Need to reply to classmates. Responses demonstrate careful analysis of other’s opinions and incorporate several terms, concepts, or theories from the required readings. discussion questions below Please support the other student’s answer using the following components:
• Validates post with additional evidence from the literature.
• Poses a thoughtful question.
• Provides an alternative point-of-view
Offers additional insight into how the concept might be understood.
Responses contain no spelling, grammar, or punctuation errors.
Please provide a 1 page (250 words/2 paragraphs) per discussion question there are 3 total discussion questions.
Discussion 1) Jesse Powers posted
My research question was: How vulnerable are U.S. Airports to SUAS attacks?
After conducting a document review with content analysis, several significant findings were revealed. The first significant finding was the upward trend in SUAS sales and their uncontrolled proliferation and lack of legal intervention (Morris & Thurston, 2015). The second finding involved identifying a positive correlation between airport operation throughput and runway incursions from SUAS. This is supported by FAA’s by the numbers stats (FAA, 2020), and the recorded runway incursions by the FAA (Patterson, 2017). This is significant because when discussing vulnerability assessments, one can now predict which airports will be more vulnerable to a SUAS threat based on their FAA operational ranking. Another key finding is the highlighting of the counter SUAS dilemmas in an airport environment, how they are not fit for employment in an airport context, and the fact that there is no national standard for C-SUAS operations integration, rather it is left to the discretion of the airport manager (McHugh, et al., 2005).
These findings contribute to the field of homeland security because department of transportation infrastructure, such as airports, have been identified as critical infrastructure. It is paramount that security experts across all cohorts identify emerging threats in their threat analysis and risk management processes in order to successfully address threats with relevant counter measures. Existing airport security measures do not fully address the SUAS threat. This research identifies the vulnerability, and recommends legislative, operational, and tactical remedies to the issue in an effort to spread awareness and enact change in the realm of airport security.
Discussion 2) Josef Cummins posted
My research question is, what is causing the rise of domestic terrorism? I conducted a case study on Dylann Roof, Omar Mateen, and Stephen Paddock. These three were chosen because they represent the three different types of domestic terrorists in the United States. Dylann Roof was a domestic violent extremist because he radicalized on ideologies he found within the United States. Omar Mateen represented the homegrown violent extremist because his radicalization was founded on ideologies that fell outside of the United States. Lastly, Stephen Paddock was chosen as the lone wolf because there was no justification for his radicalization. Each case study focused on whether socioeconomics, media, and politics aided these individuals in their radicalization.
The first two significant findings in my case studies came from Dylann Roof and Omar Mateen. Both individuals radicalized on issues they found in mainstream media and the internet. Dylann Roof radicalized on the hatred of the black community that stemmed from him reading white supremacist propaganda on several different websites (Allely & Faccini, 2019). His triggered issue was with the media reaction to the Trevon Martin and George Zimmerman case (Allely & Faccini, 2019). Omar Mateen radicalized through media he was reading on the internet that pertained to the war in Afghanistan and Iraq (Visser & Couwels 2016). Mateen pledged his allegiance to ISIS during his attacks and stated that the airstrikes on leaders in ISIS needed to stop (Pierson, 2017). In their two respective categories, these two individuals proved the already present research that media and politics play into the radicalization of susceptible people. They also showed that social media is a significant factor in the radicalization process. Their internet search history, activity on social media through posts, and recognition of present-day politics solidified this assessment.
The last point I would like to make is that my case studies did not factor in mental health. Two of the three individuals ended their attacks with a suicide. Dylann Roof was the survivor and stated he was shocked when the cops were not outside the church when he exited. He was sure his death/suicide would have been at that moment (Allely & Faccini, 2019). The mental health aspect of these individuals’ radicalization is the significant gap in my research. It is also where I believe the research should be focused in the future.
I believe my research helps the homeland security discipline because few case studies draw cross-comparisons between domestic violent extremists, homegrown violent extremists, and lone wolves. Most of the research available is on each one individually. Hopefully, in the future, there will be more cross-comparisons to see if any connections are made consistently through a more extensive case study than the three I used.
