Counterterrorism -Final

1 . The Subcommittee on Terrorism and Homeland Security made a report on Counterterrorism intelligence Capabilities and Performance before the 9 /11 attack . According to this report , one of the reasons why this tragedy was not prevented was their less than satisfactory management of resources particularly information that could have be used to forewarn about terrorist intentions . It was reported for example , that the FBI Homeland Security and the other agencies had very limited ability to watchlist terrorist suspects because of their inadequate access to up-to-date data collected by the different agencies and

resources . In addition , it was found out that the actions of the FBI were more towards the investigation of possible terrorist attacks and less focus was placed on the prevention of such (Report of Subcommittee on Terrorism and Homeland Security , 2002 . These features harmed the Intelligence Committee 's ability to foresee possible threats of terrorism . Needless to say , foreknowledge of an attack is necessary for its prevention

This necessitates infiltrating communities especially those with significant Arab populations . Still , it is important to note that this infiltration is not an act of discrimination but an act based on the great probability that those involved in terrorism would belong to such nationality . There is a greater probablility that sympathizers and supporters of terrorism would belong to the members of the Islamic population than other populations of different religions . The situation demands that efforts never go below minimum if the safety of the population is to be considered

But this infiltration has drawbacks . One , it sacrifices the people 's liberty and privacy . Two , it creates exaggerated fear among the people especially if the infiltration is most obvious . To minimize the resultant fear among the people , it is necessary that infiltration be done in the most discreet way possible . Clearly , barricading the community with FBIs would not be wise as this would not only cause alarm but would also harmful to the intelligence we are trying to gather This demands the need for informants and secret agents in the said community , from the said community and in all parts of the community including mosques

It is very important that informants who are to be sent are selected among those already living in that population . These people are already knowledgeable about their community they know the important people have a personal concern over the safety of their community and would be more knowledgeable in finding important information given the right directions . This limits the time and effort required for information gathering , focusing the officials ' efforts in the interpretation and analysis of data , which speeds the process of investigation . The result is a more efficient transmission of deeply analyzed information , which is exactly what is needed in the prevention of terrorism according to the Subcommittee on Terrorism and Homeland Security (2002

But then , using informants , especially if these informants were selected from the same community involved would entail precautions . The danger here lies on the informant 's loyalty . Since the informant is selected from...