Social & Political Sciences
Topic:
Complete a research essay on how the federal government creates national security policy.
The purpose of this assignment is to demonstrate knowledge of how the federal system of government works. Examine what the different branches and layers of government do to address a policy using a current issue to illustrate it. It is NOT to give your personal opinions on the issue.
Complete a research essay on how the federal government creates national security policy.
National security is always and issue in the United States. Here are the aspects and questions to address for this essay:
Identify a current policy problem for American national security, and then state a preferred policy solution to it and why it’s preferred (This is your thesis statement).
Briefly explain two competing solutions to this problem while addressing the responsibilities of each level of government (federal, state, and local) and the three branches of the federal government (executive, legislative, and judicial).
Build the argument for why your chosen solution is preferable, what critics say about the solution, and finally why the critics are wrong.
REQUIREMENTS:
750 word target length (about three pages), not including references listed at the end or footnotes if used.
Incorporation of concepts and terms from the required readings.
Inclusion of facts from a recent news article about the topic/solution.
Correct spelling, grammar, and formatting, whether it’s APA, MLA, or Chicago/Turabian.
See the essay rubric for further details on grading.
Writing tips:
1) Write concisely! More is not necessarily better if the required points from the rubric are missed.
2) Essays should be written in the third person perspective. (Avoid using “I, me, my, mine, we, us, our, you, your”).
The Government Measures to Improve National Security
National security is an imperative aspect of a nation’s stability. Following the 9/11 terrorist attack in America, the nation’s security policies were tested, pushing the country to employ preemptive and preventive measures to combat terrorism. Terrorism remains one of the greatest threats to national security today. The government is actively involved in creating security policies by enacting policies such as the USA patriotic Act and the development of departments such as the Homeland securities, whose primary role is fighting terrorism (Cerna, 2019). however, there are critics of the policies and solutions necessary to curb terrorism. This paper discusses terrorism as one of the greatest threats to national security and the government’s response policies to counterterrorism.
Notably, the impacts of terrorism have sparked heated debates among the policymakers in the country as each has different approaches in the wake to combat terrorism. These approaches sometimes infringe on citizens’ privacy who are far from being terror suspects. The enactment of the USA Patriotic Act spurred the debate about the infringement of freedom and individual rights in the name of national security. Immigration and military policies are two of the prominent controversial topics in counterterrorism matters. Critics feel that increasing military funding is a costly expense on taxpayers, and immigration causes international feuds between nations. The difference in opinions makes it difficult to get straightforward policies regarding the two issues. In essence, the political parties have differential thoughts regarding military spending. While the republicans are for reduced military spending and channelling the finances into other developmental projects, the democrats are for increased military spending, which would be an expensive affair for the taxpayers (Bier, 2018). The difference in political ideologies impacts the formulation of these policies. Notably, immigration issues are one of the most controversial topics. The control of immigration has become one of the most challenging tasks in the wake of improving national security. However, the ban on immigration leads to international conflicts jeopardizing relationships. Moreover, the efforts to ban immigration can be a bitter pill to the outside community.
The local, state and Federal governments have a shared responsibility to prepare and mitigate the threats of terrorism. National security threats are diffused and multifaceted. Thus, it is difficult for policymakers and intergovernmental representatives to agree when formulating antiterrorism strategies. The main challenge faced involves the clear clarification and definition of roles and appropriate responsibilities of the local, state and federal entities. The federal government is actively engaged in the fight against terrorism through the national intelligence units such as the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the two leading organizations in the fight against terrorism in the United States (Cerna, 2019). On the other hand, the steps government collect and relay the necessary information to the relevant bodies to support the security missions; the local government is the financial pillar that fiancé the security missions on the upper levels. Thus, together as in an integrated system, ensure the national security strategies are functional and up to date.
Notably, the war against terrorism requires the cooperation between the judicial, executive and legislature; the three branches of government play a designated role in the efforts to combat terrorism. Firstly, the legislative branch enacts securities policies through congress that help the departments to have some form of organization when dealing with national threats. Additionally, it approves any form of military operations working to combat terrorism. The legislative l branch of government legalizes any resolutions regarding policies about national security. The legislation enacts federal laws through congress to criminalize those in support of terrorism. The enacted laws authorize the judicial and executive branches to execute the laws to combat terrorism in the United States. The executive branch of government implements, monitors, and evaluates the policies enacted by the legislation through the department of intelligent services, the secretary of state and the department of defense. The presidency is the highest form of the executive that has the continued mandate of ensuring the American citizens are protected (Freilich, 2018). He is tasked with the constitutional power to take military response and retaliation against persons or organizations actively involved in terrorism activities. On the other end, the judiciary processes the interpretation of the security policies enacted.
Furthermore, the judicial branch ensures that in combating terrorism, all the necessary laws are followed. Additionally, the judicial system plays an essential role through the courts in prosecuting terrorists and determining its citizens’ legal rights and interests. The collaboration of interagency collaboration ensures that the counterterrorism goals are achieved.
Acts of terrorism are a major national threat to any nation globally. The absence of adequately curtailed measures to combat terrorism represents a major strategic policy vulnerability in the United States. A nonpartisan approach means the public’s collective and characterized efforts and the rule of law and governmental interventions that ensure that the legislative, judicial and executive, together with the federal, state and local governments, are actively involved in their roles and responsibilities counter violent extremism. Furthermore, despite being controversial to many get, employing stringent measures is a viable move to curb terrorism. Additional military funding is imperative to increase the preparedness of the necessary players to curb terrorism in the United States.
References
Bier, D. J. (2018). Extreme Vetting of Immigrants: Estimating Terrorism Vetting Failures. Washington, DC: Cato Institute.
Cerna, C. M. (2019). Counterterrorism Resolutions and Initiatives by Regional Institutions: The Organization of American States and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. International Human Rights and Counter-Terrorism, 75-107.
Freilich, J. D., Chermak, S. M., & Hsu, H. Y. (2018). It is deterring and preventing terrorism. Routledge handbook of terrorism and counterterrorism, 434-443.
