The Pros And Cons Of Counter-Terrorism Tactics

Are Counter-Terrorism Tactics Successful?

The measure of success in counter-terrorism tactics remains one of the most debatable topics by critics in the world today. It is undeniable that major milestones in the fight against terrorism have been achieved since the 9/11 attack. The U.S. in particular has implemented stringent and strategic measures to reduce any risks against its citizens. Although such measures were initiated before the attack by Clinton’s government, the preceding government adopted a tactical and hard lined approach. As a result of this, they have been able to kill and apprehend some of the key leaders in Al Qaeda, thwarted over 40 Islamist-inspired terror attacks and plots targeting the United States, and succeeded in uniting

government embarked on strict measures to protect the American citizens both internally and externally. They immediately adopted a foreign internal defense program and deployed their troops in Iraq and Afghanistan to suppress the insurgency of terrorists and mitigate any future security threats to their country. Internally the enhanced their policing and increased their surveillance programs (Rineheart 1). They increased counter-terrorism budget from $7.2 billion in 1998 to $88.1 billion by the year 2005. Similarly, additional non-departmental expenses given to Homeland Security were raised from $ 9 billion to $32billion between the year 2000 and 2005. The funds were dedicated to military intervention (warfare with terror groups in their resident countries) other soft counter-terrorism measures included increased screening in airports and in buildings, vaccinations, and media sensitization. Increased spending resulted to use of advanced technology in information gathering and dissemination. The efforts helped in capturing most of the terrorists in the U.S. soil and intercepting various communications regarding attack plots. Most of the perpetrators were apprehended and

government called upon the global community to unite and fight terrorism as it would soon be in all countries and not in the U.S. alone. The attack of the terrorist’s cells inside Afghanistan and Iraq led to counter attacks by the extremists on any U.S. facility and citizens whenever there was an opportunity (Olson 58). Most of these attacks were conducted on other countries and this necessitated the need to join hands and fight terrorism on a global perspective. The disruption of their sanctuaries in the two countries resulted in interruption of their operations and funding crippling their capability to launch attacks. They used their influence to get support from other terror groups such as Al Shabab in Somalia ISIS in Syria to further their course of jihadist wars (Lee and Michael 83). Such groups have necessitated the world to combine resources and share intelligence to combat terrorism across the globe. The shared information has resulted to thwarted attacks in various parts of the