The Terrorist Watch List Database and Screening Center
Terrorist Watch List Database: A Case Study
Don E. Gregory
INFO 531: Management Information Systems
Abstract
Since the attacks on the World Trade Center, our nation has been at war with terrorism. We have approached this war on two fronts, one by attacking our enemies in armed combat, and two by enacting preventive measures to eliminate their harmful tactics. One such measure is known as the FBI’s Terrorist Watch List. The TWL is a large database of information on what are known as persons of interest or known terrorist. As with any large database the list has weaknesses and shortcomings, pros and cons, that
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Added to that, government agencies such as the FBI and CIA are very protective of information they have on individuals and as history shows, they do not share this information easily or willingly among each other. Watch Lists Effectiveness The effectiveness of the list depends on two things; accurate identification of individuals, and distributing this information to the front line agencies conducting the inspections of persons attempting to enter the country, obtain visas, board an aircraft, et cetera. Though not public knowledge, the list is now reported to be growing at the rate of 200,000 names per year and in 2009 reached the 1 million person threshold. Its exorbitant size has drawn criticism from lawmakers, security experts, and civil rights advocates who argue that “its size undermines its authority”, and that “there is no rational, reasonable estimate that there’s anywhere close to that many suspected terrorists” [4]. Moving towards making the list more effective and less discouraging for innocents, the FBI and DHS claim they have removed over 51,000 person in 2008-2009 as a result of their redress requests, and through the constant reviewing of records in the database they combine persons of interest aliases into one record, removing innocent persons who share those aliases
2). Domestic terrorism is usually committed by citizens of the United States, and documentation of terrorist activities on American soil have dated back to the 1950s. The 1970s heighten domestic terrorism by a “rash of skyjacking”, that is, taking a commercial airline hostage (Sauter & Carafano, 2012). Skyjacking incidents compelled the FBI and CIA to develop undercover strategies to enforce terrorist groups; however, these tactics lead to civil right violations. The federal agencies covert tactics and aggressive intelligence collection, “prompted congressional hearings and led to dramatic restrictions on domestic intelligence operations, including the creation of a bureaucratic wall between intelligence gathering and law enforcement” (Sauter & Carafano, 2012, p. 25). The “wall” that was previously stated halted information sharing between the intelligence community and local law enforcement. Communication and information sharing prevents redundancy in high priority investigations, and it could also provide first responders advance notice in life threatening
The Patriot Act of 2001 has in many ways changed the way that acts of terrorism and other crimes related to terrorism are handled within the Federal system. The Patriot Act in many ways unites under one law code a few different important clauses relating to tools available to federal law enforcement and also to the new more pressed penalties for terrorist acts. The entire act within itself provides law enforcement a new set of measures and procedures to combating terrorist on the financial field as well as the domestic home front. The most basic of tools that many law enforcement agencies have took advantage of were with the passing of the Patriot Act of 2001 becoming newly available to that of federal investigatory
Before 9/11, law enforcement possessed the primary responsibility for combating terrorism in the United States. Law enforcement relationships and responsibilities have continued to be evaluated and redefined at all levels of government. They will evolve because of the continuous changing nature of terrorist threats, prevention needs and transforming operations and strategies. Terrorist groups continue to advance and pose threats in new ways each day. In the fourteen years since the worst terrorist attack on United States territory, citizens have undoubtedly become more cautious and accustomed to the inconveniences that result from the precautions and added security law enforcement agencies are now having to provide.
The tragic events of September 11th, 2001 showed the vulnerabilities of this country as a whole, reflecting the lack of attention this nation gave to terrorism. Following September 11th, it was clear that drastic preventative measures needed to be taken in order to avoid reoccurrence of a destructive and deadly act of terrorism (Simon, 2009). As a response to the attacks, The Patriot Act was passed in October of 2001 in order to give federal agencies a substantial increase in power in accessing, monitoring, and examining records and citizens who have been identified as, or could potentially be, risks to this country. This act also allowed federal agents to single out and watch potential individuals labeled as terrorists without evidence linking them to an actual terrorist organization, as well as allowing for an increase in wiretapping phones of potential suspects (Banks, 2010).
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
Recognizing the threat Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups posed provided homeland security with the basis which is now important to state and local law enforcement agencies (Sheehan, Michael, 2011). After nearly a decade after the September eleventh, more than twenty terrorist related plots were uncovered by the federal government. As the war against terrorism continues, it has cost America the lives of more than six thousand service members and nearly 1.5 trillion dollars (Ortmeier, P, 2009).
The world today is a place where threats and danger can come from any place or any person. Terrorist organizations have been growing, and though the United States is not the only victim of terrorism, the US has been attacked multiple times by these types of groups. These vicious attacks have caused the citizens of the US to be fearful for what may come next. Some people believe that secret teams, which operate without any jurisdiction would be the most effective way to eliminate threats against the United States. Brad Taylor convinces readers that a team similar to The Task Force may be beneficial to the safety of United States citizens, by referencing his real life experience as a military operator.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a classic novel. The story takes place in the 1930's, in a small southern town called Maycomb. The book is about the town and their struggles as they go through a difficult trial. Throughout the novel the author shows how courage is displayed through characters like Mrs. Dubose, Jem Finch, and Atticus Finch.
In society today many citizens feel violated with the security methods taken by homeland security. “On September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against the United States marked the beginning of the global war on terrorism. The methods used are justifiable as they provide protection against possible threats or attacks. This attack on U.S. soil increased surveillance of both American citizens and foreign nationals” (Andrew, C., & Walter,
The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 devastated the United States people. As they mourned over the deaths caused by the destruction of the World Trade Center in New York City, Americans began looking for a way to prevent anything like this from happening again. Consequently, an act known as the USA PATRIOT act was passed by Congress. This act opened up many doors previously closed to law enforcement and intelligence agencies. With these new opportunities available to them, they have the capability to obtain information about specific individuals believed to be involved in terrorist activities and organizations. Very beneficial to the United States, the Patriot Act provides easier access for different government law enforcement agencies to share information, allows government agencies investigative tools that non-terrorist crimes already use, and helps to dismantle the terrorist financial network. Although many people claim that the Patriot Act violates the United States Constitution and the freedoms of the American people, it contains many elaborate safeguards to fight against such abuse.
In the aftermath of September 11, 2001teerrorist attacks, Congress and President Busch drafted, passed and enacted a number of laws that were focused on improving the nation’s security form terrorist attack and upgrading its ability to search for, identify, and eliminate terrorist threats at homes and international. Two of the most important and far reaching laws to come from the political and legislative action for the fall were the Uniting and Strengthening Americas by Providing Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001(USA Patriot Act) and the Homeland Security Act of 2002. While the USA Patriot Act and Homeland Security Act of 2002 have formed the backbone of terrorism laws in the United States, they are not without their problems, especially in terms of how far they infringe upon the right, freedom, and liberties of the public.
has aided the NSA and FBI in identifying and intercepting terrorist plots in the past. Following
Vital to this are on-going threat assessments. Effective threat assessment is the need for abundant, timely and useable intelligence, about potential terrorist sponsors, perpetrators, activities and targets, as well as intelligence to guide our prevention and preparation activities and programs. Despite the transnational nature of many terrorist groups, challenges to integrating foreign intelligence with domestic law enforcement information remains.
Birth control is medically necessary, but whether women should have to pay for it out of pocket is an issue which has not yet been settled. The cost for anyone seeking to buy birth control without insurance ranges anywhere between twenty-five to eight hundred dollars. Despite the fact that it can be used to treat a myriad of disorders, from ovarian cysts to endometriosis, and can be used to prevent certain cancers, many employers seek to deny coverage to women because they assert that it infringed upon their religious beliefs. Other members of the opposition claim that pregnancy is a natural consequence of sex and that taxpayers should not have to pay for birth control. However, these claims are irresponsible and not based in fact or logic. Birth control is necessary to many women throughout the United States, and as such should be covered by insurance.
It was a rainy Monday morning. I was fast asleep in my bed and suddenly there was a loud rumbling noise as if there was an earthquake and all the vessels were falling off the shelf.