Combating Terrorism Module - Assignment Example

Running Head: COMBATING TERRORISM MODULE 5 Combating Terrorism Module 5 – Case Assignment Dennis L. Wilken MHO409080 Touro Q1 According to Nuechterlein’s outline of national security interests was the insertion of military and/or special operations forces into Mogadishu in search of General Aidid in the interests of the United States. Explain using his matrix. Yes, on the basis of Nuechterlein’s outline of national interests, the Aidid operation in Mogadishu was in the national interest of the US although the method used was inappropriate for the intensity of that interest. The propagation of American value of humanitarianism abroad was in the national interest when the US first entered Somalia “to create a secure environment enabling humanitarian relief organization to deliver food and other assistance,” at a time when the turbulent Somali political environment was driving the population to the brink of starvation and hunger (Bacevich 2002). The decision however of the US to use force, when the UN already took over, to hunt down Aidid was an incorrect assessment of the interest at stake. Notwithstanding the UN presence in Somalia, the US retained such national interest having initiated it in the first place and making the Aidid operation figured within the ambit of Nuechterlein’s matrix of national interests. The applicability of “favorable world order” (Nuechterlein 2000) to the case is vague because Somalia is politically too obscure to threaten the security of the average American at home. The level of importance of that interest however, did not however warrant the use of force at that time and in that manner. The US interest in the Somali affair was, at best, peripheral only. First, Somali is too small and backward a country to affect core national interest. Second, the Somali operation at that time was already officially under the UN hands. On the other hand, a US defeat in the hands of the militarily backward Somalis would ironically make it - the only remaining military world power after the Soviet collapse - look weak and helpless. The Aidid operation which needed to be conducted in a foreign territory surrounded by Somalis, who by then did not only resent but were angered by the foreign military incursion into their territory (Bacevich 2002), should had been carefully assessed for its success rate before it was finally effected. Q2 How does a country recover from a mission that was not successful? How would you recommend this recovery be made? Any recovery from a failed mission abroad is not complete without the country correctly assessing and truthfully accepting the reasons for the failure. This is vital because, a similar incident might confront the national leadership and the decision-making agencies in the future and the risk of taking the same route might be great if the national mindset stubbornly clings to the same mistaken notions, resulting in the occurrence of national tragedy over and over again. What must constantly attach to any recovery from a failed mission therefore is complete honesty and acceptance that errors were made in the decision taken. Failed missions, to the extent that they confront and make the national leadership realize its mistakes in the appreciation of certain issues, can be viewed from a positive perspective. They must serve not only as lessons but also as guide in future operations to preclude tragedies and the loss of the country’s credibility and stature in the international scene. The Mogadishu operation, for example, must be closely scrutinized and studied for its weaknesses and flaws. These questions must be asked: Was it possible to resolve the conflict without resort to force? Were all avenues exhausted? If the use of force was indeed inevitable, were the chances of success higher than the chances of defeat? The most important question however is: was the risk underpinning the operation commensurate to the level of the national interest at stake? The beauty of Nuechterlein’s matrix of national interests is that it enables a leader to not only determine whether national interests are at stake in any of its foreign-relations actions but allows it to correctly assess whether the operation to be undertaken is commensurate to the intensity or importance of such national interest and on such basis, thereby hand down an informed decision. Lessons must be taken from Nuechterlein’s matrix of national interests in the recovery from a failed operation in foreign relations. Q3 What roles do the media have to play in the pursuit of terrorists? The freedom of the press in the US is constitutionally guaranteed. The First Amendment to the Bill of Rights prohibited Congress from passing any law that would impinge or hamper that right. This freedom has always been regarded as a bastion of truth and is therefore held sacred by democratic governments. The importance attached to this freedom results in a power-wielding fourth estate. This power is such that the first thing that authoritarian governments do is to control and suppress their media. Recent events however had shown that terrorists can manipulate the media to serve and suit their own purpose: as a medium to spread their ideology and cause; as a ‘delivery service’ of their messages to their followers who may be located all over the world, and; as a tool to reshape governmental policies and sway international audience to their cause (Martin 2006). The critical role of the media was highlighted in the Geneva Declaration on Terrorism (UN, 1987) which declared that media directly plays a role in the propagation of terrorism via indiscriminate dissemination of information and indirectly, through selective coverage. Despite the onset of the internet age, the media, especially television, still plays a critical role in terrorist tactics because its highly visual images and vast audience reach arouse more impact emotionally and psychologically. To counteract these effects, the government could conduct its own media operations geared to correct and offset whatever misconceptions media coverage gave to terrorism. In the UK, for example, the Ministry of Defence conducts information campaigns targeting international media on the subject of democracy, human rights, liberal economics and other subjects that highlights the better image of the West in general. A case in point is the Sierra Leone incident in 2000 where the British government conducted its own exclusive interview of the just-released British soldiers who were held hostage by rebels in the African country (Bongar, Brown & Beutler 2007). References: Bacevich, Andrew. (2002). American Empire: The Realities and Consequences of US Diplomacy. (143) Harvard University Press, Bongar, Bruce Michael & Brown, Lisa M. & Beutler, Larry E. & Zimbardo, Philip G. (2007). Psychology of Terrorism, Ed: illus (123-124). Oxford University Press. Centre of Excellence Defence Against Terrorism, Centre of Excellence. (2007). The Media: The Terrorists Battlefield, Ed: illus. (96-98) IOS Press. Martin, Gus. (2006). Understanding Terrorism: Challenges, Perspectives, and Issues, Ed: 2, illus. (404). SAGE. Nuechterlein, Donald Edwin (2000). America Recommitted: A Superpower Assesses its Role in a Turbulent World, Edition: 2, revised (16-17). University Press of Kentucky. Read More