Terrorism, which has been around for as long as people can remember, has been on the rise for the past decade. Terrorists use murder, kidnapping, hijacking, and bombings to pursue a political agenda. These extremists are not limited to the United States; terrorism exists worldwide in various forms. There are many different types of terrorism, each with its own purpose. The primary objective of terrorist acts is to force a change in their nation's government. If terrorists are not satisfied with their government's political positions, they may end up taking matters into their own hands. Another reason for terrorist acts is hatred towards a race, nationality, or religion. For instance, in 1972, the Palestine Liberation Organization invaded Israeli dorms during the Munich Olympics and held the Israeli athletes hostage until Israel would agree to release Palestinian terrorists captured in Israel. When Israel refused to comply with the terrorists' demands, they blew up two helicopters carrying the Israeli athletes, killing the entire team. This was one of the many cruel forms of terrorism. In recent years, terrorism seems to be on the rise, and attacks are more violent than in the past. Terrorism's secretive nature and lack of forewarning make it a challenging problem to address. Despite the efforts of many governments, these cowardly acts continue to rise. While there are no fool-proof ways to predict when a terrorist will strike next, there are still potential solutions to consider. However, it is important to acknowledge that there is no complete answer to this problem, and terrorism cannot be entirely eliminated. With the bombing of the World Trade Center and the federal building in Oklahoma, rental moving trucks have been used to hold bombs. An idea I have for preventing this type of attack would be to take still photographs or video tapes of the people who rent the trucks, along with their Social Security numbers. I would install an electronic fume detector in every rental truck that could be tied into a national satellite network to let investigators know what kind of materials the truck is carrying. For example, if the truck were carrying dynamite, the sensor would relay the message to the satellite that the truck is carrying hazardous material. In turn, the dispatchers could send the message to the Federal Bureau of Investigations, who would then send the bomb squad to the location of the truck, arrest the individuals driving it, and defuse the bomb. It appears that terrorists prefer to plant bombs in parking garages located below or inside buildings. One solution to this problem is to implement vehicle screening for all cars entering government buildings that could potentially be targeted for an attack. This measure alone could deter terrorists from attempting to enter a building while carrying any type of explosive device. Additionally, the use of metal detectors on individuals entering government buildings, as well as dogs trained to detect bombs in vehicles, can also contribute to improving the situation. One of the most lethal types of terrorist attacks is hijacking planes. There have been numerous hijackings that have resulted in the bombing of the plane in midair. In 1986, a Pan-American Boeing 747 airplane exploded in midair, killing all passengers aboard. One of the leading terrorist groups claimed responsibility for this action. Again, in the late 1980s, a Transworld airline flight was hijacked and made several stops before commandos rushed the plane and killed some of the terrorists. Unfortunately, the terrorists had taken several lives on the plane and even dumped one of the passengers they had killed out of the plane onto the tarmac. One of the problems with these types of terrorists is that it is too easy to get a bomb into the baggage section under the plane. This is easy for them because, unlike carry-on luggage, the actual luggage is not X-rayed for contraband. Some of these bombs work off of a timer and ignite the bomb to blow up at a predetermined time. Another type of bomb works off of the altitude of the plane. Once the plane reaches the set altitude, the bomb will explode. I suggest that all luggage should be scanned for explosives that would be dangerous to the passengers. Since only carry-on luggage and individuals that go through the metal detectors are scanned at this time, I recommend that all luggage being loaded in the belly of the aircraft should also go through a metal detector and be scanned by trained personnel. This would prevent any bombs from being loaded onto the plane. Another type of plane bombing is called the "suicide bomber". This is a terrorist who straps the bomb to their body, making it harder to stop them from boarding the plane because you can't see it with the human eye. Unfortunately, metal detectors don't pick up plastic explosives that a terrorist could carry on board. Another idea to prevent this would be to have bomb-sniffing dogs at every metal detector, which could work in terms of stopping the bombs before they reach the plane. Of course, there will always be terrorists who would like to effect change in the policy of the government, and there will always be radicals who will want to direct their anger towards a particular race, religion, or nationality. One of the best ways to stop terrorism is by monitoring these groups closely for signs of illegal activity. Firstly, the United States of America should form coalition groups with all other nations to monitor terrorist organizations of other nations. The FBI can be the main organization to receive and filter out all potential terrorist groups. Once the United States is aware of all the terrorist groups throughout the world and knows the groups here in the United States, the government will be able to get a tighter handle on the terrorist groups' activities. Now that we can identify all of these groups, we have to be able to take out the bullets and bomb-making equipment from their hands. To start with, anyone who would like to buy a gun will have to prove their intent on using it. They would have to supply their social security numbers, driver's license, fingerprints, ballistics of the gun, and, of course, a picture of themselves taken by the sellers of the gun. This would help establish ownership of the gun in case it is used in an attack. Ammunition would have to be kept under the same kind of scrutiny as a gun, and all the same information would have to be taken down, as if they were selling a gun.
The terrorist attacks on September 11, 2011 prompted the world to reevaluate and drastically modify airport and airline security. “Four targets had been chosen, all iconic American buildings that would send a clear message of the depth of their hatred for the United States. All four planes crashed, killing all on board—terrorists, crew members, and passengers, along with hundreds who were killed inside the structures, on the ground, and the men and women who ran into collapsing buildings in an effort to try and save others” (Smutz 1). As Jason Villemez said “the decade after the 9/11 attacks reshaped many facets of life in America” (Villemez 1). Before the attacks, people did not think that large scale hostility towards innocent people in our country was remotely possible. Ever since that fateful moment, citizens in America are on their toes every day worrying about another attack happening. United States citizens have had to adapt and change in response to this fear of further terrorist assault on our country. One of the ways they have adapted is by changing their means of security concerning airline travel.
This paper describes our nation and the worlds mindset about airline terrorism before 9/11 and airline terrorism today. This remains a very real and deadly subject even though we don’t have as many incidents occurring at this moment in time. Still the potential for countless lives being lost in an aircraft accident from the actions of a terrorist or terrorist organization is still very real and innocent families across this nation and abroad remain the targets. Additionally, it will show that the security measures in place at airports prior to 9/11 were far less adequate, than today, and personnel responsible for airport security at the gates and throughout were either poorly trained or not trained at all when it came to hijackers and terrorist. This paper will also identify the extensive security measures, rules and training that have been put into place, which helped to curtail acts of terrorism onboard airliners.
Outside of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, Timothy McVeigh parked a rental truck loaded with a diesel-fuel-fertilizer bomb then immediately fled leaving the bomb to explode minutes later. While Timothy McVeigh was trying to flee not even an hour in, he was stopped for a traffic violation.
The backpacks they carried contained pressure cooker bombs, a favorite of Islamic extremist (Nova, 2013). These pressure cooker bombs are inexpensive and relatively easy to make using tightly packed gun powder, shrapnel and an ignition device. These devices are commonly detonated using a cell phone, and video footage shows Dzhokhar using his cell phone just 30 seconds before the first device detonates (Nova, 2013). Many of the injured had BBs and other miscellaneous shrapnel indicating to investigators what was used in making the bomb. They had prepare...
...evices and bombs with inexpensive products that can cause injuries within our homes, the U.S officials should maximize the awareness and security in our country.
Airport Security Before the dreaded day of September 11, 2001 , a person or persons flying could be escorted to their gate by family members and loved ones. The thought that a gun would or could be brought on board of an airplane and used as a means to hijack an airplane never crossed a passenger’s mind. Isaac Yeffet said, “After Lockerbie, everyone thought; now we’ve learned the lesson of how to be proactive instead of being reactive. Unfortunately, September 11 came and we know the result.
The future of America is definitely affected by terrorism and terrorism has benefited from the new technologies that aid and speed up communication around the world. Terrorists can use tactics that they know and manipulate advanced technologies such as the internet. These technological advantages have certainly improved the capabilities of terrorist groups to plan and accomplish their operations. It also offers these terrorists the ability to affect communities faster and much more intensely than earlier terrorists. In order to reduce America's vulnerability to terrorism, in regards to their threats, strategies and tactics, when dealing with the internet, a complete understanding of the nature of America’s enemies is necessary.
Many analysts, researchers, and professors have tried to define the purpose of terrorism. Some believe that can only be achieved when we know how the mind of a terrorist works. The Encyclopedia Britannica describes terrorism as, “The systematic use of violence or threat of violence by organized groups to achieve specific goals. Terrorist activities may be directed against individuals, organizations or governments. Terrorism is employed by radical groups to obtain concessions from established governments, such as a change in policies unfavorable to them or the release of imprisoned members of their organizations…” (Encyclopedia Britannica. “Terrorism” 1987 T-169)
In Module one, I learned that terrorism is a result of physical harm or deadly acts of force with the intent of a political outcome by the use of terror for coercion. There are various types of terrorism such as international terrorism and domestic terrorism. International terrorism occurs outside of the United States with a purpose to influence the policy of a government by intimidation. International and Domestic terrorism both involve violent acts dangerous to human life that violate federal and state laws. Domestic terrorism occurs within the United States with the intention of coercion or intimidation by way of mass destruction, etc. Some forms of terrorism include Improvised explosive devices (IED), kidnappings, suicide bombings and
One of ISIL’s popular methods to show their force and take over territory is using bombs. Furthermore, they have deployed package bombs, suicide vest, vehicular bombs, and placed bombs on airplanes. On several occasions they have been successful at killing hundreds of people.
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.
There may be ways to be suspicious of people of being a terrorist. The ways may be if people are being over protected of their luggage because they may have weapons or bombs they can be carrying around. Checking their background history and what they brought might be another way of suspecting them because they can be buying weapons or when checking their history, they may have made some minor crimes around the world or in the country. This can be dangerous to the society. Muslims should get treated equally just like other people are being treated.
Black September’s target, however, was greater than just the Israeli athletes. They inflicted a worldwide terror. When defining terrorism, one must realize that the message is often the goal of the attack. The U.S. Department of State defines terrorism as, “The calculated use of unlawful violence or threat of unlawful violence to inculcate fear; intended to coerce or to intimidate governments or societies in the pursuit of goals that are generally political, religious, or ideological”. Whereas the Belgium Red Cross says that terrorism is committed “for the purpose of intimidating the population, forcing a third party to act or establishing or destroying the fundamental structures of a country or of an international organization”.
There are many reasons why people believe that airport security should be more enforced. One reason is because of historical events. There are attacks that date all the way back to the 1930s. For example, there was an attack over Chesterton, Indiana killing all seven people that were aboard the small airplane. In 1949, a man from Canada named Albert Guay set a dynamite bomb in his wife’s luggage before she boarded the DC- 3 aircraft. Everyone on the plane was killed in the explosion. Later, him and his two accomplices that were involved in the making and the transporting of the bomb were arrested, and then they were executed. In 1970, President Nixon passed a law that said every person that gets on a plane, and their luggage, have to be screened before they board. Additionally in 1972, the FAA or the Federal Aviation Administration, made it mandatory that the airliner companies scan every passenger with a metal detector to try to prevent hidden weapons. On Christmas day of 2009, a man named Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a 23 year old from Nigeria, attempted to set off explosives aboard a Northwes...
It was the rash of airline hijackings in the 60s-70s that inspired the use of metal detectors at the airport to prevent passengers from bringing onboard any weapons they may use to hijack the plane. As airport security gets tighter terrorists are plotting to defeat those security measures. Airport metal detectors are just a speed bump and many other measures had to be put in place to ensure people are able to travel safely. Airport security continues to get more advanced.