Counter Terrorism

Counter terrorism encompasses many aspects in the fight against terror. It generally refers to the overall practice of combating terror and includes both exposing potential acts and reacting to completed acts. This is accomplished by utilizing various offensive tactics, techniques and strategies. Depending upon the level of the threat, national, state or local personnel are responsible to execute these plans. Typically this falls to the military or local police. It is their responsibility to either prevent or soften terrorism.

Building a Plan

In order to build a counter terrorism plan, all parts of a society are usually involved. Local level law enforcement generally has a plan that involves reaction and prevention preparation for their local area. International plans are handled by the national level. Different government organizations are responsible for executing various aspects of the plan. There are agencies that cover the intelligence aspect, often preventing attacks by incepting valuable communications. The military has Special Forces that are trained to engage terrorists in order to prevent attacks. They are also responsible for hostage recovery and responding to ongoing attacks.

Understanding the motivation of the terrorists helps counter terrorism plans work more effectively. Generally, terrorists are indoctrinated by the ideology that is behind the terroristic acts. These people believe wholeheartedly in what they are doing is the right thing to do. By understanding the ideology behind the terrorism, counter terrorism is more effective.

Looking for executive management consultants and other resources?

Good intelligence is necessary in understanding what motivating the attacks. It is also necessary in understanding the specific tactics and type of preparation specific to each group. When the groups are divided into operational cells, it is more difficult to gather good intelligence. These cells are generally small and are sometimes made up of related individuals. Tracking financial records and communications of a group are also ways of gathering good intelligence.

Obstacles to Counter Terrorism

As stated before, one of the most important aspects is effective counter terrorism is good intelligence. Because intelligence is gathered via communication interception, financial tracking, individual tracking, etc, civil liberties are often violated. Many attempts to tighten national security have been interpreted by some as infringement on human rights and a violation of privacy. Some countries detain suspected terrorists without judicial review, allowing the detainee to be subjected to interrogation and torture.

When dealing with groups that use a cell structure, gathering intelligence is difficult. These cells are often very small and impossible to infiltrate. Most information that is gathered on the cells is obtained by wire tapping. Wire tapping is considered by some as a breach on an individual’s right to privacy.

Counter Terrorism Measures

Plans to counter terrorism should contain a few standard elements. Potential targets need to be identified and “hardened”. This entails making it more difficult for terrorists to carry out plots against specific targets. One example is to put large barriers outside large buildings to prevent truck and car bombs. Another example is re-enforcing and locking the cockpit doors of aircrafts.

Local services, such as police, fire departments, and medical personnel, need to be responsible to have plans to reduce the damage if an attack is to occur. Police are responsible for identifying an area of attack and securing it quickly. This reduced confusion and further damage. Fire departments are most adept to deal with the physical results of the attack. Emergency medical personnel are responsible for getting the injured to the hospital and setting a triage to determine the more serious cases. They may also be called on in the event of a biological attack.

Counter terrorism plans are necessary infighting against terrorism. Many agencies and organization need to work together to make prevention of an attack and mitigating damage after an attack possible.