People often associate the word bomb with the idea of a weapon of mass destruction, but in reality fear can be a weapon in of itself. Such is the case of the dirty bomb, it is a weapon aimed at instilling fear in the local population thus making it a weapon of mass disruption. The similarities between a dirty bomb and an improvised explosive device (IED) are remarkable. In our modern wars of Iraq, Afghanistan and several other theaters of operations the IED has been the weapon of choice for insurgents. They are cheap to make and can be constructed from left over explosives and shrapnel producing elements, these same qualities are shared by the dirty bombs. The primary and often overlooked effect is the fear that it instills in the groups of people it comes in contact with, the secondary effect of a dirty bomb is to create physical damage and destruction to whatever is in its path. By instilling fear through the use of dirty bombs terrorist can hinder not only the everyday life of the surrounding population, but also the way that we conduct military operations as an Army. Due to the dirty bombs readily available components, simple assembly and effortless employment, dirty bombs are a threat that we face today as a nation.
Contrary to popular belief, dirty bombs do not require sophisticated components for assembly. They are often constructed from left over explosives mixed with a hazardous material component. One would think that the hazardous materials required for a dirty bomb would also be hard to come by, but in reality they are just as easily attainable as any other component. Another factor we have to considerate is how secure our borders and facilities are, and how easily can a terrorist group exploit our complacency...
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...It is crucial that we continue reinforcing the security levels that we have in place in order to continue living life free from fear.
References
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King, G. (2004). Dirty bomb weapons of mass destruction. New York, NY: Chamberlain Bros.
U.S.NRC. (2012, December 27). Fact sheet on dirty bombs. Retrieved from http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets/fs-dirty-bombs.html
Wilkinson, T. (2013, December 9). Suspects arrested in heist of radioactive material in mexico. Los angeles times. Retrieved from http://www.latimes.com/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-mexico-radioactive-truck-arrests-20131209,0,182791.story
In her essay “We should relinquish some liberty in exchange for security,” Mona Charen, a columnist and political analyst, speaks on the issue of security in the United States of America. She uses many significant techniques in her essay to persuade her readers of her argument. However, I feel that her essay fails to make a great argument because she relies heavily on assumptions, misses opportunities to appeal to pathos and ethos, and overall uses a degrading tone. Charen presents her thesis prominently at the beginning of her essay in her title. By doing so, she not only clearly expresses her thesis that we must give up some liberty to secure the United States, but also peaks the interest of the reader with a provocative and timely statement.
Our nation seems as if it is in a constant battle between freedom and safety. Freedom and security are two integral parts that keep our nation running smoothly, yet they are often seen conflicting with one another. “Tragedies such as Pearl Harbor, 9/11 and the Boston Marathon bombings may invoke feelings of patriotism and a call for unity, but the nation also becomes divided, and vulnerable populations become targets,” (Wootton 1). “After each attack a different group or population would become targets. “The attack on Pearl Harbor notoriously lead to Japanese Americans being imprisoned in internment camps, the attacks on 9/11 sparked hate crimes against those who appeared to be Muslim or Middle Eastern,” (Wootton 1). Often times people wind up taking sides, whether it be for personal freedoms or for national security, and as a nation trying to recover from these disasters we should be leaning on each other for support. Due to these past events the government has launched a series of antiterrorist measures – from ethnic profiling to going through your personal e-mail (Begley 1). Although there are times when personal freedoms are sacrificed for the safety of others, under certain circumstances the government could be doing more harm than good.
The National Guard soldiers arrive giving aid to wounded survivors. Investigators found shrapnel that included bits of nails, metals and bearing balls. Ball bearing is a type of rolling element bearing that uses balls to maintain separation between the bearing races. The lid a pressure cooker was found on a nearby rooftop. On April 19, the FBI, West New York Police Department, and Hudson County Sheriff's Department seized computer equipment from the suspects' sister's apartment located in West New York, New Jersey(Wikipedia). Joseph Reynolds, Watertown police officer, identified the brothers in a Honda Civic and the stolen SUV that the suspects stole. A gunfight brewed between the brothers and the local police. Four days later, after an intense manhunt that shut down the Boston area, police captured one of the bombing suspects, 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, whose older brother and fellow suspect, 26-year-old Tamerlan Tsarnaev, died following a shootout with law enforcement earlier that same day(History). Kadyrbayev was accused of throwing Tsarnaev's backpack into a trash bin after discovering it contained fireworks with gunpowder and removing a jar of Vaseline and a computer thumb
Hanrahan, Mark. "National Security: Ten Years After September 11 Attacks, U.S. Is Safe But Not Safe Enough." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 03 Sept. 2011. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.
Kephart, Janice. "Immigration and Terrorism | Center for Immigration Studies." Center for Immigration Studies. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2014. .
Security is the safety net that which most humans depend upon politically, financially, and socially. It is believed that minimal risks
Terror management theory (TMT) asserts that human beings have natural tendency for self-preservation if there is threat to one’s well–being (Greenberg, Solomon, & Pyszczynski, 1997). It notes that we are the cultural animals that pose self-awareness on the concept of past and future, as well as the understanding that one day we will die. We concern about our life and death but aware that it is unexpected by everything. The worse matter is that we become aware of our vulnerability and helplessness when facing death-related thoughts and ultimate demise (Pyszczynski & Greenberg, 1992). The inevitable death awareness or mortality salience provides a ground for experiencing the existential terror, which is the overwhelming concern of people’s mortality and existence. In order to avoid the continued existence of threats, people need faith in a relatively affirmative and plausive cultural worldview and meaning of life (Greenberg, Pyszczynski, & Solomon, 1995). Cultural worldview is a perceptual construction in the society which explaining the origins of life and the existence of afterlife. We have to invest a set of cultural worldviews by ourselves that are able to provide meaning, stability and order to our lives and to offer the promise of death transcendence (Solomon, Greenberg, & Pyszczynski, 2004). On the other hand, we hold a belief that one is living up to the standards of value prescribed by that worldview and social norm shared by a group of people. This belief is derived by self-esteem of individual. We maintain the perception and confident that we are fulfilling the cultural prescriptions for value in the society and are thus eligible for some form of personal immortality (Landau & Greenberg, 2006). We Together with the assump...
To detonate one of these bombs, enough mass of plutonium or uranium must be provided to reach what is known as "critical mass." Critical mass is the mass at which the nuclear reactions going on inside the material can make up for the neutrons that are leaving the material through its outside surface. These materials are usually separated within the bomb so that critical mass cannot be reached until the bomb is ready to explode. Once the chemical reactions within the bomb begin, the neutrons released by each reaction hit other atoms and create more fission reactions until all the material is scattered, or completely exhausted. This process releases enormous amounts of energy in the form of extreme heat and a massive shock wave. These nuclear explosions, in addition to their pressure waves, high winds, and flash burns, produce deadly radiation that contaminates soil and water, and destroyed living matter.
This was called the Oklahoma City Bombing. They parked a truck containing a homemade bomb in front of the federal building. The explosion covered a huge area, damaging over 300 different buildings. The main components of this bomb were diesel fuel, Nitromethane and a small concentration of ammonium nitrate. (May 21,2010). These chemicals together were a Synergistic reaction, meaning they were much more dangerous together than one alone would be. These were mixed along with other chemicals in barrels, with a total of 13. Then nine 15 pound bags of fertilizer containing ammonium nitrate were placed in the truck along with the barrels and other commercially made explosives. These bags of fertilizer were meant to act as an accelerant. A time delayed fuse was used to light the bomb that killed such a large amount of people (Doughtrey J, 2001). Both of the assailants did survive the blast but were apprehended quickly. They shared their motivation to be an act against government, sparking many counterterrorism actions in the years
Of course, a certain level of safety is necessary in order to maintain a livable society. We must abridge total freedom in order to assure a maximum amount. No one can live comfortably in a country with constant terrorist activity. At the same time, however, no one can live comfortably in a country with constant security checkpoints. Somehow, we must find a balance: security measures must be thorough, but restricted; enforced, but monitored; and advantageous, but just. On top of that, laws must be understood and approved by the general public. If a security measure is determined to be helpful and not overly pervasive, and if it reduces crime significantly and in proportion to the infringement of rights, then the security measure should be acceptable.
Most people assume that all luggage and passengers are closely screened before they are allowed on an aircraft; however, this not the case. Unlike carry-on bags, luggage placed in the cargo bay of a plane is not x-rayed. This creates the possibility for a terrorist to check in a suitcase that contains a bomb with no problem. Not only would the bomb go undetected, but also the terrorist would not have to be a passenger on plane due to no checkpoints, which match baggage to passengers.
Many may agree with the old saying that “beauty is only skin deep,” but does beauty come in a particular shade of color? This question is very debatable for many, but the fact of the matter is that human beings are born in array of skin tones. These differences in skin tone are used to categorize people into different ethnic groups. Lopez proposes that“ethnic identity is a type of group identity that is related to a better outcome because it provides a sense of belonging or cultural embeddedness.”(p.102) Dr. Ronald Hall (2006) suggests that in America minorities or people of color are called black in relative terms to the majority who are of European descent i.e. white. Some studies have discovered that a more “ethnic appearance” is usually assessed by a darker skin color i.e, black and is associated with a worse outcome in life (Lopez, 2008) In contrast, beauty, wealth and overall appeal are associated with physiological proximity to the white power structure i.e., light skin. (Hall, 2006) It appears as though desirable skin complexions are culturally relative.
Global security is an extraordinarily imperative idea when it comes to public safety. The purpose of global security is to protect the interests of the public. When viewing this through the lens of public and private relationships, it is effortless to see how the two walk hand in hand when it comes to trying to achieve global security. Global security is a relevant concept because the people of the United States need to be protected at all costs. Along with protecting the public, the government also needs to protect the interests of itself. To achieve global security by way of protecting the public, the government works endlessly to ensure public safety.
There needs to be more of a comprehensive threat and risk assessments for chemical and biological attacks versus IED or other similar attack modes due to the nature of the threat. When faced with a chemical or biological attack, there needs to be a lot more detailed threat, and risk assessment completed versus an IED attack. A biological attack is the “intentional release of a pathogen (disease-causing agent) or biotoxin ( a poisonous substance produced by a living organism) against humans, plants, or animals” (National Academy of Sciences 2004, p. 1). While a chemical attack is poisonous vapors, aerosols, liquids and solids that have toxic effects on people, animals or plants. Both of these methods can use to cause illness, death, fear, societal disruption, and economic damage. Chemical or biological attacks can be released by bombs sprayed from aircraft, boats, vehicles and released by humans.
In conclusion, it is imperative that the United States continue its fight against terrorism.