Emergency Response to Domestic Terrorism: Thesis

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617). Certainly, it is one thing to mandate policies that apply to normal circumstances such as a warehouse fire where property should be protected but not at the expense of emergency responders' lives; by very sharp contrast, though, when human beings are in jeopardy and emergency responders believe they can make a difference in a life-or-death outcome, polices do not mean all that much. This relativistic view of what emergency responders should and must do became the focus of policymakers following the 1995 attack on the Murrah Building with a more reasoned approach to what emergency responders should and must do. In this regard, Lewis et al. conclude, "The experience in Oklahoma City demonstrates that a sense of proportion about human achievement in extraordinary situations simultaneously encourages realistic views about routine professional capacities and allows for normal human frailties and an appropriate reward structure. This proportionality thereby contributes to a supportive work environment in conventional circumstances" (p. 617).

Yet other reviews of the emergency responders' actions were more directly related to changes in federal policies concerning what responses were best suited to natural and manmade disasters of this magnitude that had implications for the nation's response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. In this regard, Lewis and her colleagues also note that, "Other ethical issues arise in the realm of national policy, as Congress and the president sought to respond effectively to the threat of domestic terrorism through the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 [Public Law No. 104-132, 110 Stat. 1215], presidential directives, executive reorganizations of counter-terrorist efforts, and public reassurances" (p. 617). Clearly, the Oklahoma City attack on the Murrah Building was responsible in large part for the passage of this law designed to help improve the nation's responsiveness to such events in the future.

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For instance, according to El-Ayouty, Galgan, Greene and Welsey (2004), "In 1996, Congress passed the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA), largely in response to the 1993 World Trade Center and 1995 Oklahoma City attacks. The Act was designed to deter terrorism, provide justice for victims, and provide for an effective death penalty" (p. 251). While it is clear that the AEDPA did not "deter terrorism" on September 11, 2001, the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995 clearly contributed to this revision in how the nation viewed such acts and what should be done in response to them.

Conclusion

The research showed that on April 19, 1995, Timothy McVeigh detonated a bomb contained in a Ryder rental truck in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 and injuring another 674 people, many of them children. Although McVeigh has since been executed for his crime, the horrors of that day remain vivid for the survivors as well as for many of the citizens of Oklahoma City who witnessed the event firsthand. The research also showed that the police, firefighters, ambulance drivers and other emergency responders who sought to assist the victims of this attack went above and beyond the call of duty in their actions, with some of them violating departmental policies and regulations in the process. To their credit, the authorities in Oklahoma City chose to reevaluate their policies rather than discipline these individuals who were awarded the city's highest award for honor instead......

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