Adjusting to Terrorism

On September 11, 2001 people all across the United States began the day just as any other day waking up, taking children to school, and going to work. The day was not a normal day in the United States; however, as millions of people around the world watched in terror and disbelief as the famous World Trade Center collapsed from an aircraft strike. At approximately 8:46 a.m. on September 11, 2001, 19 terrorists hijacked four aircraft crashing American Flight 11 and United Flight 175 into the towers of the World Trade Center, American Flight 77 into the Pentagon, and United Flight 93 into a wooded area in Pennsylvania after passengers attempted to retake the aircraft to prevent the aircraft from going down in Washington (September11News.com, 2001). Only on this day did the United States realize the threat of terrorism as millions of people watched in horror while emergency personnel desperately scrambled to unbury loved ones from concrete debris, fire, and ashes. The destruction of September 11, 2001 was so massive that the official death toll of 2,752 lives lost did not arrive until almost one year after the incident (McCool, 2003).

After the smoke had cleared and the devastating body count was finally determined the United States justice determined that the terrorist group responsible for the attacks, Al Qaeda, had been under investigation by federal agencies for suspected terrorism threats. However, most federal, state, and local agencies were unaware of the terrorism possibilities because of the security clearance blocks implemented since the 1960s and the lack of adequate resources (Cumming & Masse, 2004). After the 1960s scandals in which domestic intelligence leaked out of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the FBI implemented various "walls" to separate criminal and intelligence investigations (Cumming & Masse, 2004). As a result of the walls information sharing between sets of investigators and outside agencies such as state and local law enforcement agencies became "sharply limited," overlooked by FBI and Justice Department officials, and scrutinized by courts and the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (Cumming & Masse, 2004). Additionally, most of the government's intelligence records were maintained on paper or in computers that could not be quickly accessed by law enforcement agencies (National Journal Group, Inc., 2001). For example, the FBI could not trace the location of a foreigner visiting the United States on a visa unless the FBI could persuade the court surveillance is warranted and suspected terrorists could be issued visas as a result of poor cooperation with the State Department (National Journal Group, Inc., 2001). The results of the problems mentioned in information sharing between federal, state, and local agencies were evident in the tragedy of September 11, 2001.

The establishment of a national database implemented by the Homeland Security Department would allow states to communicate and share information collected on terrorist and criminal activities (Aitoro, 2009). After the tragic events on September 11, 2001 most states have implemented fusion centers to share information on terrorist threats; however, a database efficient enough has not been implemented to relay the information (Aitoro, 2009). The fusion centers can obtain data and share the information with the Department of Homeland Security but can not communicate with other centers nationwide (Aitoro, 2009). Therefore, if one state such as West Virginia obtains information on a possible terrorist group residing locally the information is relayed to the Department of Homeland Security but surrounding states are unaware of the activity. The problem with implementing the system to coordinate information nationwide; however, is the fusion centers would have to obtain funding from the federal government (Aitoro, 2009). At the National Fusion Center Conference on March 11, 2009, Napolitano stated that "we have to make sure that through the fusion centers, we have created a kind of seamless network of information sharing, not just vertically but also horizontally across the country at different levels" (Aitoro, 2009, para 10). The availability of funding is limited though as $327 million in funding has already been provided to 30 fusion centers to implement the Homeland Secure Data Network (Aitoro, 2009).

The implementation of a network that communicates with the Department of Homeland Security and all law enforcement agencies on federal, state, and local levels presents a massive expense to the government and the United States citizens. Funding would be required to implement the system and train law enforcement personnel on the system. However, the expense of another economic downfall and the loss of millions of lives weigh far heavier on the shoulders of the justice administration. The government currently taxes citizens for road repair, schools, and food as only a small example of taxes paid by citizens. The raise of citizen's taxes to ensure the safety of all the American people is a tax well spent. On September 11, 2001 the United States was unprepared and in a complete state of confusion because of the lack of information sharing among federal, state, and local agencies. As a result the United States economy has yet to recover and the loss of so many loved ones still burns in the hearts of millions of people. Another terrorist attack is almost imminent and the United States government is responsible for ensuring that the next time an attack is planned on the people law enforcement agencies are prepared to prevent, respond, and retaliate.

References

Aitoro, J. (2009, April 1). State law enforcement agencies call for national information sharing network. Retrieved February 9, 2010, from http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20090401_3756.php

Cumming, A. & Masse, T. (2004, April 6). RL32336 -- FBI intelligence reform since September 11, 2001: Issues and options for Congress. Retrieved February 9, 2010, from http://www.fas.org/irp/crs/RL32336.html#_1_18

McCool, G. (2003, October 31). World Trade Center fatalities drop by 40. Retrieved February 9, 2010, from http://www.ourcivilisation.com/usa/toll.htm

National Journal Group, Inc. (2001, September 21). Proposals to combat terrorism would change Americans' ways. Retrieved February 9, 2010, from http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0901/092101nj2.htm

September11News.com (2001). Timelines, images, and graphics from the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center in NYC and the Pentagon in Washington. Retrieved February 9, 2010, from http://www.september11news.com/AttackImages.htm