Terrorism Threat Government
Terrorism threatens the entire world and the United States does not stand alone. The United States, coupled with several countries, including Canada and Australia, and also including the United Nations, have vowed to protect their own countries as well as assist in protecting each other in the fight against terrorism. This is executed through advisement, as well as providing a physical presence that assists against this global threat.
Acts of terrorism can strike against virtually any target in just about any country in the world. When a terrorist attack occurs against U.S. interests overseas, Americans that are affected as well as the host nation need rapid, coordinated, effective assistance to resolve the situation. That is where the Foreign Emergency Support Team (FEST) comes in. FEST was created to respond to situations when assistance by the United States is requested by the host government or directed by the President of the United States. The FEST has provided rapid assistance to Americans abroad and countries around the world which have suffered terrorist attacks (Department of State, n.d.).
The FEST is a rapid-response interagency team sent to support the President's top representative in the host nation (Chief of Mission) and host government. During a terrorist incident the FEST provides a wide range of specialized skills. The Department of State, through the Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism, is the lead agency coordinating the FEST. Specifically, the FEST provides the Chief of Mission, host government leaders and incident managers' guidance concerning U.S. capabilities to resolve terrorist incidents or mitigate the consequences of an incident/attack (Department of State, n.d.).
The FEST provides unique capabilities not normally available. On October 12, 2001, the FEST deployed in support of American Embassy Sanaa to Aden Yemen to coordinate the response to the USS Cole bombing. The FEST established their headquarters at a local hotel and provided valuable support to the Ambassador to include enhanced secure communications and reporting to Washington (Department of State, n.d.).
Australia is one of the biggest allies the United States has around the world. A ‘terrorist act' is defined under Australian law as an act or threat, intended to advance a political, ideological or religious cause by coercing or intimidating an Australian or foreign government or the public, by causing serious harm to people or property, creating a serious risk to the health and safety to the public, or seriously disrupting trade, critical infrastructure or electronic systems. A ‘terrorist incident' is a combination of circumstances or conditions which may lead to or result from a terrorist act, and which require preventative and/or responsive action (International Relations and Security Network (ISN), 2005).
The nature of terrorism means that its implications may cross jurisdictional boundaries. This, and the range of preventive measures and capabilities that may be required, necessitates that Australia maintain a national, cooperative approach to counter terrorism. Coordination and consultation between jurisdictions is formalized by the Inter-governmental Agreement on Australia's National Counter-Terrorism Arrangements of 24 October 2002 and is managed through the mechanisms outlined in this chapter (ISN, 2005).
The Australian Government maintains national counter-terrorism and related policies and determines Australian Government prevention strategies and operational responses to threats. In a National Terrorist Situation, the Australian government determines policy and broad strategies in close consultation with affected States or Territories (ISN, 2005).
The Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) National Threat Assessment Centre (NTAC) issues threat assessments in relation to specific people, places, events, sectors and interests. Threat assessments are part of the material on which jurisdictions and agencies make risk management decisions to determine how best to respond to the threat and, where appropriate, to implement protective measures to lower risk to an acceptable level of precaution and vigilance to minimize the risk of a terrorist incident occurring. It is also the basis of public discussion of the risk of the terrorist threat to Australia. At any particular time, the national counter-terrorism alert level may be higher or lower than ASIO threat assessment levels in relation to specific people, places, industry sectors, major events or foreign interests in Australia. Accordingly, the security measures that are implemented at a particular level of alert may vary across jurisdictions or sectors (ISN, 2005).
In some circumstances issuing a public alert is an appropriate strategy. A national public alert may be issued at the discretion of the Prime Minister, Australian Government Attorney-General or other senior Australian Government minister, wherever possible. An alert will be issued after notification so that States and Territories are able to respond effectively to the alert and manage any community concerns. Public alerts draw upon agreed strategies to inform the public of appropriate responses and handle public information and inquiries (ISN, 2005).
Similarly, information on any precautionary activities likely to come to public attention will be shared between National Counter-Terrorism Committee (NCTC) members and relevant agencies prior to deployment to ensure that public and media inquiries are met with clear and consistent information (ISN, 2005).
The States and Territories have responsibility for the development, implementation and maintenance of disaster/emergency management plans that include capabilities to prevent and manage consequences of chemical, biological and radiological (CBR) incidents and conduct subsequent investigations. These plans should be integrated with State and Territory counterterrorism arrangements (ISN, 2005).
The ramifications of any terrorist incident will necessitate high level decision-making within the Australian Government, States and Territories, taking into account public anxiety and any international dimension of the incident. The scale or complexity of the incident may also dictate special cooperative responses. Throughout the response, minimizing loss of life, preventing further incidents and recovery are primary goals (ISN, 2005).
A terrorist incident or threat may be declared a National Terrorist Situation. The Australian Government will consult and seek agreement from the affected States and Territories before any National Terrorist Situation is declared and States and Territories agree not to withhold unreasonably such agreement. The decision, with reasons, responsibilities and parameters will be recorded and all States and Territories notified (ISN, 2005).
If a National Terrorist Situation is declared, overall responsibility for policy and broad strategy in relation to that situation transfers to the Australian Government, in close consultation with affected States or Territories. This may involve determining overall policy objectives, setting priorities between policy objectives where resources are inadequate, pre-positioning resources, international liaison, and determining public communication messages. The Australian Government's role does not include operational management and deployment of emergency services. This is the responsibility of the States and Territories (ISN, 2005).
In Canada, the fight against terrorism includes diplomacy, intelligence, security and law enforcement, customs and immigration, transportation, justice and finance expertise. All branches of government work together to identify and arrest terrorists, halt their operations, to protect and defend people, societies, and economies from terrorist attack and mitigate effects of any attack (Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, 2007).
It is Canada's idea to “practice like they would play”. In other words, the Canadian National Exercise Program (NEP) consists of training courses and operation centre exercises that hone their National Emergency Response System. Government, first responders and military officials work together, simulating emergency scenarios such as natural disasters, health threats and terrorist attacks. The exercises are often conducted with multiple departments, including provincial, territorial and municipal governments, to ensure efficient and effective responses (Public Safety Canada, 2008).
This strategy is based on the recognition by federal, provincial, and territorial governments that mitigation is an important part of a robust emergency management framework, and that all stakeholders are committed to working together to support disaster mitigation in Canada (Public Safety Canada, 2008).
Disaster mitigation is most effective when activities engage the community. Therefore, public awareness and education initiatives should be a priority. A successful mitigation strategy depends on contributions at all levels of government. The National Disaster Mitigation Strategy leverages, acknowledges and encourages new, developing and existing mitigation activities (e.g. climate change adaptation, seismic safety, dam safety, transportation and storage of dangerous goods) (Public Safety Canada, 2008).
The United Nations (UN) is resolved to undertake measures to prevent and combat terrorism, in particular by denying terrorists access to the means to carry out their attacks, to their targets and to the desired impact of their attacks. It is the intention of the UN to cooperate fully in the fight against terrorism, in accordance with the obligations under international law, in order to find, deny safe haven and bring to justice, on the basis of the principle of extradite or prosecute, any person who supports, facilitates, participates or attempts to participate in the financing, planning, preparation or perpetration of terrorist acts or provides safe havens (UN, n.d.).
A good insurance program is a financial management tool, as well as adequately replace assets, that went the wrong way. Loss of profits or, as it is sometimes known, increased cost of working insurances, and is an additional insurance protection that is sometimes arranged. It will reimburse the lost revenues and the increased costs incurred as a result of the reduced business activity within a pre-defined period of time following the loss. This so-called “indemnity period,” combined with the sum insured, are the two backbones of this additional protection (Kaye, 2007).
In order to prepare and improve the security and protection of vulnerable targets such as infrastructure and public places, the United States and allies must continue to work together. This global fight cannot be fought and won alone. This will not only be a global response, but a worldwide coordinated mitigation plan to prevent these acts from occurring.
References
Department of State. (n.d.). What is FEST? Retrieved April 9, 2008, from http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/fs/2002/13045.htm#1.
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada. (2007, June 12). Terrorism. Retrieved April 9, 2008, from http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/internationalcrime/terrorism-en.asp.
ISN. (2005, September 1). National Counter-Terrorism Plan. Retrieved April 9, 2008, from <http://se2.isn.ch/serviceengine/FileContent?serviceID=23&fileid=99CA5D08-6463-723F-15E4-553B8D27F1BB&lng=en>.
Kaye, D. (2007, January 1). Why do we need risk management, we're insured right? Disaster Management, 1(1), 12. Retrieved April 9, 2008, from http://www.ccep.ca/dmc/archive/dmcv1i1.pdf.
Public Safety Canada. (2008, February 13). Canada's national disaster mitigation strategy. Retrieved April 9, 2008, from http://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/prg/em/ndms/strategy-eng.aspx#a033.
Public Safety Canada. (2008, February 13). National Exercise Program. Retrieved April 9, 2008, from http://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/prg/em/nep/index-en.asp.
UN. (n.d.). United nations general assembly adopts global counter-Terrorism strategy. Retrieved April 9, 2008, from http://www.un.org/terrorism/strategy-counter-terrorism.shtml#poa2.
Assignment 8 11
Koukis, N.G.
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