The United States Needs a Terrorism Czar :: Argumentative Persuasive Essays

The United States Needs a Terrorism Czar   Introduction   Drug trafficking activity and terrorism activity have more in common.  Both drugs and terrorism have solid national security and law enforcement components, they have military components, border control components, economic and trade components, aesculapian components, and agricultural components.  Today there ar some 50 federal agencies with some degree of counterdrug responsibilities and at least 12 federal agencies with important counterterrorism responsibilities.  This base examines one model for unifying them under an executive branch, White House directors office, as outlined below.   Drug trafficking and terrorism argon illegal clandestine activities with strong national security and law enforcement threat components and operational similarities.  Terrorists like drug traffickers, need weapons and engage in violence to achieve goals.  Terrorists, like drug traffickers, are often involved in hiding and laundering sources of funds.  Both terrorists and drug traffickers operate transnationally, and often get logistical and operational support from local cultural satellite communities.  Both groups often rely on the criminal community for support they may need smuggled weapons, forged documents and safe houses to operate effectively.  Finally, both groups need a steady cash flow to operate.  In the case of terrorists, where state sources of funding are rapidly diminishing, drug trafficking is an attractive funding option. Increasingly, terrorist organizations are looking to criminal activity and specifically the drug trade as a source of funding.  The FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces, a guerilla force) in Colombia are just one of many cases in point.   Some experts have looked to the drug czar model in seeking to reform government structures to fight terrorism.  Counternarcotics efforts have constrained loca l, state and federal agencies to build operable, cooperative, inter-agency relationships. The need to build and maximize similar relationships to deal with terrorism exists and some have suggested that the Drug Czar White House authorisation of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) model may have applicability to the counterterrorism arena. Legislation is currently before Congress on this issue H.R. 4210.  It appears that the tone will not be enacted this year but will likely be reintroduced next term.     Another structural option might require that federal departments and agencies make their counterterrorism capabilities available for the efforts of the terrorism director.