Week 4 Reflections

Week 4 Reflections

• Now that you have looked at the issue of drugs and terrorism, how have your 
  
  
  opinions changed about the relationship between drugs and terrorism?

I was unaware there were so many links between DTO's and primarily terrorist organizations. I was aware that there was some overlap in some organizations, such as the Shining Path terrorists in Peru and the Taliban after their removal from power in Afghanistan. My opinion remains much the same, as I felt that the terror methods used by the DTO's made them a danger to this country on their own merit, and were “evil”...thus deserving of targetting.

• What kind of anti-terrorism efforts can be utilized to fight drug trafficking?

The methods of anti-terrorism can be used to fight drug trafficking, as the groups share some basic mechanisms of operation. “As criminals, terrorists and narcoticst raffickers both emphasise secrecy and concealment from law enforcement officials, as this is essential for the survivalof the organisations and individual members” (Björnehed, 2004, p.308).

• Are funds required to combat terrorism? Or are volunteers more important to help fight terrorism?

Fighting terror in either political terror mode or DTO mode can not be accomplished by volunteer work. Effectively fighting terrorism requires the capture or killing of terrorists, and that is personally dangerous work that requires a great deal of practice to become proficient in. Although patriotism or altruism can be motives to recruit people for the cutting edge of ani-terror work, having an effective force requires professionals that must be paid. At the next level of anti-terror support (cataloging data, analyzing intelligence, etc.), a great deal of time must be spent in these endeavors before actionable intelligence can be produced. And again, the effort required to do so requires a professional, and paid, force. Having said that, volunteer efforts can help in some situations, such as the hacker “the Jester”, who has conducted cyberwar against various Islamist websites and Leftist hackers. Freed interviews “the Jester”in the article Hacktivist Tactics Raise Ethical Questions, “If you take the position that online jihadi propaganda, proselytization, and interaction is increasingly important in jihadi recruitment, then why is it bad to drive them back into the shadows online? That’s a key principle of COIN” (2010, para 26).

• What do you think can be done to properly identify drug trafficking that truly is 
  
  
  
  
  terrorist related? 

The targetting of people not engaged in the drug trade, and the targetting of government officlas, for terror acts, are the base indicators that a DTO is a terrorist organization as well.

• Is the USA PATRIOT Act a threat to constitutional freedoms or a legitimate tool in 
  
  
  
  
  the war on terror? Explain. 

The PATRIOT Act is a threat to the Constitution, and at the same time can be a legitimate tool against terror at the same time. As a historical example, COINTELPRO operations aginst violent subversives in the past were both effective against those organisations and at the same time, sometimes unConstitutional. “Hyperbolic arguments about the constitutionality of the U.S.government's counter-terrorism efforts are nothing new” (Breinholt, 2004, p.23). However, the PATRIOT Act may not be as effective a tool as it was intended. “According to a recent federal court decision, however, the Patriot Act did not raze the wall; to the contrary, the Act raised, for the first time, a statutory basis for the wall”(Seamon & Gardner, 2005, p. 322).

• What are the implications of the emerging recognition for gender-selective 
  
  
  
  
  terrorism?

I am not sure. My pont of view is that people that employ terror tactics are terrorists, regardless of the gender, race, creed, et cetera, of the target. I am not seeing additional implications based on gender-selective criteria.

References

Björnehed, E. (2004). Narco-Terrorism: The merger of the War on Drugs and the War on Terror. Global Crime, 6(3-4), 305–324. doi:10.1080/17440570500273440

Breinholt, J. (2004). How about a little perspective: The USA Patriot Act and the uses and abuses of history. Texas Review of Law & Politics, 9(1), 17–61. Retrieved September 10, 2014 from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=16272356&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Freed, A. (2010, January 27). Hacktivist tactics raise ethical questions. InfoSec Island. Retrieved February 8, 2015 from http://www.infosecisland.com/blogview/2695-Hacktivist-Tactics-Raise-Ethical-Questions.html

Seamon, R. H., & Gardner, W. D. (2005). The Patriot Act and the Wall Between Foreign Intelligence and Law Enforcement. Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy, 28(2), 319–463. Retrieved October 9, 2014 from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=16901261&site=ehost-live&scope=site