Exploitable Weakness in Terrorist Organizations Essay

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global stage, what distinguishes Jose Padilla from Timothy McVeigh? Be specific in your response.

The accused terrorist Jose Padilla, otherwise known as Abdullah al-Mujahir was a member of the organized terrorist group al-Qaeda. Like Timothy McVeigh, Padilla was an American. However, while McVeigh was subject to a conventional arrest for his murderous actions, Padilla was held as enemy combatant after being linked to terrorist activities. Both subscribed to radical ideologies. McVeigh was a white supremacist while "Padilla converted to Islam after a prison spell in Florida, and eventually made his way to Afghanistan or Pakistan to make common cause with al-Qaeda" (Karon 2002). Padilla's ties to al-Qaeda are somewhat sketchy, but his affiliations still distinguish him from McVeigh, who was a 'homegrown' terrorist not linked to a specific international group. McVeigh selected a government building as his chosen location to attack but his actions were not viewed as part of an international threat to the U.S. demanding reciprocal force ("Timothy McVeigh," CNN, 2009). McVeigh's activities, while horrific, were not part of an organized, continuing assault on the security of the U.S.

Q2. Identify and detail the three communities of intelligence agencies and provide specific examples.

Independent intelligence agencies consist of the CIA and FBI. Military agencies consist of the Department of Defense, which is subdivided into different branches.

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And government agencies like the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department also conduct intelligence-related activities. The CIA and FBI keep track of threats from foreign and domestic entities at home and abroad. The CIA engages in espionage and counter-espionage. In contrast, military organizations engage in surveillance of threatening and friendly organizations and take military actions when necessary to protect the security of the United States. The U.S. military aids in the construction of contingency plans to protect America from outside military threats based upon the information it gathers. The Department of Homeland Security is specifically charged with guarding against domestic threats from abroad and keeping America's borders secure.

Q3. What was the problem of secret evidence in the Edwin case?

Edwin Wilson, former a CIA employee, continued after his retirement to provide information to the CIA. He was convicted of shipping arms to Libya. According to Wilson, this was done with the knowledge of the CIA. "In retrospect, it appears that Edwin Wilson was a political pawn sacrificed by high CIA officials in an effort to try to maintain the public illusion that the Reagan administration wasn't complicit in covertly providing arms to nations such as Libya" (Sherrer 2000). Some….....

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