Homegrown Terrorist in United States

Introduction

Terrorism can be defined as “the usage of aggression with aim of attaining one of the three main objectives.”  These include ideological and political. Another one is the religious objective. Normally, terrorists target civilians, and military staff. Other targets include government bureaucrats, and individuals who are responsible for furthering the various interests of a particular government among others.

It may also be possibly be defined as “whichever event that involves intimidating letters, and bomb threats.” Others include the various types of bombings, and events connected to the deliberate release of harmful agents. These include radiological, and chemical. Another one is the biological agent. On the other hand, a terrorist may be defined as a man or a woman who carries out the various terrorism activities. This paper will focus on homegrown terrorist in United States.

Specific warning signs or suspicious characteristics of those who may be domestically engaging in Terrorism, or terrorist activities

There are several warning signs/suspicious characteristics of those who may be engaging in terrorism in United States.

One, the security personnel and the public, should keep a vigilant eye on persons who appear to be busy engaged in various inspections. Such inspections are suspicious. Examples include taking notes regarding certain issues, shooting of video of specific buildings. Others include taking of pictures, and posing queries which are considered to be strange. Two, acts of saving or even throwing precious commodities inside a water body, for instance, an ocean, river, and more are suspicious, and an indication that the concerned parties could be engaging in terrorism in United States. Three, light signals between water vessels such as motor boats should serve as a warning sign that the concerned party (s) is a terrorist. Four, the act of diving into a lake or a river in a style which is not normal is suspicious. It is an indication that the concerned individual could be engaging in terrorist activities. Five, the security personnel should survey those individuals who are frequently engaged in various night activities. Such activities are suspicious, and an indication that these individuals could be planning to wreck havoc. Six, person(s) conducting operations in regions which are typically not designated for carrying out these operations could be potential terrorists.

Seven, individuals conduct activities such as fishing, or hunting of animals in areas which have not been designated for these activities could be potential terrorists. Eight, the act of relocating material things in between shorelines that are considered to be strange is a clear indication that the concerned persons may possibly be engaging in terrorism across United States. Nine, the act of flying a small plane over regions that are known to be dangerous is suspicious. It may be an indication that the concerned parties are surveying possible targets to attack. 

Ten, individuals who may be trying to rent a recreational vessel for a shorter period of time without proclaiming the intended usage may perhaps serve as a warning to the police that they are terrorists who are planning to wreck havoc.

A real example of a United States citizen or visitor who may be domestically be engaging in Terrorism acts.

A case in point of a person who has been engaging in terrorism acts is Faisal. Shazad Faisal is a naturalized American citizen. His native country is Pakistan.  It is understood that Faisal resides in the State of Connecticut. On the night of the 1^st day of the 5^th month of this year, he attempted to explode a makeshift car bomb. His target was the Times Square which is situated in New York City. After positioning the bomb at a suitable location, it (the bomb) produced an extraordinary noise. This buzz/noise attracted the attention of the passers-by. They (the passers-by) acted swiftly by informing the detectives. The detectives arrived at the scene within a short period of time, and succeeded in disarming it (“Shahzad Faisal,” p.A2).

How was this person caught?

Feisal was apprehended by the Customs Border Protection bureaucrats. He was apprehended while inside a plane which was destined to United Arab Emirate’s second largest city (Dubai). The plane carrying him, other passengers, and the cabin crew was about to leave the most active airport in United State before it was intercepted by the bureaucrats (Customs Border Protection bureaucrats).This airport is named as John Kennedy International.

The detectives had ordered the airport personnel to put his name on the “do-not-fly” catalogue. This verdict was arrived at subsequent to the analysis of the information that had been garnered from the preliminary investigations. The officials at first recognized him as the man who bought a certain car model. This model is named as Nissan Pathfinder.

What were the warning signs?

Additional Information regarding him was collected from a certain video message by the Federal Bureau Investigators. It (the video message) also contained a wealth of information concerning other suspected terrorists based in Pakistan. This message was uploaded 1 day previous to the botched attack at the Times Square. It is understood that it was uploaded by a faction calling itself ‘Tehreek-e-Taliban’. The message featured the factions’ leader, Hussein Mehsud. It also featured a bomber instructor. The two were shown orientating the Times Square attack. The FBI revealed that the video was recorded in the 4^th month of this year (Northeast Intelligence Network, 2010). 

For how long did the terrorist go undetected?

A day subsequent to the botched terrorist attacks at the Times Square, Feisal was really tracked by the Federal Bureau Investigation officials. He had succeeded in both booking, and boarding a flight which was destined to Dubai. Faisal had managed to go undetected for a period of more than forty eight (48) hours. It is understood that the Federal Bureau of Investigators utilized sophisticated equipment as they tracked him. Nonetheless, he succeeded in driving past the busy streets of New York, and subsequently into the airport.

Subsequent to Faisal’s apprehension, he was heavily grilled by the investigators. He told them that he had screened the Times Square, for a period of 3 months. He achieved this using live video feeds present on the internet. This screening according to him enabled him to resolute the most appropriate location around it which had a higher likelihood of attracting a significant number of people (Farber, 2010).

In your own opinion, what can the Department of Homeland Security and Cities such as Shady Oaks do better to detect potential terrorists and deter terrorists’ attacks from occurring.

According to me they should make use of the latest model of the Closed Circuit Televisions which are characterized by two main features. The preliminary feature is the surveillance cameras. The second one is the facial recognition software. These Televisions employ 2-D and 3-D images. These images facilitate the attainment of superior precision.

The latest model is more effectual. This is due to the fact that it has the capability of searching against the databases. Therefore, it can be utilized with a security service database of those individuals who are suspected to be engaging in terrorism so as to spot the real culprits. Also, the recorded images can be cross-referenced by investigators against photographs of terrorists.

In you own opinion; is there backlash that can come from the sort of terrorism prevention?

According to me, there is no backlash that can come from this terrorism prevention method. I attribute this to the fact that Closed Circuit Televisions operates in a similar manner as normal televisions. Due to this reason, no one may possibly complain about being captured by them since this act is not associated with any dangers. Additionally, it cannot interfere with privacy since the captured images are normally utilized to detect potential terrorists. The latest models may possibly offer important information for detectives and courts during the trial of suspected terrorists.

Other enhanced methods of detecting potential terrorist and deterring terrorist attacks from occurring 

One, these institutions should make use of state -of -the-art equipments capable of spotting explosive gadgets. Two, they should procure enhanced bomb robots. These robots have the capability of sensing, and eradicating explosive gadgets. Three, they should make use of surveillance equipments capable of spotting via concrete or metallic walls from an isolated locality. This will assist in tracing persons inside a house as a result of which it will aid in distinguishing a terrorist from a non-terrorist.

Four, they should utilize enhanced long-range video monitoring devices to detect potential terrorists. A perfect example is the unobtrusive aerial vehicles. Five, they ought to make use of enhanced night vision gadgets. Six, they should ban the parking of cars in non-designated areas. Seven, these institutions should perform frequent security patrols. This will assist in discouraging, and spotting suspicious acts (Kuznetsov, 2004).

In your opinion, what are some risks associated with keeping a vigilant eye on possible terrorists or suspicious characters?

According to me, there are several risks that are associated with keeping a vigilant eye on a possible terrorist. Firstly, a suicide bomber may panic on realizing that he-or she is being closely monitored prompting him-or her to denote the bomb. This detonation may possibly injure or kill the person who has been keeping a vigilant eye on the bomber. Secondly, in a scenario in which a terrorist who is about to set a bomb off realizes that he-or she was being observed, he-or she may possibly draw a gun on realizing that he-or she is being monitored and shoot the person monitoring him in order to conceal identity. Thirdly, the suspected terrorist may manage to escape from the scene after realizing that he-or she was being monitored. Nonetheless, the person that was monitoring the terrorist may perhaps subsequently suffer from depression. This is due to the fact that he-or she may think that the terrorist could plan to attack him-or her in the future. 

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