Introduction to Homeland Security

Understanding Terrorism Prevention and Emergency Management

David A. McEntire

• Publisher: Wiley
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9781119430636
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Sciences sociales
• Subtopic: Sociologie

Introduces readers to the world of homeland security and provides them with up-to-date information on recent attacks, new terrorist threats, visible terrorist organizations, current dilemmas, updated research, and best practices

This book provides comprehensive coverage of issues relating to terrorism, terrorist behavior, homeland security policies, and emergency management. It offers a foundation that spans the readily apparent chasm between the homeland security and disaster communities, and covers the stages of emergency management with a focus on terrorism prevention and response. Based on both the academic literature and practical understanding, the book includes research findings, covering theory and principles as well as their application.

Introduction to Homeland Security: Understanding Terrorism Prevention and Emergency Management, Second Edition teaches how to define homeland security, understand how it changed after 9/11, and explore its relationship with emergency management; recognize the causes of terrorism and what prompts people to engage in terrorist attacks; assess the trade-offs between security and rights, and understand how terrorism exploits the tension between these two priorities; work to prevent terrorist attacks through intelligence gathering, by promoting laws that prohibit terrorism, and by protecting borders and various sectors of society; prepare for a terrorist attack by creating an advisory council, passing ordinances, acquiring monetary resources, and establishing an EOC; effectively respond to a terrorist attack through the many functions involved, including the protection of first responders and the decontamination of the victims; recover from a terrorist attack through both short-term and long-term measures; anticipate the current challenges faced in homeland security; and comprehend the various types of attacks that might take place in the future. The second edition:

• Covers the four traditional phases of emergency response, with a focus on terrorism prevention and infrastructure protection
• Includes new content such as recent domestic and international terrorist attacks including the attacks in Paris and Boston
• Has a strong "practitioner" approach and draws upon a solid foundation of academic literature in the field
• Discusses the roles and responsibilities of government agencies, non-government organizations, and individual citizens

Introduction to Homeland Security is an excellent book for all scholars, students, and practitioners interested or involved in homeland security and emergency management.

CHAPTER 1
UNDERSTANDING A NEW GLOBAL PRIORITY: Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Emergency Management

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Do You Already Know?

• Why we should be concerned about terrorism
• If terrorist attacks are becoming more frequent
• Why 9/11 changed the world
• How to define homeland security
• Why many professions, including emergency management, can help deal with terrorist attacks

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For additional questions to assess your current knowledge of terrorism and homeland security, go to www.wiley.com/go/mcentire/homelandsecurity2e

What You Will Find Out	What You Will Be Able To Do
1.1 Examples of terrorism in the United States	List terrorist activity in recent years
1.2 The possibility of additional attacks in the future	Evaluate the possibility of future attacks
1.3 The far-reaching effects of 9/11	Relate how the world changed after the 9/11 hijackings
1.4 Definitions of homeland security	Describe homeland security
1.5 The breadth of organizations involved in homeland security	Assess how various disciplines help practitioners deal with terrorism

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INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the important field and profession of homeland security as well as the perplexing study of why violence is employed for ideological purposes! If you are interested or involved in dealing with the threat of terrorism, it is imperative that you understand the nature of this type of violence and why it occurs. The following book has the purpose of helping you achieve these goals as well as to comprehend the fundamental principles of homeland security. While reading this introductory chapter, you will gain an understanding of the growing threat of terrorism and the numerous reasons why this problem should be addressed now and in the future. You will learn how the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001 changed the world and opened up a new era in global history. You will be able to discuss the mission and scope of homeland security along with the challenges it currently faces. The importance of approaching homeland security from a holistic perspective is then mentioned, enabling you to recognize why many professions including emergency management must form an integral part of efforts to deal with terrorism.

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1.1 TERRORISM IS THE NEW NORMAL

In simple terms, terrorism is the use or threat of violence to support ideological purposes. Recent events might cause you to think that terrorist attacks are more frequent and deadly than in the past. Your instinct is certainly justified according to the London Institute for Economics and Peace (Cassidy 2015). Although some visible politicians have intentionally downplayed attacks to give the impression that they are effective leaders, terrorism is ever present and cannot be denied. Attacks are not only more common than the past, they are more consequential as well. Three cases illustrate the “new normal” we are facing today.

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Terrorism: The use or threat of violence to support ideological purposes.

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1.1.1 Boston Marathon Bombing

On 15 April 2013, Chechen brothers Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev detonated two homemade pressure cooker bombs at the Boston Marathon in Massachusetts. The bombs exploded in the late afternoon about 200 yards apart near the finish line of the race on Boylston Street. Three people died from the blasts and over 260 others were injured. The Marathon was suspended while athletes and bystanders were directed to safety with the help of the Boston Police Department. A massive manhunt was soon underway to find those involved in the attack. One of the brothers was killed during a confrontation with police. The other was caught and is now facing prosecution.

1.1.2 San Bernardino Regional Center Shooting

On 2 December 2015, a mass shooting took place in San Bernardino, California, at the Inland Regional Center. The perpetrators were Syed Rizwan Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik. The married couple killed 14 people and injured 22 when they opened fire at a holiday party for the city’s Department of Public Health. While already devastating, the incident could have been more consequential. Three pipe bombs found at the scene failed to explode. The terrorists were killed in a shootout with police a short time later.

1.1.3 Orlando Nightclub Shooting

On 12 June 2016, a security guard named Omar Mateen instigated one of the deadliest mass shootings in US history. With the use of a pistol and a semiautomatic rifle, he killed 49 people and wounded 53 others at the Pulse – a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. After a three-hour standoff, the terrorist was shot and killed by the Orlando Police Department. The carnage was one of the worst mass shooting in US history to date.

1.1.4 Other Notable Attacks

The above attacks are not isolated. The list of such events has increased over the past 15 years. For instance, Hesham Mohamed Hadayet opened fire at the El Al ticket counter at the Los Angeles Airport. His attack killed two people and injured four others on 4 July 2002. On 3 March 2006, Mohammed Reza Taheri-azar intentionally drove a vehicle into a crowd at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He injured nine people. In November of 2009, Nidal Malik murdered 14 people at the Fort Hood military base in Texas. A disgruntled man named Joseph Stack flew his private plane into an Internal Revenue Service building in Austin, Texas, on 18 February 2010. In the small town of Moore, Oklahoma, Alton Nolen beheaded a woman at a Vaughan Foods plant on 24 September 2014. Robert Lewis Dear killed three people at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, CO, on 27 November 2015. In one of the w...