Analyzing Domestic Terrorism Intelligence Essay

Analyzing Domestic Terrorism Intelligence
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Analyzing Domestic Terrorism Intelligence
History
Terrorism is defined as violence, or the threat of violence used to cause fear and lack of peace. The terrorism act is conducted so that the violence can be for two reasons; a long-range political reason or far-reaching psychological consequences on a given target group. (Riley & Hoffman, 1995). In the 1970s, terrorism was viewed as a phenomenon by the poor and the most desperate individuals. Therefore it needed to be confronted sympathetically. It was believed that terrorism occurred where there was oppression, terrorists had genuine grievances, and it was concluded that once grievances were eradicated, terrorism disappeared. (Lacquer, 2012)
Terrorist activity is mainly designed to make a statement, to communicate, and leave a mark. It becomes a statement as terrorists know that the media likes to cover events and tragedies such as attacks. Once the media covers it, this provides a platform for the terrorist to express what can be done physically and psychologically to affect those who view the activity. The terrorist activity introduces itself in various forms such as bombings, arson, property damage, and assassination. These activities take weeks, some even months, for planning and execution to happen. (Ronczkowski, 2012).
Terrorism history dated back very many years ago, but it did not appear as frequently and with great intensity. As a result, it was regarded as a new phenomenon when it reappeared after a period of relative calmness. Terrorism does not offer defined lessons simply because conditions varied from one country to another, age to age. However, specific patterns were evident, one being that throughout the history of terrorism, it has been politically influential and brought about the opposite of what it was intended to achieve. It brought more repression than it did liberation. (Lacquer, 2012)
Over the years, terrorism has been alarmingly rising, and this can be attributed to:
* Technology advancement has made it very easy for terrorist groups to connect and recruit new members, manufacture better weapons, easier manufacturing bombs and other weapons of mass destruction.
* Ease of radicalization. Due to the nature of certain economies, i.e., poverty and unemployment, it has become easy for terrorist groups to recruit young people to conduct crimes, homicide in their own countries to make a living, and signal hatred to their authorities, governments.
* Existence of multiple terrorist movements. That has posed a significant threat in many countries as it has increased the level of terror in countries that had minimal threats of attack, such as African countries. Initially, terrorism was believed to be a Western countries problem with Al-Qaeda attacking countries such as the United States. Today, however, terrorism is quite rampant in countries around the world and can happen anywhere.
Where it first began
According to a panel report presented to the United States Congress in 1998, intelligence plays an essential role in preventing terrorist attacks. It assists law enforcers in arresting and prosec...