How Can We Best Reduce The Problem Of Terrorism?

“The pictures of airplanes flying into buildings, fires burning, and huge structures collapsing have filled us with disbelief, terrible sadness, and a quiet, unyielding anger. These acts of mass murder were intended to frighten our Nation into chaos and retreat, but they have failed.” – George W Bush. Terrorism has struck this nation in some terrible ways, from the Bombing of the Murrah building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, to the plane crashes to the Twin Towers in New York City, New York. The question is how can we best reduce the problem of terrorism?

There is really no way to completely stop terrorism, but there are ways we can reduce the threat or problem of it. Terrorism has struck the nation or other nations in many ways including planes, bombs, etc. The US treatment of Guantanamo prisoners, holding people indefinitely without charges or trials and brutally force-feeding the hunger strikers, is an affront to people throughout the Muslim world and of our American values. Of the 166 prisoners left in Guantanamo, 86 have been cleared for release, meaning the US government has determined they represent no threat to our nation. President Obama can use the waiver system, certifying to Congress that it is in the US national interest to release them. He just did this, for the first time, for two Algerian prisoners. He should do this for all 86 cleared prisoners, then bring the remaining prisoners to the US for trials. That could be a way to help reduce threats by giving them back people we have taken, but in return they give us back people they have taken of ours.

There are other options we can take into action. We can stop making enemies by not bombing any more terrorism. The head of Al-Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri, is calling on jihadists to retaliate for US drone strikes in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen. The Yemeni group Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), where the US says the threats are emanating from, is also calling for retaliation for drones strikes (there have been four strikes in Yemen since July 28). Drone strikes have become the number one recruiting tool for extremists. By grounding the drones, we will stop creating new enemies faster than we can kill them. Try to become an ally not an enemy.

These ways to stop terrorism can be effective. We need to cooperate with our enemies and make them allies. If we make them allies they could possibly help us in the future if we have problems with other countries. Terrorism won’t go away probably ever but we can always reduce the threat of it. The united states also need to have better gun control, and we need to monitor people and what they are doing on the internet better. Gun control will prevent terrorism by reducing the number of weapons accessible to terrorists. Violent crimes and urban terrorism has dropped over 33% since the introduction of the background check. Something as simple as having a waiting period at gun shows can help reduce terrorism. It is possible for a group of people to go into the show separately, and purchase three or four weapons, and then use them to rob a bank, or take hostages. Currently at gun shows, as long as you are 18, you can buy a variety of weapons, and ammunition. Although a full ban on guns would not stop weapons from coming into this country illegally, it would limit the guns accessible to criminals and possible terrorists.

Many times on TV after a terrorist-attack the news will announce that this person had terrorist connections in the past. Now if they had terrorist connections why were they allowed to live freely, where they could plan terrorist attacks? If the government had a monitoring service to keep track of people with suspected histories of terrorism, or possible connections to terrorists, the FBI could make a careful watch of a person s communications. This would help prevent terrorism from happening by not allowing correspondence between the suspect, and the organization. Although the person would not be a prisoner, he would be on parole so to speak, so he could lead a normal, productive life. But if he made a large purchase of any possible bomb making materials his house would be searched. This can help prevent attacks because the person would not have any opportunities to plan any attacks.

Terrorism can be reduced with prevention, detection, and action. The problem will not go away if people just sit there and not take any action against it. Society needs to create a team to counteract terrorism, make allies not enemies, have better gun control, and monitor high-risk people. With these simple steps we can reduce terrorism. “We do not create terrorism by fighting the terrorists. We invite terrorism by ignoring them.” – George W Bush