Pre and Post 9/11, Research Paper Example

Violence

The terrorism incident that occurred in September 2011 had an effect of polarizing global politics in to Pre and post 9/11 eras with post-9/11 wreaking global havoc especially among the Muslims. Pre-9/11 period was characterized by acts of terrorism, mass murder as well as carnage in most parts of the world all arising from the American government. There was however a drastic shift in the discourse of post-9/11 with Americans emerging as victims while the Muslims was perceived as guilty. This situation conferred powers to American government to initiate war against Muslim in the name of fighting terror.

Majority of the life facets for Americans have drastically changed since 9/11 attacks thus reshaping the life of most people which were manifested as immediate response due to safety concerns. While some were merely temporary, majority of the transformation have far reaching and permanent effects to the life of Americans. One of the most notable changes was evident in American lexicon. Common phrases have been integrated in daily language of the people. These include phrases such as extremism, the Taliban, the Al-Qaida, anthrax and radicalism among others all with dramatic increase in usage and part of everyday life among the Americans.

Immediate changes in response to attacks were evident in air travel. The congress legislated a number of laws such as the Aviation &Transportation Security Act that lead to creation of Transportation Security Administration, TSA. The issues of security during pre 9/11 era were the responsibility of individual airport using outsourcing services from private companies. TSA had a task for implementation of appropriate procedures such as stricter screening for the passengers as well as their luggage involving only the passengers with tickets. TSA also put in place some procedures and sophisticated machinery for scanning destructive items and weapons. Further discovery of new forms of threats after the 9/11 led to the introduction of new procedures such as shoes removal and liquids banning.

Major overhauls were also implemented in airplanes with the introduction and fortification of cockpit doors and elimination curtains in airplane cabins. Pilots were allowed to have loaded guns and serve as federal officers while in their plane.

The government took drastic measures in enacting legislations that were intended to address security issues after the lesson learnt during the 9/11 attack the most famous being the Patriot Act. Other important laws that were passed during this time included the “Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act”, the “Post-9/11 G.I. Bill” and “James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010”. The government passed of 130 laws in response to 9/11 attack and approval of about 48 bills together with resolutions which were signed to law.

The government also created important agencies such as the Homeland Security Department where other important agencies were consolidated such as “U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service”. Over 260 organization allied to the government were created and reorganized in response to the 9/11 attacks. Over 1200 government agencies together with over 1900 private firms were engaged in activities to counter the terrorism activities, enhancement of homeland security as well as intelligence. This had a significant impact on escalating budgets and the proliferation of defense related agencies.

Other drastic transformations were evident in the areas of immigration, deportations as well as the tourism sector. The percentage of visa issuance significantly dropped after the 9/11 attacks with Pakistan being the most affected country where a 70% drop in visa issuance for the tourists was recorded. Global tourism to the US dropped significantly for three consecutive years after the attack, a trend that also experienced a dramatic shift in 2004 marked by a significant increase in the number of tourists. The Americans travelling internationally also declined. The number of deportees also increased significantly following the attacks. This trend had a significant implication to the safety situation and the economy of the country.

Joint Terrorism Task Forces, FBI

The Joint Terrorism Task Forces in the US is at the frontline in war against terrorism. The FBI which is a component of Joint Terrorism Task Forces in US comprises of investigators who are passionately committed and includes experts in SWAT, linguistic, intelligence agencies and other agents of law enforcement have the responsibility of addressing the issues of terrorism and protect the citizens against terrorists’ attacks. They have the relevant qualification and skills in interrogating terrorism which is effectively achieved through chasing of vital leads, gathering important evidence, arresting the suspects, offering security during special events, training programs, gathering and disseminating intelligence and responding to potential threats in short notice. The FBI task force of Joint Terrorism Task Forces are spread across 103 cities in the entire nation and were created after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

CIA actions

The CIA task force was initiated in 2001 by President Bush with the objectives of destruction of terrorist organizations in war against terrorism and given powers for global reach. The actions of CIA are intended to achieve common good for Americans and the entire world in reference to terrorism activities. There is no clear definition of terrorism as a concept but generally it is conceived as a tactic and a means to achieve a defined end. Therefore defeating a tactic is so ridiculous and therefore war on terror is equally ridiculous.

The CIA as an organization has been engaging activities of terrorism since the time that former Nazis were integrated in their activities. Unlike the case of smaller groups of terrorism such as the ETA, CIA involvement in terrorism does not involve their employees in bomb placement but makes use of intermediaries together with agents which sometimes include the personnel from the US military.

The establishment of CIA by the Act of Congress followed shortly the end of the Second World War. It therefore implies that Congress reserves the power to eliminate CIA, just as it established it. The official role of CIA was an organization intended to gather intelligence although its functions have practically been very different from its original intention. CIA has never in its existence played the role of central agency for gathering intelligence but has always been a clandestine action arm used by the foreign policy advisers to the president. This therefore is the agency that is used to support other foreign governments while overthrowing others and thereafter give reports in the name of intelligence that are meant to justify their clandestine actions. Their intelligence are crafted articulately in crucial areas such as the capabilities of the nuclear weapons of the Soviet to support the policies of the president. The clandestine actions associated with CIA involve disinformation to a greater extent whose lies usually target the citizens of America.

Homeland security

The Homeland security department has made significant progress since 9/11 attack with respect to protection of Americans from terrorism activities. The extent of strength that was conferred upon Homeland security department in the US has consequently increased the strength as well as the resilience of the Americans although this has not completely deterred evolution and persistence of terrorism. The current wave of threats is not attributed to individuals or definite groups but their origin are rooted in local neighborhoods and distant land. They also differ in the level of sophistication ranging from simple home-made grenades to biological threats and cyber attacks that are articulately coordinated. The responsibility of detecting as well as preventing terrorism activities should therefore be a joint effort of all law enforcement agencies, the citizens and the business community. The security of the nation is a responsibility to be shared by all people to create awareness of potential threats facing the nation. Everybody has an important role to play in homeland security.

Any declaration of war against terrorism therefore is similar to a declaration of perpetual war. The implication of terrorism in this respect is a practice involving a direct or indirect deliberate harm inflicting, death, destruction, and injury to the innocent civilians with the consequences of causing revulsion, despair and horror among the civilians together with their political leaders with the ultimate intentions of forcing the victims to act according to the desires of the terrorists.

In a nutshell therefore, some agencies that were otherwise supposed to safeguard the interests of the civilians have clandestinely waged actions of terror against the same people, who are left asking, are we safer? And are our rights violated?