Central Washington University Attacks of 9/11 Discussion

Since the attacks of 9/11 we as a nation swallowed the reality that a terrorist organization is capable to launch sophisticated attacks on American soil. As technology and strategy grows continuously we also understand that future attacks are certainly possible. What we as a nation are focusing on and should continue to work on, is how to prevent and protect against such an attack.

Perhaps the greatest challenge and obstacles we face is the reality of our society (UMGC, 2020). We are a free society with the pursuit of happiness serving as an advertisement for our country. Do to the society promoting such a luxurious way of life and potential for flourishing freedom we as a nation rely and encourage immigration. This immigration allows for entry from various foreign lands all around the globe leading to potential infiltration of individuals who wish to harm the nation. In addition, the free societal structure the nation has established has allowed for the ability for an individual to collect specific resources that can inflict mass harm whether this be firearms, explosives, or more. Maintaining a free society certainly makes it harder to deter the potential for entry or action of terrorists.

Some of the opportunities and direction I believe we should journey to is increased information sharing capabilities as well as surveillance. Unfortunately, as the nation began to study the Patriot Act which was established shortly after 9/11 the nation grew concerned that privacy was being infringed by surveillance operations that law enforcement agencies were now authorized to conduct. Although it is a very debatable topic, surveillance and security operations should be modernized and exercised to a high degree in order to prevent infiltration and attacks by terror inducing action. In addition, information sharing capabilities should be structured in a much more efficient way across the spectrum of all governmental levels from the tribal and local level up in order to ensure vital and critical information is passed in a timely manner to deter and prevent attacks on the nation. Perhaps the most concerning threats to the nation is an attack on the critical infrastructure assets and what the result of such an attack could bring to the nation. The critical infrastructure is established as a system of systems (UMGC, 2020). If one fails it is likely another will as well. This could cripple our nation and can and should be protected through a network of information sharing and surveillance.

UMGC. (2020). National strategy for physical protection of critical infrastructure and key assets. Retrieved from

https://learn.umgc.edu/d2l/le/content/449901/viewContent/17731446/View