Responding to terrorism: strategies and approaches

Terrorist Incident

There are a plethora of different agencies that have different organizational priorities that respond to disasters. The different command positions will vary by the timeframe that is in question. For example, the local authorities may have full responsibility for a response to an event initially. However, as time progress and more organizations have a chance to mobilize then this can change the power structure. Coordinate the different agencies can be a complex endeavor that is dynamic and changes in real time. As a result, conflicts and confusion is a likely outcome. However, as the terrorism response programs become more integrated and their roles become better defined, much of the confusion has been mitigated.

Response Agencies

President Jimmy Carter created FEMA by executive order in 1979, and the new agency absorbed over one hundred other agencies that existed beforehand. FEMA took on a wide range of responsibilities that included natural disasters and civil defense plans in case of war and in 2003, FEMA became part of the Department of Homeland Security (Grabianowski, N.d.). FEMA has been tasked with handling all possible disasters; either manmade such as terrorism or natural disasters. Although most people associate FEMA with disaster response, they also do a lot of work with disaster preparation. FEMA will generally take the lead and act as a coordinator among the agencies that respond. However, FEMA representatives may not However, when disaster threatens or strikes, such as a terrorist incident, the Red Cross is also generally one of the first responders. This organization provides shelter, food, and health and emotional health service to address basic human needs and assist individuals and families in resuming their normal daily activities independently (American Red Cross, N.d.). The Red Cross also performs other duties such as feeding emergency workers like fire fighters and police, handles inquiries from concerned family members outside the disaster area, provides blood and blood products to disaster victims, and helps them access other available resources. In this sense the American Red Cross plays an important support role in the event of a terrorism attack.

Even though the American Red Cross is one of the first to respond, the real first responders consist of the local authorities. First responders are fire, rescue, and emergency medical services (EMS) personnel and are part of the local community (Sanderford, N.d.). The local police are generally on the scene early for order and protection; however they are generally not involved with saving lives. Rather it is the fire fighters and the emergency medical crews that will actively seek out the injured to help them. The first hour is one of the most critical timeframes for saving lives and these individuals have one of the most important roles out of all the agencies involved. Sometimes it can be hours if not days before they relinquish their commands to federal authorities.

Overlap and Conflicts

Because all of the agencies that respond to a terrorist event do not arrive on the scene at the same time, there is the potential for conflicts. Though there is a chain of command that eventually becomes clear to the parties involved, much of the command will evolve as the response progresses. Firefighters and EMS professionals have one of the most important roles in saving victims lives since most of the potential to do so is found in the first hours of the response. After this initial period and when other agencies have been mobilized the priorities and leadership structure will evolve. Depending of the type of terrorism attack, different organizations might have different roles as well.