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Terrorism is a significant security and safety threat in the United States and across the globe. The United States has experienced both domestic and international terrorist attacks in the recent past. In America, left-wing, militia groups, and right-wing extremists promote domestic terrorism (Hess et al., 2017). Other examples of domestic terrorists are black and white supremacists, pro-life, and environmental extremists. International terrorists such as HAMAS, al-Qaeda, ISIS, and Hezbollah also threaten American security. According to Lansford (2018), religious, social system, policy, and political dissatisfaction inspire terrorist groups to engage in their operations. The most memorable international terrorist act within the American borders was the September 11, 2001 attack. Domestic terrorism is worse than international extremism because, in the case of the former, the enemies are within America and enjoy the same constitutional rights as other citizens.
Domestic terrorism is a constantly evolving and severe threat due to various motivations. Violent extremists disguised as promoters of rights of various ethnic or marginalized groups create networks that can inspire the spread of vehement actions (Hess et al., 2017). They can easily recruit naive people to join their course of action in pursuit of their selfish interests. Domestic extremists sometimes concentrate on violent activities toward a specific population segment, such as people of color, women, Muslims, or immigrants. As a result, this insistence on violence can be more or less explicit, embedded in philosophies that create a superior perception of the white race. Unlike international terrorists, who may be easy to trace and monitor, domestic extremists may be challenging to arrest due to their association with certain ethnicities that can spread violence based on dishonest racial reasons.
Additionally, anti-government extremists pose a significant threat to American society and its leadership. According to Lansford (2018), self-proclaimed militia groups take bold steps to resist government authority or policies, thus worsening the fight against domestic terrorists. For instance, some violent revolutionary extremists oppose nearly every form of corporate globalization, governing institution, and capitalism because they perceive them as detrimental to society. Such notions may be easily spread across regions and ethnic groups, escalating violent actions. The American Constitution guarantees rights and freedoms to every dissatisfied citizen to express his or her grievance peacefully. However, violent domestic terrorists capitalize on these situations to cause and spread chaos. It is often challenging to identify these terrorists, thus delaying their arrests and trials.
Domestic terrorists utilize various methods to pursue their self-centered goals. Firstly, they pretend to be patriotic people campaigning and fighting for the rights of the oppressed. Taylor (2019) argues that left-wing extremists often oppose capitalism policies to win the public appeal to perpetuate their hidden mission. Secondly, they create chaos and lawlessness and, most importantly, invite media personalities to record and report the incidences to use empathy to intimidate or coerce the government. Other domestic terrorists use violent attacks on innocent citizens, mainly using firearms, to justify their rebellion. According to Lansford (2018), right-wing extremists conducted most of the terrorist attacks in the United States, killing more persons than the Islamic terrorists since 2011. Therefore, the greatest threat of terrorism across America comes from within its borders.
Security agencies and the federal government can use various tactics and laws to combat domestic terrorism. For example, the FBI, Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and police should formulate an organizational structure that helps them work together. A partnership of these agencies will assist share information about domestic terrorists and develop appropriate techniques to arrest them (Taylor, 2019). They can also collaborate with the residents to enable them to report any suspicious persons or activities. In this regard, the USA Patriot Act represents the most practical policy to lessen domestic extremists. The federal government and security agencies need to organize community meetings regularly to educate citizens on their safety and various sections relating to terrorism laws. This increased engagement will nurture an exceptional working rapport between the residents and security agencies, thus inspiring the former to share any information relating to terrorism with the latter.
Moral and legal considerations act as vital obstacles despite the tremendous efforts to eliminate domestic terrorism. Legislators often make hurriedly crafted laws, which create loopholes in addressing local extremists. For instance, the USA Patriotic Act criminalizes sharing material support with any international terrorist group (Hess et al., 2017). While the prosecutors believe the Act also prohibits fundraising, propaganda, and forming extremist groups, these activities may raise legal battles under the first amendment in the domestic setting (Lansford, 2018). Further, Americans have civil and personal liberties to engage in peaceful picketing. It raises moral concerns when law enforcement officers arrest some domestic extremists disguised as peaceful protestors. It is often challenging to convince angry crowds, especially if they perceive such local terrorists as their chief campaigners for their rights.
Domestic extremists pose the most serious threat compared to international terrorists. Right-wing extremists, among other groups, live within the American borders and pretend to fight for the rights and liberties of their compatriots. In this way, they create empathy that they capitalize on to pursue their selfish political or economic motives, including causing lawlessness and chaos. There is a dire need to restructure the security agencies combating terrorism to ensure they can work as a team. Importantly, they should collaborate with residents in line with USA Patriot Act to get prompt and verifiable reports on any suspicious events or individuals. Indeed, regular engagements with the communities can help win their trust and loyalty, thus bridging the legal and moral gaps used by domestic terrorists to perpetuate their terrorist activities.
References
Hess, K. M., Orthmann, C. H., & Cho, H. L. (2017). Criminal investigation (11th ed.). Cengage Learning.
Lansford, T. (2018). All for one: Terrorism, NATO and the United States. Routledge.
Taylor, H. (2019). Domestic terrorism and hate crimes: Legal definitions and media framing of mass shootings in the United States. Journal of Policing, Intelligence, and Counter Terrorism, 14(3), 227-244. Web.
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