Category: Terrorism

Introduction

Terrorist organizations threaten citizens of all communities, nations infrastructure, and security to obtain political security and economic gains. Leaders of terrorist groups use threats of violence to propagate their political and religious beliefs by directing targets with objectives and goals in mind. On the other hand, leaders are undoubtedly driven by a core task to propel their people from their current state or situation to a better one. Al Qaeda is an infamous militant Sunni Islamist terrorist group founded in 1988 by the Soviet-Afghan War veterans led by Osama bin Laden. Al Qaedas main inspiration came from foreign invasions of Islamic nations and corrupt leaders. Most causes of attacks by Al Qaeda are based on their need to defend and protect Islamic states against invasion and interruption of their affairs by Westerners. This paper is aimed to address the inspiration of Al Qaeda, how this inspiration acts as a catalytic means of recruitment, and the means of communication used by Al Qaeda. Al Qaeda seeks to free Islamic states from foreign invasion and corrupt leaders and spread Sharia Laws worldwide.

The Inspiration of Al Qaeda

Foreign invasion is the primary inspiration and grievance that has caused the evolvement and garnering of many supporters of Al Qaeda. Al Qaeda has inspired its members and followers by spreading strategic messages against injustices inflicted on Islamic nations by Westerners (Houck et al., 2017). Al Qaeda mostly dwells on the message that the West has infiltrated the Muslim world, and they believe in having the right to defend their nations (History.com Editors, 2018). They assert that millions of innocent Muslim women and children have lost their lives due to infiltration and sanctions of the West that support the dictatorial regime (Mapping Militant Organizations, 2019). Osama bin Laden stated his inspiration through a media message to his followers to justify Al Qaedas terrorist attacks as mere attempts to defend Muslims from unjust invasion and prosecution by Western nations such as the United States (U.S.).

Another inspiration that guides Al Qaeda is from the writings of the Quran and Muhammads history of his soldiers who fought a glorious war in Islam to defend their beliefs. Osama bin Laden spearheaded such inspirations to inspire other terrorists to engage in a defensive war against the West, just like Muhammad fought to save Islam (History.com Editors, 2018). Further, Osama bin Laden propelled inspirational messages for an offensive war which he promised to last until the world could appreciate Islam (History.com Editors, 2018). These inspirations lay solely on the foundational fact that Al Qaeda tried to defend itself from its Western invaders and fulfill duties asserted by Muhammad and Islam (Ibrahimi, 2018). Al Qaedas inspirations help to radicalize and recruit people who religiously seek isolation alongside individuals who share similar ideas.

Al Qaeda is inspired to spread Sharia laws worldwide and promote ideologies that prevent persecution of innocent citizens in Islamic nations. Ideology implies a cumulative sociopolitical program comprising group, personal, and socio-theoretical concepts, aims, and assertions (Cohen et al., 2018). Al Qaeda is more ideologically lethal than an organization, but the ideology has kept expanding despite losing leaders like Osama bin Laden. The U.S. is a democratic nation, but it disregards Islamic ideals and authorizes invasions of Islamic nations (Connah, 2021). Islam does not support noncombatant murder, particularly of children, women, rabbis, and monks. Islamic teachings propose immunity unless circumstances force them to be directly involved in the war. According to Al Qaedas statement in 2002, the group perceives all Westerners (Americans) as the major facilitators of suffering and atrocities inflicted on citizens in Islamic nations. More so, Al Qaedas ideologies ascertain that all Americans are responsible for the imprisonment and persecution of Iraqi children and the destruction of households in Palestine.

Al Qaeda exploits neo-colonialism and colonialism stigma to showcase the Westerners as a threat to Islam and Muslims, justifying the Jihad Holy War response. Islams translation of Jihad means striving and is religiously split into greater and lesser Jihad (Ibrahimi 2018). Greater Jihad signifies an individuals struggle against wrong temptation and action, while lesser Jihad implies defending Islam from external corruption (History.com Editors, 2018). For this reason, Al Qaedas ideology is to fight against corrupt Western leaders in Islamic states and the wrong-doing the Westerners cause to innocent people such as children.

Means of Communication Used By the Al Qaeda

Al Qaeda uses social media to attract new members and spread its ideologies. This group uses social media as a channel for communication that shapes its narrative. Social media was used to propagate Al Qaedas radical ideology, which promotes violence and hates against Westerners, Christians, and Jews, and to recruit individuals to participate in their terrorist actions (Mapping Militant Organizations, 2019). Al Qaeda finds its inspiration from a sense of Western oppression via social media. According to Al Qaedas narrative, the Wests invasion of Islamic states inflicts persecution on innocent individuals, termed evil (History.com Editors, 2018). This grievance is a recruiting factor for new members and spurs the group to act as a whole.

The world has seen advancement in communication technology that has streamlined the flow of information today. Al Qaeda has embraced these technological advancements through the internet and media due to the rise in global security awareness, strict security measures, and favorable anonymity to spread their propaganda worldwide (Schumpe et al., 2020). Al Qaeda prevents interception of their communications through a steganography technological approach. Krishnan et al., (2017) define steganography as the concealment of a message, image, or file within another message, file, or image. Al Qaeda focuses on youths susceptibility to adapt to extremist ideas, such as economic and sociopolitical struggles and marginalization differences (Pandian et al., 2020). Social media is cheaper than previously deployed in facilitating anonymous donations. Al Qaeda utilized the internets anonymity and personas fiction to monitor activities on social media through specific targeting and delivering extremist ideologies to misguide their members. According to Ibrahimi (2018), Al Qaeda called for Jihad globally after the U.S. invaded Afghanistan. More than forty affiliated organizations had spread Al Qaedas propaganda over five thousand platforms, such as YouTube and websites, by 2005.

Individual-Level Psychological Concepts and Group-Level Drivers for Political Violence in the Form of Terrorism

Psychological explanations of terrorism consider different types of individuals and groups. It attempts to understand why humans resort to terrorist and violent actions and why groups of people continue garnering in violent acts. Terrorists are belligerent, with objectives and goals to achieve (Mostofa, 2019). However, when the outcomes do not favor their expectations, they take actions that make things happen in their favor by threatening the public. Pressure gradually rises on other individuals to become members and part of that terrorist group.

Psychoanalysis gives a precise understanding of terrorism through two main domains. These domains include social context and group dynamics of terrorism and the knowledge of peoples psychopathology of the terrorist (Mostofa, 2019). In the context of social and group dynamics, an individuals psychological factors of terrorism include the need for belonging, identity, and perceived injustices. The domain of understanding an individuals psychopathology reveals that terrorist violence is not impulsive action. Instead, it is a deliberate act of violence perpetuated on noncombatant citizens to defend the ideologies of a particular group.

Depending on the individual level, several causes of terrorism might escalate to the group level. Based on individual levels, the causes of terrorist violence are psychological, rational, and cultural. Rational causes could imply that terrorists believe that their actions have positive benefits that weigh out in some sense. Psychological causes result from the persons unhappiness or dismay in their life (Cohen et al., 2018). Cultural causes include experiencing a perception of others as outcasts and a wish to diminish their existence. On the contrary, group level of terrorism is politically directed and driven at a group of society, government, mostly grieving for their social movement or an event of society.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Al Qaeda is a global terrorist group that propels extremist ideologies and propaganda about the oppression of Islamic countries by Western nations such as the U.S. Al Qaeda was formed in 1988 after the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. The inspiration for the formation of Al Qaeda includes countering the invasion of Islamic nations by Western countries, the writings of the Quran and the history of Muhammads soldiers glorious war, and spreading Sharia laws globally. Al Qaeda has embraced technological advances, and they use social media like YouTube and their steganography websites to monitor and facilitate communication and recruitment. Individual-level psychological concepts and group-level drivers for political violence in the form of terrorism explain why people resort to terrorist actions. Psychological factors at the individual level include rational and cultural values. At the same time, group-level terrorist actions are attributed to the similar trait of being belligerent with objectives and goals to achieve.

References

Cohen, S. J., Kruglanski, A., Gelfand, M. J., Webber, D., & Gunaratna, R. (2018). Al-Qaedas propaganda decoded: A psycholinguistic system for detecting variations in terrorism ideology. Terrorism and Political Violence, 30(1), 142-171.

Connah, L. (2021). U.S. intervention in Afghanistan: Justifying the unjustifiable?. South Asia Research, 41(1), 70-86.

History.com Editors. (2018). Al Qaeda: Facts about the terrorist network and its history of attacks. HISTORY. Web.

Houck, S. C., Repke, M. A., & Conway III, L. G. (2017). Understanding what makes terrorist groups propaganda effective: An integrative complexity analysis of ISIL and Al Qaeda. Journal of Policing, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism, 12(2), 105-118.

Ibrahimi, S. Y. (2018). Theory of the rise of Al-Qaeda. Behavioral sciences of terrorism and political aggression, 10(2), 138-157.

Krishnan, R. B., Thandra, P. K., & Baba, M. S. (2017, March). An overview of text steganography. In 2017 Fourth International Conference on Signal Processing, Communication and Networking (ICSCN) (pp. 1-6). IEEE.

Mapping Militant Organizations. (2019). Al Qaeda. [Pdf] Stanford University, pp.1-21. Web.

Mostofa, S. M. (2019). A study of Al-Qaedas propaganda narratives in Bangladesh. Counter Terrorist Trends and Analyses, 11(2). Web.

Pandian, S., Gomaa, O., & Pazil, N. H. A. (2020). Socialisation and recruitment in Islamist movements: A comparison between the Muslim Brotherhood and Al-Qaeda. International Journal of Islamic Thought, 18, 110-120.

Schumpe, B. M., Bélanger, J. J., Moyano, M., & Nisa, C. F. (2020). The role of sensation seeking in political violence: An extension of the significance quest theory. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 118(4), 743. Web.

Introduction

Terrorism has contributed to increased cases of violence, conflict, injuries and loss of innocent lives indicating a great need for effective interventions. Terrorism refers to the use of violence and intimidation against other people in an unlawful manner especially when seeking to fulfill political aims. One of the measures that has proven to be effective in addressing terrorism is community policing which requires engagement of officers and members of the public. This creates an opportunity for information sharing while also informing some of the strategies used in addressing terrorist activities. Community policing has proved to be effective in reducing the high prevalence of terrorism since it helps to promote confidence and rapport between members of the public and the police.

Literature Review

Community policing has proven to be effective in addressing terrorism since members play a significant role in helping police officers to identify high risk individuals. Policing enables law enforcement officers to develop an understanding of the local community while also fostering situational awareness (Kearns, 2018, p.1). Officers have the opportunity to interact and engage with members of the public to gain an awareness of various terrorist threats in society and some of the measures that can be implemented. Proper implementation of community policing also enhances the likelihood that members of the public file reports about potential threats and radicalization cases.

Effectiveness of community policing strategies require community members and police officers to work in a collaborative manner. The police and citizens can work together to identify priority activities and address them in an appropriate manner (Snodgrass, 2020, p.3). Activities promoted by community policing help to foster long term trust relationship between law enforcement officers and the citizens. Trust results from members of the public realizing that the police are putting in the effort to keep them safe. Trust relationships are necessary to promote resilience and the ability to counter terrorist narratives.

Police and other law enforcement agencies have to be aware that using the engagement activities to gather intelligence might have a negative impact on the interaction with citizens. Community policing strategies should be focused on enhancing information sharing between the citizens and relevant authorities (Snodgrass, 2020, p.3). Community policing allows officers to openly share information with the public while also seeking support on issues that are of mutual concern. A well implemented community policing strategy helps to eliminate various forms of violent extremism.

Community policing and the efforts promoted by the intervention help to mitigate risks associated with individuals radicalizing to engage in terrorism. Police play a significant role in community policing strategies by addressing various factors in community that enhance the risk of violent extremism (Mazerolle, 2020, p.4). Community policing achieves this by providing society-based education and awareness programs. The programs enhance referral networks while also providing assistance to individuals who face increased risks of radicalization.

Law enforcement officers have to identify community policing strategies that are likely to enhance public engagement in countering terrorism. In this case officers can choose to engage in recreation and sports, community forums, liason programs and legitimacy enhancing strategies while also promoting community education (Mazerolle, 2020, p.1). This is necessary to ensure that law enforcement officers have a working relationship with general citizens which are necessary to address violent extremism. Success in community policing requires law enforcement officers to have strategies that promote connectedness. Community connectedness is necessary to increase prosocial ties between community members.

Effectiveness of community policing in eliminating terrorism depends on whether it helps to improve the relations between civilians and law enforcement agencies. Community policing strategies help to ensure that terrorists are deprived of their legitimacy and undermine their claims. This is because law enforcement officers and members of the public develop trusting relationships that promote information sharing. This allows officers to gather terrorism-related intelligence and initiate necessary measures to enhance public safety. However community leaders should consider addressing any issues that are likely to limit the development of trust between officers and members of the public. Trust can be fostered in community policing by encouraging shared decision making at various community levels (Goldberg & Christopher, 2019, p.118).

Community policing also helps to promote a sense of belonging since civilians develop the perspective that their input is useful within society. Law enforcement officers should focus on taking advantage of the knowledge and skills possessed by various public members.

Conclusion

Community policing strategies help to address terrorism by minimizing civilian recruitment to terrorist groups. Information shared through community campaigns play a role in limiting the influence of terrorist messages to eliminate their radicalizing effect. This is achieved by raising awareness among members of the public in relation to propaganda spread by violent extremists. Societal leaders and law enforcement officers should avoid using community policing to encourage members to spy on one another since it can have a negative impact on civilian trust (Jackson & Costello, 2019, p.3). The main goal of community policing is to reduce the incidence of terrorism by countering extremist causes and any ideology that supports radicalization. Community policing is also necessary to identify alternatives that can be used to respond to terrorism risks.

References

Goldberg, K., & Christopher, K. (2019). Community oriented policing: Security in the domestic counter terrorism environment. Journal of Business and Behavioral Sciences, 31(1), 114-124. Web.

Jackson, B. A., & Costello, K. (2019). Practical terrorism prevention: Reexamining US national approaches to addressing the threat of ideologically motivated violence. RAND Corporation. Web.

Kearns, E. M. (2020). Exploring officer views of community policing in counterterrorism. Police practice and research, 21(1), 18-32. Web.

Mazerolle, L., Eggins, E., Cherney, A., Hine, L., Higginson, A., & Belton, E. (2020). Police programmes that seek to increase community connectedness for reducing violent extremism behaviour, attitudes and beliefs. Campbell Systematic Reviews, 16(3), e1111. Web.

Snodgrass, D. W. (2020). Using community-focused policing to combat terrorism and counter violent extremism: A law enforcement toolkit. Web.

Kruglanski, A. W., Gunaratna, R., Ellenberg, M., & Speckhard, A. (2020). Terrorism in time of the pandemic: Exploiting mayhem. Global Security: Health, Science and Policy, 5(1), 121-132. Web.

The threat of domestic and international terrorism continues to be prevalent despite the major difficulties the pandemic has posed on everyday lives around the world. The following literature review study found indicators that illustrate that jihadists and far-right terrorist organizations have used the anxiety, angst, and incapacitation of important institutions, infrastructure, and functions of society to broadcast conspiracy theories and fuel hate and negative opinions (Kruglanski et al., 2020). The study found that there are multiple trends that can determine the current state of terrorism in the pandemic. Firstly, much of the terrorist activities, especially by major organizations such as IS, have continued as they have prior to the pandemic. Certain groups are seeing a rise in activities, as they are able to expose the gaps in security while the societal burdens that have arisen due to the pandemic continue to fuel fear, panic, and ideologies innate to these groups. Secondly, the theme of the pandemic has also become a source to boost their message and ideological advertisement. Groups such as ISIS have commonly implemented current events and topics within their modes of communication and promotion, and with increased time spent online, their platform and those of similar organizations have noticed increased activity. Third, terrorist organizations have employed a mirroring-tactic in the case of conspiracy theories. For instance, jihadists often seed beliefs that the pandemic was created by foreign governments, such as the USA or China, and that the pandemic carries religious punishment for those outside the ideologies. Fourth, far-right terrorism in Western countries has also noticed an increase in cases with calls to violence, conspiracy theories, and the deliberate intent to spread the virus. Future research can illustrate ways in which terrorist groups can use insecurities caused by the pandemic in both the government and society, which formulate as trends in violent actions and misinformation.

Marin, I. (2011). The coverage of terrorism in the news. Geopolitics, History, and International Relations, 3(2), 254-259. Web.

The following paper uses literature review analysis to uncover ways in which the media and news outlets interact with multiple aspects of terrorism. There has been an indication to suggest that over the past years, the media has had a significant role in the promotion of fear, the global discursive order of war journalism, and the impact of visual storytelling implemented in war journalism (Marin, 2011). Essentially, the study analyzes the relationship between the business side of news, the prevalence of terrorism reporting, and its newsworthiness. Additionally, it is essential to assess the emphasis on terrorist violence as opposed to counterterrorism as it is depicted in media coverage. Firstly, the relationships between terrorism and the media have been noted to influence the ways in which viewers define important and less important news. Terrorists benefit from media exposure by having a platform from which to communicate their messages while the media companies, now with the viewers attention, are able to advertise products following or before the reporting. The study found that the relationship possesses elements that are beneficial to both the media companies and the terrorist organizations, though often detrimental to people who are easily influenced by such messages. Secondly, the media and news often foster reporting or even entertainment that sensationalizes crime, terrorism, violence, and the promotion of fear. Third, the medias response to terrorism is often different from other crimes and specialized in targeting an audience that is susceptible to the current war on terror model the media has created over the years. As such, they continue to isolate and promote the messages of terrorist groups which they are reporting about. Further research can provide deeper insight into the convergence of the media and terrorism.

Simmons, S. C., Murphy, T. A., Blanarovich, A., Workman, F. T., Rosenthal, D. A., & Carbone, M. (2003). A report of the 2002 coastal North Carolina domestic preparedness training exercise. Telehealth Technologies and Applications for Terrorism Response, 10(2), 166-176. Web.

The ways in which natural or man-made disasters are approached and whether the action is successful rely on the ability in which the response organizations and groups can communicate.. As such, exercises for any form of disaster initiate effective methods by which disaster planners and responders will be able to implement technologies and techniques. The following paper assesses a training exercise that was performed at the Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base in North Carolina. The following paper methods for analysis included testing in-place Telehealth networks and rapidly deployable communications (Simmons et al., 2003). These included instruments such as satellite communication, wireless networking in the local area, on-scene video, and data acquisition and telemetry that focused on clinical and environmental information. The exercise had participants from local, county, and military emergency medical services, as well as the local fire department and police units. The objective of the exercise focused on the response towards an act of terrorism, which would require teams of diverse abilities that would be spread at multiple locations. The majority of the equipment and implemented systems, such as the Telemedicine Center, proved to be able to respond in a timely manner but exposed certain implications. These included the need for assistance at overwhelmed medical departments, the ability to consult with regional or national centers concerning diagnoses, and psychological and psychiatric assistance to the victims. The training exercise and the analysis following it were helpful in determining the levels and specific elements which would be necessary for a successful response in the case of a terrorist attack. Future studies and continued training may uncover other issues that may occur during a terrorist incident and solutions that can be implemented in such a situation.

Chermak, S. M., & Gruenewald, J. (2006). The media coverage of domestic terrorism. Justice Quarterly, 23(4), 428-461. Web.

Since the attack on September 11th, a noticeable increase in terrorism has been visible in both scholarly inquiry and the ways in which media approaches the coverage of such incidents. Much less attention is drawn to domestic terrorism. The following study assesses the media response through literature review, from establishments such as the New York Times, from 1980 to September 10, 2001 (Chermak & Gruenewald, 2006). The method used in the study assesses each incident covered by the news agency, with a focus on the amount of coverage, variables that influence whether coverage will or will not be done, and the space each publication receives. The study revealed that most cases of terrorism receive very little or no coverage at all, while few but heavily sensationalized cases revive disproportionate exposure. As such, the study examined which elements and characteristics influence the ways in which the media selects which incidents are covered and which are given significantly less coverage. Incidents that have casualties are linked to domestic terrorist groups, acts that targeted airlines, or cases in which hijacking is a tactic are much more likely to receive widespread coverage, with more words and articles on average. The study concludes that the implications on real-life perception of terrorism are highly influenced by the media, both by exposing certain incidents with increased focus as well as not covering other incidents of domestic terrorism. The committed act of terrorism can determine the exposure on the news and media, and the study hypothesizes that certain terrorist groups may use more dangerous tactics with bigger repercussions in order to draw awareness to their specific messaging and ideology. Meanwhile, terrorist organizations that do not want exposure will be more likely to focus on acts and crimes that are less likely to be sensationalized in national media. Further research can display to what extent the effect that the media coverage system currently provides can be exploited by terrorist organizations.

Slone, M. (2000). Responses to media coverage of terrorism. The Journal of Conflict Resolution, 44(4), 508-522. Web.

A study focusing on the differential anxiety responses of 237 participants to the coverage of national threat conditions in Israel offered insight into the current interpretation of terrorism through the perspective of the media (Slone, 2000). The experiment divided the participants into two groups, with each group being exposed to either experimental or control conditions. The experimental state implemented exposure to news clips from televised segments on the topic of terrorism and other threats to national security. The control state focused on televised clips of similar runtime that were unrelated to dangers involving national security. The study aimed to determine the impact of the coverage of violence by the media on political violence or terrorism, and in turn, what response and interpretation it elicited from viewers. Additionally, the study examined how the levels of exposure to such media coverage would induce and influence changes in anxiety among different members of the population. The results of the study were supportive of the anxiety-inducing impact of the experimental state, as was initially hypothesized. The data also illustrated that there were indicators that suggested diverse demographic and dispositional responses, which varied between genders, religion, and levels of dogmatism. Participants that reported higher levels of religiousness were also more likely to have indicators of high anxiety responses. The collective results supported the hypothesis that the media carries a powerful impact on the anxiety levels of their viewers and further research can assess other real-life implication reporting can have on the average viewer.

References

Chermak, S. M., & Gruenewald, J. (2006). The media coverage of domestic terrorism. Justice Quarterly, 23(4), 428-461. Web.

Kruglanski, A. W., Gunaratna, R., Ellenberg, M., & Speckhard, A. (2020). Terrorism in time of the pandemic: exploiting mayhem. Global Security: Health, Science and Policy, 5(1), 121-132. Web.

Marin, I. (2011). The coverage of terrorism in the news. Geopolitics, History, and International Relations, 3(2), 254-259. Web.

Simmons, S. C., Murphy, T. A., Blanarovich, A., Workman, F. T., Rosenthal, D. A., & Carbone, M. (2003). A report of the 2002 coastal North Carolina domestic preparedness training exercise. Telehealth Technologies and Applications for Terrorism Response, 10(2), 166-176. Web.

Slone, M. (2000). Responses to media coverage of terrorism. The Journal of Conflict Resolution, 44(4), 508-522. Web.

Introduction

In the middle of the twentieth century, Algiers became a battleground between French authorities and Algerian insurrectionists. The National Liberation Front (FLN) quickly turned into a severe problem for the occupying nation, as their resistance led to numerous bloodsheds, as shown in the movie The Battle of Algiers (Pontecorvo). This essay will discuss how the film depicted the atrocities during the 1950s in Algeria when it fought for independence.

Illegal Behavior

Many counts of illegal warfare tactics are shown in this film, whose portrayal is critical for the impact intended by the author. First, Pontecorvo did not prioritize either side in his movie but portrayed how their actions were destructive to both the French and Algerians. The FLN conducted many acts of terror in this movie, while the French tried to silence the opposition through all means possible. For example, Colonel Mathieu, the leader of French paratroopers in Algiers, had to ensure that paras must always get an answer from interrogations (Pontecorvo 00:59:37-00:59:44). This quote highlights the true intentions of soldiers, who had no plans on preserving the integrity of the population. Their altercations are shown to be excessively violent and damaging to both property and people.

Pontecorvos work acknowledges the dire role of these activities in the modern world. Insurrectionists realized that it was impossible to achieve their countrys independence without shedding blood (Pontecorvo). However, their actions were bound to force the opposite side to retaliate. Torture was used in the movie as a way through which French soldiers tried to resolve the situation, although it was not the last resort strategy. It served as a significant fuel source for hostilities, which were shown to be only escalating after paratroopers war crimes became apparent (Pontecorvo). The author made it clear that these acts cut all possibilities for dialogue as a way of resolving problems.

Insurrectionists broke numerous rules of armed conflict and worsened the situation further. Faking a surrender attempt is a crime depicted in the movie (Pontecorvo). The director did not glorify it but used this scene to reveal each sides profound hatred toward the other. Furthermore, the FLN involved children directly in their business, turning them into combatants (Pontecorvo). At this point, all laws were ignored, and cruelty prevailed over political measures. It is also critical to realize that the fights have been taken into the streets and civilians homes (Pontecorvo). In the end, open aggression from both sides continued to escalate even after the FLN leaders were eliminated, making it challenging to call the revolution a victory.

Terrorism

Those who sparked the conflict did not consist of law-abiding citizens who sought to free themselves from oppressive French rule. The author accurately points out that random attacks were committed by people who organized themselves through relationships they acquired in prisons (Pontecorvo). They might have perceived their cause as just, yet their approach was despicable. Numerous public assassination attempts have been made by Algerian insurgents on various targets, starting with random police officers (Pontecorvo). Provocation of the public was the goal of such acts, as the members of FLN tried to garner sympathy from the native part of the population. However, the authors intention was not the glorification of such behavior but an attempt to reveal the formation of revolutionary movements.

In my assessment, the FLNs actions were excessively cruel and unreasonable, as their targets had nothing to do with the people who might have harmed the local population. I disagree with the films viewpoint that this conflict was necessary. Instead of exhausting all the legal means, these criminals quickly turned to guns and explosives. After the counter-terrorism actions of the French police became more violent, one of the FLN leaders won the hearts of the public by claiming that [policemen] will kill us all. Leave it to the FLN (Pontecorvo 00:41:10-00:41:18). This quote is essential for the film, as Pontecorvo showed the benefits these acts brought to insurrectionists. I believe that the only civilized attempt to diffuse the situation was insufficient. Amidst the confrontation, the FLN tried to seek a way past the armed combat through a strike that must have represented the power of the organization to the United Nations (Pontecorvo). Continuous waves of violence, including mass shootings of random people, put all involved sides on edge.

Frances Counter-terrorism Actions

The French tried their best to avoid using the same strategy as their opponents, yet failed. The very beginning of the movie shows how the French tortured a man for his secrets in their pursuit of stopping the conflict (Pontecorvo). This scene is the authors statement regarding condemning the French way of waging this war. However, the movie also reveals that authorities did not immediately resort to such barbaric methods. The police did try to avoid the conflict without further bloodshed, although it failed and turned to dirtier tactics. The murders across the city have continued to amass, and the retaliation against terrorists was similarly violent, yet the French remained focused on resolution through lawful means and keeping the peace through paratroopers and curfews (Pontecorvo). These trained professionals had to take on the challenging task of determining the FLN members. In their pursuit of finishing the FLN, paratroopers became careless with the public opinion on their behavior, openly acting in the light of day and harming the Arabians in Algiers (Pontecorvo). The author did not favor any brutality and showed both the physical and mental suffering that the locals went through.

I think that the initial passive attitude toward the first attacks was detrimental to France. The actions of the police were insufficient to prevent any escalation and have caused further deterioration of relationships with locals. However, the paratroopers behavior was especially unacceptable, as their tactics gave non-combatants a reason to fight for the cause. I agree with the author regarding the futility of retribution as the primary driver in political matters. This notion became clear after Colonel Mathieu concluded that now the worm is headless, yet it is shown that he was wrong in his judgment, and the protests continued (Pontecorvo 1:53:04-1:53:15). While soldiers did try to appease the nation, they did it with poor understanding of the factors behind this animosity.

Conclusion

In conclusion, The Battle of Algiers portrays the French Armys and Algerian insurgents actions as cruel and unjustified toward each other. The conflict was filled with countless war crimes and acts of terrorism and lacked proper communication between sides. While the film did not capture the full extent of the loss of human lives throughout the revolution, its director revealed how the personal stories of those participating were filled with turmoil. Bombings, mass shootings, torture, and civilian involvement in armed confrontations are not a path toward resolving any political issue in the modern world.

Work Cited

The Battle of Algiers. Directed by Gillo Pontecorvo, Rizzoli, 1966.

Introduction

Terrorism has contributed to increased cases of violence, conflict, injuries and loss of innocent lives indicating a great need for effective interventions. This paper will discuss the notion of terrorism and effective ways to combat. While a number of notions of terrorism have been adopted, researchers cannot come to an agreement about its nature and characteristic features. Thus, Schwenkenbecher (2012) defines terrorism as the desire to have indirect influence on decision-making processes of some group through direct harmful actions on another group. Rapin (2011) calls attention to the negative connotations the term brings forth and the anxiety it causes placing terrorism close to the notion of terror. Taylor (2010) emphasizes the group phenomenon of the notion. Unlike previous attempts to define terrorism from the perspective of its dominant features, this study aims to embrace all aspects of the notion. Thus, this research defines terrorism as the unlawful use of violence against members of the public or the administration with an aim of causing harm.

Further, the study aims to investigate the measures used to combat terrorism. The study focuses on cooperation of the community and the police efforts as one of the most promising methods of fighting against terrorism. The author believes the collaboration between law enforcement officers and societal members to be of the most effective measures to address terrorism risks. The evidence for it lies in the fact that collaboration between police and community members allowed to disclosed more terror threats than the efforts of the police alone (Jackson & Costello, 2019). Within the framework of this research, the author aims to prove that such collaboration is effective in reducing the high prevalence of terrorism since it helps to promote confidence and rapport between members of the public and the police.

Literature Review

Community policing has proven to be effective in addressing terrorism since members play a significant role in helping police officers to identify high risk individuals. However this can only be achieved by ensuring that members of the public are aware and vigilant when it comes to terrorism (NCTC, 2022). This is necessary to ensure that citizens can easily identify behaviors that indicate specific groups of people seeking to engage in violence. Community policing should be focused on ensuring that society members are aware of various issues related to terrorism for them to raise an alarm for fast response.

Effectiveness of community policing strategies require community members and police officers to work in a collaborative manner. The police and citizens can work together to identify priority activities and address them in an appropriate manner (Snodgrass, 2020). Activities promoted by community policing help to foster long term trust relationship between law enforcement officers and the citizens. Trust results from members of the public realizing that the police are putting in the effort to keep them safe. Trust relationships are necessary to promote resilience and the ability to counter terrorist narratives.

Police and other law enforcement agencies have to be aware that using the engagement activities to gather intelligence might have a negative impact on the interaction with citizens. Community policing strategies should be focused on enhancing information sharing between the citizens and relevant authorities (Snodgrass, 2020). Community policing allows officers to openly share information with the public while also seeking support on issues that are of mutual concern. A well implemented community policing strategy helps to eliminate various forms of violent extremism.

Community policing and the efforts promoted by the intervention help to mitigate risks associated with individuals radicalizing to engage in terrorism. Police play a significant role in community policing strategies by addressing various factors in community that enhance the risk of violent extremism (Mazerolle, 2020). Community policing achieves this by providing society-based education and awareness programs. The programs enhance referral networks while also providing assistance to individuals who face increased risks of radicalization.

Law enforcement officers have to identify community policing strategies that are likely to enhance public engagement in countering terrorism. In this case officers can choose to engage in recreation and sports, community forums, liason programs and legitimacy enhancing strategies while also promoting community education (Mazerolle, 2020). This is necessary to ensure that law enforcement officers have a working relationship with general citizens which are necessary to address violent extremism. Success in community policing requires law enforcement officers to have strategies that promote connectedness. Community connectedness is necessary to increase prosocial ties between community members.

Effectiveness of community policing in eliminating terrorism depends on whether it helps to improve the relations between civilians and law enforcement agencies. Community policing strategies help to ensure that terrorists are deprived of their legitimacy and undermine their claims (Hoffman & Morrison-Taw, 2019). This helps to minimize terrorist influence within a community to ensure that they receive little to no support from societal members. Community policing also helps to redress any grievances likely to be used by terrorists to fuel unrest.

Community policing should be focused on addressing political and economic needs of the people to minimize civilian support towards terrorist groups. Terrorists can never be successful in their course without receiving support from members of the public (Hoffman & Morrison-Taw, 2019). Community policing interventions should not be aimed at impeding active or passive aid given to terrorists by civilians. Such measures can end up having a negative impact and causing members of the public to increase their support for terrorist groups.

Community policing strategies help to address terrorism by minimizing civilian recruitment to terrorist groups. Information shared through community campaigns play a role in limiting the influence of terrorist messages to eliminate their radicalizing effect. This is achieved by raising awareness among members of the public in relation to propaganda spread by violent extremists. Societal leaders and law enforcement officers should avoid using community policing to encourage members to spy on one another since it can have a negative impact on civilian trust (Jackson & Costello, 2019). The main goal of community policing is to reduce the incidence of terrorism by countering extremist causes and any ideology that supports radicalization. Community policing is also necessary to identify alternatives that can be used to respond to terrorism risks.

Analysis

The main methodology of this study is discourse analysis, which makes it possible to identify different perceptions and interpretations of the concept of terrorism. More specifically, this method allows crystallizing effective collaboration methods between the society and police officers within the framework of community policing. At the same time, the comparative method is actively used to contrast the key features of collaboration suggested by different researchers and make conclusions as to the best cooperation strategies. The strengths of the methodology employed lies in its broad embrace of a scientific literature on the subject which allows to make reliable conclusions as to the effectiveness of community policing in combatting terrorism. The limitations of the content methodology lie in the fact that no first-hand information, such as can be got from questionnaires or polling, was gathered, which largely makes the conclusions of this research second-handed.

The sample size consists of eight research works written between 2010-2020 that dwell on the concept of terrorism and community policing measures as a way to tackle it. The time frame of the research comprises years between 2000 to 2020, usually labelled as the years of the rise of terrorist attacks in the world. The chosen period adds credibility to the research made as it is the time when counter terrorist measures were elaborated and employed most vigorously.

While the necessity of community and police collaboration have been restated in many research works as a measure of paramount importance, researchers differ in their perceptions of how this collaboration should be organized. Mazerolle et al. (2020) believe that society-based education and awareness programs work to enhance the loyalty of the population to the police force and thus lay down the grounds for effective collaboration. Hoffman and Morrison-Taw (2019) state that effective cooperation can be reached through addressing political and economic needs of the people. However, all studies agree that, for the community policing to be effective, the cooperation should be based on trust and information sharing between the police and relevant authorities. Such system allows citizens to notify officers of the unduly behavior or occurrences they perceive so that the police force can take preventive measures to resolve the problem.

Moreover, all works agree that punitive measures will not serve to promote community policy efforts. Instead, such measures are likely to serve to erode trust and push citizens to radicalization. Moreover, Jackson & Costello (2019) state that police officers should not use community policing for surveillance over community members or encouragement of people to spy on each other, as such measures are conducive to the disintegration of community into poor manageable groups. Overall, the research revealed high generalizability and consistency of the analyzed materials, which makes the results highly reliable.

Conclusion

Within the framework of this research, the author aimed to prove that community policing is an efficient measure for reducing the high prevalence of terrorism. It was found that, to be effective, community policing should rely on cooperation and information sharing between law enforcement officers and community members. The collaboration can be reached through society-based education and awareness programs as well as addressing political and economic needs of the people. Punitive strategies were largely found to be disruptive for productive collaboration since they erode trust of the public in the police force.

References

Jackson, B. A., & Costello, K. (2019). Practical terrorism prevention: Reexamining US national approaches to addressing the threat of ideologically motivated violence. RAND Corporation, Web.

Hoffman, B., & Morrison-Taw, J. (2019). A strategic framework for countering terrorism and insurgency. Routledge, Web.

Mazerolle, L., Eggins, E., Cherney, A., Hine, L., Higginson, A., & Belton, E. (2020). Police programmes that seek to increase community connectedness for reducing violent extremism behaviour, attitudes and beliefs. Campbell Systematic Reviews, 16(3), e1111, Web.

NCTC. (2022). JCAT counterterrorism guide for public safety personnel. Web.

Rapin, A. J. (2011). What is terrorism?. Behavioral Sciences of Terrorism and Political Aggression, 3(3), 161-175. Web.

Schwenkenbecher, A. (2012). What Is Terrorism?. In Terrorism: A Philosophical Enquiry (pp. 38-47). Palgrave Macmillan, London. Web.

Taylor, M. (2010). Is terrorism a group phenomenon?. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 15(2), 121-129. Web.

Snodgrass, D. W. (2020). Using community-focused policing to combat terrorism and counter violent extremism: A law enforcement toolkit. Web.

Introduction

It is no longer a robust surprise that there is a strong connection between criminal and terrorist organizations. A criminal organization is a proceeding criminal endeavor that reasonably attempts to benefit from illegal exercises often in the extraordinary public interest. Its proceeding is kept up with through the defilement of public authorities and the utilization of intimidation or power to safeguard its activities. On the other hand, terrorist organizations utilize criminal brutality to incite a condition of dread, for the most part, with the expectation of accomplishing political or religious ambitions. The two have a sturdy connection in that organized crime can become a terrorist group and vice-versa. Organized crime is popularly associated with extortion, smuggling, counterfeiting, and contract killings. Terrorism organizations indulge in the trafficking of humans and ammunition, narcotics, and illegal trade in natural treasures. Additionally, the two groups can operate both at national and multinational levels. The three short texts give a broad understanding of the nature of terrorism-organized crime collaboration and their operations supporting criminal activities.

Background

Assad Ahmad Barakats network is the organized crime group in the Barakat Clan text. The network has a five-story building in Ciudad del Este.30. Arguably, the mall serves as a hub of various crimes committed across TBA. The crimes committed by Barkats network include counterfeit electronics, bootlegged goods, unrestricted currency exchange, illicit cellphone cloning, and drug trafficking. The crime-terror continuum in Barakats case is demonstrated when the group indulged in criminal activities for operational purposes and afterward allied terrorist group Hezbollah. Dawood Ibrahim gang is the criminal organization in the D-Company Group texts, demonstrating global crime and terror. The gang started with criminal practices, including extortion, smuggling, and contract killing. By 1980, the Gang group was controlling the pirated Indian film industry producing various Boyhood and Hollywood pirated films. The group altered into a terror group when it was involved in the Mumbai bombing, which claimed the lives of 257 people and left over 713 others injured. Later, the company developed a strong relationship with Al Qaeda and Kashmiri terrorist organizations. Continuum is displayed by the D-Company group by beginning as a criminal organization and suddenly affiliating with Al Qaeda and Kashmiri militia groups, and later the company practices commercial terrorism. The IRA text has deep insights into the paramilitary terrorist group. The group started as a terrorist organization causing unrest in Northern Ireland for over 30 years. During the terror attacks, over 3500 Irish civilians died. In 1998, a political process took place in the country leading to a ceasefire and decommissioning of the terror group. The group dissolved into several forms of organized crimes involved in counterfeits and smuggling. Crime terror continuum is exhibited as Paramilitary started as terrorist organization disintegrated into small groups allied to a criminal organization and afterward used terror tactics for operational purposes.

Lines of argument

The d-Company group initially engaged in criminal activities exclusively to support terrorist activities and later transformed into a predominantly profit-driven criminal enterprise. D-Company is known for being a close associate of Al Qaeda and Kashmiri terrorist groups. The company carried out an attack in India that claimed the lives of hundreds of people and left thousands of others injured to prove its association and transformation into a militia group (Siyech, 2019). The company had majored in smuggling, extortion, and vice to raise money to support its operations and terrorist activities. In 1992, Mumbai altered its trade guidelines on gold and silver, making trafficking less profitable. Ibrahim Dawood had to change his ideas on supporting terrorism and diversify his business. The company started venturing into narcotics, trafficking of ammunition, and the entertainment industry. It took the company about a decade to control and dominate all parts of the Mumbai filmmaking industry. The company also dominated the distribution of the Indian film industry across various parts of the world, including the USA, Britain, and Asian countries. Additionally, the company developed a thriving export enterprise in Karachi, Pakistan. Also, the company took control of the SADAF enterprise, which permitted Ibrahim and his group to distribute its pirated products to Pakistan efficiently. SADAF also allowed them to manufacture more pirated tapes and VCDs to be distributed globally, thus, dominating the Mumbai filmmaking industry by all means.

Assad Ahmad Barakats network was outsourced to the terrorist group Hezbollah to raise cash for terrorism activities. During the search conducted by Paraguayan police, receipts connected to the banks of Lebanon and a script from Nasrallah, the leader of Moqawamah, the resistance branch of Hezbollah, were recovered (Kosmynka, 2020). In the script, Nasrallah was thankful for the money raised by Barakat to support Hezbollah militia activities not only in Lebanon but also across the world. Barakat also had to contribute to charities conducted by Hezbollah in Lebanon to blind their sympathizers from being recognized as a militia group but instead being taken as an organization fighting for the rights of the Islamic community. Intelligence reports indicate that Barakat donates over 20 million dollars yearly from TBA in financing Hezbollah militia activities globally. The reports designate that Barakat is among the leading financial donors of Hezbollah, obtaining his finances through criminal activities in TBA.

Paramilitary terrorist organizations fulfilled a cash cow for terrorism and gradually transformed into an organization actively supporting the terrorist course. The group fought for over thirty years with the Irish military as a robust militia group. During its terrorist activities, many lives were lost, and products of huge value were distracted. The instability in Northern Ireland was unbearable until 1998, when major political reforms took place, leading to the decommissioning of the group. However, Paramilitary groups fragmented into several crime organizations, and by 2002, they were heavily involved in financing terrorism in Northern and the Republic of Ireland (Jupp & Garrod, 2019). Paramilitaries smuggled ammunition, animal feeds, livestock and pigs, cigars, petroleum, and stolen vehicles. The film and music industry continued to boom; paramilitary groups were associated with selling pirated films, PC games, and music. With the arrival of digital duplication, the sale of pirated music and film products by various crime groups proliferated hence financing more terrorism activities. According to the text IRA, for every euro spent by paramilitaries in financing terrorist activities, the government of Britain and the Republic of Ireland use over one hundred and thirty euros to counteract and repair terrorist damages. To ensure that the financing of terrorist activities continues smoothly, the groups, including PIRA, conducted fundraisings and offered constant operation costs to terrorists.

Conclusion

In conclusion, terror organizations can alter themselves into criminal organizations and vice versa. Barakats network started as an organized crime group in TBA and later shifted to associate with the Hezbollah militia group. D-company Group also started as a criminal organization involved in smuggling, extortion, and trafficking. Later, the group allied with Al Qaeda and bombed Mumbai. The group, at last, departed militia activities and got involved in criminal enterprises. Paramilitary groups mushroomed as militia groups that caused havoc to many Irish citizens. After 30 years of war, the group was decommissioned. However, the group fragmented into smaller crime organizations funding terrorist activities through fundraising. The impacts of both militia and criminal organizations include; loss of lives and destruction of properties, corruption of markets due to them availing counterfeit goods, trafficking, and narcotics which has caused human disturbances over centuries.

References

Jupp, J., & Garrod, M. (2019). Legacies of the Troubles: The Links between Organized Crime and Terrorism in Northern Ireland. Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 45(5-6), 140. Web.

Kosmynka, S. (2020). The Problem of Organized Crime in the South American Tri-Border Area: Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina. International Studies. Interdisciplinary Political and Cultural Journal, 25(1), 928. Web.

Siyech, M. S. (2019). Arms Smuggling in India: Exploring Links between Crime and Terrorism. Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 45(5-6), 118. Web.

Introduction

The events of recent years, the assistance of European governments to terrorist organizations in the fight against even prominent political figures, prove that, unfortunately, terrorism has become an acceptable tool in the struggle for spheres of geopolitical influence. Instability circles the western part of Eurasia from the south in North Africa, from the southeast in the Middle East, and now from the east in Europe. Throughout these regions, the security situation has deteriorated sharply in recent years. Some time after the start of the so-called war on terror, terrorist activity on the planet has increased dramatically. In this paper, all possible mechanisms of anti-terrorist structures are considered and presented in the context of the legislation and actions of Great Britain on the example of countering Al-Qaeda at the beginning of the 21st century.

Main Structures

Terrorists consider that one of their goals is to influence public opinion and the subjects of decision-making through intimidation, which leads to a deterioration in the situation in a state or region. and todays global society, a series of major terrorist attacks are increasingly capable of destabilizing the functioning of the world political system. The communication component is an essential aspect of terrorist activities, as well as international security, respectively (Bodas et al., 2021, Matusitz, 2012, Semati and Szpunar, 2018, Vergani and Bliuc, 2018). In this regard, it seems timely and necessary to analyze the communication strategies of the worlds developed countries in this area. Communication counteraction to terrorism can be successful with a combination of open and closed communications. The latter are well-developed in European states intelligence and counterintelligence systems.

In the aftermath of September 11, 2001, attacks, most EU governments have steadily expanded their anti-terrorism police and security forces. For example, the British MI5 budget was increased by almost 30% from May 2004 to June 2005 (Andrew, 2009). After the terrorist attacks in Madrid in 2004 and London in 2005, the EU developed and adopted a program to prevent and prosecute international terrorism, and in 2010 the EU Internal Security Strategy came into force, which provided for the creation of a unified European model for combating against terrorism and organized crime by coordinating the efforts of all EU member states and other countries (Wahl, 2010). The UK Government has approved the Prime Ministers initiative to establish a Joint Terrorism Threat Analysis Centre. According to the 2012-2013 Parliamentary Committee on Intelligence and Security report, MI5 uses 68% of its resources in the fight against international terrorism, and the annual growth of this share is estimated at 2.6 (Thomas, 2013). Terrorism scholars speak of the validity of this approach. Moreover, the European governments have concluded that it is urgent to improve the standard European intelligence system, especially the establishment of intelligence communications, where it is possible and adequate cooperation in data exchange and joint judicial procedures are possible.

The UK has a long history of countering terrorism and political extremism threats. Intelligence and counterintelligence play an essential role here. Thus, the Parliamentary Committee on intelligence and Security is constantly operating. It was founded following the 1994 Law on Intelligence Services; its primary purpose was initially to analyze the spending, management system, and policies of the countrys three intelligence services: the Security Service MI-5, the Secret Intelligence Service SIS or MI-6 and the Center for Government Communications GCHQ (Davies, 2004). Committee members operate in secrecy under the 1989 State Secrets Act (Walker, 2011). The committee reports directly to the Prime Minister and through him, to Parliament, publishing, among other things, annual reports on its work: they are publicly available on the UK government website. The committee has its secretariat within the secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers. The 2001-2002 report of the Parliamentary Committee on Intelligence and Security notes that the main legislative acts that today provide for the activities of the intelligence and security services came into force in the early 2000s. These include the Terrorism Act of 2000, the Investigative Powers Act of 2000, the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2001, and the Data Protection Act of 1998 (Bonner, 2002, Chatterjee, 2011, Pounder, 2022). These laws increased the demands on intelligence services.

In addition to the three intelligence services mentioned, the state intelligence mechanism includes the military intelligence headquarters and the Joint Intelligence Committee, which is part of the cabinet secretariat which includes the heads of MI5, MI6, and GCHQ. The Joint Intelligence Organization supports the JIC, which consists of an evaluation team, a coordinator team under the Prime Ministers office for security and intelligence, and a secretariat. Funding for the three intelligence services comes from the Unified Intelligence Services account, while DIS and JIO are funded by the Department of Defense and the Cabinet Office. At the national level, the heads of the three intelligence services have broad powers, as was evident immediately after September 11, 2001 (Blackbourn, 2011). The leaders of MI5, MI6, and GCHQ were in the US a day after the World Trade Center attacks to coordinate their agencies work with the US. Thus, Great Britain was the first of the EU countries to support the American course for a war on terror. After September 11, 2001, the document flow in the particular services increased sharply, both the number and volume of reports increased, and the removal of a significant number of restrictions on the powers of intelligence, both at the international level and to and in the UK itself (Gearty, 2005). Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, the Treasury approved £54 million for the financial year 20012002; another 54 million were allocated during 2002-2003.

CONTEST

Currently, the fight against terrorism in the UK follows the CONTEST  Counter-TErrorism STrategy strategy and implies an integrated approach. The first version of the strategy was adopted in 2003, its updated version CONTEST 2  in 2009, and the last one  in 2011, although the main principles of the three versions are the same. CONTEST focuses not only on identifying and predicting terrorist activity but also on studying the causes of extremism to deprive terrorist groups of the opportunity to recruit new fighters and public support (Gearson and Rosemont, 2015). CONTEST recognizes that terrorist attacks can still occur despite the diligent work of law enforcement and intelligence agencies, so the strategy includes essential provisions for the flexibility of the states position. It is due to the desire to provide for the possibility of applying emergency measures in the event of a terrorist act. The content of the CONTEST consists of four key elements, which are usually called four P:

Prevent aims to curb the radicalization of society through extensive information and communication work. The concept of preventing terrorism aims to deter people who actively sympathize with terrorists from committing terrorist attacks, as well as to eradicate the underlying motives of terrorism.

Pursue is aimed at identifying and disrupting existing terrorist networks, disrupting their operations plans. Intelligence plays a significant role in identifying and controlling potential threats. Evidence and testimonies are also being collected in this direction in order to ensure the conviction of the terrorists.

Protect is to reduce the UKs vulnerability to terrorist attacks. This concept provides for the expansion of the powers of the border services in order to complicate the crossing of British borders for terrorists. The concept also refers to the protection of critical areas of infrastructure: state borders, transport networks, and many more, attacks on which can cause severe damage.

Prepare is the final aspect of CONTEST, the main point of which is that although it is impossible to prevent every single terrorist attack, it is necessary to plan for crises to increase the states ability to respond to terrorist attacks. For this, possible risks are predicted, behavior scenarios in a crisis are developed, and training is provided to apply them in practice.

Al-Qaedas success in the UK in 2011 was assessed as insignificant. No successful terrorist attacks have been recorded since the July 2005 subway bombings. The decrease in the number of trials and, accordingly, the number of prisoners made it possible to conclude that the ranks of terrorists are less often replenished with new people yearly. The question was even raised about the final victory of the British special services over Al-Qaeda. However, against the backdrop of data on the radicalization and growth of ultra-right sentiments in British society and, of course, against the background of such events as the high-profile murder of a serviceman Lee Rigby on May 22, 2013, right on a London street, an attempt to set fire to the city mosque on the same night, the victory claimed by the authorities can be regarded as nothing more than a tactical one (Richards, Fussey and Silke, 2010). Victory in any terrorist conflict, according to E. Silke, a researcher at the University of East London, ultimately depends on two critical factors. Although the first of these, the specialist calls the degree of intelligence professionalism, the ability to classify ones secrets and plans, revealing the plans of the enemy, the second, perhaps even more important factor is recognized as psychological struggle, what is called the battle for hearts and minds: As long as the roots of terrorism feed on society, the conflict continues. If this support is withdrawn, the terrorists begin to feel like a fish washed ashore; their days are numbered (Richards, Fussey, and Silke, 2010). However, the concept of preventing terrorism has been implemented poorly in the UK for a long time; most of the projects and investments were concentrated in other areas.

As an illustration, data on project funding within the CONTEST is given, and projects in the field of psychological warfare remain on the periphery. In 2006, the Anti-Terrorist Police Department was merged with the London Police Special Services Branch, resulting in a new organization: the 15th Anti-Terrorist Special Operations Team STS. By 2007, its staff had expanded to 2,000 police officers and related services (Clarke, 2007). STS has three regional divisions. The Counter Terrorism Team is dedicated to combating the threat of terrorism at the local, national and international levels and supports the National Anti-Terrorism Network and the Senior National Counter Terrorism Coordinator.

While the JTS shows a high level of commitment to implementing the concept of persecution contained in CONTEST, its achievements in preventing terrorism are still less known. There is information about the work of the Muslim Contact Unit, which played an essential role in establishing relations between the police and Muslim communities, as Muslim youth were chosen by Al-Qaeda and some other terrorist and extremist organizations as the target audience of their propaganda. In practice, the Prevent concept is often criticized, as many see it as a mechanism for gratuitous surveillance of citizens. For example, V. Dodd, a crime reporter for The Guardian newspaper, cites many opinions according to which British intelligence aims to control citizens private lives (Dodd, 2019). Without the accumulation of information, the fight against terrorism is impossible, but the above case shows that in a polarized European society, secret services face the problem of public loyalty, increasing the reputation of security agencies in the eyes of citizens. Therefore, the traditional work of collecting information often irritates without a review of the communication system with the public.

Conclusion

Even though terrorism itself is a means of realizing the economic and political interests of relatively narrow groups and can exploit any ideology as long as it helps to achieve the goal, in the public mind, terror is associated with the efforts of the media, some politicians, precisely with the ideology of the problem of self-identification, expressed in political, religious, cultural doctrine. It is one of the main reasons that terrorist cells and networks have become so quick to find active supporters and recruits: terrorism, since at least September 11, 2001, has been recognized as an expression of ideology; in particular, this is reflected in the naming of supporters Al-Qaeda jihadists and thousands of those who did not find a way to solve their problems within the framework of a liberal political course and began to search for an alternative ideology became visitors to extremist and terrorist Internet sites or consumers of low-quality literature.

Thus, the same approach to the problem partly provokes radicalization in the European Union. The situation in the UK corresponds to the situation in the field of combating terrorism in the European Union as a whole, in which, despite the apparent need to develop communication support for the fight against terrorism, a network of anti-terrorist units is developing, first of all, whose specialization remains power operations, investigations. Structures responsible for cooperation with public organizations and national and religious minorities are developing as an addition to the network of anti-terrorist units. Often, their communication strategies are not fully developed. However, when developing practical recommendations in the field of communication countering terrorism, it is necessary to take into account both positive and negative experiences; therefore, the study of various areas of anti-terrorist activities in Western countries seems relevant and vital. The scientific community is able and should become one of the active institutions of civil society that can oppose terrorist propaganda with the idea of positive social and cultural development, but this idea can be realized in specific activities only with the full support of the state, acting in the interests of society, and not in narrowly corporate interests.

Reference List

Andrew, C. (2009) Defend the realm: The authorized history of MI5. New York, USA: Vintage.

Blackbourn, J. (2011). The evolving definition of terrorism in UK law. Behavioral Sciences of Terrorism and Political Aggression, 3(2), pp. 131-149. Web.

Bodas, M., et al. (2021) The effect of risk communication on public behavior to non-conventional terrorismrandomized Control trial, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(1), p. 342. Web.

Bonner, D. (2002) Managing terrorism while respecting human rights? European aspects of the anti-terrorism Crime and Security Act 2001, European Public Law, 8(4). Web.

Chatterjee, B. B. (2011) New but not improved: a critical examination of revisions to the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 encryption provisions, International Journal of Law and Information Technology, 19(3), pp. 264-284. Web.

Clarke, P. (2007) Learning from Experience: Counter-terrorism in the UK since 9/11. London, UK: Policy Exchange.

Davies, P. (2004) MI6 and the machinery of spying: Structure and process in britains secret intelligence. Oxfordshire, UK: Routledge.

Dodd, V. (2019) Counter-terror chief says policing alone cannot beat extremism, The Guardian. Web.

Gearson, J., and Rosemont, H. (2015) CONTEST as Strategy: Reassessing Britains Counterterrorism Approach, Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 38(12), pp. 1038-1064. Web.

Gearty, C. (2005) 11 September 2001, Counterterrorism, and the Human Rights Act, Journal of Law and Society, 32(1), pp. 18-33. Web.

Matusitz, J. (2012) Terrorism and communication. London, UK: Sage.

Pounder, C. (2002) Anti-terrorism legislation: The impact on the processing of data, Computers & Security, 21(3), pp. 240-245. Web.

Richards, A., Fussey, P., and Silke, A. (2010) Terrorism and the Olympics: Major event security and lessons for the future. Oxfordshire, UK: Routledge.

Semati, M., and Szpunar, P. M. (2018) ISIS beyond the spectacle: communication media, networked publics, terrorism, Critical Studies in Media Communication, 35(1), pp. 1-7. Web.

Thomas, G. (2013) Inside British intelligence: 100 years of MI5 and MI6. London, UK: JR Books.

Vergani, M., and Bliuc, A. M. (2018) The language of new terrorism: Differences in psychological dimensions of communication in Dabiq and Inspire, Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 37(5), pp. 523-540. Web.

Wahl, T. (2010) The European Union as an actor in the fight against terrorism in A War on Terror? (pp. 107-170). New York, USA: Springer, New York, NY. Web.

Walker, C. (2011) Terrorism and the Law. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Introduction

Explosive devices are often chosen by terrorists as the main weapon of destruction. There are several reasons why terrorist groups specifically use explosives in their acts. Firstly, explosives offer significant potential for destruction, which guarantees terrorists a higher number of victims and draws more attention to the message the group conveys through the act. Thus, the number of victims will include people in the explosive devices proximity and those harmed by the explosions environmental destruction. Moreover, explosive devices have an easier construction, with most of the components being readily available. In order to investigate the bombing attack and identify the explosives used in the terrorist attack, forensics specialists need to run several tests. This essay will focus on exploring the methods of forensics used to investigate the terrorist attacks in Paris on November 13, 2015.

Discussion

The case of the 2015 terrorist attack in Paris is unique because it included three separate explosions in different crowded places. The attack was performed by three groups of suicide bombers and included several targets. According to Ludes (2020), the coordinated attack resulted in 130 dead victims. Thus, the forensic teams mission to identify the terrorists and victims was complicated by the terrorists combination of different attack methods and varying conditions of victims bodies which ranged from complete to disrupted.

The article by Ludes (2020) explains that in order to ensure prompt disaster victim identification, the forensics used postmortem computed tomography. The investigation of victims corpses discovered extreme organ lacerations and identified the presence of foreign bodies, which points to the use of shrapnel load in the explosive device (Ludes, 2020). Thus, the investigation of victims corpses presents one of the forensic tests that can be used to identify the explosives used in the attack.

Next, in one of the several attacks, that took place in the Bataclan Theater, the victims were held hostage by the terrorists. When a police raid tried to stop the hostage-taking and exchanged fire with the terrorists, one of them detonated his explosive vest. Thus, establishing the causes of death of victims from the Bataclan site was necessary for legal reasons. The article by Tracqui et al. (2020) explains that to identify the victims and the causes of their deaths, the forensics used targeted autopsies, external examination, and DNA sampling. Furthermore, the analysis of terrorists bodies identified residue from the use of acetone peroxide in the explosive device (Tracqui et al., 2020).

Thus, created from widely available acetone and hydrogen peroxide, the mixture presents a common explosive used by suicide bombers (Saferstein & Roy, 2020). Therefore, forensics analysis of explosive devices used in a terrorist attack may include not only the investigation of the site and the environmental damage but also the postmortem examination of victims and terrorists bodies.

Conclusion

In conclusion, in the case of the Paris attacks in 2015, the targeted autopsy allowed forensic teams to identify victims and terrorists, determine the causes of their deaths and define the nature of the explosive device. The use of targeted autopsy was chosen to speed up the process of examining the victims bodies and promptly returning them to the grieving relatives. The findings from the investigation determined that the terrorists used a mixture of acetone and hydrogen peroxide as detonators. The investigation also defined that explosive devices used in the attack had shrapnel fragments installed to maximize the number of victims.

References

Ludes B. (2020). Forensic multidisciplinary involvement after terrorist attacks. Forensic Sciences Research, 5(3), 189190. Web.

Saferstein, R., & Roy, T. (2020). Criminalistics: An introduction to forensic science (13^th ed.). Pearson Education (US).

Tracqui, A., Deguette, C., Delabarde, T., Delannoy, Y., Plu, I., Sec, I., Hamza, L., Taccoen, M., & Ludes, B. (2020). An overview of forensic operations performed following the terrorist attacks on November 13, 2015, in Paris. Forensic Sciences Research, 5(3), 202207. Web.

Terrorism is the use of violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political aims. This can include acts such as bombings, kidnappings, hijackings, and mass shootings, and is often carried out by non-state actors such as extremist groups. The goal of terrorism is to create fear and disrupt the normal functioning of society, with the ultimate aim of influencing the government or the population to give in to the demands of the terrorist group. Terrorism can take many forms and can be motivated by a wide range of ideologies and grievances, but it is always characterized by its indiscriminate targeting of civilians.

Policies put in place to deter terrorism have been met with mixed results. Some argue that measures such as increased surveillance and military action have been effective in preventing attacks and disrupting terrorist networks (Parker et al., 2019). However, others argue that these policies have been counterproductive, leading to human rights abuses and alienating the very communities that are most likely to be targeted by terrorists. Additionally, the nature of terrorism is such that it is difficult to completely eliminate. Even with effective policies in place, it is almost impossible to prevent all terrorist attacks.

These standards can be applied to particular pieces of legislation, such as the Patriot Act. An important example of a policy that is intended to discourage terrorist acts is the passage of the Patriot Act in the United States in the wake of the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11th, 2001. The act provides law enforcement and intelligence agencies with expanded powers to investigate and prevent terrorist activities (Parker et al., 2019). These expanded powers include the ability to conduct surveillance on individuals suspected of being terrorists and to gather intelligence from sources located outside the United States. It is important to evaluate the effectiveness of these policies in order to improve the ability to fight terrorism and keep the citizens safe. The Patriot Act is just one of many policies that have been implemented around the world to deter terrorism. Other policies to deter terrorism have been implemented in other parts of the world as well.

In the wake of the terrorist events that occurred on September 11, 2001, the United States government responded by passing a statute known as the Patriot Act. The laws primary objective is to improve the countrys overall safety by endowing existing government authorities with expanded authority to investigate and combat terrorist activity. When considering the efficacy of the Patriot Act, it is essential to keep in mind that the legislation has been instrumental in foiling multiple attempts to carry out terrorist attacks. The FBI, for instance, has made advantage of the provisions of the act in order to foil a scheme that was hatched in 2006 to blow up gasoline tanks at JFK airport in New York City (Haner, et al., 2021). In addition, the legislation has been utilized to discourage terrorist attacks by making it more difficult for terrorist organizations to carry out their activities within the United States.

In addition, since it came into effect in 2001, the Patriot Act has been lauded for its contribution to the reduction of the number of terrorist acts that have been carried out in the United States. The parts of the act that call for expanded intelligence sharing and surveillance have made it possible for various agencies to work together more effectively, which has aided in the detection of potential terrorist plans and prevented them from being carried out. The increase in the powers granted to law enforcement by the legislation has also made it possible to conduct investigations and prosecutions of terrorist activities in a more efficient manner. However, despite its widespread support, the Patriot Act has also been the target of significant criticism. There are others who believe that it threatens civil freedoms and that many of its features are either unneeded or do not work as intended. In addition, the act has been criticized for being overly general and for being utilized for things apart from the prevention and suppression of terrorist acts.

One may make the case that the strategic systems that have been put into place to combat terrorism have gotten more effective, but this does not necessarily mean that they have been more efficient. New government departments and programs, such as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), have been established as a direct result of the passage of the Patriot Act (Haner, et al., 2021). These new departments and programs are intended to improve information sharing and coordination between the various government agencies involved in the fight against terrorism. However, as a result of these systems, efforts have been duplicated, and the systems have been criticized for being overly bureaucratic and sluggish to react. Some people believe that the government agencies that were established as a result of the Patriot Act are not functioning as efficiently as they could be (Busher et al., 2019). Some people argue that there is a lack of efficient coordination and cooperation between the many agencies, which results in information silos and duplicated efforts. This is something that they say contributes to the problem.

The Patriot Act has been criticized for having an overly expansive scope, which has resulted in the data collection and surveillance of American citizens who are not suspected of engaging in activities related to terrorism. This has the potential to be seen as a violation of the civil liberties of these individuals. In addition, the act has been criticized because it allows for roaming wiretaps and sneak and peek searches (Busher et al., 2019). Critics contend that these provisions provide law enforcement with an excessive amount of power without the obligatory level of monitoring. On the other hand, it is essential to keep in mind that the Patriot Act and other anti-terrorism policies do have some shortcomings. These shortcomings include the possibility that they will have a negative impact on civil liberties and the possibility that they will not be as effective as they could be. In addition, one may argue that the anti-terrorism laws implemented by the federal government are beneficial to some degree, but that there is still opportunity for advancement in this area.

In conclusion, despite the fact that anti-terrorism policies such as the Patriot Act have been successful in preventing and discouraging terrorist attacks, lowering and mitigating the impact of attacks, and making strategic systems more effective. It is essential for policymakers to continue to evaluate and improve anti-terrorism policies in order to ensure that they are as effective and efficient as is possible in discouraging terrorist acts (Haner, et al., 2021). It is imperative that those in positions of power find a method to improve the efficacy and efficiency of anti-terrorism programs. Means to strike a balance between the protection of national security and the preservation of civil freedoms are also important in this quest.

References

Busher, J., Choudhury, T., & Thomas, P. (2019). The enactment of the counter-terrorism Prevent duty in British schools and colleges: Beyond reluctant accommodation or straightforward policy acceptance. Critical Studies on Terrorism, 12(3), 440-462. Web.

Haner, M., Sloan, M. M., Cullen, F. T., Graham, A., Lero Jonson, C., Kulig, T. C., & Ayd1n, Ö. (2021). Making America safe again: Public support for policies to reduce terrorism. Deviant Behavior, 42(10), 1209-1227. Web.

Parker, D., Pearce, J. M., Lindekilde, L., & Rogers, M. B. (2019). Challenges for effective counterterrorism communication: Practitioner insights and policy implications for preventing radicalization, disrupting attack planning, and mitigating terrorist attacks. Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 42(3), 264-291. Web.

Introduction

Terrorist attacks are as unpredictable as they are devastating. In many cases, they can cause infrastructural damage, deaths, and mass casualty situations that can disrupt typical civilian operations (Søby, 2020). Houston City in Texas is the fourth most populous city in the USA with about six and a half million inhabitants (Myers, 2021). Additionally, its location as a port city cements its regional and national importance. In case of a large-scale terrorist event, several measures should be taken to ensure continuity in its operations. This paper anticipates an act of state-sponsored terrorism or even homegrown violent extremists that take out critical city infrastructure through targeted bombings and explosions. The terror attack would aim to cripple critical city operations, cause mass deaths, and inspire fear in the city residents. The continuity plan for Houston City presented in this paper will be divided into critical essential functions, a business impact analysis summary, and support functions for the continuity plan personnel.

Essential Functions

In the case of a terrorist attack that causes structural damage, several activities and processes must be restarted promptly. Excessive delays in resuming these processes would place the inhabitants of Houston City at undue risk and reduce their faith in the capacity of the emergency response programs. The maximum time allowable for the essential function to resume should be stated and used to guide response efforts as well and the required resources for the prompt restoration of each essential function are detailed in the following section.

Operational Communications

It is conceivable that a large-scale terrorist attack would cripple communications systems throughout Houston. A collapse in communications would result in the inability of the state to request much-needed external assistance and render the operations of emergency response units almost impossible (Søby, 2020). Staff responsible for this essential function would include the entire Houston city security apparatus and telecommunications services providers within Houston City. Other supporting activities include the repair of signal network towers and underground internet cables among other structural components that support communications. This essential function would require skilled personnel from telecommunication service providers who can carry out the necessary repairs and restoration of the telecommunication systems. As such, facility repair kits and spare equipment for the emergency restoration of this essential function are necessary.

Security and Defense Operations

Following a terrorist attack, security and defense operations can easily fall apart. This was evident on September 11, 2001, when terrorists attacked the World Trade Center in New York (Landahl & Thornton 2021). The resultant disruption in national security operations was characterized by a lapse that allowed another terrorist attack on the Pentagon in the wake of the initial attacks. Thus, it is of paramount importance that the security apparatus in Houston City continue its functions promptly and effectively to offset the risks of a subsequent attack after the initial setback. Houston City can enlist additional security personnel from the citizenry to guard critical infrastructure to offset a potential subsequent attack. Soft targets such as schools, public halls, and emergency response centers where victims of the first attack coalesce can easily be targeted in a subsequent attack. Additionally, civilians can form useful interdependencies with Houston City law enforcement by providing timely information on suspicious activities in their neighborhoods in the framework of community policing before, and after a terrorist attack.

Information Recording and Storage

In the case of a terrorist attack on Houston City, several critical resources could be taken out. For instance, internet connectivity can be taken out in a physical attack thus impacting the ability to store data digitally. Notably, such information would be critical for posterity and especially for intelligence arms of the government that would want to assess the nature of the attack to identify weak areas in their defense mechanisms (Gill, 2019). Continuity would therefore involve ensuring that the ability of Houston City to log information regarding the attack remains intact following a terrorist attack. This essential function can be sustained by providing a robust system that incorporates black boxing of critical digital functions. In particular, Houston should have several servers and city databases that are separate from the national grid and therefore more difficult to compromise. For the installation of this element of the continuity plan, a valuation can be acquired based on an Information Technology (IT) experts determination of the structural requirements (Jameel et al., 2019). Furthermore, Houston City would have to incur recurrent expenditure for staff tasked with routine maintenance of this facility.

Business Impact Analysis Summary

Risks Following a Terrorist Attack

In case of a terrorist attack that cripples critical infrastructure fundamentals, several impacts can be reasonably expected. Firstly, there would be a citywide loss of power as a result of the destruction of energy grid elements (Humphreys, 2019). As a result, there would be a loss of intracity and outbound communications which would effectively hamper the ability of Houston City to immediately request emergency aid from the surrounding areas. Secondly, there would be a loss of servers and database support systems that are critical to the provision of emergency services such as healthcare and security. Thirdly, there would be a vacuum in the chain of command occasioned by the potential death and incapacitation of crucial members of emergency social services such as paramedics, law enforcement, and firefighters. Lastly, there would be a loss of public order that could potentially result in mass panic and hysteria. Criminal elements within the city, or the terrorists themselves, could potentially take advantage of the chaos and attempt to access areas or information of vital national importance.

Requirements for a Continuity Facility

In light of the above-mentioned risks, Houston City would require a dedicated Continuity Response Unit comprised of members drawn from emergency services and the community at large. Additionally, the continuity response team would require a centralized location where they can meet and discuss the particulars of the emergency at hand before taking necessary, coordinated action. Since the CRU does not have permanent engagement, they can use the City of Houston Fire Department Logistical Center & Maintenance Depot as a base from which to operate in case of a terrorist emergency. The facility for all meetings of the CRU as the need arises. The CRU should be activated into action by an order of the Houston City Mayor and should have a hierarchy that takes command of its enlistees in the case of a terrorist attack.

Risk Prevention and Mitigation Tactics

Terrorist attacks can be prevented by adopting effective homeland and international surveillance of potential insurgents. In particular, state security departments such as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) must sustain high alertness to preempt any acts of terror. In this case, the CRU should have monthly meetings in the designated location where they discuss any emerging or suspicious developments within Houston City. Important information arising from such meet-ups must be promptly handed over to law enforcement and intelligence units. Additionally, the CRU should have a well-maintained, auxiliary independent server and database system. In case of a terrorist attack that takes out the Information Technology (IT) and Communications grid, the CRU could provide temporary support to critical city systems such as healthcare. Moreover, the auxiliary server and database support system would ensure the CRUs activities stay coordinated throughout the response period.

Support Functions

The CRU must work within a framework that supports its preparedness at all times. Firstly, the members of the CRU should be drawn from different fields. In particular, persons working in technical roles such as repairmen, emergency response teams, and former servicemen in the various state and national security apparatus should be invited to enlist. Those enlisted in the CRU should hold periodic meetings in the designated place where they can be updated on the various drills to implement in case of a terrorist attack. Pay and benefits, as well as administrative support, for enlistees, should be taken up by the City of Houston. Members of the CRU should provide timely updates of their whereabouts to their administrators especially when they travel out of the City of Houston. Additional administrative support should be carried out by the auxiliary server and database unit for Houston City to ensure it sustains a high level of serviceability.

Conclusion

In conclusion, a terrorist attack in Houston City would cause societal upheaval. However, a meaningful continuity plan can alleviate the upheaval as well as ensure continued protection of city inhabitants at a time of systemwide disruption. The continuity plan should seek to ensure sustained security, communications, information protection, and data security before and after the terrorist attack. The continuity plan may be the only safeguard against total societal collapse following a terrorist attack.

References

Gill, P. (2019). Explaining intelligence failure: Rethinking the recent terrorist attacks in Europe. International Journal of Intelligence and CounterIntelligence, 33(1), 125. Web.

Humphreys, B. E. (2019). Critical infrastructure: emerging trends and policy considerations for congress. R45809. Congressional Research Service, Washington, DC.

Jameel, T., Ali, R., & Ali, S. (2019). Security in modern smart cities: An information technology perspective. 2019 2nd International Conference on Communication, Computing and Digital Systems (C-CODE). Web.

Landahl, M. R., & Thornton, T. E. (2021). The role of law enforcement in emergency management and homeland security. Emerald Group Publishing.

Myers, D. (2021). Prophetic city: Houston on the cusp of a changing America. Journal of Urban Affairs, 44(2), 282284. Web.

Søby, K. K. (2020). The absolute protection of our citizens: Critical infrastructure protection and the practice of security. In Securing the Homeland (pp. 63-83). Routledge.