Historical reference to U.S. counter-terrorism practices, and how Essay

Historical reference to U.S. counter-terrorism practices, and how these practices have been developed - Essay Example Two sections, besides the introductory one, deal with key issues in crafting the US counterterrorism strategies, while the third section lays a particular emphasis on the current approach to countering acts of terror and terrorist networks. Thus, the final section discusses the strengths and weaknesses of the present-day US counterterrorism policy and draws a conclusion about its effectiveness. Introduction As a general rule, terrorism is unsusceptible to exact definition insofar as certain interpretations could justify violence, especially actions conducted under the banner of politics, which is otherwise unacceptable (White, 2012). Thus, as White (2012) states, terrorism denotes different things to different people, being called either revolutionary war or crime in one or another period of history. On the other hand, according to White (2012), terrorism itself, along with the counter-terrorist responses, are practices that have always been in transition; while Ambassador Michael Sh eehan (retd) points out that terrorism is both provoked and sustained by technological progress, development and, perhaps most notably, globalization (Alexander & Kraft, 2008). In that regard, the smaller the world has become, the more capable terrorists would appear – whether in terms of communication, travel, funding, or weaponry (Alexander & Kraft, 2008). The advent of global-oriented terrorism in the 1990s, being represented first and foremost by Islamic Jihad- and al-Qaeda-led activities worldwide, appears a powerful argument in favor of that statement (Anderson and Sloan, 2009). In his foreword to Evolution of US Counterterrorism Policy, Ambassador Sheehan (retd) concluded that the US counterterrorism policies generally present a perspective on the evolution of terrorism itself (Alexander & Kraft, 2008). Being largely preoccupied with traditional interstate conflict and counterinsurgency, the US national security establishment first recognized the terrorist threat in th e early 1970s; while the increasing frequency, considerably extended reach and magnified lethality of terrorist attacks in the 1980s and 1990s up to the post 9/11 era, firmly shifted the focus of attention on terrorism in order to become US national security policy’s top priority (Sheehan in Alexander & Kraft, 2008). Correspondingly, the US counter-terrorist responses and tactics reflected the growing complexity of terrorist threat worldwide, including weapons of mass destruction, cyber-terrorism, etc. (Lia, 2003). The Times of Blissful Ignorance There have been numerous acts of terrorism across the world in modern times, but the United States became a prime terrorist target as late as the 1980s; until then, the term terrorism had been applied to various groups, including revolutionaries, anarchists, nationalists and violent left-wing activists, who mainly targeted European citizens and governments (White, 2012). As the meaning of terrorism fluctuated over time, the forms of terrorist activity also fluctuated between group violence, rioting and guerilla warfare (White, 2012). In turn, the tactics employed by terrorist organizations varied from kidnapping to assassinations and bombings, including suicide ones. The attack on the