action after evaluating their weakness. Again, intelligence is a key factor in gaining information on terrorist vulnerabilities and to determine the right time to strike. In this context also, the intelligence agencies have to play a crucial role in collecting information on the terrorist outfits and to launch counter offensive against them. The greatest strength of terrorist organizations is the “clandestine environment” that their operatives function in, which offers them the leeway to plan and execute devastating strikes on target nations (German, 2007, 127). The organizational setting also envisages a stringent system of personnel management by which the terrorists eliminate the chances of breach of their secrets through constant vigil on their operatives and inflicting harsh punishment on individuals that attempt to compromise the sanctity of their covenants. However, even with all the precautions that they take, any fissures in their outfits’ environment can “quickly become fractures” and the intelligence agencies have a pivotal role in creating, recognizing and making the most out of such situations (p.127). The entire success of any antiterrorist operation will thus depend on the ability of intelligence agencies to gather information on the vulnerabilities of the terrorist outfits and pass on the same to units responsible for launching offensive strikes. The COINTELPRO programs of the FBI are often considered as examples of the effectiveness in manipulating the “organizational schisms” and “internal bickering” of the terrorist outfits through which they have successfully destroyed the Black Nationalist movement (p.127). This accentuates the relevance of intelligence agencies in recognizing the weakness in terrorist organizations and exploiting it to the best advantage of counter offensives. On the other hand, terrorist organizations enjoy another edge over the military units in that the former often remain ensconced within the camouflage of “civilian populations” while the movements of the latter are “relatively predictable” (p.47). This makes it extremely difficult for the intelligence agencies to identify the terrorists, while it is relatively easy for the terrorists to launch attack on the military or security forces. Similarly, since many of the terrorist outfits are operating outside the US, intelligence agencies also have other hurdles to deal with when they work on gathering information. In this context, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) prescribes the “statutory framework” that agencies have to follow when handling investigations, which envisage surveillance of foreign sources for collection of intelligence (Henning & Liu, 2009, p.1). On the other hand, the state has the privilege to withhold sensitive information on collection of intelligence and other related activities in criminal cases under the provisions of relevant law. In this context, the Classified Information Procedures Act (CIPA) envisages that agencies involved in intelligence collection have immunity under the rules, by which they need not disclose classified information in “criminal matters” (Liu, 2012, p.2). The CIPA is intended to eliminate the tension between “transparency of civilian justice” and law enforcement, without compromising the secrecy of covert operations for the collection of intelligence (Radsan, 2010, p.437). The intelligence agencies and law enforcement need to work closely to fight terrorism and to keep the country “safe from…other dangers” (p.482). Abundant funding is another major strength of terrorists and many NGOs funnel money for them, mostly obtained from nations sponsoring terrorist. Therefore, the UN has created the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), to “combat money-laundering” and weakening the terrorist organizations by depriving their resources (Mackintosh & Duplat, 2013, p.19). The intelligence agencies has a key role to play in identifying the organizations indulging in money laundering and dealing with them appropriately. Effective containment of such activities will help further weaken the terrorist organizations and then intelligence agencies will be able to exploit these situations to their benefit. In the aftermath of 9/11 terrorist attacks, the US has passed PATRIOT Act, which eliminates “prior restrictions” relating to the sharing of information among various intelligence and law enforcement agencies as well as military task forces (Murphy, 2003, p.354). Subsequently, the US has been able to increase the searches and use of wiretaps for generating foreign intelligence as well as “prevent money laundering” to a great extent (p.354). Similarly, in the post 9/11 scenario, the US has launched active covert initiatives against Osama Bin Laden, the mastermind behind the attacks. The subsequent capture and annihilation of this notorious terrorist owes a great deal to intelligence agencies and “elements of multilateralism” where other states have also collaborated in the anti-terrorist drive (p. 364). Efforts on the part of intelligence agencies have helped the US not only to contain terrorism effectively but also to apprehend terrorists involved in various attacks across the world. Collection of reliable intelligence and the sharing of information gathered among various law enforcement and military strike units is an integral part of effective antiterrorist initiatives. In this context, it transpires that without proper intelligence, the security of the nation will remain exposed to threat by terrorist outfits. On the other hand, terrorists function within their safe zones while security forces often remain exposed to attacks. Thus, it becomes necessary for agencies responsible for the collection of intelligence to track down terrorists when they remain most vulnerable and thus exploit their weakness. Similarly, the intelligence agencies will also have to collaborate with formations of other nations to collect timely intelligence that will help them in identifying and dealing with terrorist organizations. However, they have to consider relevant international statutes and regulations while operating in other countries for the collection of intelligence. In the aftermath of 9/11, the US has enacted various Acts or redefined many others to assist the intelligence agencies to tackle the problem of terrorism. Some of these Acts are intended to protect the sanctity of information that are of classified nature, which the agencies can suppress for safeguarding the interest of their covert operatives. In the present day, due to the effective collection of information by the intelligence community in the US, the country has been able to contain the problem of terrorism to a great extent. This will vouch for the fact that the US intelligence community has played a vital role in collecting relevant information by exploiting the vulnerability of terrorist organizations. References Clapper, J. R. (2014). Worldwide Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. Retrieved May 25, 2014, from Day, D. (2009). Exploiting Terrorist Vulnerabilities: A Law Enforcement Approach to Fighting Terrorist Organizations. Fort Leavenworth, Kansas: School of Advanced Military Studies. Retrieved May 25, 2014, from German, M. (2007). Thinking Like a Terrorist: Insights of a Former FBI Undercover Agent. Washington, D.C: Potomac Books, Inc. Henning, A. C. & Liu, E. C. (2009). Amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Set to Expire February 28, 2010. Congressional Research Service. Retrieved May 24, 2014, from Kruglanski, A. W. & Fishman, S. (2006). The Psychology of Terrorism: “Syndrome” Versus “Tool” Perspectives. Terrorism and Political Violence, Vol.18: pp.193-215. Liu, E. C. (2012). Protecting Classified Information and the Rights of Criminal Defendants: The Classified Information Procedures Act. Congressional Research Service. Retrieved May 26, 2014, from Mackintosh, K. & Duplat, P. (2013). Study of the Impact of Donor Counter-Terrorism Measures on Principled Humanitarian Action. Norway: UN OCHA. Retrieved May 26, 2014, from McCormack, W. (2010). Understanding the Law of Terrorism. Danvers, Massachusetts: Matthew Bender & Company Inc. Moghaddam, F. M. (2005). The Staircase to Terrorism: A Psychological Exploration. American Psychologist, Vol.60 (2): pp.161-169 Murphy, S. D. (2003). International Law, the United States, and the Non-Military ‘War’ against Terrorism. European Journal of International Law, Vol.14 (2): pp.347-364 National Strategy for Combating Terrorism. (2003). Central Intelligence Agency, United States. Retrieved May 24, 2014, from Radsan, A. J. (2010). Remodeling the Classified Information Procedures Act (CIPA). Cardozo Law Review, Vol.32 (2): pp.437-483 Read More