Paper Sample on Terrorism or Criminal act

The US and the world at large face act of crimes and terrorism every day. The big debate is how to distinguish acts of crime from acts of terrorism. Society should have what constitutes its acts for them to deal with these cases effectively. The definition of terrorism is spelled out under the United States Code (USC) chapter 1138. Terrorism is acts of violence with the intention of the perpetrator to influence a government politically. The key intentions of terrorism are to intimidate the public to advance a cause. The cause to be advanced can be political, racial, religious, or ideological. Crime, on the other hand, is an action prohibited by the government because it can threaten or harm the public. Individuals who engage in crimes do so with varied agendas. Criminal acts do not have an agenda or ideologies aimed at influencing a government.

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Debates on how to categorize crimes and terrorist acts are a continuing debate within civil societies and in the public domain. The Stoneman Douglas High school attack is an example of an act that has since sparked debates on what qualifies as crime or terrorism. The mass shooting was an act of crime, and most people equated the act as terrorism. The act cannot be categorized as terrorism because there was no political motivation (Pejic, 2005). The persons behind the mass shooting had their reasons. Therefore, the actions are criminal acts. It is important to separate terrorism and criminal acts so as not to bring confusion within government agencies responsible for security. Separating criminality and terrorism prevents federal governments from acting beyond their jurisdiction during times of crisis. American citizens do not want a situation where the military intervenes during an act of crime. If a citizen is accidentally categorized as a terrorist, then automatically he or she loses some rights and privileges a scenario viewed to be illegal. The government overreaches concerns to separate the two acts to assist when responding to such events. Americans would not want a situation where the military acts within US soil in the case of criminal acts confused for terrorism.

Domestic terrorism

The aftermath of 9/11 prompted the US to set up measures that could counter external terrorism. There have not been major attacks from a jihadist. The real threat to America is domestic terrorist groups who are within the USA, and ideas they acquire from the internet drives their attacks. Examples of recent cases include shooting at Pittsburg synagogue. The attacker at the synagogue had always express anti-refugee views through his social media accounts. Political polarization powered by online communications drives the increased domestic terrorism in the United States. Aryan Nations is an active terrorist group founded in the 1970s. Aryan Nations is a group of individuals comprised of a white supremacist. Their domestic terrorism acts were driven by their racist and anti-Semitic ideas.

Strategies the U.S can use to Respond or prevent Terrorist attacks by Aryan Nations

The government has spent the past seventeen years developing strategies to counter and eliminate US attacks from outside, but there are no known strategies to counter radicalism and extremism. Prevention of domestic terrorism from Aryan nations should take different dimensions, which include the rule of law, individualism, proportionality, and public awareness (Pain, 2014).

Countering violent actions of the Aryan Nation from its extreme context

Aryan Nations are no longer practicing its terrorism like the 20th century; therefore, traditional counterterrorism strategies do not have an impact on their actions. Domestic terrorism threat from Aryan Nations is now focused on their actions to radicalize other individuals through social media. Development of strategies to prevent activities of extremist requires policymakers to define threats; hence, the development of metrics to counter them. The ideas to counter domestic terrorism should not be politicized. The firsts step should be the establishment and exploration of what motivates terrorist organizations. Homegrown terrorists might not have a single profile as to why they transform into offenders, but the idea of ideological incitement is true for most of the terrorist. Understanding what motivates extremism and radicalized violence will assist in identifying cases of individuals with these traits hence preventing them in advance.

Educating the public about domestic terrorism

US citizens could be valuable players in preventing terrorist activities committed by the Aryan Nations. The members of Aryan nations live within our communities. Therefore, the citizens are the one who can notice early activities of these groups. The citizens can help redirect such individuals with tendencies of radicalization. The government agencies should reach out to family members of extremist groups to educate them on the dangers of radicalization (Mize, 2010). Awareness of the negative impact of radicalization will reduce high chances of individuals joining Aryan Nations or similar groups. It is the responsibility of the government to educate the public and put up structures within communities to assist in reporting cases of radicalization within communities. The state can also provide information on ways to deal with people showing signs of radicalization. Developing trust with the citizens by the government agencies helps boost chances of the community actively participating in programs aimed at reporting activities of Aryan Nations members.

Incorporating domestic terrorism prevention activities with other criminal strategies

The government should consider incorporating other crime prevention strategies with domestic terrorism issues. There are high chances that before engaging in domestic terrorism, individuals of the Aryan Nations might have taken part in other criminal activities within the society. Including anti-terrorism programs in larger anti-crime programs reduces the idea of certain groups feeling alienated. The local community will feel encouraged to assist stakeholders in reporting cases of criminal activities done by Aryan Nations members.

Gathering information and statistics about Aryan Nations

Aryan Nations are members of right-wing extremists, and it is the best time for the government to recognize that they are becoming a problem. The police and government officials should not treat activities from members as isolated. Their activities, in my opinion, should be treated equally with suspects of terrorism cases and not just disturbed individuals. Currently, few government groups are monitoring violent activities carried out by extremists. It is true to say that the government does not have the exact data and statistics about the threat posed by Aryan nations members. The debate about the powers of the domestic terrorism statute should not be used to hinder criminal actions from extremists. The government should, therefore, develop a mechanism to assist them in tracking Aryan Nation's activities and outlining ideologies, which keep the group active and engaging on domestic terrorism.

Partnering with European countries and other nongovernmental agencies

Currently, the 2018 national strategy for counter-terrorism links the US far extremist to a few other European groups. Investigating agencies should go deeper in their research to find out whether Aryan Nations activities are linked to another extremist in Europe. Nongovernmental organizations that campaign against extremism should be brought on board to assist in providing information on how these groups operate. Ideas and radicalization within Aryan nation's members often take place with the influence of rhetoric radicalization. Domestic terrorism can be fueled by conspiracy theories about religions, races, or cultures. These conspiracy theories are freely available on the internet. Example of cases of conspiracy theory is when Robert Bowers believed that Jewish run refugees charity in the US aimed at bringing in aliens to replace Europeans. Robert Bowers ideas got into his head eventually, and eventually, he carried out a shootout in the Tree of Life. Members of Aryan Nations should be investigated and scrutinized to find out about the believes and conspiracies that their members believe in (Konrad, 2019).

Law enforcement and removal of hate content from private platforms

Online radicalization is the leading factor fueling domestic terrorism groups, Aryan Nations included. Currently, there is progress since most social media companies have put in place structures to ensure the removal of content that promotes violence. There is a boost since website hosting platforms do not take in payments from extremist as clients. A good example is a campaign carried out by sleeping giants to force YouTube to blacklist websites owned by a far-right extremist. The extremist was using social media to request funding from well-wishers even outside the USA. Blacklisting of the extremist website will eventually yield fruits of breaking online radicalization of Aryan Nations members. A safer online space can be created if the government and private sector collaborate, eventually ensuring the government carries out its mandate without infringing on freedom of speech.

Providing tools to law enforcers to combat domestic terrorism

Terrorism threat from Aryan Nations and similar extremist groups can take place unexpectedly. Therefore law enforcers should always be ready and with required tools. The government has the correct tools to counter external terrorism. Such tools might still be relevant when handling domestic terrorism, but there is a need for a different set of techniques to handle domestic terrorism. Domestic terrorism is a volatile matter that requires techniques and tools that should respect civil rights.

Effectiveness of normal police response to Aryan Nations criminal action

The US police response to domestic terrorism carried out by Aryan nations has not been much successful. The police have not found effective strategies and techniques to respond to violent extremism. Social media are, therefore making it difficult for regular police to counter the cases due to lack of required tools to counter radicalization. The regular police often find themselves in a dilemma when it comes to separating regular crime from terrorism. Law also limits police to investigate to prosecute them. Domestic terrorism is unlike regular crime since it requires complete intelligence investigation with a goal of wiping the groups completely. The dilemma and lack of trust with investigative agencies like the FBI eliminate police morale to respond to domestic terrorism effectively. There is a belief that agencies such as the FBI do not share information with regular police. The police, in return, fail to provide the required response to criminal actions by an extremist. Regular police network in the USA is broad, making it difficult to identify a specific department that should be responsible for domestic terrorist actions. The normal police do not have material support to counter the Aryan nation group and other extremist groups (Gabbatt, 2019).

Comprehensive socioeconomic strategies effectiveness

The terrorist groups in the US composed of white supremacists most of the time can be heard chanting words like "Jews will not replace us" during demonstrations. These words have a deep meaning, and it requires the anti-terrorism groups to connect the dots. The social justice movements as these group claim to advocate for could be due to their socio-economic status. Out of frustration and believe that their poverty is because of foreigners, they engage in antisemitism and attacks on non-white races.