Domestic Intel to Stop the Attack

Domestic Intel to Stop the Attack
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1. Introduction
Domestic intelligence collection (IC) is necessary for countries to protect penetration from terrorist groups and secure homeland security. Homeland intelligence in the United States of America (US) involves various law enforcement agencies (LEAs) and other sources for data collection, examination, and creation of actionable strategies to neutralize terror attacks. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has worked diligently since the 9/11 attacks to mitigate emerging threats and exhibit responsiveness towards existing terrorism agendas (Tromblay, 2019). However, DHS efforts sometimes fail to neutralize the attacks due to weak collaboration with institutional bodies and LEAs at micro-security levels.
Hence, this research emphasizes domestic intelligence to neutralize attacks planned by Boko Haram, a Nigerian terrorist group, on US soil. The research will discuss Boko Haram’s terrorist competency and agendas to enter US soil. The discussion will exhibit a brief overview of domestic IC members engaged in data collection and analysis. Lastly, the research will propose three strategic recommendations to assist domestic intelligence in neutralizing the attack by performing inevitable changes in actionable roadmaps and collaborations with LEAs and institutional bodies.
2. Discussion
2.1 Terrorist Group Profile and Attack Focus
Boko Haram is a Nigerian terrorist group that became an unavoidable threat to local government and global LEAs in 2009. Boko Haram aims to impose Sharia principles in Africa by boycotting the Western education system in the continental jurisdiction. Statistically, Boko Haram is the eighth-largest terrorist organization that operates as anti-US and practices Jihad to impose Sharia principles (Amao, 2020). The group terrorized the Nigerian political leaders through suicide bombings, assignations, abductions, and ransom.
Boko Haram’s ideology practices violence to force Christians, liberal Muslims, and other religions to embrace Sharia principles. The group intervenes in socioeconomic goals in Nigeria to achieve the political objective. Boko Haram operates by forming strategic collaboration with other terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda and ‘Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS)’ to strengthen regional positions as terrorist groups (Amao, 2020). Boko Haram’s core agenda is to abuse power and acquire the state’s socio-political control through financial dominance and misguided Islamic provisions.
Boko Haram’s attack pattern is systematic and focuses on maximum damage. The group attracts media attention to communicate influence on global LEAs while operating as anti-US. The group gained significant attention from the mass media after conducting political assignations, kidnappings, bombings, public beheadings of citizens, and conspiring terror attacks in Nigeria (Omenma et al., 2020). Boko Haram forcefully recruits children, particularly young girls, to perform terror activities.
Nonetheless, the group practices prohibition of Western education and forces children to attend conventional schools as a protest against non-Islamic academic curriculum. The actions caused socioeconomic disruptions in the country by preventing national harmony and distributing power among radicals. The group operates according to the Jihadi framework by engaging children to carry bombs in school bags and perform blasts in public areas like shopping malls, main street markets, and transport (Omenma et al., 2020). As a result, the group shifted focus to United Nations (UN) engagement in Nigerian territory to promote education among children.
Recently, the UN announced a financial compensation program in Nigeria to promote national education. UN confirmed that Nigerian youth will receive $600 during each academic session to support education prospects. UN took the initiative in Nigeria to achieve its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of promoting education as an equal right. As a response, Boko Haram planned an imminent attack on the UN’s headquarters (UNHQ) in Midtown Manhattan. The global networking with Al-Qaeda and specialization in suicide bombing facilitated Boko Haram to access financial support, arms, ammunition, and immediate terrorist recruits to attack UNHQ.
The group trained five suicide bombers for the mission. The bombers are young students aged between 18 and 20 years, misguided by Boko Haram’s Islamic agendas. The group plans to visit Manhattan as tourists. Each member received $10,000, suicide jackets containing royal demolition explosives (RDX), and attack rehearsals. The participants planned to reach Manhattan three days before the attack on UNHQ.
2.2 Domestic Intelligence Collection and Analysis: Members & Strategies
DHS and US national security engaged immediately in data collection, members’ selection, and analysis to neutralize the attack Boko Haram plans on UNHQ. US national security will utilize three IC sources. First, ‘Open Source Intelligence (OSINT)’ will provide access to public platforms to track communication, news, and other engagements that educate IC members about the attack (Chaudhary & Bansal, 2022). IC members will monitor the internet, digital media, newspapers, television (TV), and public databases to gather necessary information about Boko Haram’s strategies and probability of entering US soil. Besides, OSINT informs about anticipated tactics, strategies, and networks Boko Haram plans to utilize for entering UNHQ. OSINT is a primary source to empower IC members in preparing actionable strategies.
Secondly, the IC members would utilize ‘Human Intelligence (HUMINT)’ to acquire information on the terror group and planned activities. Theoretically, HUMINT is a raw information platform that IC members use to gather essential details by interviewing suspects and witnesses. HUMINT is a conventional approach for IC members when planning to neutralize terror activities. HUMINT is a real-time information platform for IC members to strategize responses and prevent terror activities (Riza, 2022). IC members will use HUMINT by interacting with domestic informers, prisoners, and other suspects in institutions to gather information. IC team will collaborate with other LEAs to strengthen monitoring functions in sensitive areas like hospitals, airports, and dockyards. LEAs will assist IC members by providing micro details of suspicious movements that lead to Boko Haram or other terrorist groups.
Nonetheless, finalizing the IC team is necessary to gather information from specified sources and progress to neutralize terrorist attacks. First, the US national security department will designate the National Security Agency (NSA) to access OSINT data collection. NSA enjoys empowerment to intervene in American communication databases and decode ciphers and sensitive information (NSA, 2023). NSA will study coded patterns between terrorist groups and engage LEAs to respond proactively after decrypting information.
Furthermore, the US national security department will engage the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to gather data by engaging military and government officials. The research suggested that terrorism is neutralized by intervening in suspicious financial movements, seizing illicit commodities, and preventing illegal immigrants from entering US soil (Akartuna et al., 2022). DHS is authorized to interact with the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to monitor terrorist activities. DHS will utilize ICE interventions to track illicit financial movements, integration of suspicious commodities like RDX, and unusual interactions between individuals or groups. Besides, DHS will use CBP support to increase monitoring procedures on the US border to seize suspicious individuals, illegal arms, and weapons of mass destruction. CBP provides fundamental support to DHS by screening immigrants and local tourists to prevent threats proactively.
Lastly, the designated IC members will analyze the gathered data using quality of information check (QIC), devil’s advocacy, and brainstorming to extract meaningful information. Each assessment strategy impr...