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Islamic Radicalism and the American Defense Technology Crisis

Good Essays
September 11th, 2001, will be a day always remembered by every American as a reminder of the tragedy that permanently scarred our nation. From a technology perspective, there are questions to ask about where we stand more than ten years after the terrorist attacks. America has spent billions of dollars on technology upgrades to detect and prevent new threats (Johnson 1). What types of technology are available to further increase our nation’s defense? Are the technologies being deployed effectively? Why weren’t these technologies implemented earlier in order to prevent such an event? The above questions must be answered in order to justify our nations awareness about Al-Qaida’s terrorist’s plan to terrorize our great nation (Johnson).…show more content…
It is easy now to say that we should have implemented better technology in Homeland Security before September 11th, 2001, but saying that doesn’t bring back the lives of those that were lost on that tragic day. With the technological advances that America possesses, an extremely safe nation is feasible. Biometric devices are one example of how our defense could be strengthened massively. For example, before anyone arrives on any form of transportation in the United States, they should be made to check in with a biometric device in order to confirm that they are legitimate citizens. A biometric device recognizes features that are impossible to disguise such as fingerprints or the retina located in a person’s eye. The use of biometric devices would easily identify a person and allow the security at airports to absolutely determine who is boarding the aircraft. This would also eliminate all non-legitimate foreigners boarding vessels and aircraft without question (Sims 32-37). Another security step that should be implemented in all vessels is the presence of a surveillance camera. This would be constantly monitored by military officials that would be responsible for seeing that every trip was to go as planned without any alterations that could lead to high-jacking. Surveillance cameras could also be increased in airports, and today there is actually an increase in these. These cameras are also useful in cities and towns across the
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