Border Security and Transatlantic Counter-Terrorism Measures

In our past history, The United States Customs and border officials have been focused on relatively common matters of enforcing laws regarding trade and immigration, watching over agriculture and economic interests from pest and disease, and processing people, vehicles and goods. After the terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001, the primary concern was the homeland security. The threat of terrorists and terrorist tools coming through our borders all add to an increased set of dangers to The United States. Is it the responsibility of our United States Military to defend our country from these threats? The following myths are often understood as true, when in fact they are not.

Today, domestic terrorism is one of the major threats to the national security of the US. Since 9/11, the US intelligence services and law enforcement agencies viewed international terrorism as the major threat to the public security of the US but the threat of domestic terrorism has been underestimated. At any rate, American law enforcement agencies conduct active campaigns to prevent international terrorism but domestic terrorism become a serious threat to the national security of the US. In such a way, the US needs to develop effective strategies to prevent the rise of domestic terrorism. Otherwise, the US may face a threat of the consistent growth of domestic terrorism as do some European countries, such as the UK, for instance. Therefore, law enforcement agencies should focus their attention on the prevention of domestic terrorism because, even though domestic terrorism is unseen, it may be even more dangerous than international terrorism. Domestic terrorists undermine the country from within, while international terrorists attack the US from the outside and the US can raise barriers to protect Americans from the foreign threat, while domestic terrorism needs effective work of law enforcement agencies nationwide. Therefore, domestic terrorism is a serious threat to the national security of the US and American law enforcement agencies along legislators and the public have to unite their efforts in the struggle against domestic terrorism.

Using the concepts of security, terrorism and risk learnt in this unit, critically evaluate the record of global counter-terrorism measures since the 9/11 attacks.

So far, terrorism has been a key obstacle to many foreign nations, as they are struggling to prevent terrorist attacks. From the year of 1997 up to the year of 2003, international terrorist attacks have gone from less than 500 to almost 3000. Overall, global terrorism has grown by almost 1200% from 1997 to 2003. (Johnston 1). This massive increase in terrorism reflects on other nations' lack of control of the safety of their nation. These statistics also show that something needs to be done to protect the

Terrorism has been one of the major concerns of the entire world; however, the incident of 9/11 entirely changed the perception of governments towards the issue of terrorism. In this regard, the United States of America has significantly improvised its approach towards dealing with terrorism. The approach of the U.S. is also justifiable as the United States is the only country that had to face the maximum ramifications caused by terrorism as thousands of people have lost their lives in multiple terrorist acts. Moreover, the U.S. has also tolerated the loss of billions of dollars in the shape of loss of capital, and investing in improved military and intelligence services. Despite of all these efforts, the U.S. has always felt the threat of terrorist activities; based on this fact, the government and legislature of the United States of America has enacted many acts of Congress to ensure the security of the residents, capital, and assets of the country. Out of various strategies to make United States a safer country, the Security and Accountability for Every (SAFE) Port Act in considered the most imperative yet debated topic among the politicians as well as the public of the U.S.

The most important, and most difficult, challenge for the country--Congress as well as the President--is to create an anti-terrorism coalition in Europe, Asia, and Africa, as well as the Middle East that will suppress terrorist conspiracies at their roots. This cannot be done by the United States and NATO from outside, but must be done internally through effective law-enforcement and education by governments, many of which we have been at odds with over a whole range of issues. To induce neutral, indifferent, and even traditionally hostile governments to effectively stop terrorist conspiracies, to deploy sufficient police effort to law-enforcement, to share intelligence information, and to cooperate securely in trans-border investigations, will require significant inducements. This will be the hard part.

Despite being the superpower of the world, the United States of America does not enjoy any exception from the global threats and challenges. The people in denial of such global threats finally woke up to the reality on the dawn of September 11th, 2001, when terrorists struck American financial hub in the city of New York. A badly shaken nation shocked by the magnitude of brutality quickly assembled behind its president to pass a legislation, known as the USA Patriot Act, to tackle internal and external threats to this nation on a war footing basis. The haste with which this legislation was passed made it controversial almost immediately. No doubt, the intent was valid and there was an absolute need to tackle threats to the homeland, however,

This is an APA formatted essay of the Department of Homeland Security and its major role it play within and outside the borders of the United States of America. The essay is outlined to follow prompts requested by Professor Dr. Audrey Heffron Casserleigh. Does the United States’ involvement in International Organizations (The UN, NATO, WTO, etc) and international treaties negatively or positively affect our Homeland Security? Why is this the case? Chose a Homeland Security law, portion of law (ie a portion of the USA PATRIOT Act) or policy that we discussed in class. Briefly describe this, and explain if you believe it is a useful (or not useful) tool in homeland security.

President Obama’s speech this Sunday really wasn’t all that bad. Mr. Obama talked about the border threat of terrorism, and how we can keep our country safe. He also talked about how we have been to war with terrorist ever since al Qaeda. Al Qaeda killed almost 3,000 people, on September 1999. The United States has kept a handle on keeping our nation safe, from big terrorist threats, to mass shootings, but we are slacking on the little things. The mass shootings are extremely ridiculous, and they need to figure something out.

Similarly, the international importance of the international efforts in the homeland security participation cannot be neglected. The international partners who work hand in hand with the homeland security include multilateral organizations and the global businesses. In so doing, the homeland security is able to actively participate in the strengthening security of the networks of the global trade and travel that are core economic feature of the country. By working with the international organizations, aviation industry and the international governments, the homeland security has been very successful in the enhancement of the airports' security in the U.S. and across the various regions abroad. Hence, the collaboration with the international

Following the tragic attacks of 9/11, the United States invested heavily in institutional entities designed to combat terrorism (Lum, Kennedy & Sherley, 2006:4). Across the pond in Europe, the attack led to an increased sense of vulnerability and the region is still perceived as a key target for both foreign and domestic terrorists (Shaffer, 2016:383). Recent attacks such as those in Stockholm, Nice and Westminster unquestionably bring about a perceived increase in the gravity of the terror threat. Whilst the increase of such attacks is undeniable, the statistical likelihood of becoming a casualty of a terrorist attack is much smaller than that of drowning in your own bathtub (Mueller, 2005:28).

The 9/11 incident crippled the American economy and its impact is still felt at present times. Following this tragedy, a commission was initiated by President George W. Bush and the congress to investigate the reasons behind the bombing and provide recommendations to help avert such occurrences in the future. Therefore, this paper discusses the impact of making the US border more secure, the rationale behind replacing the "need to know" with the "need to share". Moreover, the paper highlights the DOD's role the role in border and coastal security, its relationship with the Department of Homeland Security and how DOD supports civil authorities.

As a direct consequence of September 11, a number of substantial challenges lie ahead in the area of counter-terrorism..   The most prominent of these is the changing nature of the terrorism phenomenon.  In past years, when terrorism was largely the product of direct state sponsorship, policymakers were able to diminish prospects for the United States becoming a target using a combination of diplomatic and military instruments to deter potential state sponsors.  Today, however, many terrorist organizations and individuals act independently from former and present state sponsors, shifting to other sources of support, including the development of transnational networks.

(Labyle and Long 2009 as cited by Bures, Ten Years of EU’s Fight against Terrorist Financing: A Critical Assessment 2015)”

The establishment of the European Union (EU) solidified a united political, economic, and defensive front creating a Supranational Organization (Lucas, 1999, no page). With the assistance of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the United States, the EU has developed a comprehensive security strategy responsible for leading the coalition’s objectives for mutual solidarity, global stabilization, and defense. To address security threats both regionally and globally set forth by the European Security Strategy (ESS), considerations were developed which encompass both cultural domains of geography and development.