Optimal approaches to prevent terrorist attacks

Terror attacks in various parts of the world have increased in frequency and severity in the last
two decades. In most cases, investigations which are carried out after terror attacks often reveal
that such attacks could have been avoided but often the warning signs are ignored or even
misunderstood. There was a lot of intelligence that has been collected about how terror attacks
are planned and executed in the wake of the 9/11 revealing that often successful terror attacks are
the result of failures in the analytical imagination coupled by a lack of long-term strategic
intelligence about the threat posed by the terrorist organizations (Hoffman, 2006). As such
security forces, as well as intelligence agencies, have in most cases failed to connect the dots in
regards to determining where terrorist are most likely to attack and therefore putting in place in
place measures to thwart such attacks. The purpose of this paper will be to discuss some optimal
approaches to prevent terror attacks both in the United States and in other parts of the world.

One of the approaches to the prevention of a terrorist attack is to make use of conventional
wisdom. After major terror attacks, such the attack on American soil on 9/11 and the bombings
of the US embassy in Nairobi and Tanzania reveal that conventional wisdom was not used in the
prevention of such attacks. Such investigations revealed that the warning signs about the
impending attacks were available but seem to have been ignored in all the cases. According to
experts, successful terror attacks against the US and its interest on the globe point towards failure
in the gathering and utilization of intelligence information collected by the Central Intelligence
Agency (CIA) and other stakeholders who are involved in the gathering of intelligence thorough
analysis of terrorist chatter and activities. Lack of imagination has often been blamed for
orchestration of successful terror attacks around the globe (Combs, 2017). Before 9/11 several
security analysts, intelligence agencies and blue-ribbon commissions had already described the
growing threat posed by international terrorism and there was even a suggestion about the
possibility of an airliner being used to carry out a suicide attack on a target in the US. However,
as pointed out by the 9/11 report, most intelligence officials and policymakers were not able to
imagine how dangerous such kind of a threat was and therefore they were not willing to take
actions to prevent such a disaster. The result of such lack of imagination was the worst terror
attack in the history of the US and the world, in general, resulting in the death of over three
thousand Americans. The failure to anticipate the effects of such kinds of attack was complicated
by the focus on tactical intelligence. Before the terror attacks on 9/11, it was suggested by
several scholars that the intelligence community in the U.S had been too focused on tactical
intelligence and as such had failed to concentrate on strategic intelligence (Ganor, 2015). The
result of such failures was a lack of imagination on the possibility of a successful terror attack
being orchestrated against the US in particular in the motherland which was according to
intelligence agencies and security experts highly protected and least vulnerable to such kinds of
attacks. As such one of the ways preventing successful attacks on the US and other targets on the
globe is to make effective use of conventional wisdom. That involves ensuring that there is a
proper collection of and analysis of information about terrorist activities and plans which can be
obtained by intercepting and analyzing terrorist chatter. Also, it is important to be imaginative in
regards to having the capacity to accurately predict what the terrorists are planning and the
magnitude of damage that such kinds of attacks are likely to have.

Another important approach in the prevention of successful terror attacks is to learn from
unsuccessful terror attacks. It is in most cases very difficult to understand unsuccessful terror
attacks since there is a lack of reliable and adequate information to make it possible to
understand the kind of plot and schemes that the terrorists can hatch and implement. Often terror
attacks fail due to several reasons which include errors by those plotting the attacks as well as
accidental encounters with keen law enforcement officials (House, 2018). However, several
terror plots have been thwarted as a result of careful, lengthy investigations by intelligence
officials and security officials and such unsuccessful attacks provide a wealth of information that
can be used to prevent future terror attacks. Some of the most notable unsuccessful terror attacks
that can provide a wealth of information and intelligence to security forces and intelligence
agencies in regards to preventing future attacks include "The Fort Dix Plot", "The New York
City-Day of Terror Plot" and the "The Lackawanna Six" (Jackson, 2018). There is a lot that can
be learned from such unsuccessful attacks including the fact that such plots including many
others in the recent past were foiled because law enforcement officials had precise, tactical-level
intelligence about who the attackers were and what they were planning. Imaginative and alert
intelligence and law enforcement officials have been involved in foiling such attacks but it is
clear that it was not imagination that prevents such attacks but rather it is the appropriate use of
informants, public tips as well the surveillance through electronic and other means. It is clear
from such cases that organizational fixes are not the solution to preventing such attacks (Jarvis
and Lister, 2015). For instance, the "Day of Terror" scheme which was planned for in 1993 was
foiled by the same law enforcement authorities that have managed failed to prevent the attacks
on the World Trade Center just a few months priors. The most notable difference between this
two plots was that the attack on the World Trade Center was used by the terrorists as a focusing
event whose goal was to push law enforcement into focusing on other extremist groups which
were possibly planning a similar attack by shifting the attention of senior decision-makers on the
intelligence that they had gathered (Manelici, 2017). Even though such plots were not carried out
by the first team at Al Qaeda and they had a great connection with homegrown terrorists.
However, it is worth noting that even the homegrown terrorists can carry out successful attacks
even though of a lower magnitude as such as the first attack on the World Trade Center. The
history of unsuccessful terrorist attacks on the US and other targets around the world indicates
that a lot of intelligence is needed to carry out successful terror attacks and that such kinds of
intelligence are readily available for collection and use by the intelligence community to prevent
future attacks (John et al., 2016). Likely, the necessary information required to prevent such
kinds of attack has probably not been collected yet but the intelligence can likely be collected
through aggressive intelligence collection both on the domestic and international levels.
However, it is worth noting that such intelligence gathering efforts often raise concerns about the
proper balance between the security of the nation and the civil liberties of its citizens.

In general, there are several key tenets in the prevention of terror attacks on the domestic and
international levels. One of these getting past the conventional wisdom which involves
recognizing that in most cases the most commonly held beliefs about the prevention of terrorist
attacks are often flawed and there is a high likelihood that the next major terror attack will not be
preventable through increased imagination or by organizational reforms (Barco, 2018). As such
it is important to do away with what is already known about the prevention of terror attacks but
instead formulate new ways of preventing them that are based on the collection of intelligence.
There should be more focus on local domestic intelligence collection as records on failed terror
attacks indicate that the most effective intelligence in the prevention of terrorist attacks is that
gathered local and domestic efforts (Talbot, 2017). There is also a need to shift the debate in the
intelligence debate which involves coming up with new ways to collect intelligence about
terrorist activities which goes a long way in the aiding efforts to prevent terror attacks. One of
the most effective ways of preventing terror attacks is to make use of intelligence to understand
the plans of the terrorists which helps to formulate ways to frustrate the successful
implementation of their plots.

Approaches used to prevent terrorist attacks on the United States

The United States of America has been at the forefront of the war against terrorism. That has
been brought about by the fact that as a major political and economic player in the world, the US
has often been the target of terrorist organizations seeking to destabilize it and as a result lead to
the establishment of a new world order that does not have the US as the helm of global politics
and economics. It has, therefore, become increasingly necessary for the US to put in place
measures to prevent terror attacks on the motherland (Perry et al., 2017). There are several
measures which the US has put in place to prevent terror attacks on targets on the homeland and
the subsequent sections of this paper will discuss some of those measures.

Prioritization and resourcing are one of how the US can use to prevent terror attacks. Terrorism
has over the years become increasingly complex in modes of operation which has been
complicated by the fact the modern-day terrorists operate on hugely dispersed territories. As such
it important for the US prioritize its integrate its actions and resources against the intents and
actions of the terrorists to attack the US and its interest on the globe. It is important to note that
radicalize Islamic terror poses the greatest terror threat to the US and its vital national interests as
defined by the National Security Strategy (Matthews, 2016). At the same time, the sovereignty of
the US is also a threat due to terrorist groups such as those backed by rogue nations such as Iran.
On the home front, the US continues to face threat from individuals and groups which are
inspired and facilitated by the violence that is advocated for by radical Islamic ideologies and
other modern-day terrorist ideologies. In light of the hugely divergent nature of the threat posed
by the terror threats, it is important for the US to make a priority list of the most significant terror
threats which will make it possible to allocate adequate resources required to minimize the
likelihood of successful terror attacks against targets in the US (Peter, 2017). The National
Strategy and Counterterrorism task force help to formulate tools and approaches that are used to
guide counterterrorism efforts the goal of formulating effective regional, functional and group-
specific ways to minimizing the risks posed by the terrorist organization based on the threat that
each of the pose the homeland and to important national interests. Also, it important that all
counterterrorism efforts must show proper balance for all the instruments of national power
which includes the involvement of conventional and non-conventional partners in the prevention
of terror attacks. Even though the US must ensure that it maintains its capacity to attack terrorist
organizations and terror cells across the globe, there is need to make use of non-military tools
including law enforcement, intelligence agencies, financial resources and other kinds of
terrorism prevention strategies which are required to prevent terror attacks on the US. It is
therefore important that the US increases its efforts to develop both domestic and international
partnerships as well non-military counterterrorism measures so that they each work
independently to prevent terrorist attacks on the US homeland (Yim, 2004). As the US embarks
on this new approach it is important of the US to maintain rigorous monitoring and assessment of
its effectiveness in the protection of the homeland against terror threats which is followed by
proper adjustments in the quest to prevent against terror attacks on the US.
Another approach in preventing terror attacks against the US is to take priority actions. These are
both military and non-military actions that are meant to target the key terrorist and terrorist
organizations. The US needs to take priority actions against leaders of terrorist groups, their
organization, terrorist operatives, and individuals assisting terrorists in their activities such as
experts in areas such as weapons of mass destruction, propaganda and cyber operations. The
priority actions should be applied through persistent pressure by the US and its international
partners such as law enforcement, economic and financial measures and well in military action to
disrupt, degrade and preventing the reconstitution of terrorist activities and organizations (Smith,
2008). One of the goals of taking the priority action is to enhance reach into denied areas in
overseas territories and where it is not possible to establish the required physical presence to
protect and defend the interests of the US, it is imperative to develop innovative means and
capabilities with international partners so as to expand the capacity of the to identify and mitigate
emerging terror threats before they develop the capacity to attack the US and its national interest.

The effective use of the law of armed conflict (LOAC) detention is an effective approach that
can be used to prevent terrorist attacks on the US. The US has been allowed by the provisions of
LOAC to detain and humanely remove individuals who are considered to be dangerous terrorists
from the battlefield which improves the capacity anti-terror campaigns to collect intelligence
from capture terror operatives. This provisions under certain conditions give the US the authority
to detain terrorists as they await transfer to the US where they undergo criminal prosecution. The
US there should make sure that they make use proper use of the provisions made possible by
LOAC in detention of terrorist as a way of preventing future attacks against the US in future
(Rosenau et al., 2015). Already several detention facilities are at the disposal of the US such as
US Naval Station in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba which are used to detain terrorists and there should
be efforts to integrate and maximize the capacity to use such facilities appropriately and within
the provisions of the law.

Further integration of Federal, State and Local counterterrorism information sharing is another
important approach in the prevention of terrorist attacks on the US. In order to secure the
homeland against terror attacks in the future, it is important for the US to improve its ability to
make use of share sensitive information about terrorist activities and threats in a timely and
effective way with the aim of identifying perpetrators of acts of terrorism at a domestic and
foreign level across all levels of governance (Kean et al., 2015). The US must continue to ensure
that law enforcement agencies at all levels of governance have the information that is required in
the identification and formulation of swift action against all kinds of terror threats. In doing so, it
will be possible for all level of governance to facilitate their intelligence and law enforcement
agencies to identify and prevent individuals and groups with criminal intent from carrying out
their motives on the targets in the US.

Amplification of the impact of counterterrorism operations through strategic communications is

another important approach which the US can make use of in the prevention of terror attacks
against the US. This involves the integration of the strategic communications capability across
all the efforts to prevent acts of terror sends a strong message to those engaged in acts to terror
that they will pay a serious price for their actions and that the US stands in solidarity with its
citizens and all populations upon which their territories exist (Mustafa, 2016). The aim of the
message is not to discredit the narratives created by the terrorists but rather is to dissuaded
potential terrorists and their supporters by demonstrating that the effects of the counterterrorism
strategies are not restricted only to direct action by giving law enforcement the capacity to take
action against the terrorists in their own countries. In developing such capabilities, the US should
take appropriate actions to protect the civil rights, civil liberties and the privacy of its citizens.

Another approach that can be used by the US to prevent terror attacks on the motherland is to
counter the funding methods of existing and emerging terrorists. The US should collaborate with
local and international partners in regards to sharing information about the financial operations
of terrorist (Ii, 2016). Such information should then be used to by US economic authorities to
take a range of actions to prevent impede terrorist activities such as financial sanctions and the
establishment of other kinds of financial restriction to deny terrorist operatives a chance to raise
funds which disrupts their financial planning and support networks. Taking such measures would
deny the terrorists the ability to plan and implement successful attacks against the US and its
interests across the globe. The US should also fund research into the operations of modern
terrorist which will help in the formulation of new ways to counter against new and emerging
terror threats.