Introduction
The federal government of United States established Homeland security in an aim to promote lawful existence in the country. Basically, Homeland security acts as an American security umbrella since it covers the whole country to prevent terrorist attacks. They have a vital mission to enhance security inside United States borders from the threats terrorism. Terrorism has been known as the logical use of terror, violence as a mean of coercion. Domestic terrorism associates violence against the citizen population or the nations’ infrastructure caused by the civilians. The civilians have the intention to intimidate and influence the national policy.
The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) also known as the Klan, is an anti-Semitic, racist movement that has commitment to extreme violence with aims to achieve its goals and objectives of racial isolation and white supremacy. It was founded in 1886, by Captain John C. Lester who was in Confederate Civil War Veterans during reconstruction at the end of civil war; The Klan has remained as the only group that has the greatest number of local and national organization around the country. In its long history of violence and most hated group in America, it is associated with torture of black Americans who were typically the Klan primary target. The Klan mobilizes the civilians of southern (the whites) region mostly dominated by the blacks as vigilante group who would give them a hand in preventing black citizens from enjoying their basic civil rights.
Ideologies
An ideology is basically a set of ideas that is conscious to constitute the Klan objectives and goals. These include;
The white supremacy where the Klan argue that the white were superior in such way that they would politically dominated the blacks. White nationalism is a political ideology that promotes ethnic definition of identity among white people. Nativism goes to immigrants because the inhibitors demand a favor in political positions, commonly referred to as a sociopolitical policy. The Ku Klux Klan oppose communism.
According to Randel (1994), the Ku Klux Klan use Christian terrorism mostly; this went to Catholics and Jews on the South. As a result, there was opposition to Catholicism. This was the ideology that made many civilians loss their lives since the Klan used to burn and bomb churches.
Anti-Semitism discrimination against Jews due to their way of worshiping or Jewish heritage is rampant. Neo-fascism is a political philosophy and movement that arose in the United States during the civil war, the Klan used it to bring up significant elements of fascism.
Structure of the group
The Klan structure involves its organization and membership. The first Klan was established by six men who were from Pulaski Tennessee. Each Klan has its own headquarters and is divided into chapters. The Klan uses hierarchical way of ruling which is housed under a national umbressa structure. It uses title structure in the officer structure which was laid in 1868 document (MacLean 1994). The Klan was and remains even to date organized as a brotherhood and has national and states organization. In 150 Klan chapters it is believed to have over 8000 members.
Targets
The Klan basically targeted those were set free during the America civil war. This means that blacks are the main targets and white republicans. During early days of the ethnic cleansing, as estimated, 1297 whites and 3446 blacks were confirmed died at the end of Ku Klux Klan ropes between the years 1882 to 1964. In the early 20th century, Klan believed to cause violence by burning crosses, bombing and among other attacks which took many lives by then. Majority of Ku Klux Klan groups took an advantage of the fear and uncertainty that the citizen were having, hence used the advantage propaganda and recruitment purposes and to attract publicity. The civilians were burned in churches, raped, murdered and castrated. However the blacks tried to fight back using their non-violent methods. For instant in the year 1963, there was bombing of the 16th street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama where four little girls were killed in that bombing. Their aim was President Johnson to sign the Civil Rights Act of the year 1964.
Tactics
Since the Klan was established by learned founders, they used various strategies to intimidate their targets. They used pointed hoods and white robes to hide their identities. This was used to symbolize the ghosts of bitter confederate combatants. Klan members, who were completely Anglo-Saxon Protestants, embraced Christian allegory in their rites. As way to intimidate, they burn crosses that they lodged near the households of the targets to instill horror. Other scaring tactics include night rides by gangs of Klansmen, lies on the outside of black communities, and burning. When those strategies failed to work, the Klan used physical attacks, including lynching, beatings, and raping. The Klan also took an advantage early in 1960s since the prosperity of the economy started to decline which resulted to hardship in coping with daily life since America.
The USA homeland is at a constant threat of terrorist attacks from extremists due to the military activities in the Middle East and the hate acts in the name of ethnic cleansing perpetrated by groups such as the Ku Klux Klan. This has prompted the government to step up security issues at home to guarantee safety of the American people. Initial steps in responding to terror threats involved the creation of the department of homeland security that deals with internal security concerns. The department of homeland security has devised various policies that are aimed at ensuring the country becomes a secure place to live. The policies are aimed at reducing the crimes and also dealing with the aftermaths of such terrorist attacks. The main policies that are adopted in terrorism prevention are;
Improve intelligence services
The department has dispatched a lot of field officers to deal with upcoming threats and monitor the magnitude of the threat. As such, the homeland security department can afford to contain crimes that are being planned in advance. Intelligence officers are usually disguised and are not easily detected and can easily het into the plans of the terrorist. This makes it easy to monitor their activities. The government use of intelligence services does not compromise the privacy of citizens. Nevertheless, security cannot be compromised by individuals who privately engage in terror acts.
The government has also embarked on a policy to store all the phone records in the USA. This is directly aimed at detecting terrorist conversations. Phone intelligence also assists in racking of individual perpetrators since it is a requirement that all the subscribers be registered. Despite many criticisms, phone intelligence is very accurate and critical in homeland security.
The government has employed effective intelligence in countering the activities of Ku Klux Klan. In many instances, the security personnel use insiders’ to gather critical information and evidence against the members of the group. This makes the authorities fully aware of the impending threats therefore action can be fruitful.
Effective response and incident management
Responding to terror attack is vital to saving lives. The government of the United States through the department of homeland security has a policy of prompt response to terror attacks to enable timely rescue and possible apprehension of suspects. As such, the department can be in a good position to mitigate the effects and the magnitude of damage as a result of the attack. Ku Klux Klan violence is very destructive since it involves massacre of people considered unwanted in the USA. As such, the government has ensured timely response to their crimes to save life and property.
Protecting critical infrastructure
DHS has invested in security on important institution and infrastructure. There is enough security to areas that are deemed to attract terrorist attacks. Areas that are congested or full of public activities like schools airports and important buildings are allocated enough protection to reduce terror risks. This policy has been topped up by proper scrutiny of air cargo to prevent inflow of dangerous weapons to the US. Terror groups which depend on external supplies can be slowed by this policy (Hannity 2004).
Like other terrorist groups, the Ku Klux Klan attack on areas where the impact will be greatest. As such, the government measure to reduce threats on main venues is a comprehensive measure.
Global anti-terror campaign
The government of the United States has embarked on a policy to attack any terror elements anywhere around the globe. Some terror threats in the USA are fueled by external elements and this it is good measure to terminate such links. External terror lords are the main suppliers of weapons in the USA. They also use proxies to train local sympathizers on how to make improvised explosives commonly referred to as IEDs.
The Ku Klux Klan uses crude weapons like machetes, firearms and improvised devices. The illegal weapons and technical knowhow is reported to be obtained abroad. The group has established branches in Europe and Australia therefore enjoys a huge number of sympathizers. In this regard, the government policy of scrutiny of all the incoming cargo has gone a long way in combating the activities of the Ku Klux Klan.
Suspicious activity detection and reporting
The suspicious activity reporting initiative dubbed Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting Initiative has enabled local leaders to detect the acts and sighs of terror activities. The DHS has developed programs that train the local agencies on detection of the Ku Klux Klan members and their style of attacks. The police and other local authorities engage the public through information sharing on the whereabouts and the activities of the group (Wenger 2007)
Conclusion
In a nutshell, the US government has taken enough efforts to ensure that terrorism threats do not threaten citizen within the borders of the country. Creation of agencies and the DHS in combating domestic terrorism have gone a long way in reducing the terror threats. The control that is exhibited the government has succeeded in discouraging potential criminals from attacking the country.
References
Kamien, D. G. (2006). The McGraw-Hill homeland security handbook. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Hannity, S. (2004). Deliver us from evil: Defeating terrorism, despotism, and liberalism. New York: ReganBooks.
MacLean, N. (1994). Behind the mask of chivalry: The making of the second Ku Klux Klan. New York: Oxford University Press
Randel, W. P. (1965). The Ku Klux Klan: A century of infamy. Philadelphia: Chilton Books. Chalmers, D. M. (1987). Hooded Americanism: The history of the Ku Klux Klan. Durham: Duke University Press
Wade, W. C. (1987). The fiery cross: The Ku Klux Klan in America. New York: Simon and Schuste
Zimmermann, D., & Wenger, A. (2007). How states fight terrorism: Policy dynamics in the West. Boulder, Colo: Lynne Rienner Publishers.
