CJS 6125 Research Paper Development Of Some Of The Weapons

Counterterrorism Initiatives
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Introduction
This paper addresses the various initiatives that have been put in place by antiterrorists groups in an attempt to fight terrorism. Different countries across the world have been on the lookout to ensure the safety of their citizens. Some have done this by improving the security checks in their borders to prevent the entry of immigrants with the aim of carrying out attacks. For instance, the US Department of immigration has employed strict measures in the borders whereby immigrants are thoroughly searched to prevent them from smuggling weapons into the country. As well, thorough backgrounds checks are also carried out. All these security measures have been put in place following the 9/11 attack on the world trade center. Minor attacks have also been taking place hence calling for the US government to implement strict security measures (Powell, 2018). In addition, other nations such as north Korea have focused on the development of deadly weapons that could be a threat to the whole world as well as a tool to protect themselves in the event of an attack. A lot of controversy faces the development of some of the weapons, and the US government is working to paralyze the development of such weapons.
Terrorist groups require a huge sum of money in order for them to carry out their attacks effectively. Where does all that money come from? This is a question that anti-terror groups have to analyze before proceeding with any move to curb terrorism. It is necessary to identify the key sponsors of the extremist's groups because, without the funds, it would be difficult for them to plan an attack. The US Department of Department of state has a lot of programs which are aimed at fighting terrorism in different ways. Some of the initiatives are a partnership with other nations such as the East African region to ensure that they help in the activity of reducing terrorist activities. In addition, the united nations advocate for the observation and honoring of human rights. This is a key step in fighting terrorism because every human being has the right to live. The United Nations has operations in most parts of the world and has been doing a great job in advocating for human rights. The groups developed to curb terrorism across the world employ different measures to help in the act. For instance, military action is one of the most common ways through which the US government and the Kenyan government are using to paralyze the actions of the terrorist. The Kenyan government has had troops in Somalia fighting the Al-Shabab extremists in the last five years. They have received a lot of support from the governments of the neighboring nations as well as the United Nations. The united nations provide food and shelter for the affected individuals. Kenya has a camp in Dadaab which accommodates the Somalis that have fled their country as a result of the al-Shabaab activities.
The identification of terrorist attacks long before they happen has been made possible by the intelligence departments which collects surveillance data for analysis. Given the current improvement in technology, the US government has been able to tap individuals’ conversations hence making it easy for the security forces to identify any loopholes in the safety of the American citizens. such technology has been employed in other parts of the world and hence, this is expected to reduce the number of terrorist attacks. Security forces will be able to predict the attacks long before they happen and issue a warning to the concerned bodies. Therefore, supporting the thesis on the curbing of terrorism, this paper will focus on analyzing the Initiatives that have been taken by the US towards the combating terror activities
Background
Terrorism has become one of the most common threats in the world in the 21st century. Both developing and developed countries are experiencing acts of terrorism and, therefore, this means that it is not limited to particular areas in the world. Hence, countries are working to ensure that their citizens are protected from the acts of the extremist's networks. Various organized attacks have been witnessed in different parts of the world even those nations deemed to be safe such as the United States of America. This is an indication that all nations across the world should be on the watch of terrorist activities because they can attack anywhere. For instance, attacks have been carried out in Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya. The Kenyan troops have been undertaking an important task in Somalia to help in the curbing of the Al-Shabaab. As a result, the extremist group has been launching attacks in different parts of the city to scare the government into withdrawing their troops from Somalia. However, with help from the United Nations, the Kenyan government has remained strong in ensuring safety in all parts of the country as they deal with the Al-Shabaab in Somalia. In addition, attacks have been carried out in Brussels in Paris and New York. An attack was also carried out in London whereby a man crashed a car into the barriers of the house of parliament in London . This is one of the most secured areas in London whereby people would not expect a terrorist attack to take place. Therefore, this brought light into the world of antiterrorism in regard to the new techniques that the terrorist is using to launch their attacks. This attack was followed by the tragedy whereby a truck attacker killed 84 people on Bastille day in France. This means that the terrorist attack methods have become unpredictable in contrary to the traditional methods whereby they used to set up bombs in buildings. The use of bombs has been made difficult due to the security measures that nations have been employed to counter terrorism. Therefore, it is time to come up with ways of curbing the new techniques being used by the terrorists. Australia is one of those very few countries that have taken terrorism seriously. It emphasizes the need to promote peace and harmony, and for this purpose, the government has established the Criminal Investigation Department with an aim to combat terrorism via subversion and infiltration (Lynch, McGarrity & Williams, 2015).
The changes in the ways through which the terrorist, as well as the increase in their activities, have been as a result of the improvements in technology which has made communication easy. The terrorist can communicate with one another effectively regardless of their different location hence being able to carry out attacks in unpredictable areas. In addition, radicalization is happening in almost all parts of the world. Reports from recent attacks show American born individuals being responsible for the attacks. Hence, the extremist's groups are recruiting anyone regardless of their race, and this is making the fight against terrorism a difficult task. Governments are working hard to ensure that they can predict a terrorist attack and be able to prevent it before it happens. However, given the fact that the people responsible for the attack might be having access to the government plans, then this jeopardizes the whole exercise. The availability of the internet has made the radicalization literature easily available hence increasing the number of young people that stand a chance to be brainwashed by the extremist's groups. The terror groups focus on recruiting people from different parts of the world so that they can use them as soldiers to launch attacks in their home countries without being detected. As well, the attacks have also been increased due to the constant supply and access to firearms. Therefore, in the course of their attack, if they face any resistance, they are able to maneuver it because of some of the sophisticated weapons that they own. The extremist groups have sponsors that finance their activities and hence, accessing such weapons is not a problem for them. Therefore, in an attempt to fight terrorism, all nations should focus on paralyzing the terrorist activities from the ground instead of waiting to fight them during the actual day of the attack. The terrorist attacks have paralyzed economies because people are afraid of carrying out trade activities in areas that have been prone to terrorist attacks. Also, governments fail to make important decisions regarding their nations because much of their efforts is directed towards the curbing of terrorist activities. The increase in terrorism has led to a proliferation in many unhealthy practices, guilt, and loss of life among individuals. Also, the terrorist acts have been necessitated by an increase in armament supplies that have provided a suitable ground for the criminals to combat national forces trying to curb their activities. Consequently, this has presented a great challenge in the military sector of most nations around the world. Protection of human rights is of the major concerns of the UN charter, which have assisted in managing most terror activities in the world. Even though terror activities have led to many serious problems, these challenges have been thoroughly combated through antiterrorist initiatives. Therefore, different antiterrorist groups are working their level best in conjunction with the US government to reduce terrorist attacks across the world.
Analysis
Countering the Financing of Terrorism Finance (CFT)
To reduce terrorism, the US needs to paralyze the terrorist's funding activities. The Bureau of counterterrorism uses various programs and tools to identify and weaken the various terrorist groups as well as their support networks. The body leads the department of the state into designating the terrorist organizations by blocking their financial transactions, freezing their assets and preventing other people from offering financial or material support to the groups. In conjunction with the Us government and other international partners, the body is able to disrupt the terrorist activities by exposing them and denying them access to the united states' financial system. As a result, the terrorists find it difficult to carry out their attacks because they need money to plan for the activities such as the purchase of sophisticated weapons. In addition, CT helps foreign partners in the identification of illicit funds being transferred from or into their country. This is done through the identification of the various deficiencies in the national anti-money laundering. the country, through the help of CT, build skills and knowledge to address the deficiencies. CT plays an important role in helping countries build their anti-money laundering (AML) and countering the financing of terrorism (CFT) legal frameworks that meet the international standards developed by the UN and the Financial Action Task Force. Sound regulatory systems are developed to cover both the informal and the formal sector hence ensuring that there are not related terrorist transactions that go unnoticed. Hence, the body aims at the development of different financial strategies in countries across the world to help them identify any kind of illicit funding by analyzing suspicious transactions. The countries will also equip the various law enforcement agencies in order to identify and prosecute AML/CTF cases. As a result, this will have helped in preventing attacks that could have probably occurred in that country or other parts of the world. CT also works with other federal agencies such as the federal Bureau of prosecutions, the internal revenue service, and the department of homeland security to implement its activities (Beckman, 2016). As well, it has partnered with the Department of Justice's Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development and the money laundering section to ensure that non-governmental organizations comply with the ...