Terrorism and Jihadist Networks

Al Qaeda and Jihadist Networks

Al Qaeda and other Jihadist networks are a serious threat to other nations and groups of people who do not think in the same ways they do. Because of that, it is important that more is understood about them, so that they can be studied. That study will allow opinions to be drawn and decisions to be made that are based on the true danger they present and what can be done in order to mitigate that danger. From the standpoint of homeland security, Al Qaeda is the enemy. Knowing the enemy is one of the best ways to keep a country safe from harm.

Al Qaeda and Jihadist Networks

According to White (2014), there is a significant threat to homeland security from Al Qaeda and other Jihadist networks. Terrorists exist to inflict terror, often based on their belief systems and their opinions of those who do not hold to the same beliefs. Because that is the issue with networks such as Al Qaeda, and because there is no negotiating or reasoning with terrorist cells, it is important that homeland security work to understand what the terrorists are planning, who they are targeting, and when they will strike (White, 2014). Many terrorist organizations pride themselves on being able to get past the defenses of those who they target, which is part of the reason they cause so much actual terror. People feel safe, and then they find that they are suddenly not safe because a Jihadist network got to them. They know at that point that they are vulnerable, which can be very uncomfortable and can also cause a person to feel disheartened and afraid.

Keeping the country safe from terror is the work of every citizen, but it is the official job of the Department of Homeland Security. Without being able to protect the country and its people from harm, the Department will feel as though it is not doing its job, and the value it has will be questionable. Those who know the Department well know how much it can do for the country and how much it works to ensure the safety of every person in that country, but for those who are the victims of Jihadist networks such as Al Qaeda, the main feeling may be that they were let down by an organization that was sworn to protect and defend them. In order to protect as many people as possible, however, anyone who is involved in homeland security has to have intelligence about the enemy and know their moves. That can be very hard to do when Jihadist groups are so tight knit and careful regarding who gets any information on them, but it can be done.

One of the more serious mistakes that can be made by homeland security is going off of assumption instead of actual knowledge (White, 2014). It is important that security personnel of any kind not assume what is going to take place or what a Jihadist network may be doing. Without true knowledge about the issue, there is too much risk that the assumption could be wrong -- and a wrong assumption could become potentially disastrous for a country and deadly for thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people. Most of that kind of risk can be avoided, but only if those who are part of homeland security are focused on the value of knowledge. They also have to understand how to take that knowledge and extrapolate it out to what is the most likely to happen. While that, technically, is an assumption, it is based on the proper level of knowledge of the organization and its movements, instead of being based only on some ideas of what could be the case (White, 2014).

When homeland security takes strong knowledge and uses it to draw conclusions, they are more likely to have success as opposed to what may happen when they simply make a guess. When Jihadist attacks happen, it is important for homeland security to take the time to mitigate the immediate damage, but after that it must also focus on making sure that another attack does not happen. That means the focus needs to address how the current attack was able to take place, and what went wrong that allowed Al Qaeda or any other Jihadist network to get through the country's defenses and cause terror and damage (White, 2014). Until that weak point is determined and adjusted to avoid future risk of attacks, the country will remain vulnerable. That can be a serious concern, since it can take time to discover what went wrong and put plans into place that will protect the country's people and stop future attacks from occurring. That is not the end of the issue, though, because a Jihadist network that no longer has a particular avenue will simply look for another one.

Often, these networks are able to find other avenues, as well. It may take some time, but that does not mean that it cannot be accomplished -- and Jihadist networks are always looking for ways in which that can be accomplished. Past ways of infiltration are generally tried, but if they are unsuccessful then other options have to be considered. The difficulty with that is that the Jihadist network cannot know if the intelligence it is receiving is completely accurate. The homeland security personnel have the same difficulties. They get information about Al Qaeda or another network, but they can only rely on that information to a certain degree. They may not be able to completely rely on what they are being told, and how much trust they can put into the information they are being given must factor into what they decide is acceptable when it comes to their level of risk and speculation (White, 2014). The more they feel they can trust the source of the information, the more they can use that information to draw conclusions about what the Jihadist network may do next.