Terrorism in the US has always been
a major threat, Especially after the attacks on the World Trade Center on
September 11th, 2001. With the rise of the terrorist organization
ISIS, there has been even more widespread panic in the US. The attacks in Paris
which killed over 100 people caused even more hatred towards ISIS and more
International awareness about recent terrorism. To prevent more attacks on home
soil, the best strategy the US can take is to concentrate efforts on defense against
terrorism rather than focusing efforts on attacking and moving troops into
areas where terrorists are thought to be.
Over the past couple decades,
multiple terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda and ISIS have threatened and a few
times attacked the US on home soil and and citizens abroad. The largest attack
was on the World Trade Center in New York City which killed a few thousand
people. After that the US focused more on ramping up airport security. Since
then there has not been a major attack in the US partially due to security and
defense efforts made by the TSA.
The only thing the US can do to
truly combat terrorism is to focus efforts on defense. Attacking terrorists
will not accomplish much due to a few reasons. First, they will always keep
reappearing. We killed Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden who were two of the
most wanted terrorists of the modern era. Even then, Al Qaeda was not done much
harm. They simply found a new leader and carried on. Al Qaeda operates in a few
different States and many of their whereabouts are unknown to the US. To wipe
them out completely would be a very difficult task.
Second, threatening terrorist groups
would not influence them. If anything it is them threatening us that would have
more of an impact. Last year ISIS sent a video of them killing an American
reporter. Most of them are willing to die for their cause, therefore threatening
them or killing some of them would most likely not get them to surrender. Even
if we do manage to get rid of a certain group or large portion of one, more of
that group or another group or faction will always reappear. Most terrorist
groups that are seen as a threat to the US are located in the Middle East which
is a very unstable region in general. Many governments of states there are
unable to deal with the terrorists, and a few of the governments even work with
the terrorists or turn a blind eye to their activity since various of them are
failed or weak states. Until those governments are able to deal with those
terrorists, it is going to be tough for the US to intervene.
Attacking terrorist groups such as
ISIS and Al Qaeda head on is and has proven to be a very difficult task. The
best strategy the US can take is to ensure that its own citizens are safe by
concentrating on defense efforts in the US.
Just curious, what kind of domestic defense efforts do you see as plausible within the United States? Some politicians like Donald Trump have singled out the Muslim community. This, I believe, will do little to help with US defense, since we have seen that NSA spying has only gone so far to help us. What alternative options do you see being used for defense against terrorism, other than those that single out and generalize a group of people?
ReplyDeleteI think that airport security is a crucial form of defense. I also think that the NSA has done a lot more than you would think, a main reason for that being that the average citizen like me or you has no idea what they really do. They could have prevented various attacks that would of happened if it were not for their spying. That being said I'm not saying that the US should not concentrate any efforts abroad on terrorism, but just that defense is more important than offense.
DeleteSimilar to Matt's question, if defense is the best solution, what is the most effective course of action. I read somewhere that ISIS has a presence in 42 countries, with about 30 people that have already expressed that they would be willing to do the same thing that happened in Paris. Are we to simply wait for that to happen, or what action should we take?
ReplyDeleteI think my answer to Matt's question above can help answer you question as well.
DeleteI disagree with your argument that domestic defensive action is the best way to keep people safe from terrorism. I think if we do that, we're saying that people around the world who are suffering from terrorist attacks do not matter as much as our citizens. I think that as a federal government there should be concern over defensive measures, but I think working with our allies around the world to create no space for radical opinions forming is our best option. Obviously we will never stop every radicalized thought, but if we make it impossible to form groups of radicalized people, then we could prevent terrorism. Which is what we try to do, but with Mission Creep it's becoming a lot harder to work in a non-military way with government counterparts in the Middle East.
ReplyDeleteInteresting argument. I agree with increasing our national defense to protect ourselves from terrorist threats like ISIS but I do not think we have found an efficient way to do that yet. You mentioned how we set up the TSA after 9/11 in order to increase airport security. However, studies have shown that the TSA is largely ineffective at actually protecting us against any real threats. They simply engage in an act called 'Security Theater," or putting on a show to make us feel more safe. Do you think there is any way that we can actually better protect our nation from attacks? Or should we come to the conclusion that the best defense would be to go on the offensive?
ReplyDelete