Introduction
Terrorism started long ago, but the one on 11 September 2001 changed the world. The terrorist attacks of 9/11 in the United States claimed many lives and leaving others with injuries as well as disabilities. The attack on American soil was a show that terrorist was capable of doing anything they wish to in any part of the world (Powell, 2011). The question of security now cut across the mind of people whether where they are going for business trips or holiday destination is safe. All the countries across the world should join hands and have a common objective of fighting against terrorism even though terrorist are also changing their tactics trying to outsmart the counter-terrorism agencies. This essay aims at discussing the state of security today and identifies some of the significant problems that countries such as America experience while addressing security issues.
Safer Today?
After the terrorist attack on September 11, it was essential for America to enhance their security to help reduce the chances of becoming a soft target to the terrorist. The country managed to install a sophisticated security apparatus, particularly in the airports; however, the truth remains that other modes of transports are still vulnerable, compromising the security of the Americans and their property. There is no meaningful security on buses, trains, and soft targets within and outside the cities, not only in America but also in other countries across the world. There is also an enormous cyber risk to both the military and civilian communication networks because terrorists can use them to facilitate their attacks. The vulnerability of the people to terrorist acts will continue to the foreseeable future because the cost and technology necessary to address the gaps are exceedingly high. The ability of the terrorist to change their tactics makes it hard to identify and deal with them is another factor that will continue compromising the safety of the people and their property across the world (Dolnik & Fitzgerald, 2011). No matter how countries strive to enhance security, it will never be good enough to thwart all the terrorist threats that the countries across the world experience.
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The process of globalization across the world has been a contributing factor to the success of terrorists because it enhances their methods of operations. The terrorist has decided not to use the explosives from factories but rather use easily accessible materials such as ammonium nitrate. They have also managed to use locally available material with higher frequency to enable them to achieve terrorist objectives; for instance, in 9/11, Al Qaeda operates to use Boeing airplanes that belong to America to carry out the deadly attack. With the advancement in the weapons and tactics of the terrorist, small terror groups will develop and carry out attacks that cause mass death in the near future. Currently, terrorists prefer using suicide attackers to carry out attacks, especially to soft targets in public places.
The availability of weapons that can carry out mass death currently compromises the safety of the people more because terrorists can obtain them more efficiently through black markets. As an example, over 20 million antiaircraft missiles exist across the world meaning that anyone who flies commercial airplane is at risk because if malicious people decided to knock the plane out of the sky then can achieve it as quickly as possible. The current widespread terrorist groups, for instance, Al Qaeda is of great concern when it comes to the safety of people. More than 100 countries across the world since September 11 have managed to arrest thousands of Al Qaeda members showing that the group has occupied more than half of the countries in the world. There is a likelihood that AL Qaeda tentacles will eventually reach every part of the world, and it is questionable whether military apparatus, law enforcers and intelligence of the civilized countries will succeed in removing the threats of this terrorist group. The problem is that people are not yet safe against terrorism because the groups are becoming smarter and adopting technology to achieve their malicious acts of terrorism across the globe.
Major problems
The united states of America have been at the forefront fighting against terrorism is not only their country but also other countries across the world such as Afghanistan and Iraq. The process of fighting against terrorism is not smooth because there are several problems that the nation experience when addressing the problem of terrorism. The major issues have been compromising the effort of the countries to address terrorist attacks across the world, affecting the efforts of the intelligence towards solving the problem of terrorism for once. One of the significant issues that influence winning against terrorism is the ability of terrorists to change their tactics and use of weapons to carry out their malicious activities (Torok, 2011). As the military and anti-terrorist agencies advance the intelligence of addressing terrorism, terrorist, on the other hand, are also becoming smarter and changing their tactics, making it hard for the antiterrorism personnel to identify and manage potential terrorists. Currently, terrorist prefers using suicide bombers to carry out terrorist attacks, especially in public places, making it hard for the security people to identify these terrorists.
Failing or ignoring potential causes of terrorism is another major challenge that makes it hard for countries such as America to win against terrorism. The incident on Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida, the United States, where a security guard responsible for providing security transforms into a terrorist killing 49 people and injuring 53 more people. Such people can be hard to identify, and they are potential in killing masses of people. It is a significant problem to identify and control such people because they are ordinary citizens but can change into terrorists knowingly or because of health issues. A security guard who eventually turns into terrorist killing innocent people in the Pulse Nightclub was genuine security personnel but turns into a potential terrorist. Identifying as well as addressing people who change suddenly and carry out a terrorist attack is a significant problem that compromises the ability of the anti-terrorist personnel towards eradicating potential terrorists across the world because they are unable to identify and put under control the potential terrorists.
Lack of coordination and cooperation between the anti-terrorist groups and the public to fight against potential terrorist can be another significant problem because law enforcers or military alone cannot address the issue by themselves without the support from the public (Anonuserism, 2012). Terrorist is likely to hide and plan their terrorist activities amongst the people, and if these people cooperate with the anti-terrorist, they can weed the entire potential terrorist groups. Surprisingly the majority of the public fear reporting potential terrorists or suspect to the relevant authorities, making it even hard for the anti-terrorists to achieve their objective of eradicating possible terrorist and terrorism activities. The public should work hand in hand with the relevant authorities in fighting against terrorism because of each group supplement one another in providing necessary information and intelligence to address terrorist and their malicious activities.
Conclusion
Terrorism is not new to any country across the world, especially after the 9/11 attack in the United States of America. The number of terrorist attacks has been increasing across the globe, killing innocent people and injuring others. The increase in the frequency of attacks is a clear indication that no country is safe against terrorism. The terrorist has started changing tactics to enable them to outsmart the ever-advancing antiterrorism personnel. The ability of the terrorist to alter their tactics has been one of the significant problems that make it hard to take control of terrorist.
References
Anonuserism. (2012, May 2). The Spy Factory Full Video. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdPpdu8OGDQ
Dolnik, A., & Fitzgerald, K. M. (2011). Negotiating hostage crises with the new terrorists. Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 34(4), 267-294.
Powell, K. A. (2011). Framing Islam: An analysis of US media coverage of terrorism since 9/11. Communication Studies, 62(1), 90-112.
Torok, R. (2011). The 9/11 Commission Report and the reframing of the ‘war on terror’as a new type of warfare. Journal of Policing, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism, 6(2), 137-150.
