Terrorism
...lowing: The Attorney General Guidelines on General Crimes, Racketeering Enterprise, and Domestic Security/Terrorism Investigations provide limits in domestic terrorism investigations. These guidelines are to be followed when investigating US citizens who live in the country, who are not aiding a foreign power, but who may be participating in criminal activity, which may fund or support terrorists goals. Many drug rings are associated with terrorism and a large portion of the drug money gets turned over to terrorist cells. It is then used to plan or carry out a terrorist act. Another guideline that must be followed deals with international terrorism. These are called The Attorney General Guidelines for FBI Foreign Intelligence Collection and Foreign Counterintelligence Investigations. Unlike domestic terrorism guidelines, international guidelines set forth limits for investigating foreign nationals in the US who are planning terrorist attacks on behalf of a foreign power. The FBI divides terrorist activity into three categories: incident, suspected terrorist incident, and prevention. A terrorist incident is the actual act of violence. A suspected terrorist incident is a violent act that occurs which cannot be attributed to any known group. Terrorism prevention is when a planned violent act by a known terrorist is thwarted due to intelligence and investigative actions. After September 11, 2001, the word “terrorism” was more common than ever. Although terrorism has been around since the dawn of time, not many people realize that it exists until a terrorist activity hits close to home. I don’t believe that terrorism will ever fully go away. It’s comparable to the war on drugs. We can take steps and precautions to act against it, but an all out victory seems impossible. Terrorism dates back hundreds, even thousands of years. Humans would engage in terror tactics to achieve small goals such as overthrowing a current leader or to keep foreigners off land they wished to claim for themselves. Obviously with the advancement of technology and communication systems, terrorism has evolved into a high-tech enemy. Weapons such as bombs, aircraft, nuclear chemicals and biological agents are now being used to carry out terrorist attacks. These attacks could result in a remarkable number of deaths, particularly those of nuclear and biological nature. This, in turn, raises the fear and anxiety of the public. The modernization of terrorism has led to the most destructive time period in history. Since 1968, over 14,000 international terrorist attacks have taken place (this doesn’t include such domestic acts as the Oklahoma City bombing). Over 10,000 deaths occurred as a result to these attacks. Another alarming statistic arises when it comes to the technological advances of terrorism. As the total number of terrorist incidents declined, the amount of damage and deaths that occurred due to these acts has increased. Between 1980 and 1989, a total of 267 incidents or suspected incidents occurred. Twenty-three people were killed and 105 injured as a result. However, between 1990 and 1999, 60 incidents were reported that killed 182 and injured over 1,932. Another type of terrorism is beginning to take shape. Cyberterrorism makes use of computers and the Internet to carry out and plan terrorist attacks. Terrorists can find ways to destroy power grids, eliminate business and personal financial records, and damage satellite communication all with the press of a button. Perhaps Frank J. Cillufo, director of the Task Force on Information Warfare and Information Assurance, said it best in his February 1, 2000 speech to the Untied States Senate. “Today our real assets are stored electronically, not in Fort Knox and the targets are increasingly not government and military installations, but rather public and private computer network systems. Information warfare extends the battlefield to incorporate all of society. The myth persists that the United States has not been invaded since 1812, but invasion through cyberspace is now a daily occurrence. We can no longer afford to rely on the two oceans that have historically protected our country; instead we must develop the means to mitigate risk in an electronic environment that knows no borders…We have created a global village without a police department.” There are also some other innovative terrorism techniques that are becoming a concern. ...