Preventing Terrorism

Preventing Terrorism in the United States

What Could Be Done?

• Fighting terrorism in America does not have a clear method of prevention.
• Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton believes increased surveillance will fight terrorism. She says she wants help from big technology companies to help "interrupt terror plots."
• On a phone call with CNN, Donald Trump said that to deal with the terrorists you have to take out their families. 
• Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders believes war should be avoided at all costs when stopping terrorism. 

Advancements in Technologies:

Security at transportation companies, and cargo transport facilities are increasing their security at the borders and points of entry. 

• Detection of weapons and explosives
• Preventing cyber networks from attacks
• Increase information-sharing partnerships

Everyday People Stopping Terrorism

Teaching terrorism awareness to citizens plays a large part in preventing terrorism.

Boston bomber suspect carrying weapon in backpack.                      

                              

                                The Issue With Increased National Security

"The reality, of course, is that no matter how good a nation’s security and intelligence agencies are, they cannot prevent 100 percent of planned attacks."

To Sum Up

Terrorism is not so easily preventable. By teaching the public to report potential terrorist attacks it will prevent terrorist attacks. Current presidential candidates are debating over how to stop terrorism. Increased security and technology will also prevent terrorism.  

Sources:
https://berniesanders.com/issues/war-and-peace/
http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/02/politics/donald-trump-terrorists-families/
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/dec/06/paris-attacks-san-bernardino-shooting-surveillance-hillary-clinton-donald-trump-election
http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2013/07/60-terrorist-plots-since-911-continued-lessons-in-domestic-counterterrorism
http://www.jacksontwppa.com/terrorism.htm

Terrorism and National Security in the United States of America

..

National Security Defined

National Security is the protection of the United States from attack or other danger by holding satisfactory armed forces and guarding state secrets. National Security in the United States is run by the National Security Agency. 

The National Security Agency 

• Protects U.S. national security systems
• Produces foreign signals intelligence information 
• Utilizes code makers and code breakers
• Holds government-wide responsibilities  

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Terrorism Defined

According to 6 USCS § 101, the term terrorism is "any activity that--

(A) involves an act that--

     (i) is dangerous to human life or potentially destructive of critical infrastructure or key                 resources; and

     (ii) is a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State or other                             subdivision of the United States; and

(B) appears to be intended--

     (i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population;

     (ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or

     (iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or                               kidnapping."

.

   
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2013/09/11/nine-facts-about-terrorism-in-the-united-states-since-911/
http://uslegal.com/

What Defines Terrorism in Society?

Terrorism, a term that has been tossed around listlessly, has morphed into a word that targets a specific group of people.

In truth, terrorism is defined as the use of violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political aims.

So why are attributes such as mental illness and ethnicity factors of what defines terrorism?

In a recent shooting in Colorado Springs, Robert Lewis Dear slaughtered three people at a Planned Parenthood Clinic and defended himself by saying he was a "warrior for the babies." Now check out these tweets:

So what justifies terrorist acts? Your skin color? There are individuals who defend terrorism, but have you ever seen anyone defend the recent Paris massacre? Or moreover, the crisis of of September 11th?

To segue into "racialized terrorism," mass shootings are often correlated to mental illness.

In the notorious Charleston mass shooting, Dylann Roof was responsible for slaughtering nine people at an African American Church.

Not once was he mentioned for committing an act of terrorism.

Instead, media proposed that Roof had an isolated childhood, was obsessed with weapons, and was constantly posting on social media about how he wanted to hurt himself and hurt others.

But realistically, he was a self-proclaimed white supremacist who had derogatory views on African Americans.

To reiterate, terrorism are acts of violence pursued towards a specific group of people to prove a political viewpoint.

So why is terrorism justified due to your race? Why is there a fine line that divides what terrorism is and isn't?

Source:
http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/09/us/colorado-planned-parenthood-shooting/

http://www.newsweek.com/charleston-massacre-mental-illness-common-thread-mass-shootings-344789

School Shootings - Terrorism in Education

 

 America woke up to the terror within school districts on April 20th, 1999 as Columbine High School was under attack by its own students. Since the start of 2015, there have been 52 school shootings in America and the number continues to climb. The death toll continues to rise decade after decade ever since the 1927 Bath School Bombing in Michigan. However, school shootings date as far back to 1860, but there's a fine line between a single killing and a mass killing.

School shootings have been weekly in the US in 2015 as in some countries it is completely unheard of. Originally, it would take four victims to be killed to be defined as a "mass killing" however, president Obama changed that to three. Columbine High School is infamous for being possibly the most significant mass killing in schools. They raided the school in their black trench coats with their shotguns and killed 13 and injured 21. Surveillance cameras capture explosives being thrown and the two charging in to kill. After the massacre, the two committed suicide. Although their motives are unknown, just like most mass killers, some claim they wanted to rival the Oklahoma City Bombing which happened 4 years earlier on April 19th, 1995, a day before the school shooting.

 

As seen in the graphs above, the days between mass shootings have greatly decreased, starting in late 2011. Keep in mind that "mass shooting" is a much broader term than "school shooting", which clearly specifies in educational institutions. Despite the fact, the number is frightening. Mass shootings this year have been in a total of 47 states, leaving a death toll of 462. The reason for the increase is still unknown, as mental illness is typically used as a reason for the killer's actions. Studies have been conducted, and mental illness has decreased over the years.

With the horrors of mass shootings, the issue of gun violence has taken the spotlight in politics. However, it has been three years since the Sandy Hook killings and still, nothing has been done to end the violence of mass shootings.

Virginia Tech (April 16th, 2007) - 33 dead - 25 injured

Sandy Hook Elementary (December 14th, 2012) -  28 dead - 2 injured

Umpqua Community College (October 1st, 2015) - 10 dead - 9 injured

All shooters committed suicide.

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/10/mass-shootings-increasing-harvard-research

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/12/03/458321777/a-tally-of-mass-shootings-in-the-u-s

Terrorism and National Security, 1960s and the Cold War

Terrorism and National Security

1960s and the Cold War

• Cold War raging against USSR

• Billions of dollars spent on Department of Defense, weapons research, CIA coups, intelligence, and international projection

• Puppet nations created in Middle East, all with varying degrees of loyalty to either US or USSR

• Rising ethnic tensions in Cold War puppet states lead to nationalism movements against USSR and the West
• Basis for terrorist organizations grew in Cold War
• CIA funneled money into groups in the Middle East to fight Soviet Union in interest of national security and anti-communism
• United States fights Vietnam War to slow spread of communism and protect image and national security
• Terror brews in United States as youth are discontented with American imperialism and controlling attitude internationally
• Youth movements such as Students for a Democratic Society split into the Weathermen Underground conducting terror operations against US government
• Black Panther Party violently erupts in support of black liberation

• Vietnam War ends 1973, falls in 1975

• Underground domestic terror cells disband with war's end, terror in US ceases
• Al-Qaeda forms from CIA-trained Middle Easterners, 1988
• US remains strong in world, Soviet Union collapses 1989-1991

• US enjoys hegemony, protecting world as "World Policeman"

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/target/etc/modern.html

http://www.utexas.edu/lbj/21cp/isoc.htm

http://users.humboldt.edu/ogayle/Hist%20111%20Images/MapColdWarNation1959.png

http://www.hamiltonproject.org/assets/legacy/images/uploads/thp_image_uploads/charts/R_D_spending.PNG

http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/weatherunderground/movement.html
http://www.officialpsds.com/images/thumbs/BLACK-PANTHER-PARTY-psd23429.png
https://carryingthegun.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/fall-of-saigon1.jpg
http://www.cfr.org/terrorist-organizations-and-networks/al-qaeda-k-al-qaida-al-qaida/p9126
http://mrwigginshistoryclass.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/end-of-the-ussr.pnghttp://www.16rounds.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/sam-osama-world-spread.jpg