On September 11, 2001 a national tragedy struck the nation. The terrorist group, al-Qaeda, hijacked 4 passenger airlines and performed multiple suicide attacks at locations such as New York and Washington, D.C. This event struck fear in the American people as this was the largest event that caused the highest lost of lives from a foreign attack on the country. Following the event, the national government was forced to act quickly. The incumbent president at the time, George W. Bush, was left with a difficult task on how to deal with this threat and possible future threats. He worked with Congress to come up with multiple measures they could implement to prevent future events of terrorism. In the documentary “Are We Safer”, Richard Clarke …show more content…
The DHS decided to fix that problem by funding and building fusion centers throughout the nation. Information from federal databases to local police forces would all be connected and analyzed at these centers. On paper, the fusion centers provide a new and efficient way for the nation to deal with future terrorist threats. However, in application, there are numerous occurrences where the fusion centers have been ineffective in actually preventing terrorism. On December 25, 2009 Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab attempted to detonate explosives on board a passenger airline. National Counterterrorism Center Director Michael Leiter said “Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab should not have stepped onto a plane on Christmas Day. The counterterrorism system collectively failed and I along with Director [of National Intelligence Dennis] Blair and Secretary [of Homeland Security Janet] Napolitano and others want to tell you and the American people the same thing we told the president, that we have to do better” (qtd. in Voice of America). The Fusions that the DHS heavily funded did not prevent this act of terrorism and what’s more is that it was normal citizens that stopped the bomber from accomplishing his goal. Investigations later revealed because his name was misspelled, the fusions could not connect the data they had on him and he was able to not raise any red flags (Are We Safer).
Another event with much similar results is the Times Square bomber on May 1, 2010. An attempt on setting a
September 11, 2001, will forever be remembered as a day of tragedy for the United States as an act of terrorism killed roughly 3,000 people at the World Trade Center, and 200 at the Pentagon. Terrorists hijacked four separate aircraft that day, two planes were crashed into the north and south tower of the World Trade Center in New York, one was crashed into the Pentagon in Virginia, and the last one crashed into a field where it was believed that passengers disrupted the hijackers, causing the aircraft to crash before reaching its target. Both towers eventually fell, and this attack brought about the beginning of many changes for the United States, that had a ripple effect onto other nations. On September 20th, Bush called for an emergency joint session of the US Congress where he announced the creation of the Department of Homeland Security (MacFarlane, P. J., 2017). Along with this new department came the development of several measures that were implemented to prevent future attacks. Although the terrorist attacks of 9/11 were devastating and caused turmoil and unrest for the United States, even to present day, there were some positive outcomes to be had from this event.
September 11, 2001 was a day that everyone who was old enough to remember will remember for the rest of their lives. I was in the fourth grade when the World Trade Centers were crashed into. I remember our principal coming on the intercom and saying that we were not allowed to turn our televisions on. I did not understand the magnitude of the situation until I got home and my parents explained it to me. I remember that every plane I saw over my head scared me and I was afraid that a plane was going to be crashed into my home or school. The general population reaction to the attack was that of hysteria and worry. People were afraid of flying. People also feared that this was only the precursor to an even bigger attack that was being planned on the United States. The public wanted someone to blame for the incident and they wanted to know why the government had not prevented the attack if they had been given intelligence that an attack might happen. The years leading up to this terrible day in history were full of tough decisions. No one can say that the government was not interested in terrorism at all. They had small departments in the FBI and CIA that looked at and interpreted terrorism related intelligence. The decisions the government had to make changed the United States forever. There was not one factor that defined how the government dealt with terrorism collectively. The government had to take into account not only the actions to take against
DHS has supported this idea of intelligence centers or information analysis centers by having a “renewed commitment to creating a robust, nationwide network of fusion centers to share and analyze data on citizens and others.”1 As of 2009 DHS contributes 254 million in funding to sate and local
On September 11, 2001, the United States witnessed horrific attacks of terrorism better known as “9/11.” On the morning of 9/11, a terrorist organization known as Al Qaeda, hijacked four different commercial planes; two of them attacking the Twin Towers in New York City, one of them attacking the Pentagon in Washington D.C., and one of them crashing onto a rural field of Pennsylvania. Over 3,000 people were killed in these attacks, making it the largest terrorist attack in US history. As soon as these attacks occurred, US citizens concerned and feared for their safety, and questioned President Bush’s leadership. There were people who believed in Bush’s leadership, and there were people who blamed Bush for the attacks of 9/11.
On September 11, 2001 an attack on America’s World trade centers were targeted for attack. 19 suicide bombers connected with the the extremist group al-Qaeda hijacked four airliners and attempted suicide attacks against targets within the U.S. Two planes were flown into the world Trade Center towers in New York City. a 3rd plane hit the Pentagon outside of Washington, D.C and also the fourth plane crashed into a field in Pennsylvania. This fourth plane was believed that the terrorists on that plane intended to destroy the White House or another main target like the U.S. Capitol. Passengers on the plane resisted these terrorists from killing many more americans and stopped them before they hit anything and prevented them from reaching their goal. In all, nearly 3,000 people were killed in the 9/11 attacks. The causes of this attack are not directly known but the attacks were assumed to weaken America emotionally and also because of America's involvement with Iraq. This attack created many long lasting effects on the United stated in many thing like Surveillance, Airport Security, Immigration and Deportation, and also the economy was affected. The attacks that were carried out had a lasting impact that will give America more security.
The formation of fusion centers is a step in the right direction to countering terrorist threats. By working efficiently and appropriately, information leading to arrests can be shared across county lines, state lines, and all around the world in a timely manner. Fusion centers can make law enforcement agencies more competent and effective in stopping crimes (to include terrorist attacks) before they take place. As long as the centers follow the laws they are governed by, they will remain ethical and can be a helpful addition in protecting the United States. Fusion centers in the United States perform a valuable role in countering terrorist threats, their positive influence far
On September 11th, hijackers took over four planes; collided into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, Pentagon, and the fourth into a field near Skanksville, Pennsylvania. 2,973 victims and the 19 hijackers died in a result of these attacks. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11_attacks) They were conceived to be a range of suicides by al-Qaeda. In return, Americans assembled together like never before. The Nation was in need of answers and subject to vulnerability. The president at the time, George W. Bush, launched the War On Terror and also put into effect the Patriot Act.
-To those of you who are still unaware, every day we are under the threat of both external and internal threats to our society. For example many still remember the tragedy of 9/11; many innocent lives were lost that day and many attribute the blame to poor information sharing between agencies. Fusion centers were the answer to prevent
On September 11, 2001 terrorists from Saudi Arabia hijacked four airplane lines that had passengers on board. Two of them suicide crashed straight into the two towers that made up the World Trade Center. The other two was meant to target the Pentagon, but one of the planes made it. This was one of the first direct and most damaging terrorist attacks that the United States had encountered in American History. To the American public, this was a very emotional and eye opening experience that their nation was not invincible. When President Bush had to address the nation over this, it was clear that he would not turn his back on domestic policy and start making changes to American foreign policy in
The September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center spawned the formation of different tactics and strategy on countering terrorism. One of the plans is to create a Fusion Center. There were plans and trainings in place prior to the attacks in 2001, however the information gathered were not shared or utilized properly. Fusion Centers were established across the country between 2003 to 2007 by local, state and federal law enforcement.
Homeland Security is the intersection of evolving threats and hazards with traditional government and its responsibilities for civil defense emergency response law enforcement, customs border control and immigration. Moreover, the term “enterprise” is a national effort that refers to the collective efforts and shared responsibilities of federal, state local, tribal, territorial, nongovernmental and private-sector partners as well as individuals ( U.S. Department of Homland Security, 2010). Since the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, the concept of National Intelligence was arranged by the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004. As that was formulated, the IC community was known to be more coordinated and effective. The Act also made it possible for the integration of domestic and foreign dimensions of us intelligence to eliminate gaps and understanding national security threats. Also, this brought about the mission of the Department of Homeland Security and future capabilities of the department (Noftsinger, 2007).
On September 11, 2001, the United States of America was hit with the worst terrorist attack in history. An Islamic group called al-Qaeda hijacked four airliners. They flew two of them into the towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, one into the Pentagon in Washington D.C., and one into a field in Pennsylvania. When the Twin Towers fell, the footage was aired live on television and America was in shock. After an act of terrorism this tragic, the current President at the time, George W. Bush, had to address the nation. On this same day, President Bush gave a speech from the Oval Office in Washington D.C. The American people were afraid of more terrorist attacks. When Bush gave his speech, he had two main agendas: give America
Additionally, why is there some obstruction to this course of action? Department of Homeland Security originated the fusion center which is an information sharing center determined to contribute intelligence among agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Central Intelligence Agency, Department of Justice, the US military and local, state and other federal law enforcement. These agencies bring together intelligence to investigate and analyze it. According to the fusion center and guidelines, “a fusion center is a successful and proficient instrument to exchange intelligence and information that maximizes resources, streamlines operations, and improves the ability to fight crime and terrorism by evaluating data from a diversity of sources.” The importance to share information among all US intelligence agencies, law enforcement and military contributes to the prevention of the most serious crimes and cyber-crimes. Quick and accurate information is one of the advantages of information sharing. Information sharing outweighs vulnerability when being accessible to all law enforcement personnel and other intelligence agencies. Information sharing makes criminal cases run smoother in an approach that all agencies receive the required feedback from a certain case. It can be trusted and reliable after being collected and
In the State of New York, fusion center is a perfect example of information technology optimizing their performance in reducing crime within their police departments. The New York/New Jersey High Intensity Drug Trafficking Center serves as an information hub for law enforcement. According to (Johnson, 2008), the mass of intelligence data in the central location has proved to be a key factor in identifying individuals and organizations that are facilitating or carrying out terrorist activity in New York City.
On September 11, 2001 a series catastrophic events occurred in New York City, New York. Al-Qaeda planned strategically conducted events, known as suicide attacks. Nineteen al-Qaeda members hijacked four commercial airplanes, including United Airlines Flight 93, American Airlines Flight 11, American Airlines Flight 77 and United Airlines 175. Two of the planes purposely crashed into the World Trade Center buildings. In addition, another plane crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington, VA. and the fourth plane crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Those passengers on the fourth plane, United Airlines Flight 93, attempted to win control over the plane; however, there were no survivors.