History of Terrorist Threats Worldwide and a way to Combat Terrorism
Introduction
There have been a series of terrorist attacks that have plagued the world, the major one being the September 11th attack that took place in 2001. It is in such complicated situations that that not only does these terrorist groups, like al-Qaida, have the capability to project itself in the global stage to attacks against the western countries. The al-Qaida has being the major terrorist group that has launched a number of major attacks in the world has posed serious threat to the United States and other nations.
It is in this constantly changing situation that the US keeps in touch with the pace of these groups (O’Brien). The United States has made a number of major steps to combat this threats the major one being the death of the world terrorist leader Osama bin Laden, the arrest of the homegrown violent extremist (HVE) who attacked a ceremony in Portland as well as the blockage of attack of an al-Qaeda training in the US prior to their attack of New York City.
Terrorist Threats Evolution
In 2001, there was an attack on the twin towers in US that left a number of people dead and many others injured. This attack was owned by al Qaeda in Pakistan. Ten years after that the group went on to show its abilities and desire to attack. A series of their efforts have been stopped successfully like the UK 2005.
In the past decade, al Qaeda has come up with a number of practices of applying operatives with legal admission to the US and other countries in the west to target their original countries like al Qaeda sending US legal permanent resident Najibullah Zazi to attack the New York City subway in 2009 and the UK citizen Mohammed Sidique Khan to undertake the July 2005 attacks in London. The three people were convicted of grave charges in 2006 US-UK aviation plot including coconspirators who involve British citizens of Pakistan origin (Smith and Thomas, 7). The application of operatives that have not just legal travel documents but as well as travel language skills and western culture comprehension may be useful in doing away with security and undertake their activities without being noticed.
The United States after the September 11 attacks has faced a number of threats from al Qaeda not just as an organization but also as an ideology. The rise of Jihad movement which involved al Qaeda-associated groups and persons started to evolve. Even though these groups threaten the United States abroad, they do not challenge the threat posed to the home country. There has however been a rise in the spread of threats to the US interest at home and abroad.
At the start of 2000, several al Qaeda associated and regional terrorist groups rose and even though they acquired the name al Qaeda and its ideology, they basically followed focused on regional maters and attacked local targets. By 2007, the National Intelligence Estimate document stated that al Qaeda was the only group that had laid down interests to attack the US (O’Brien). In Iraq, the AQI made several attacks that resulted to casualties. Abroad from Iraq, the Jihad movement took claim to an attack in June 2007 for a car bomb that did not take place using an improvised explosive device (VBIED) at the Glasgow Airport in Scotland.
In addition to the al Qaeda-associated groups, the US saw a rise in a generation of unconnected individuals stimulated by al Qaeda’s beliefs. These HVEs have grown into a several-faced home-based threat. Even though most of them did not have the ability to match what they say, some took steps in making them happen.
Preemption and Deterrence of Terrorism
There are a number of ways that we are able to prevent terrorist acts. The first methods are the preemptive steps that are meant to enable us to comprehend our vulnerabilities, get to learn and benefit from them and manage the errors. Another way is to deter the attacks through coming up with high stakes for these groups be it by responding or limiting risks and making the success difficult.
America responded to the threats in Combating International Terrorism. According to David Tucker, terrorism is a not criminal act but a political act. So as to handle these cases, authorities ought to look into acquiring the same view.
The modern terrorism has a distinctive model that applies a network as opposed to non-reliant set ups. The development of communication has made it possible for use of networks so as to develop efficiency and security. There have also been amateur terrorism where new associations come together to undertake missions prior to separation. These groups are hard to notice. Lastly, the cruelty of these groups has increased and has become more deadly by the day. The US response has to look into these new networks deeply to better understand them (O’Brien). The US interagency framework is composed of formal and informal networks. Varied tools have been put in place so as to acquire the current style of terrorism, economic sanctions and threats of use of force have been applied to act on state-sponsored terrorism, however economic funds and high intelligence strategy may be vital for developing non-state threat.
James Wirtz states that “Antiterrorism through Counterproliferation” tool is vital in helping manage the application of WMD against military forces and can strengthen US efforts (Smith and Thomas, 8). Even though it has been modeled to be used to do away and safeguard against the application of WMD by countries against military forces, it is useful in handling WMD by terrorist players.
Another way of handling terrorism would be through the application of effective collection and evaluation. In regards to “Antiterrorism via Intelligence” the US community is looking for new way for handling terrorism. The US forces have taken part in lower-intensity operations, new threats emerge in terms of high employment and the probability of attacks against bases being eliminated from the hot region.
How the US should respond
The US should not tolerate terrorism, those that undertake it or the countries that cover them. It being a super power, it has no option but to take the task of ridding the world of terrorism where it is. It is each and every person’s duty to safeguard ourselves and create world that is safe from tourists. The fight is a global effort and we ought to advance with an offense that would instill safety.
What should the nations do? The countries, including the US ought to apply force to any nation that conceals terrorists, resources should be directed to the military, the intelligence should be increased and join with other forces that fight the terrorist groups (Smith and Thomas, 9). The use of a go-it-alone mechanism by the US would isolate it from other countries.
Another reason for allowing the US to get involved in a joint fight against terrorism is that it offers support to the UN leadership in combating terrorism. Terrorism is an international, not a national, threat. Currently the security of the US and the other nations rely on the cooperation between the UN and US so as to come up with and maintain a lasting global strategy that would manage and ultimately do away with terrorism globally. The US has to be on the fore front in making a strong and reliable effort in working with the UN on issues to do with security and allocate forces, intelligence and economic backing. It has support the global community against terror.
Will the war on terror ever end?
It is not possible to think of an end of war unless we are aware of the objective in the first place. Taking to fact the range of implications of the war, it is vivid that it can come to an end, however with consideration that this is another form of war. Victory will be acquired not if foreign leaders agree on some issues but political transformations do away with the backing form notions and methods of the people that are keen to destroy the US (Smith and Thomas, 219). It will not come to end if all of the terrorists or potentials are caught, but when the ideology of these groups are shunned, when their methods have not succeeded and when they get other new ways to acquire the respect and chances that they seek, reaching this objective may not bring about additional terrorism, rather a decline to a level that would not impact the normal citizen. This will make the terrorist be sure that their efforts have been fruitless and sustaining their effort would be futile.
Conclusion
The threat posed by terrorism has greatly evolved since the twin attacks in September 11 and it is bound to go on to change in time to come. So as to handle effectively, the US is putting in place a number of efforts of its own as well as in cooperation with other countries in ridding the world of this plague. This involves intelligence, resources and military training in detection and deterring the threats.
In the last decade, urgency has risen among the US and other nations to counter terrorism. Currently, the US is experiencing a difficult and changing setting than there initially, and still as the terrorism continue to evolve efforts are already in place handle them
Work Cited
O’Brien, Lauren. The Evolution of Terrorism since 9/11, 2011. Acquired from: http://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/law-enforcement-bulletin/september- 2011/the-evolution-of-terrorism-since-9-11
Smith, James and Thomas, William. The Terrorism Threat and US Government Response: Operational and Organizational Factors, 2001, USAF Institute for National Security Studies US Air Force Academy: Colorado.
