Here are your questions from the article today 9/13.
Please answer all questions and all parts of questions on a separate sheet or log in with a google account and comment on the blog. Repsonses due by Thursday 9/15 @10pm.
1. Define: Molotov cocktail, counterterrorism
2. “Because of the widespread distribution, and because of past controversies like a 2009 report on right-wing extremism that irked Congress and veterans, the reports are typically stripped of sensitive detail.” This refers to a Homeland Security memo arguing that returning veterans, and people angry with government in difficult economic times, might take up terrorism. Would this have been more useful to law enforcement than the other examples in the article?
3. Why do local officials find the information that Homeland Security sends to be useless? What kind of information would be useful to stopping terrorists?
4. What reason would a Homeland Security agent have for sending a useless memo? What would be the potential consequences, to the agent or the Department, of not sending the memo?
5. What reason would a Homeland Security agent have for not sending a useless memo? What are the potential consequences, to the agent, if he sends the memo?
6. How could the Homeland Security Department know what information will be useful to local governments and what information will be useless?
7. Is it possible for one agency to know, ahead of time, what information another agency will need to prevent an attack? Why or why not?
8. Before a terrorist attack happens, how well do you think an agency will know what information may prove crucial to preventing the attack? How well do we know this after the attack happens?
2. “Because of the widespread distribution, and because of past controversies like a 2009 report on right-wing extremism that irked Congress and veterans, the reports are typically stripped of sensitive detail.” This refers to a Homeland Security memo arguing that returning veterans, and people angry with government in difficult economic times, might take up terrorism. Would this have been more useful to law enforcement than the other examples in the article?
3. Why do local officials find the information that Homeland Security sends to be useless? What kind of information would be useful to stopping terrorists?
4. What reason would a Homeland Security agent have for sending a useless memo? What would be the potential consequences, to the agent or the Department, of not sending the memo?
5. What reason would a Homeland Security agent have for not sending a useless memo? What are the potential consequences, to the agent, if he sends the memo?
6. How could the Homeland Security Department know what information will be useful to local governments and what information will be useless?
7. Is it possible for one agency to know, ahead of time, what information another agency will need to prevent an attack? Why or why not?
8. Before a terrorist attack happens, how well do you think an agency will know what information may prove crucial to preventing the attack? How well do we know this after the attack happens?
Aidan Walker
ReplyDelete1.) Molotov Cocktail- a crude, homemade incendiary bomb. It is normally made from a bottle full of a flammable liquid and fitted with a rag wick.
counterterrorism- a military or political effort to stop or thwart terrorism.
2.) yes, while the information may not be accurate, if it was, it could be a serious threat. While some of the other reports turned in have virtually no threat to them.
3.) Because they have gotten to the point where a lot of what they send is repetitive. It is tiny actions that local officers could look out for if necessary and should not be assumed to be a complete terrorist attack. Information about actual plans that were received ahead of the commencing of the plan, without the owners of the plan knowing it, can prove useful in stopping the attack i would imagine.
4.) To be on the safe side, they want to be "better safe than sorry." If they do not send it the threat could end up being very real and the attack that may have been preventable can happen.
5.) They no if the "spam" with a bunch of useless memos the real threats will be taken lightly. If they send it and it turns out to be no threat there is no real consequence, other than the fact the receivers of the memo may not take the agent seriously if it happens multiple times.
6.) They can look at past events and also consider the scale of what it is being done and decide based on there whether or not it is useless information.
7.) Yes, there could be miscommunication that leads to the wrong agency receiving information which would be more useful and germane to another agency.
8.) I think most of the time we will have a crud idea based off the information received, I believe the info that sticks out as unusual or something that in the past has been a sign of an attack will be crucial in deciding where, when, and how the attack will unfold. We will have a pretty good idea how well we knew after the attack just based off the success-fullness of the attack or our being able to prevent the attack.
Katie Barnhill
ReplyDelete1) Molotov cocktail: A homemade incendiary bomb; used like a hand grenades. A breakable bottle with a flammable substance, such as gasoline, and a source of ignition, like a piece of cloth.
Counterterrorism: Practices, tactics, techniques, and strategies that different forms of protection use to prevent terrorist attack/acts.
2) Yes, I believe this would have been more useful, because then you have a clear idea of who might be a suspect to a terrorist attack. But overall, any information is still helpful because you never know what to expect.
3)Local officials find it useless because of the history of their information. Their information is mainly outdated, and already known to most of the public. Useful information would be where to find them or a counter attack strategy.
4) The Homeland Security would send a useless memo out, just incase there are people out there who still haven’t heard of it yet. They don’t want to get blamed for not letting the information out when something happens involving such.
5) A reason to not send the memo might be to keep the information out of reach of terrorist. The terrorist’s attack tactics might change based off of that and we’d be at risk.
6) Based off the date or the importance of the information can Homeland Security know what to send. Also, based off of past sent information to that government and its response to it.
7) No, because you never know what the enemy has planed, so its always best to prepare for anything rather than act like nothing is going to happen. Even if they get a threat, it could always be what they least expect.
8) I don’t think any agency has a clue of how to prevent themselves before hand. They can try, based on recent attacks on similar places. But they can only really know what’s going to hit them, after it does. After the attack, they can look back at the information, and see what would have been useful, and what was useless.
Rachel Walter
ReplyDelete1. Moltov coctail-improvised, incendiary weapon
counterterrorism-the practices, tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, militaries, police departments and corporations adopt to prevent or respond to terrorist threats and/or acts, both real and imputed
2. Yes, because although the 2009 report was more controversial, at least it was a report that provided information that wasn't already blatantly reported in the media like the others.
3. The information is sent out too late to be a warning. Suspicious behavior that won't pull up on Google is the kind of stuff needed to stop terrorists before they can really do damage.
4.A Homeland Security agent might feel required to send out info, regardless if it's useless, because if they didn't send it there's always a crazy chance that the memo might have made a difference, and the terrorist attack would somewhat be on their shoulders
5. A Homeland Security agent might not want to send out a memo if it's useless because if the info is already common knowledge, then they might get nagged at for sending out stupid, pointless memos. Furthermore, people may begin to ignore the memos, and if something really important was sent it might not get read.
6. They could check local media (ie Google, newspaper, news channel). If it is mentioned, then the information is probably already known by local government.
7. It's not 100% possible for one agency to know ahead of time what another agency will need to know to prevent an attack. However, if a similar attack happened before, they can compare the warning signs and if they are similar, then they can give info that the other agency might not know about (like if there was an attack and they fear another attack from the same group or something like that).
8. An agency can't know for sure, but they can look at previous attacks and learn from them what to look for. After the attack actually happens, we can look back and figure out what events and red flags went up to warn of the event that might have been missed.
1. Molotov cocktail- “alcohol bomb” A bottle with a rag in the top that acts like a fuse with alcohol in it.
ReplyDeleteCounterterrorism- Practices and tactics that the government, militaries, and police do to prevent terrorism.
2. I think that it would have been more useful to use because they could widen the range of stuff they look for. Also they could be more aware that some citizens actually could or want to do it. Overall it would just help everyone out if they were informed of something like this even though they might have already thought or have heard about it.
3. They’re information they send out tends to be useless because for one you can find all of it on Google. An another reason is that they send it out to late. What they send out a warning for could have already taken place long before. The information they should be sending out is suspicions they hear about or things that should be on high alert (bombings).
4. They have to send out all memos just to be on the safe side and not have to take the blame for an accident. If they think a memo is useless and don’t send it out and something actually does happen it is all on them for not letting someone know. I would think they would get a serious consequence because peoples life’s are at state and its their job.
5. The memo could have been spam and wont turn into anything at all. The consequences could be bad but he shouldn’t be sending them to get someone “all worked up” over nothing.
6. They have feedback now from them, but you can tell if it would be useful or not to them because of the department they work in or were they live. Like if they saw something dealing with a threat of someone one going in a new Hanover county school, they would let the county be aware of that. However they wouldn’t let a county in California be notified for it. For a simple reason that because it doesn’t apply to them.
7. I guess it all depends on the person working on it and how quick the system is. One agency might have a dilemma while the other may not.
8. I don’t think they really know before because every thing they find is trail and error it might be crucial and it might not be that’s why they should take everything seriously. After an attack you know it very well because it has already happened.
1. A Molotov Cocktail is a glass bottle filled of gasoline with an oily soaked rag placed in the neck of the bottle. The rag is lit on fire and the bottle is then thrown at the opposition. Counterterrorism is the practices, tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, militaries, policemen and corporations use in response to terrorist threats and acts.
ReplyDelete2. This type of information can be extremely beneficial to the agency. We would know the motives behind the attack and possibly who is going to commit it. It’s more useful because we know that it could become a serious attack when politics are involved.
3. Local officials find the information useless because it is not timely. Sometimes they base their reports off of news reports from the day before. They are also sending out around 300 reports a month. Officials don’t really take them as seriously since they are sent out so frequently when rarely does an act of terrorism happen. The reports also need to be more detail orientated rather than just a vague explanation of the situation. Any type of information from terrorists would be helpful. If we could figure out their method of attack, when, and where it was going to happen, I think we would have a good chance of preventing the attack. However, terrorists are extremely secretive and can sometimes hide the important information from us.
4. The Homeland Security officials probably send out useless messages because at the time they don’t know they are useless. They would much rather be safe than sorry when it comes to protecting the nation. Sending out a message might also discourage a terrorist if they find out that we are on the lookout for them. The consequences for not sending out a message could be monumental. We could have another 9/11 situation on our hands. Terrorists would basically have a free shot at us.
5. They might not want to release the information because they may feel that they can prevent the attack and capture the terrorist. If they are able to capture the terrorist then they can receive information on future attacks from them. If officials release it the terrorist could then move on to their “plan b” which we might not have any information on.
6. I believe that the Homeland Security office has absolutely no idea how to sort through useless and useful information. In result, they practically publish anything they hear. Disregarding any threat could cause huge consequences therefore they notify all governments involved.
7. I don’t think they know the exact information they are going to need to prevent a terrorist attack from happening. The best way is to look at past attacks to see some similarities. Officials might notice something the second or third time they evaluate the clues.
8. Knowing when and where can prove to be some of the best information you can receive. If we also know their motive behind the attack we can possibly figure out the details. Well you can measure the success rate by the amount of damage done. If nothing is hurt or injured I would say that the mission was successful.
1. Molotov cocktail: a flamble weapon used for harm. a bottle filled of gasoline with cloth at the mouth of bottle. when dipped in gasoline can be lite and thrown.
ReplyDeleteCounterterrerism: a stragety or tactics used to stop or prevent terrorism.
2. yes it would because we would be able to find out who they are a lot easier since they are not immigrants. we could stop them before they could harm anyone.
3. most of the time they will send the same thing and it will not be a terrorist attack. but this is what they need to do to make sure terrorism is prevented. what we need to stop terrorism is peace-making actions. we need to bring our troops home and send medicine and food to iraq.
4. if he suspects terrorism activity that isnt really terrorism activity, and then sends a message out of false information,it could cost millions of dollars from the U.S. and to the department. if they didnt send the notice out then it could possibly be acual terrorist activity and a desastor could happen, so it is better safe than sorry.
5. sometimes there is no need for them to send out a memo due to the fact that it is useless and there is no suspicion of any terrorist activity. if he sends a useless memo too many times he could be fired from his job or even sued by the goverment for false information.
6. they would know from what they have done in the past for certain local goverments,and from just commonsince. even though they send out everything that they hear,which they shouldnt because it worries people and the goverment.
7. yes there is beacuse they could have documents of there plans and strageties before the terrorist ever do anything which would give us time to plan a stratagy against them.
8. i have confidence that they would be able to prevent the attack from happening due to our previous terrorist acts. we always can figure out exaculy what they do AFTER the terrorist attack due to clues that we find and videos we see (evidence).
1. Molotov cocktail: The Molotov cocktail is a type of separated bottle filled with gasoline or alcohol, with a fuel soaked rag in the neck of the bottle. The rag is then lit and then thrown. When it is throw it then acts like a fire bomb.
ReplyDeleteCounterterrorism: Things that the government, military, police and other groups do, to prevent terrorism.
2. Yes, this would have been useful because then if it was a potential threat you would have an idea about who it would be. Unlike some of the other threats that were not so harmful.
3. I think that maybe why local officials find the information that Homeland Security sends them useless is because they receive 300 reports a month, and not really any of them are a major threat. Something that could be useful to prevent terrorist attacks would be more information about the treat than just something you can find on Google.
4. They wouldn’t purposely send out a memo that the thought would be unless. They send it out just it becomes a serious threat. A possible consequence that could happen if they didn’t send out memos could be that they didn’t recognize what was going on and it became a terrorist attack.
5. A Homeland Security agent might not want to send out a unless memo, because then if the people keep getting useless memos that true about to be nothing they might start ignoring them or not take them as seriously as they should. The consequences could be that the memos are ignored and nothing is done about them.
6. They will never know for sure what information is useless and useful, but they can look at things similar that have happened in the past and compare it to the future, but then again that may not be accurate because terrorist are not going to do something they did in the past because they know we would suspect it.
7. No, because they may not know what type of attack it is therefore if it is ahead of time they don’t really know exactly what they are dealing with.
8. I don’t think they will be able to know for sure how to prevent the attack but they can use previous information from attacks before to give them ideas, and whatever happens after the attack use that for future reverences.
1.Define...
ReplyDeleteMolotov Cocktail- A weapon in which a glass bottle is filled with some sort of cloth substance and gasoline. The gasoline is then lit on fire and thrown in the general direction of intended harm. When the bottle is thrown, and breaks, it causes a sudden burst of flames.
Counterterrorism- An effort made made by the government and military forces to prevent terrorist attacks and create preparations for potential attacks.
2.Although this information is not proven very well, it would be more helpful than the redundant information that was provided previously, which proved to be unhelpful. This type of information could help in investigating and preventing potential terrorist attacks.
3.The officials found the information provided by the Homeland Security to be useless because it had already been uncovered, and was being restated, along with the fact that the information was evidenced to be quite obvious and unnecessary. Information that would be helpful in tracking down terrorists could include: attack plans, locations, and people to look out for specifically.
4.Perhaps the Homeland Security agents' reasoning for sending out unnecessary information was to make sure that everyone was aware of the circumstances, and to not risk having a lack of knowledge about the situation. Perhaps they were fearful of the potential circumstances that could occur from not sending a memo, like unawareness and unpreparedness.
5.Maybe a Homeland Security agent would not send the information because they felt like the information was already understood and did not need to be restated. Also, they might hesitate to send a memo because they know that the people will not take the memos seriously if they receive them every other second of the day. A negative consequence that could result from sending a memo could be that fact that people wouldn't take them seriously, even when they provided valid and useful information.
6.They could make sure that the information has not already been well addressed, and, they could also send memos pertaining only to the area nearby the local government, so that unnecessary information isn't given out.
7.Although this is not likely, there could be an occurrence where the information isn't distributed correctly and the area that needs to be most aware is least aware. In this kind of situation, the agency that is supplied with the information should make their best effort to get in contact with the other agency and try to communicate the information as best as possible.
8.I think that, before an attack, it is probably very uncertain as to what kind of information will be useful in preventing the attack, though the agency will probably make their best effort to do so. Of course, after the attack has occurred, the agency is well aware of what strategies were effective in subduing the attack, and which ones weren't.
1.Molotov cocktail- consists of a stoppered bottle filled with a combustible liquid, such as gasoline or high-proof alcohol, with a fuel-soaked rag stuffed in the neck of the bottle.
ReplyDeleteCounterterrorism- political or military activities designed to prevent terrorism
2.Yes, most of the other information was almost useless, where as with this information (not proven), they will have an idea of who the attackers are and what their causes are.
3.They send out information too late and with little detail. They are like the boy who cried wolf. What would be helpful is if they tracked people who are potential threats and were aware of what they are doing.
4.They most likely have strict regulations requiring them to send out emails whenever anything peculiar at all happen, because something that appears so small and unimportant could turn out to be something as big as 9/11.
5.If they have requirements to send emails, even with useless information, to keep in touch with what is going on, they might get fired for not doing so.
6.They should have representatives meet and discuss this. What would be appropriate to send in an email regarding terrorism, and mark it urgent. As apposed to an email just to inform of something, not as urgent.
7.In some cases, there could be a failure of communication where one agency receives information and another does not. Which in these cases, the agencies should contact each other so that they can all be informed all the time.
8.Before an attack, if they know the attacker, that would be helpful because they can maybe determine where the attacker is planning on attacking and when. Maybe they will find a pattern. After an attack, they can analyze the attack and record everything, to be used in the future when trying to prevent and stop other attacks.
Travis Harrington
ReplyDelete1.)Molotov Cocktail- A primitive, incendiary Bomb device fashioned mainly from gasoline, cloth, and a glass bottle.
Counterterrorism- is the act of stopping or preventing any terrorist attacks from occurring.
2.)Yes, it would be. Even if this sounds mildly farfetched it is still more plausible and easier to look out for than other things that have been reported.
3.)Local officials finds the info that homeland security sends to be particularly useless because most of it has minor detail and is irrelevant due to internet speculation. Information that would be useful to local officials would be information on places where concerning activities are occurring and what was happening there.
4.)The excuse that homeland security would have for sending a useless memo is to make sure that the people receiving it know the info they are sending, or to make them aware of this for future reference. And, if the information did tend to be useful in the future, the organizations receiving it would be unprepared.
5.)A reason they would have to not send a useless memo is to not clutter the information they are sending, seeing how it is useless. And, if they did send this memo, it could make the organization itself look useless for sending unneeded information.
6.)They really can’t. Most things they send are things they find that set up flags for them, they are being cautious.
7.)No because the agencies all communicate with each other and receive information from the same places mostly, so they would know around the same time.
8.)Well before the attack agencies know none to a small fraction of information, maybe enough to postpone or prevent it from being large scale, but not enough to totally stop it. And, after the attack happens, we know what they did, where it happens, and we may or may not know who the group was or why they did it.
Hi! This is Mrs. Ashley testing a comment!
ReplyDeleteThis is another test. Go us!
ReplyDelete1. Molotov Cocktail- A crude incendiary grenade consisting of a bottle filled with a flammable liquid and a wick that is ignited before throwing.
ReplyDeleteCounterterrorism- Terrorism in reaction to or retaliation for some previous act of terrorism.
2. Yes, this would have made it clearer on who might take up terrorism. Also, it would be helpful to have any other information.
3. Everything that the local officials get is somewhat similar to the last information. They are going to be surprised when they getting something abnormal though and might take It as a terrorist attack.
4. If not worried about it could end up being a real attack and then that would made them look stupid. Better safe than sorry.
5. The more times that the memo gets sent out the less seriously people might take it. It would be better to have “practice drills” then to have useless memos sent out.
6. They can see what they have already sent to the local governments and decide on what they have and don’t have.
7. Yes, I think that some information is most likely more important to some agencies than others. If it was all the same, we would only need one agency.
8. Really, the only way for an agency to somewhat predict an attack from occurring would be to look in the past history. The information that they receive that are unusual and strange would be a good sign that there might be a plan that is going to unfold and that they should try and stop it or prevent it from happening.
1.Molotov Cocktail= a crude incendiary grenade consisting of a bottle filled with a flammable liquid and a wick that is ignited before throwing: used originally for setting fire to enemy tanks during the Spanish Civil War.
ReplyDeleteCounterterrorism = a military or political effort to stop or thwart terrorism.
2. yes, because then they know who to look out for.
3. All there messages are reiterations of what has already happened. more recent activities.
4. just in case. If it turns out to be a legit problem and the don't send it they're the ones held responsible.
5. If he keeps sending out useless memos it'll be like the boy who cried wolf, eventually they'll stop listening til something bad really does happen.
6. Check what they've already sent them and make sure its not the same stuff.
7. yes, one agency could get info sooner than another but it will soon be shared.
8. I think they have a general idea to work off of like a bomb they can send special teams strictly for bombs, so they have some kind of idea but they wont know exactly whats gunna happen. We should know what happened afterwards with some investigative work.
James Murray- Block 2
ReplyDelete1.
Molotov Cocktail-
a crude incendiary grenade consisting of a bottle filled with a flammable liquid and a wick that is ignited before throwing: used originally for setting fire to enemy tanks during the Spanish Civil War.
Counterterrorism-activities that are intended to prevent terrorist acts or toeradicate terrorist groups
2.
Memos like that would have been useful because police forces would have been able to look for people that match the memos description of who was likely to participate in a terrorist attack. If memos are stripped of this information they become a lot less useful.
3.
The local officials find the memos worthless because they usually come in after whatever they are warning about, has happened. Basically, they are outdated and repetitive. A plan to stop some kind of terrorist attack might be useful.
4.
Part of the Homeland Security agencies job is to send these memos. Even if the reports are still useless, it is their jobs to send them, even if they become repetitive. If they didn’t sent the memos, they might be shut down by their superiors.
5.
Some memos are not sent because they contain “classified” material or material that might upset the public. I guess some these memos could have useful information but, unfortunately they are not sent. If a worker sent one he could get into trouble for his actions.
6.
The homeland security department could see what is relevant by just checking up on recent reports of terrorism. They could see if their memos are similar to the recent reports filed by different agencies. Also, they could find out about terrorism that is happening in American cities instead of Afghanistan, Iraq or other countries.
7.
I don’t think it is possible for one agency to know what information another agency would need to prevent an attack. There are just so many threats and reports that you wouldn’t be able to sift through them all and find the exact one another agency needs; even with a global database.
8.
Many agencies have people specially trained to pick out the important details in a memo or report, so lots of times they are prepared. The only thing is that they need the RIGHT report at the RIGHT time to do this. Unfortunately, only after the attack has happened or been prevented that they know how credible the information was.
1a) Molotov Cocktail: A Molotov cocktail is a glass bottle filled with a flammable substance (gasoline, diesel fuel, a napalm like mixture) containing some source of ignition, such as a burning cloth wick, held in by the bottle’s stopper. Usually the wick would be soaked in alcohol or kerosene. This incendiary weapon is usually the result of improvisation, or a low budget, because of the relative ease in which it can be produced. A Molotov cocktail is intended to set items ablaze, rather than destroy them immediately. They were used for the first time in the Spanish Civil War between July 1936 and April 1939.
ReplyDelete1b) Counterterrorism: The detection/monitoring of potential terrorist threats/attacks through many different methods in order to swiftly prevent or mount a counter attack.
2) Well technically any information at all is helpful, but the more specific and detailed, the better of an answer it is.
3) They say that there is too much information, and too many reports to be of an easily accessible nature, and that its timing and specifics are also a part of the problem. Brevity and exactness would be a must for stopping quick terrorist activity; location wouldn’t hurt either.
4) Well, in matters of terrorism, no matter how ‘useless’ or silly something may seem, its better to make people aware that it is a possibility, however slight, because then they will have the right information in case it ever actually does happen.
5) The memo is most likely a repeat of something heard not too long ago, and if too many of these are sent out you may run the risk of making yourself look like some paranoid or attention seeking person who can’t come up with new stories. People might stop paying any attention to them and that is dangerous because the less you know the more vulnerable you are.
6) Possibly log the information already sent out so they don’t send anything tice, or anything very similar more than once. That may go a great deal in shortening the amount of repeated reports.
7) No, not anyone really knows for certain when/where a terrorist attack may happen ahead of time, unless some special insider information was gained, and even then it’s not a sure thing.
8) Before the attack happens, we can never be sure. We’ve taken so many measures to prevent terrorism that I would like to think that, perhaps if we didn’t know prior to the event enough information to stop it, we would at least know enough to quickly prepare. I think afterwards we’ll know exactly what happened very soon. We’ve dwelt on terrorism for so long that if we haven’t figured out every possibility for the future already, we will have soon.