Post 9/11 Normalcy
The terrorist attacks against America that occurred on 9/11/ (2001) ushered in a new way of life in dealing with terror within the United States' borders. Sadly enough, before the run-up to the 9/11 attacks, NYC was struck with a terror attack on February 26, 1993, at the World Trade Center building parking garage used by the Vista Hotel business. The blast created by a 1,220-pound bomb located in a rented Ryder truck killed six people and injured 1,000 from minor wounds to more medical severe harms. The explosion cratered a hole 200 feet deep by 100 feet in width, causing the evacuation of 50,000 people.
The horrific event should have sounded a loud and clear message to political leaders that the nation was in the crosshairs by radical Islamic terrorists. Ramzi Yousef directed the terrorist attack aided by five others. Upon conviction and receiving a 240-year imprisonment sentence, Yousef stated that he is a “terrorist and proud of it,” pronouncing his grievances against the U.S. support for Israel in opposition to the plights of the Palestinian people. All the defendants identified have been convicted and sentenced, including Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman. Abdul Rahman Yasin, also charged for the crime, remains at-large (CNN-Library, 2016, March 2).
Home-grown terrorism was the new dawn from the massive carnage left in the wake of the Oklahoma City Bombing occurring on April 19, 1995. Using a rental truck, Timothy McVeigh parked rental in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, setting off the truck bomb causing 168 deaths and injured victims scores. A right-wing radical extremist, McVeigh was sentenced to death and executed in 2001. A co-conspirator, Terry Nichols, was convicted and is serving life without the possibility of parole.
The men had met in the U. S. Army and bonded on their penchant for survivalist interest and later joined a survivalist group based in Michigan. Michael Fortier, with knowledge of McVeigh's plan, was convicted, and received a reduced sentence testifying on the government's behalf. Nineteen young children located in a daycare center for employees died that day. The event was the worst terrorist attack on U. S. soil before 9/11 (History.com staff, 2009). Following the tragedy, officials undertook a massive risk assessment of all government buildings to place restrictions on parking near facilities. Later, the government began erecting barriers adding layers of protection against future bombings.
Many observers believe that extremist groups and other domestic and or transnational criminal cartels share many of the same characteristics, goals, and tactics. Parasites learn from each other, and when beneficial to their goals and objectives, they will share information. Whereas organized crime groups are motivated by greed and money, radical terrorist groups, in keeping with their ideology, recognize the need for money to advance their activities, inclusive of new members' recruitment.
The intersection of their criminal activities may be best understood by looking at their behaviors objectively. (1.) Activities likely occupied and shared the same geography, time, and space simultaneously (2.) Activities recognized that their shared goals could be best achieved by coexisting together both in the short-term and long-term and that others and (3.) may severely threaten them. The convergence of criminal behaviors will be impactful for the pursuit of mutually beneficial success. The New York terrorist attack in 1993 and the Oklahoma City Bombing attack in 1995 were close in time. As the events were not enough for the FBI to improve their cohesion of methodologies and strategies to prevent additional attacks. The U. S. was naked and highly vulnerable.
Most of the homeland terrorist incidents and attacks in the United States have not all originated from groups or lone wolves of Arab and Middle Eastern nationality or Muslim religious backgrounds (FBI, 2010). However, Osama Bin Laden, founder of al-Qaeda (the Base), received his branding from hatching and launching the 9/11 organization's plot that attacked America from a remote mountainous region in Afghanistan near the Pakistani border.
The problem that remains for the United States and the rest of western democracies is that the violence and criminal activities perpetrated by terrorists, gangs, hate groups, organized crime, and domestic and transnational drug cartels will not be waged and won within the next 100 years. Western military strategists and cultures must come to grips with prolonged involvement to counter their adversaries.
In 1970 President Richard Nixon signed into law the Control Substance Act and declared the 'war on drugs’. The war on drugs has been a dismal failure after untold billions of dollars, vast amounts of law enforcement resources and human efforts, and continued loss of thousands of lives annually, according to Lyman, M (2014, p.326). Shared responsibilities are no guarantee of shared communications and objectives.
Both DEA was created in 1973, along with the FBI have primary responsibilities for enforcement of the Act through the Office for Drug Abuse and Law Enforcement (ODALE) to assist local and state law enforcement agencies. But, the War on Drugs has had an unintended consequence of overfilling America's prison system with non-violent criminals. Most scholars agree that drug laws against casual users have increase crime, not a deterred crime.