Abstract
The United States has been a victim of terrorism severally. However, the most devastating event happened on eleventh September 2001. Since then, all the security agencies in the United States were placed on high alert regarding the terrorism situation. Unfortunately, some of the terrorists have devised methods of breaching the security placed by the government. In such cases, the security agencies are forced to deal with the terrorists from inside the country. This is both a difficult and risky situation as the lives of civilians are risked in the war against the terrorists. Astechnology develops, the terrorists are finding more sophisticated methods of infiltrating the country’s security. However, the government must also better the devices used by the terrorists to win the war against terrorism. As will be shown in this paper, there is a lot of preparedness needed for the government to conquer the terrorists.
- Based on the above, what steps would you take regarding prevention and where?
Terrorism prevention refers to the deliberate steps taken by government agencies to ensure that terrorism acts do not take place within the soils of the United States of America. These deliberate actions include the enactment of laws that define a terrorist and the methods through which a terrorist would be dealt with. There are several processes involved in terrorism prevention. These processes are counter terrorism and antiterrorism. Antiterrorism is the defensive act of preventing terrorism attacks from happening. In this case, the security agencies arm themselves and gather intelligence on the likelihood of an attack happening. Once the possibility is identified, they take measures that make it difficult for the terrorists to launch an attack. For counter terrorism, the government security agencies gather information about the source of the potential threat. Once this is done, the agencies move in to eliminate the threats. This can be done through capture or killing of the potential terrorists.
When a potential threat to national security is identified, the first thing is to access the level of danger this threat may cause. In our case, the four threats re in public areas. These areas are to be used by high ranking government officials to give speeches. Therefore, these bombs can easily lead to the deaths of thousands of people. After the assessment, the cases are assigned priorities according to their level of risk. For this case, it should be assigned a code yellow. This is because it is already established that the threat is likely to occur. Also, if the threat were to occur, it would occur in a public area placing the lives of thousands of people in danger. Finally, to avert the danger, the security agencies responsible in the case of terrorism should be informed to move in and deal with the situation.
The four places described in the case have the similarity of being public areas. All the places could hold over ten thousand people at a go. Tyson’s Corner Mall is unique in that besides civilians; the area is also frequented by military personnel. An attack on this site would e a blow to the USA armed forces. The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is the largest venue described in the case. This area holds almost one hundred thousand people at a go. If this area were to be hit, the lives of many women would be lost.
- What agencies, departments and organizations should be contacted and why? What would their role be and what suggestions do you have for coordination?
In the case, the CIA should be one of the agencies to be contacted. The role of the CIA is to gather information about crimes happening outside the country. As such, CIA has the capability of investigating the hideouts of terrorists inside and outside the country. CIA also understands the nature in which these people are armed. This is obtained through a thorough study of the methods used by terrorist in their previous attacks. With such information, the security agencies within the country are able to amply prepare for the terrorists. The Counter Terrorism Center in the CIA is specialized in dealing with matters of terrorism. This should be a very resourceful sector in terms of methods of dealing with the terrorism menace. The second group that should be involved in this issue is the FBI. FBI has the duty of investigating every issue that is happening within the soils of the USA. While the CIA can provide a lot of information on the trends of the terrorists and their operation bases around the world, FBI is in a position to trace the route used by the terrorists inside the country. Therefore, using this knowledge it is easy to pick the terrorists fro the crowd. Finally, the department of homeland security should be alerted on the issue. This is the department that is charged with ensuring that all the American citizens are safe within their country. The department of Homeland security has set up an elaborate plan on how it fightsagainst terrorists. The department fights terrorists through all the avenues possible. It is active in ensuring that unauthorized persons do not enter the country through road, air or water. With this position, the department has the ability of either preventing the terrorists from entering the country or from committing the crime.
Once these agencies have been informed of the impending danger, they must be properly coordinated to ensure that the threat is well handled. As the Agency that collects information fro other countries, the CIA should share all the information it has on terrorists with the FBI. This information is added up to the existing information by the FBI. With this, a clear picture on the terrorists is created. It becomes easy to trace the activities of the terrorists right from outside the country to their activities inside the country. The FBI uses this information to supplement their information. It completes the dots on the activities of persons with mysterious actions in its database. Using the intelligence gathered, FBI should give the department of homeland security a comprehensive report on the terrorists. Time is of the essence in this activity. Each of the participants mentioned above must act with a lot of urgency to ensure that the activities happen in good time before damage is done.
- What specific steps would you take regarding each of these locations? How would your plans regarding prevention and mitigation change?
Since the potential threats are already in the country, the department of homeland security must move in to alert unsuspecting citizens. The department of homeland security and the attorney general has the obligation of alerting the members of the public about any terrorists roaming the country. Therefore, the first step is for the department to announce the Threat Condition in the various parts of the country. The public should be furnished with information such as pictures to help the security agencies in looking for the people in question. The public should also be informed on the areas to keep away from.
The events prepared for cannot continue as scheduled for. Since one of the suspected terrorist’s car was found in Mclean, it is important to cancel the event that was scheduled to take place in Mclean. Terrorists are known to hit areas that have a high number of people. The place under the highest threat of attack is the Galleria mall in the Mexican boarder. This is because president Barrack Obama is due to give a speech in this area. However, if the president of the United States of America were to cancel an event because suspected terrorists were seen crossing the Mexican border, it would send a message that even the USA is afraid of terrorists. To make a bold statement, security should be enhanced in that area to ensure that the event continues without hitches.Bomb experts should be sent to the place to ensure that the security agencies are ready to disarm any bomb that might be launched in the area. Finally, in all the areas identified as potential sources of threats, the security men and women should be deployed all the way from the peripheries of the buildings to the building itself. Thorough checking of people should be done. Metal detectors and police dogs can also be deployed to look for the criminals in the crowds.
- Would you inform local agencies and officials and if so, how?
I will inform the local authorities about the situation on the ground. One advantage of the local authorities is that they are familiar with their areas of operation. Beside the terrain, they also know the locals. Once the department of homeland security establishes that there are foreigners in the country, it should inform the local authorities. To ensure that the information is passed on discreetly and it is handled with the urgency it deserves; the department of homeland security should make a point of arranging for a security briefing with the local security bosses. In the meeting, information about the terrorists is shared. This information helps the local authorities in their endeavors to corporate with the national security agencies in identifying the criminals living among the locals.
- Describe and discuss how you would go about putting together a plan to respond to this event.
In both events, the first thing to do is to appoint an evacuation leader. This is the person who will be in-charge of the rescue mission. With the help of a team that is comprised of fire fighters, members of the Red Cross, medical personnel from hospitals in the locality, security officers and selected members of the public, a rescue mission must be set up. The first aim of the rescue mission is to save lives. Therefore, all the people who are still alive must be reached,and frantic efforts made to ensure that they do not die. The medical practitioners in the vicinity give them basic first aid before they are taken to the nearest hospital. The fire fighters must also ensure that there are no fires destroying property. In the event of a disaster, security agents are important when it comes to managing the crowds. Some of the people may choose this opportunity to loot while others may start other forms of bad behavior. The available security agents must ensure that calm is maintained in the rescue process and that no unauthorized civilians approach the scene of thecrime. The national government should also be petitioned to increase the number of security agents in the area to ensure that the rescue mission takes the shortest time possible.
F. What steps would be needed for recovery, including media management? Please be specific.
Finally, a recovery process should be put in place. The mainaim of the process should be to restore the victims of the bomb blast to their original position physically, psychologically and financially. First, a media center must be put in place. This center has several purposes. First, it is used to give information to the public about the disaster. This way, the public has a trustworthy source of information instead of relying on multiple sources that differ. Second, the center is used to update the friends and relative of the victims on the progress of the rescue mission. Those who are missing relatives know whether they are in hospital or they have not been found. Also, the media center receives information from people about the possible location of a victim. Through interaction with some of the victims, the center conveys to the rescuers information on people who may still be trapped in the building. After creation of a media center, a fund should be acquired from the government to cover the costs of the damages undergone in the disaster. The first purpose of these funds is to clear the hospital bills of all the victims of the bomb blast. Once this has been done, the other purpose of the fund is to restore the financial independence of the victims. Some of the individuals were either employed or had their own business enterprises. Therefore, the government should give them the ability to earn again. For those will extensive damages, some money is set aside as pension to live on. Others are awarded cash to restart their entrepreneurial activities. The final process of recovery is helping the victims to recover from trauma. In this case, psychologists and psychiatrists are deployed to offer guidance and counseling to the victims until they regain stable mental conditions.
references
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Homeland Security. (2013). The Homeland Security Advisory System. Retrieved September 8, 2013, from The National Terror Alert Response Center: http://www.nationalterroralert.com/homeland-security/
Mueller, R. S. (2006, September 12). Speeches: Fighting Terrorism Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow. Retrieved September 8, 2013, from The Federal Bureau of Investigation: http://www.fbi.gov/news/speeches/fighting-terrorism-yesterday-today-and-tomorrow
US Department of Health and Human Services. (2004). Community Planning Toolkit for State Emergency Preparedness Managers. Retrieved September 8, 2013, from US Department of Health and Human Services: http://www.hhs.gov/od/disabilitytoolkit/
Yang, C. (2005, March). The Protection of Public Facilities against Terrorist Attacks. Retrieved September 8, 2013, from ProQuest: http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/homeland/overview.php
