A Plan to Deal with Terrorism

In class the other day, groups of two were supposed to come up with a plan to effectively fight terrorism. This is a basic plan that my partner and I came up with:

Option 5: Defending our Homeland, While Addressing Roots of Terrorism

The attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11^th, 2001 aroused a unified sentiment to fight terrorism. Prior to these attacks, Americans did not seem to really care a whole lot about the topic of terrorism, since our interests were not affected by it. However, following the attacks, when thousands of innocent deaths were incurred, a light began to be drawn on terrorism. The American people had the unified feeling of defending our own country, since our own freedoms had been intruded upon in the attacks. Now, almost ten years later, America is much more awake to the topic of terrorism, but not a lot has changed. We are waging two endless wars over seas that are meaningless, and the world’s perception of us as a country has diminished because of the tactics that we have utilized to get to where we currently are. World leaders point to using the U.N. as a means to solve our differences, but they have proved to be ineffective. On top of that, we believe that terrorist organizations are growing and feeding off of anti-American sentiment, which is the fuel for their fire. Because of this, we are choosing to focus on defending our homeland and addressing the main causes of terrorism by providing financial and monetary aid, not with direct military intervention.

What should we do?

• We will scale back our military presence abroad- that means getting out of Iraq and Afghanistan and handing reconstruction efforts over to the UN. We will of course assist them in this by offering financial support.
• We will strengthen the CIA, NSA, and other security agencies in order to gather information about terrorists faster and better.
• We will allow the government to wiretap the communications of suspected terrorists as long as they have a court-issued warrant and reasonable evidence as to why they should get a warrant.
• In order to quell some cries against us in the Middle East, we will force Israel to give up some of their land in order to make a Palestinian country.
• We will remove troops from Saudi Arabia- they do not need to endanger their lives for oil.
• We will work even harder and spend more money on developing alternative energy sources so that terrorists cannot be funded by oil companies anymore.
• We will end financial and military support for governments around the world that abuse the rights of their people. This includes North Korea and Iran especially.
• We will launch a 21^st century “Marshall Plan” throughout the Middle East and Africa. Through this, we will work to improve the lives of everyday civilians through education, a better infrastructure, available food and water, quality housing, etc.
• We will fully sign and enforce every provision of the Geneva Convention accords and UN international law.
• We will not condone any kind of torture. However, if agencies opt to torture suspected terrorists, the government will have no hand in it, and it is up to the agency to punish agents who use torture to obtain information.
• We will try suspected terrorists in military tribunals.
• Military action will only occur in dire instances, such as the overthrow of a very stable and legitimate democratic government or a terrorist attack on our homeland.
• We will create a new anti-terrorist unit of the government. One area that they will cover will be how to defend the country in case of a nuclear, biological, or chemical terrorist attack. The other area will deal with field operations: highly trained American operatives will operate undercover and take out terrorists in foreign countries before they become a direct threat to the US.

Supporting Arguments:

• The world that we live in is unpredictable. An imminent terrorist threat could occur at any time. Whether it is Iran launching a nuclear attack against us, or whether it is the “Christmas Day Bomber”, terror attacks could happen instantaneously. The country needs to be ready and on its toes to stop any terror threat that is on the onset.
• With increased intelligence, the United States will have a much easier time keeping tabs on known Al Qaeda members. Not only will this increased intelligence benefit the government, but it will also be beneficial to the overall public, for they will have an increased sense of security.
• By working to develop alternative energy, less dependency on Middle Eastern oil will be had. Therefore, raging oil prices won’t have an affect on domestic gasoline prices. Lots of anti-American sentiment has stemmed from America’s greed in taking over the oil industry. If we can find a way to not be so dependent on oil, the angry attitudes regarding it will not be so profound.
• The reinitiating of a 21^st Century version of The Marshall Plan would help to create pro-American sentiment, rather than anti-American sentiment. When it was initiated in Europe following the conclusion of World War II, it did wonders for restoring and rebuilding post-war Europe. If a secondary version were instituted in the Middle East, the rebuilding process could be more easily attained, and U.S. Military presence would no longer be necessary.
• In our minds, torture is an unnecessary form of extracting information. We feel as though there are more humane ways of going about interrogating suspected terrorists. However, there is nothing in our power that can be done to prevent agencies from torturing its captured suspects before we can stop them.
• Trying suspects in military tribunals rather than in civilian court has a much smoother flow. Because these foreigners are not American citizens, they should not have the American right to a trial by jury. These terrorists are foreign criminals; therefore, they should be treated as so.
• The creation of an anti-terrorist unit will only further develop the government’s way to protect our own country. By increasing intelligence and preparation, we can ready ourselves for an onset attack. Increasing intelligence will also assist to take preemptive action against a terror threat. If an attack is imminent, the military can launch a strike to dismantle the attack before it is able to be carried out, thus further enhancing our protection.

Counterpoints/Arguments Against This Option

• Completely leaving Iraq and Afghanistan could plunge the country into a bitter civil war, and the UN cannot always be trusted to rebuild war-torn countries.
• By strengthening our intelligence agencies, we are giving them more power than they should have. American citizens' rights could be at stake, and the intelligence agencies could twist facts to target only people that they deem important.
• Making Palestine would most likely severely strain relations with Israel. American Jews would also be outraged, as they would probably see the act as being pro-Palestinian.
• Troops are in Saudi Arabia for a purpose, and it is to protect the oil over there. If they left, terrorists could exploit oil companies, and the same companies could jack oil prices up, wrecking havoc on the US economy.
• The Marshall Plan was specifically designed for Europe. Such a plan could not work in the Middle East, and it could also backfire and create more hatred for the US, as we would expand our influence in the region with all types of aid besides military.
• By agreeing to every law that the UN passes, we are constraining our ability to fight terrorism because of the rules that we would have to follow.
• The government has the full power to stop its agencies from torturing suspects, so they shouldn't pretend to be "unable to stop it from happening." On the flip side, torture might sometimes be necessary to extract valuable information, and it therefore should be allowed to be used on suspected terrorists.
• By trying terrorists in military courts, we are not giving them the full rights that they should enjoy while on American soil.
• Military action should be available in other instances. If we are not able to attack countries before they attack us, we will lose a countless number of American lives that could have been prevented had we went on the offensive.
• The anti-terrorist unit could become too big and abuse its power. The agents could go rogue and start killing on their own, or the new creation of a government agency would be unnecessary.
• This plan would cost massive amounts of money. Isn't the government already in enough debt?