Homeland Security Threats

Intro What are the causes of homeland security threats for the United States?
While the above question could be looked at in answer as being extremely broad and cover a wide variety of areas, I believe, after multiple hours of reading through research articles, that the research question being asked could be summarized with a few general ideas. Because of the fact that there are so many types of terrorists, the Department of Homeland Security has spent countless hours studying behavioral qualities of one who might become a terrorist to prevent it in the long run; the problem is, however, that anyone could decide to become a terrorist at any point and, thus, raises homeland security threats for the United States.
Thesis: Having said this, I
believe the causes of homeland security threats for the United States leads to the following 3 main concerns: terrorists have access to communicate through encryption; there is little to no evidence as to who is most likely to join terrorist practices; the lack of homeland security agencies taking initiative for more supportive protection.
Supporting Information
House Homeland Security Chairman Michael McCaul made the statement a little over a year ago that went as follows: “I think the biggest threat today is the idea that terrorists can communicate in dark space.
We can’t see what they’re saying.” Following the terror attacks in Paris that killed close to 130 people, the concerns of encrypted communications has been placed under the spotlight for national defense agencies (Bennett, 2015). With the latest debates on whether Apple should release their encryption information, most people familiar with this controversy are aware that while encryption makes it difficult for investigators to perform their duties, there is also the concern of whether or not threats would still be posed in the event that these individuals would simply go somewhere else to get the latest and greatest encryption
materials.
The next to consider is what type of person is most likely to become a terrorist, or make threats to the United States homeland security? Mental and psychological disorders were the primitive explanations from the 1960s through the 1980s for the behaviors and motivations of those who would follow terrorism; few experts presently use mental illness to explain the causes of a person joining terrorist efforts (O-Connor, 2004).
The psychopathology of terrorists has been changed based on two reasons according to experts. First of all, the making of a terrorist is far more complex than it was 20 years ago. Lone assassins who were restricted towards their attacks on political leaders were the most common forms of terrorism prior to the 1980s (O-Connor, 2004). After the 1980s, however, international terrorist organizations were forming at immense rates; as the organizations formed so did the homeland security threats for the United States. So, in all reality, the studying of human behavior in relation to the making of a terrorist is a fairly new and untouched subject for homeland security experts. The types of people who become terrorists changed just as terrorism itself changed. A member of a terrorist organization is most likely the creation of other phenomena, while a lone terrorist is likely to have a mental illness (O-Connor, 2004).
The following offers a small insight into what experts have found regarding what type of person is most likely to join terrorist organizations; it is critical to understand this information in order to more closely identify individuals and ultimately decrease the threats of homeland security for the United States.
The adrenaline, different lifestyle, or even means to escape poverty are all fairly self-explanatory reasons as to why some people join terrorist organizations (O-Connor, 2004). While there may be absolutely no desire to murder a single person, group dynamics can quickly alter these persons’ behaviors, reasoning, and overall morality. One of the common beliefs that terrorist organizations strongly enforces on new members is the idea that the organization is a victim to a variety of political and/or religious oppressions; the victim is led to believe that they have a right to protect the institution from these things (O-Connor,
2004).
Finally, the third component in my explanation for the causes of homeland security threats to the United States is a short excerpt from CNN News reporter Sumit Galhotra: “The emphasis of counterterrorism policy since 9/11 has been on jihadist terrorism, despite the fact that domestic terrorists have been responsible for more than two-dozen incidents since 9/11, the report states,” (Galhotra, 2012). The CNN news reporter is clearly focusing more on domestic terrorist threats, but I believe the point is clear that perhaps federal agencies are placing their focus too much in some areas and not enough in others.
While there is still a lot more research that needs to be done for my particular research question, I believe I have provided sufficient evidence to support my arguments. Whether my hypothesis is correct or not, I stand firm in the fact that encryption, lack of information on psychopathology, and homeland security agencies are 3 great concerns as to the causes of homeland security threats to the United States.