Term Paper on "Counter Terrorism Issues. The Writer Uses Three"

Term Paper 12 pages (3245 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

counter terrorism issues. The writer uses three sources to answer questions about Mosques, agents and privacy.

The city that we live in has a large Arab population. The Arab community is comprised of both Arab-Americans and immigrants from Arab nations. As a senior counter terrorism official for the United States government it is my duty to determine the level of caution and steps that will be taken in this area to counteract and help prevent any possible acts of terrorism in the area.

When one wants to determine what level of caution to take when it comes to preventing acts of terrorism it is important not to focus exclusively on Arab populations. One only need to study the Oklahoma bombings to understand the depth of danger in focusing on one group or one population when looking for signs of planned terroristic activities. With that in mind however, one must be mindful of the fact that the United States currently faces the largest threat from Arab or Muslim nations, therefore it is prudent to remain diligent and cautious in the observation of a focused Arab or Arab-American group in the area.

To that end this department is going to take the necessary steps to maintain a presence within the area's Arab community including both covert, and overt infiltration operations.

Efforts will be focused on infiltration with the use of undercover federal officers who are of Arab descent. They will be encouraged to live and work among the community members and to plant ideas and thoughts of discontent among those who they believe may be anti-American or tied to possible terrorist groups. This will be done in the hopes of getting invited to join any group that may be forming or has already formed in the area that is capable of planning a terrorist attack on a U.S. target.

One of the methods used to infiltrate the community for the purpose of examining the possibility of attacks will be to have the selected agents attend the Mosques. While this must be done on a very low key level as to maintain the dignity and respect for the Muslim faith it is important to include it in the operations as some of the threats to Americans is based in Muslim anger at the country.

The next step that will be taken is to develop informants within the population. This step must be undertaken with extreme caution as the informants may tell others that they are informants and if there are any terrorist plans being made they will be buried even more deeply underground until they are carried out.

The informants will be adults and they will be developed based on mutual interest in preserving the safety of those residing in the United States, both foreign and natural residents. The informants will not e paid for their information to prevent any false information being fed to the agents in the attempt to make money.

Informants will be developed in several areas, to include Mosque, business, and social groups in the Arab community of the area. Each informant will be asked to report any suspicious rumors or behaviors that they become aware of so that it can be checked out using the utmost care and caution not to reveal the informant's identity.

There are several ethical considerations to be considered within the counter terrorism program that will be set up.

While it is important for the nation to remain safe and as part of the effort to maintain that safety things must be done, it is also important to maintain the ethical standard that this nation was founded on. The United States constitution provides certain rights and responsibilities to those who live here in both laymen and in official capacities.

The prevention of needless deaths through acts of terrorism must take a front row seat in the plan of action by this department. The acts signed into law by President Bush allows a more focused tracking and observation of populations that have been allowed in the past. While this is important to the overall plan of countering terrorism it is important to remember that this nation was founded on the rights of people to have lives free of unnecessary persecution.

One example of this line will be demonstrated in the infiltration of the Mosques. While agents will be assigned to attend Mosque they will also be required to take part in the religious steps that are commonly expected in the setting. They will also be expected to only infiltrate to the point of looking for terrorist activities or discussions and remain out of any other issues including political discontent or American bashing speeches.

If an American citizen is captured in the U.S. And is suspected of being involved in acts of terrorism the same laws and rules must apply to that person as would apply to any other person accused of a serious crime. Acts of terrorism come with a separate set of guidelines for detainment rules and sentencing possibilities but it is important to remain neutral and not let the treatment of that person be ruled with emotion instead of focused legal efforts.

The status and rights of the suspected terrorist must be respected. The rights to a fair and speedy trial are important factors as well as protecting that suspect from vigilante justice attempts by citizens or law enforcement agents.

A reasonable bail must be set to allow that person to bond out. There should be extra steps of precaution taken however, including the confiscation of any passports and the freezing of any bank accounts so that the suspect cannot leave the nation before the trial or fund terrorist attempts.

While these precautions may seem to infringe on the rights of the suspect it is not an uncommon practice when it comes to the judicial system. The same steps are often taken in the suspected drug activity world to insure the suspected drug dealer not leave the nation or spend money that was obtained through illegal activities or used for future illegal activities while awaiting trial.

A foreign national who was engaged in acts of terrorism should be held without bond until he or she can be tried. This is because of the fact that the person in question most likely has a support system and family outside of the United States and the chances of that person fleeing the United States to avoid a trial is higher than with most U.S. citizens.

An American citizen who engages in fights against American forces abroad and is captured committing acts of terrorism will be treated in the same manner as foreign nationals who engage in such behavior. An American who is willing to fight and kill members of his own nation has given up the right to be treated in the same manner as an American citizen would be treated. He or she has made her allegiance clear with actions and should be held without bond with the knowledge that they most likely have ties outside of the U.S. that will help them escape their trial if allowed to bond out and exercise freedom during the wait.

There will be times when foreign organizations will demand terrorist suspects be released to their homeland and face trial for their actions there. The United States must refuse to cooperate with such requests. The United States has the right and must maintain the right to try and sentence those who commit acts of terrorism against its people.

There is an anti-American sentiment in the United States (Backlash, 2001). It is demonstrated in the Arab-American community and the local Arab community is no exception. There have been several anti-American demonstrations in this area in which agents attended and used digital cameras to take pictures of the crowds being gathered to demonstrate. These photos will be enhanced and the individuals in them will be sent to a national database and compared with photos of known terrorist friendly people in that database. If any come back as a match an agent will be assigned to those people to infiltrate and try and determine if they have plans or are supporting any future plans for terrorist attacks.

The anti-terrorist sentiment is very strong in America. The nation watched in horror as 3,000 innocent civilians lost their lives in an attack on the New York Towers. It was something that the nation had never before experienced and the outrage about the act could be heard worldwide. When all was said and done the initial reaction of the American public was to go after terrorists with little regard to ethics or human rights. However, several years later as the war on terrorism continues that sentiment has changed. When the photos of the Iraqi prisoners being tortured by American soldiers was broadcast there was outrage that soldiers would commit such acts of brutality.

There will never be a reason to torture terrorist prisoners. As tempting as it may be in the quest… READ MORE

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