Political Science

Introduction
Terrorism is an act that is associated with quite a number of evils conducted against mankind. It is a deliberate creation of threat of brutality or causing actual violence towards innocent citizens or a particular government. Terrorists use different techniques in their effort to spread their acts of terrorism. Terrorist in the United States has been of great concern especially after the September 11 2000 attack. In this respect the government together with other stakeholders in the department security came up together and formed anti terrorism conference in FBI academy as a tactic to secure American people against terror attack. The conference which was referred to as Countering Terrorism Intergration of practice and theory was a very important step in facing off the threat that faced the country as well as other countries in the world. Through effective collaboration with the National Security Council the conference, which included intelligence officers, lawyers and military personnel came up with strong policies of fighting terrorism. This paper will to a great extent discuss the extent to which the US government has embarked on fighting terrorism.

Overview of terrorist Activity in the U.S.
The intention of terrorists is to have the control of the oil resources in the Middle East. It is based by this ill motive move that terrorists led by Osama bin Laden, the leader of the Al-Qaeda movement have declared war against US. According to the Al-Qaeda US has occupied the holy lands in the Middle East thus their aim is to forcefully remove them from those lands. Their acts of killing innocent Americans in other countries for instance the 1998 bombing of the US embassy in Kenya and in Tanzania also indicates their intention of creating fear of traveling on the American people (Capuano and Michael 2009).

Terrorism came to light in 1988.The pioneers were seniors Muslim leaders and with the financial support of Osama bin Laden the group started to register other Muslims in the world. It is imperative to note that at first the group categorized itself as a religion movement with the intention of spreading the word of God.However the group performed its operations in secret since it didnt want to be enhance awareness of its existence to the general public. Initially the government did not immediately realize how dangerous the terrorist group was. In 1990s the US government was hosted by the Saudi Arabia government to protect it from the invasion by Iraq. This was against the wish of Osama bin Laden who maintained that US has invaded a holy ground. During this time the terrorists group started to attack the US interests in the whole world thus enhancing the US government strong policies of fighting terrorism.

The most horrible terrorists attack was the September 11, 2001 attack. The attack was undertaken using jet liners which were hijacked by 19 terrorists. Their suicidal operation resulted to their death as well as the death of 2,973 passengers who were mostly Americans. In addition the attack resulted to destruction of the World Trade Center resulting to loss of property leading to negative effect on the American economy. Another example of an attack was the USS Cole attack in the year 2000.During this time the ship which was referred to as DDG 67 was attacked by the terrorists as it refueled in Aden harbor. This attack resulted to the death of 17 sailors while more than 30 sailors suffered serious injuries. The third example of a recent terror attack was the brutal kidnapping of Daniel Pearl in 2002.He was an American journalists based in India. His kidnappers who were the members of Al Qaeda movement forwarded urgent demands to the US government which included releasing all Pakistan people detained by the US authority .Failure to respond to the demands resulted to brutal murder of Daniel Pearl.

Governments anticounter terrorism measures
With the increased threats of terrorist attack in US, the government has embarked on extensive process of ensuring that airlines have been given adequate security in their operations. One major initiative undertaken by the TSA (Transport Security Administration) ensures those luggages owned by passengers traveling from UK to US are properly screened. In the same way the government came up with rules which require carrying out of x-rays on the shoes of the passengers (Nemeth and Robert 2009).This has enforced security mechanisms in that it avoids carrying of explosives inside the airlines. Likewise the airport authority banned possession of gels and any other form of liquid beyond the checkpoints inside the US airports. The accessibility of the airport is another area that the government has only limited to passengers with valid air tickets. In order to succeed in the security measures the USA government has invested a lot in installing security gadgets inside the airports and in the airplanes. For instance metal detectors and other sophisticated security systems have been installed in the areas surrounding airports in order to detect explosives and bombs.

In order to make the war against terrorism a success, the US government under the leadership of President George Bush passed the Patriot Act in 2001.The act which was signed into law by the president, is intended to strengthen the unity among the American residents as a way to eliminate acts of terrorism. In addition the law gives military personnel and other security agencies in US power to scrutinize emails and other form of communication that is seemed to be connected with terrorism. It is imperative to note that unlike other laws which face high resistance from either republican or democratic parties, Patriot act was fully supported by the two parties. This is a clear indication of the extent to which the US government is ready to eliminate the cruelty of terrorism in US and in the whole world in general (Caldwell and Robert 2006).

In order to be effective the Countering Terrorism Intergration of practice and theory policy should have strategies of involving other military personnel from other countries for instance African countries. It is important to note that most of the terrorists hide in African countries since they know these countries have weak security measures. By so doing the US government will share its skills with other countries thus making it stronger in fighting the Al Qaeda and other terrorists groups.Nevertheless, the FBI academy conference has succeeded in fighting of acts of Terrorism especially with the support of the current US government under the leadership of President Barrack Obama.

Border security is an important aspect in the war against terrorism. When we talk about border security, we mean all the security apparatus within the US boundaries. It is very important to note that security, terrorist threat is an issue that transcends international borders, and therefore it is critical to examine the issue of border security. On the other hand, border security is critical in prevention of supportive machinery and movement of resources that sustains terrorism. Terrorism is a well-coordinated activity and it is fuelled by a steady supply of resources. These resources include financial support from their leaders such as Osama bin Laden, information and communication systems as well as other resources that are directly involved in propagating extremist educational and religious agendas. The counter terrorism measures at the border point include government efforts to strengthen state control over the national security including the border points. Securing national borders is an exercise that requires great focus on physical security, enhancing the effectiveness of immigration and asylum laws as well as technological advancement to modernize security equipment to monitor border activity and movement of people and resources.

The effectiveness of immigration and asylum laws in thwarting the entry of unauthorized persons is one of the basic steps that governments should implement. These laws should be amended to keep in pace with the dynamism of terrorism. Apart from immigration laws, there is need for the state to monitor the movement of resources across the borders. This is important because most of the resources used for terrorism are passed through the seaports and airports. The state should therefore track the movement of these resources. Modernization of security systems is very essential in dealing with the changing face of terrorism. Similarly, physical screening needs to be employed to each individual person crossing all borders points. Immigration policies should also be made stiffer to discourage the movement of terrorists and their accomplices. Although the application of stiffer immigration policies has its own economic delimits, it plays a significant role in preventing the spread of terrorism. If countries adopt stiff immigration policies then terrorism groups will be isolated to a great extend and it would become easier to deal with them at that position.

Governments role to thwart terrorism
The objectives of law enforcement by the government in relevance to the anti-terrorism war should be made very clear. The objectives of law enforcement are to prevent, deter, disrupt and even neutralize terrorism. Prevention of terrorism is a pertinent issue that law enforcement units should focus on. One of the basic objectives of law enforcement in deterring terrorism should be to remove loopholes and security lapses in the national security system. This can be done by streamlining security apparatus and encouraging the rule of law even in foreign countries. The forces of terrorism thrive on lawlessness and the government should always step in to ensure that law enforcement is effective. Disruption of terrorist activities is another objective of law enforcement which should be emphasized. Disruption of terrorism networks and their supply of resources are critical in thwarting the menace.

One of the major security measures undertaken by the US government is the Homeland security. Citizens also have a responsibility to help the government to implement homeland security systems. Homeland security is the combination of all the agencies that ensure order and security within the country. Domestic intelligence gathering, disaster and emergency management should be strengthened. Of concern is the protection of the US infrastructure and transport systems, which will be achieved by investment in security systems as part of the roles of the homeland security. However to achieve these goals successfully, there is need for government agencies to pull together and initiate concerted effort. The agencies that are directly involved in the antiterrorism crusade like the federal bureau of investigations (FBI), the central investigation agency (CIA) and local law enforcement agencies should be allowed to share terrorism-related intelligence information. In addition, Collaboration with non-law enforcement partners and the private sector should be encouraged for the effective elimination of this threat. Future terrorism will be highly sophisticated due to the change in technology. The face of terrorism is changing every day and it is therefore not easy to predict terrorism 20 years to come. Nevertheless, the change in technology is expected to influence the channels that terrorists are going to use when executing their motives. First, the terrorist groups will always try to come up with new technologies to out do the security systems.

Future terrorism will be based on the battle for technology as terror groups try to gather there own intelligence systems thereby increasing case of cyber attacks. As mentioned earlier, through the Patriot Act the US government has taken serious measures to monitor email and form of cyber communication in order to reduce the cases of cyber attacks (Wong and Kam 2007). It is also envisaged that future terrorism will be more aligned to political, social and economic sabotage through an increase in groups supporting terrorism, criminal gangs and the utilization of technology among the terror groups to enhance their communication systems. The proliferation of non-governmental organizations will also change the forces of terrorism. On one hand, these non-governmental organizations are critical in enhancing the fight against terrorism especially as part of collaboration between government agencies and the private sector. But on the other hand, some of these non-governmental organizations will be used by terrorist groups as conduits to find resources for financing their activities. With the current lapses in security systems, it is possible to have a repeat of the December 911 terrorist attacks but the homeland security forces should wake up. According to my view, the provision of a platform for government agencies to share intelligence reports on terrorism is very critical. Such a platform should also incorporate the input of civil societies, non-governmental organizations and the private sector. In addition, the government should formulate stiffer immigration and asylum policies as well as modernize security equipment used by law enforcement units.

Conclusion
Based on the above discussion it is clear that in order to win the fight against terrorism, the US government requires the support of other countries in the world. This is based on the fact that during their attack, terrorists do not only kill American residents but also other citizens from different countries. For example the 1998 bombing of US embassy in Kenya resulted to death of many innocent Kenyans.