Critical Thinking Essay: Conceptualization Of Terrorism
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Module 2 Critical Thinking Essay: Conceptualization of Terrorism
The term “terrorism” intuitively connotes a more significant and severe meaning. It elicits images of September 11, 2001 (9/11), suicide bombers, and mass shootings. It creates fear, anxiety, paranoia, and suspicion. However, the likelihood of an act of terrorism on United States (U.S.) soil is very rare. Furthermore, according to Newman and Clark (2008), the processes involved in the execution and investigation of an act of terrorism are similar to that of conventional crimes. As such, local governments and first responders inherently possess the capabilities to manage and investigate conventional crimes. Thus, conceptualizing terrorism as a conventional crime provides first responders with a flexible framework to formulate substantive terrorism strategies.
Since 9/11, the Country has yet to re-experience an incidence of domestic terrorism of the…show more content… According to Newman and Clarke (2008), the primary difference may be a political motive, but admit this may not be necessarily true. Consider the current Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigation into Russia’s involvement in the Presidential Election. Russia’s motivation appears political but has yet to be classified as terrorism. Or, if the difference is indeed motivation, e.g., collapsing a government, first responders do not possess the capabilities to prevent this type of endeavor. Defining the differences between terrorism and conventional crimes is problematic, in the sense that the differences are either very subtle or so extensive, where first responders are incapable of solely managing the incident. Hence, the differences between terrorism and conventional crimes are, most likely, irrelevant. As so, a terrorism strategy that considers terrorism in the context of conventional crimes permits first responders to utilize their inherent