Department Counterterrorism Policy
In the first few weeks of the course, your goal was to understand terrorism and who the terrorists are. You then explored the various tools used by terrorists and learned how terrorism is used around the world to achieve the goals of terrorist organizations. In Week 4, you examined the capabilities of a specific terrorist group and proposed an international counterterrorism strategy. Finally, you further examined the U.S. Counterterrorism Strategies in Week 5.
For the final assignment, you will develop a counterterrorism policy for the department you chose in Week 2, the DOS, the DHS, or the DOD. Your policy will be used to implement the overarching U.S. Counterterrorism Strategy, as published by The White House. It will specifically address the threat of an international terrorist organization. You may use the terrorist organization you chose in Week 4, or you may focus on another organization.
Address the following elements in your department-specific policy that will be used to implement the U.S. Counterterrorism Strategy that specifically addresses an international terrorist organization threat to the United States:
Evaluate the historical socio-political structures that contributed to the establishment of your chosen international terrorist group and the impact of those socio-political structures on your chosen department policy.
Analyze the unique tactics, techniques, and capabilities within the historical context of your chosen international terrorist organization to tailor appropriate counterterrorism policies.
Critique current international and U.S. counterterrorism policies intended to combat terrorist organizations.
Evaluate the ethical and legal issues from a historical context that helped shape current U.S. Counterterrorism Strategy intended to combat the chosen terrorist organization’s tactics, techniques, and capabilities.
Defend your chosen department policy by succinctly emphasizing its potential benefits within the context of historical socio-political structure and the tactics, techniques, and capabilities of your chosen terrorist organization.
