Evaluation Of The Terrorist Screening Center

Developed “to deter and punish terrorist acts in the United States and around the world,

The primary initiatives of the Patriot act is to prevent terrorism by effectively utilizing already available tools; improving the information sharing process; utilizing technology to identify terrorists; and by increasing the penalties to those who commit terrorist attacks, terrorist related crimes as well as those who conspire and help terrorists (Department of Justice, n.d.). Prior to the Patriot Act, many of the tools that already existed, that could also be useful to prevent a terrorist attack but were not being used to their full potential, and that have been used for many years by law enforcement officers and federal agents to combat other crimes such as drug trafficking or murder crimes, were too difficult to utilize to combat terrorism

When discussing terrorism, the groups which most frequently come to mind are those which operate either internationally or specifically in foreign countries, such as al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, Al Shabab. However, the United States has a number of domestic terror groups some well-organized, some loosely connected that have perpetrated serious attacks over the last few decades. Al-Qaeda's attacks on September 11th, 2001, and the subsequent wars born out of the United States' response to these attacks have meant that domestic terrorism is less widely discussed topic, this does not mean that domestic terrorist groups do not present a serious threat to the United States and its citizens. By examining known terrorist organizations within the United States and their classifications, it will be possible to demonstrate how and why the country has seen a rise in domestic terror over the last three decades, as well as some possible government responses to these groups that could help to prevent individuals from joining in the first place.

Domestic Terrorism is the use of violent acts intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population in an area as a way of trying to achieve a political goal. Domestic terrorism is a broad term, and several individuals who perform these attacks do not think their acts fall under that umbrella. Whether they believe it is an act of terroristic crime or not, several attacks that have occurred in the recent years whether it had a huge impact or not, still falls under domestic terrorism. Although the Global Terrorism Database has gone to great lengths to avoid the spread of terrorist attacks, attacks are still unavoidable; there is still a homegrown rise in domestic terrorism. As a society, we must ponder and try to find the reason why domestic

The best way to prevent terrorist attacks in the future is by the gathering of information about terrorist schemes while they are in the planning process. The CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) is the agency responsible for gathering this information. Since the Watergate scandal of the 1970’s, it has been hindered both in the planning of intelligence operations and in tactics used to gather the intelligence. Intelligence operatives can never effectively help in the prevention of future attacks if they do not have the leeway necessary to gather information about such attacks while the terrorists are in the process of planning them.

As a result of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, most Americans have a general knowledge about terrorism. The U.S. military has been at war for around a decade, continuing the concentration of the media and politicians on Middle Eastern countries and terrorist groups. Consequently, the focus of the nation tends to remain on international terrorist groups rather than domestic terrorist groups. There is a vast amount of terrorism groups in America, including the Army of God, the Aryan Nations, and the Animal Liberation Front, who possess extreme ideals and exist for different reasons. The fact that there are numerous terrorist groups that are composed of American citizens performing tremendous acts of violence within the U.S. seems to go somewhat unnoticed by the general public.

In 1995, Kevin Jack Riley and Bruce Hoffman published their study Domestic Terrorism: A National Assessment of State and Local Preparedness to examine the issues and problems state and local law enforcement agencies faced while dealing with the threat of terrorism in the United States. More specifically, researchers sought to identify how agencies at those two different levels perceived the terrorist threat in the United States, as well as learning how those agencies manage the threat of terrorism and plan and organize their response to actual incidents (Riley & Hoffman, 1995). In order to collect the data needed, the study was broken down into three separate research phases: (1) a national survey of state and local law enforcement agencies designed to assess how those law enforcement agencies perceive the threat of terrorism in the United States and to identify potential anti- and counter-terrorism programs currently used by those jurisdictions; (2) the selection of ten locations, chosen after completion of survey, as case studies to examine in detail how different jurisdictions have adapted to the threat of terrorism and to explain further the anti- and counter-terrorism programs used by those jurisdictions; and (3) the identification of programs used by state and local law enforcement agencies to counter potential future threats along with the development of a prospective future research agenda (Riley & Hoffman, 1995).

The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 is a 235-page Act of Congress, signed by the president affecting the United States laws of federal terrorism. The titles and subject issues were composed to better enforce the procedures for any future terrorist’s attacks.

The missions held by homeland security and homeland defense are vital to the protection of the country against acts of terror. While relatively young programs, much has been achieved in the homeland security and homeland defense missions. To continue this success, the programs must evolve as the world evolves, and more specifically, the terrorists. To stay relevant, the Department of Homeland Security, its subordinate agencies, and the Department of Defense must evolve with the threats in a way that does not impede on civil liberties.

Terrorism exists for centuries. Domestic terrorist groups and domestic terrorism are great problems. They have existed in the past and they will continue to exist in the future to spread fear and terror. Terrorism is the calculated use of violence, or the threat of violence, to intimidate, frighten, or coerce. Terrorism is a global problem affecting all social and economic classes. The fight against domestic terrorism is difficult as there have been many acts of domestic terrorism and many domestic terrorist groups operating in the United States. Terrorism can be executed or presented in a variety of forms. For example, bioterrorism, cyberterrorism, nuclear terrorism, domestic terrorism, etc. Domestic Terrorism has been the focus of attention since the events of September 11. The main and more significant mission of the Department of Homeland Security is to defend the United States from terrorism. Unfortunately, domestic terrorism is becoming increasingly common among

Along with keeping threats at bay and far away from U.S. soil, the iconic positivity that reflects our country had to be rebuilt. In order to achieve this goal, the State Department undertook a number of different policies. One of these policies was instituting a department that would be able to share information with both the FBI and the CIA. The main focus would be on the things the two agencies missed at such a high cost. This body is called the Department of Homeland Security and would monitor foreign and domestic threats along with working with the fellow governmental agencies. Although the DHS was created to fix the issues that could have stopped an event like 9/11, it too developed problems in

Hamas was founded in 1987 and its aim was to address Palestinian quest for nation statehood and their consequent grievances (Herzog, 2006). The writer explains that the name is acronym in Arabic for Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya or the Islamic Resistance Movement. The group's ideology, the writer explains was outlined in its covenant of 1998. The covenant stipulates that the land of Palestine is an Islamic endowment. It stipulates that the state of Israel should be removed by the sword.

In the heat of extremist organizations rising up across America, ranging from white supremacy to Islamic extremism, investigating organizations as well as intelligence offices are looking for greater ways of being able to access information to preserve public safety. In the wake of September 11, 2001, the country based one of its most disastrous mishandling of intelligence in decades. It was well-documented that the information presented that Osama bin Laden was planning an attack on America had been presented and yet nothing was done.

The United States government agencies like the FBI and NSA have invested lots of time, effort, and money towards the security of its citizens and the prevention of terrorism since the attacks on the World Trade Center on September of 2001. The efforts have not prevented any major terrorist attacks since then; the efforts have been unsuccessful. These agencies have relied on discriminatory profiling of individuals based on their religion and place of origin; allowing for the association of Islam and people of Arab decent with terrorism-related crimes. The decision of monitoring a whole group of people should be based on crime rates rather then race and religion.

The Bush administration has proposed exempting employees of the Central Intelligence Agency from a legislative measure endorsed by 90 members of the Senate that would bar cruel and degrading treatment of any prisoners in U.S. custody. The Bush administration believes that interrogators are acting lawfully, gaining useful information to help win the war against al Qaeda and will continue to press detainees for leads.