Need a 250 word response with one reference #1 (529)
Now that both al Qaeda and ISIS have become parent organizations, which franchise or affiliate of AQ or ISIS do you feel is the greatest threat to the U.S. Homeland?
ISIS was borne from an al-Qaeda lineage. Once coalition war efforts were squarely focused on al-Qaeda the result was a weakened terrorist network that was in recovery mode. This allowed al-Qaeda in Iraq to break away and challenge for power and position. Al-Qaeda in Iraq broke away and became the Islamic State. They experienced success in obtaining their sought after caliphate in Iraq and Syria. They were in some ways able to accomplish what al-Qaeda was not. Though it was brief ISIS did establish a caliphate. This got America’s attention and led to direct military action. If it seems like we have seen this movie before it’s because this is almost exactly how al-Qaeda lost power and gave way to the rise of ISIS. Now that ISIS has lost its strong hold over Iraq and Syria. The ISIS offshoot in Libya looks poised to make a splash in the terrorism game of thrones. Their situation closely resembles the one that incubated the rise of ISIS in Iraq. War deposed their dictator who though ruthless and criminal kept a lid on an instable region. The government that has taken power did so with coalition backing that receded once operations ended, leaving a weakened government in power. This government does not have the necessary power or influence to maintain stability to halt the growth of jihadist groups who tend to thrive in regions that have these gutted governments (Clarke, 2018). These Libyan Islamic extremist have demonstrated an ability to capitalize on their proximity to Europe by carrying out attacks in 2016 and 2017 in Berlin and Manchester (Clarke, 2018). They have also carried out a number of attacks Tunisia. The fundamentalist offshoots in Libya pose the greatest threat the United States as they continue to grow, have access to arms and ammunition, and are operating in an environment similar to the one that allowed ISIS to establish a caliphate in Iraq and Syria. Though attacking the American homeland is not an immediate threat there are embassies in the region as well as the threat they pose if American interdiction is required to remove them from power if they are able to mimic the success ISIS had in establishing a caliphate. You don’t have to go to America to harm Americans, if they make enough noise, America will come to them.
Both AQ and ISIS have demonstrated the ability to adapt as well as recover from major military offensives. Can you picture a day when AQ and ISIS could get over their differences and merge?
Though al-Qaeda and ISIS do not presently see eye to eye I can picture a scenario where they become allies. If pressure from governments, especially western governments on Islamic governments to control the region mount, causing regional powers to mitigate the radical Islamic threat I do believe we can see a case of the enemy of my enemy is my friend arising. With pressure from the west creating a desperate situation ISIS and al-Qaeda would push their differences aside in order to focus on what they believe is their true enemy. With pressure mounting ISIS would likely be forced to stop attacking Muslims and align itself more closely to al-Qaeda in order to survive. Al-Qaeda has showcased an uncanny ability to evolve in order to survive. This ability to remain relevant has not come without lessons that other terrorist groups must be aware of s Al-Qaeda has intertwined with the Taliban in Afghanistan and is now being negotiated with as a legitimate government (Hoffman, 2018). They have set a precedence that will become the blue print for other groups to follow if they aim for legitimacy.
References:
Clarke, C. P. (2018). Predicting the Next ISIS. The National Interest.
Hoffman, B. (2018). Al-Qaeda’s Resurrection. Council on Foreign Affairs.
Need a 250 word response with one reference #2 (529)
The terrorist organizations of Al-Qaeda and ISIS have both greatly affected not only the United States by the entire world. Al-Qaeda is a terrorist organization founded by Osama Bin Laden during the Soviet-Afghan War. Al-Qaeda as been a prime target for the United States due to the events of 9/11. Now due to the United States military has greatly been involved in fighting this terrorist which has lessen their numbers since it’s established in the 1980s. The following citation allows you to understand Al-Qaeda current foothold or affect for the world. “And while al Qaeda was weakened, the group began “quietly rebuilding” following instability in the wake of the Arab Spring, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. “… It appears that al Qaeda was among the regional forces that benefited most from the (2011) Arab Spring’s tumult,” the nonpartisan think tank reports. “Seven years later, Ayman al-Zawahiri has emerged as a powerful leader, with a strategic vision that he has systematically implemented. Forces loyal to Al-Qaeda and its affiliates now number in the tens of thousands” (2018). As you can see this terrorist has survived and will continue to survive. Now one of the most current or newest terrorist groups which has been seen all over our media is ISIS or Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. This organization has completely hazarded and destroyed the countries of Iraq and Syria. The following citation show its current status and strength. “The Islamic State can still tap a large war chest of as much as $400 million, which has been hidden in either Iraq and Syria or smuggled into neighboring countries for safekeeping. It is also believed to have invested in businesses, including fish farming, car dealing and cannabis growing. And ISIS uses extortion to finance clandestine operations: Farmers in northern Iraq who refuse to pay have had their crops burned to the ground” (Schmitt, Rubin & Gibbons, 2019). I would say the main thing to note and is something that concerns me is that $400 Million dollars. Besides followers one of the biggest things that a terrorist organization needs to be successful is money. I feel like with this amount of money they will be very successful. Now I would say the main organization to be worried about is ISIS. ISIS is still trying to make a name for themselves and have not put a blow or statement to the United States. So, I think they want to do this and are planning major attacks, so the United States Homeland needs to be concern.
I really agree with the statement for the second question. AQ and ISIS have an amazing ability to adapt. Now before I can answer this question you need to understand that things terrorist organization did merge or the fact that ISIS was branched off or started by AQ. One of the biggest differences between these organizations is their target choice. ISIS goes for the close target i.e. targets in their homeland of the Middles East. Whereas AQ goes for the far target or they try to have a research across the world. Now I do believe that these organization will merge together out of necessity. Both organizations are losing both money and persons. They will come to together in order to have both people and money to be successful. Now I do think they will merge then once they build up their numbers will break off again.
Works Cited
History.com Editors. (2018, December 4). Al Qaeda. Retrieved March 11, 2020, from https://www.history.com/topics/21st-century/al-qaeda
Schmitt, E., Rubin, A. J., & Gibbons-neff, T. (2019, August 19). ISIS Is Regaining Strength in Iraq and Syria. Retrieved March 12, 2020, from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/19/us/politics/isi…
Need a 250 word response with one reference #3 (544)
Three are several different types of lighting available to the security professional. Each type comes with its own set of strengths and weaknesses, and therefore consideration should be given to when and where each type should be utilized. The four primary types of lighting are incandescent, florescent, high-intensity discharge (HID), and light-emitting diode (LED). Incandescent lighting simply applies an electric current across a filament to produce light. Incandescent lighting provides good color rendition but many of the other benefits cited by Atlas have become outdated when compared to newer LED systems (Atlas, 2008, p. 389). The weaknesses with incandescent systems are the high-heat output, and the high energy consumption. The assessments that my team conducts do not do a complete lighting study but we do a basic analysis and often recommend facilities have professional lighting studies conducted. Most facilities are either in the process or have fully converted their systems away from incandescent systems because of the cost of operating them, and some sites with LED systems will leave their systems on, even in daytime hours. Incandescent systems used to be a cost effective option with good color rendition, in locations that were easily reached due to their projected lifetime. With the proliferation of LED and compact florescent lighting this is no longer the case and we only see these systems in places that lack the funding to upgrade the entire lighting system. Compact fluorescent lighting has become the new norm for interior lighting systems. These are low-pressure mercury tubes that require a ballast, or pressure regulator, to operate properly. This adds another fail point for these systems. Compact bulbs have a ballast built in which should easily last the life of the bulb. These bulbs are efficient and are of relatively low cost, however they are susceptible to temperature variations (Atlas, 2008, p. 390). Fluorescent systems are best used where the temperatures are controlled or remain constant, such as within structures. HID systems have various modes of operation based on the internal compounds used. Most of these systems ail from long start and re-start times, while most are fairly efficient (Atlas, 2008, pp. 390-394). We find these systems commonly in warehouses or in other large covered structures. LED lighting systems require minimal energy while providing a lot of light. Our assessment team has found these systems to be a favorite across all industries that we come into contact with for exterior lighting. These systems have shown to significantly reduce costs even with a steep up-front cost to upgrade dozens to hundreds of lights, which is appealing to facilities that require an extensive amount of security/safety lighting.
Several CPTED based security countermeasures and factors should be considered when designing parking lots and structures. Designs that provide for a single way in and a single way out is consistent with CPTED principles of access control and natural surveillance (Atlas, 2008, p. 420). Circular pillars and open stairwells are architectural designs that further allow for better natural surveillance (Atlas, 2008, pp. 427, 430). Screening of the lower level adds to perimeter security and access control concepts and do not hinder natural surveillance (Atlas, 2008, p. 416). Landscaping concepts consistent with CPTED consist of low shrubs and intermittent trees (Atlas, 2008, p. 417).
Reference
Atlas, R. I. (2008). 21st Century Security and CPTED: Designing for Critical Infrastructure Protection and Crime Prevention. Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press.
Need a 250 word response with one reference #4 (544)
There are four key types of lighting available for security professionals to use to improve the safety and security of an area: continuous lighting, stand-by lighting, moveable/portable lighting, and emergency lighting. In addition, there are a number of different types lights themselves, including incandescent, fluorescent, and pressurized sodium vapor (MCSO, 2016). Continuous lighting is used to make lighting a barrier as part of an access control system, with this providing a difficulty for an intruder to enter an area that is restricted, or they should not have access to. By continuously lighting an area this maximizing the ability of CCTV to capture the intruder, while also making it more difficult to enter an area discretely or without detection from security systems. This primarily has strengths as it provides great assistance to other security elements in improving the effectiveness, as stated above with the improvements that can be found in CCTV. An issue is that a power outage, or lack of maintenance of equipment may result in lightning become ineffective. This system is commonly used in prisons whereby the perimeter fence is illuminated 24/7 to allow security to see any inmates that are attempting to scale the perimeter fence. Stand-by lighting is typically implemented as back-up system to continuous lighting system, to ensure that areas that are required to be continuously lit have a redundancy in place. Stand-by lights can also be activated manually to provide additional lighting to areas that are insufficiently lit during certain periods of the day. Portable lighting is often seen as portable flood flights, as are routinely found at special events and on construction sites. Especially for special events, this method is effective at lighting pathways between the primary event site and parking areas, to ensure attendee safety during night hours. Emergency Lighting can be presented in the form of continuous, stand-by, or moveable lighting, and is often automated, activating when a power outage or emergency condition is detected through the security system. A combination of the above lighting types may provide the most comprehensive lighting plan, as it would include a number of fail safes to ensure that all critical areas have maintained lighting no matter what type of disruptive incident impacts the facility. Emergency lighting is used in almost every facility, commonly found to illuminate routes to emergency exits of buildings.
Countermeasures that would be consistent with CPTED-based security, would be the implementation of a CCTV/surveillance security program, while also adding a single point of ingress/egress and having speed restriction methods to reduce maximum speed (Atlas, 2013). Furthermore, the use of lighting also makes parking lots safer as this combination with CCTV ensures that criminals attempting to steal vehicles from the parking lot will likely be caught on the camera footage. Lighting would also be consistent with first generation CPTED as the illumination of parking lots would deter criminals and most likely result in the criminals moving to a neighboring community that does not have the same parking structure security in place.
References
Atlas, R. I. (2013). 21st century security and CPTED : designing for critical infrastructure protection and crime prevention. Boca Raton, Fl: Crc Press.
MCSO. (2016). Security Lighting. Retrieved March 10, 2020, from www.mctxsheriff.org website: http://www.mctxsheriff.org/residents/lighting.php
