well-informed opinion of what terrorism is
Indeed, the course has given unmatched knowledge, and now I have a well-informed opinion of what terrorism is about and the homeland security employed to curb it. In this case, terrorism is basically the use of any form of force used intentionally for religious or political purposes. In other words, it is using violence against non-combatants. The course has endowed me with diverse know-how of how the word terrorism came to being. It is dated back to the 18th century during the French revolution. However, people haven’t come to a universal agreement of defining terrorism and thus, there exist different definitions on the same. We have to agree to the fact that the definition keeps on changing as days go by. For instance, in today’s context, terrorism is seen as any action that is not morally acceptable. Most governments use the term to abuse or denounce any group within the state opposing the government. Therefore, it is evidently clear that though there is a perfect meaning of terrorism, some groups use the term for their personal objectives. Such groups include right-wing, left-wing political organizations, revolutionists, nationalist groups, and ruling governments, to mention but a few. With respect to the course, I have learned that many states have adopted legislation that declares terrorism as a punishable crime in a court of law. Surprisingly, when nation-states do terrorism, the perpetrator nation is not taken to be terrorism, which leaves some questions to answer. I think it should not be a matter of consensus on whether terrorism is to be categorized as a crime. The standard should be the same in that any violent action that is political or religious remains to be terrorism. The United States law defines it as an act that endangers citizens’ lives or any violent action against the set of federal and state laws.
The rising cases of terrorism have prompted the need for homeland security. In this respect, Homeland security refers to joined efforts by nations to prevent any terrorist attack or any hazards, both artificial and natural, from causing any harm to humans. It also entails ways of responding to terrorist attacks in the case when they happen. Every country has its department of homeland security that is delegated with overseeing the country’s security matters. For instance, the United States is a superpower, and thus its department of homeland security is the third-largest in the United States government. It has a large number of employees approximated to be 229,000. The department is categorized into TSA, customs and border protection, customs enforcement, U.S citizenship, and immigration services. The bottom line is that every country has established homeland security that takes the responsibility of countering any terrorism, preventing cybersecurity, maintaining port security, maritime security, enforcement of immigration laws, and detecting any biological and nuclear threat.
Conclusively, the course is an eye-opener in that it has made me understand that terrorism was and will still be there. Terrorism can take various forms, and thus it is the sole responsibility of every nation to have homeland security to prevent and contain their happening.