EDMG340 Week 3 Forum

The Following post was originally written as a response to a classroom forum:

Week 3 Forum Post your response to the week 3 forum question here. Do you support the analyses, conclusions, recommendations of the authors? State your agreement / disagreement. Remember to respond to the posts of at least two of your classmates for full credit.

Read Stephen E. Flynn’s, “America the Resilient: Defying Terrorism and Mitigating Natural Disasters” and Bruce Hoffman’s, “The Myth of Grass-Roots Terrorism: Why Osama bin Laden Still Matters”. Both articles are available under “Course Tools”.  Follow the “Lessons” link and look for the Week Three Lesson.

Respond to the following questions:

Do you support each author’s analyses; their conclusions; their recommendations?
If you disagree with the authors’ positions – so state. Why do you agree / disagree?

Comparing the two writings before us for this week’s forum is an interesting, if not slightly challenging task; both writings are quite opinionated—Flynn’s being an original commentary, Hoffman’s a response to a different author’s work. Flynn and Hoffman also seem to take opposing sides on the argument of response and preparation for foreign terrorism on our native soil. In their respective writings, it appears that Flynn prefers standing behind the idea of rebuilding the public, while Hoffman is found supporting the idea of a government taking stronger action abroad. Personally, it is somewhere between these schools of thought that I stand.

In his review of Marc Sageman’s Leaderless Jihad, Hoffman counterpoints arguments that Mid-Eastern groups such as al Qaeda are no longer the threats that they had once been. According to Hoffman, the author had suggested that without the self-proclaimed/designated cell leader, Osama bin Laden, played such a key role in the organization that, once removed, the al Qaeda we knew could no longer function. Hoffman suggests that such a viewpoint is misguided and not understanding of how societies work; Hoffman supports his stance with claims from American and foreign intelligence communities, undermining Sageman’s notion that Western al Qaeda-like splinters or sects are a greater threat. I find Hoffman’s criticisms of Sageman’s work entertaining, where part of his point is that Sageman doesn’t understand how a society might work; in supporting his opinion, Hoffman seems to do the same, missing Sageman’s point of view.

While Hoffman’s argument is valid—others may rise to revive and lead foreign terrorist groups—he doesn’t comprehend that the same can happen with any of those that might have lost communication with their foreign leaders. Though Hoffman may be correct with his underlining of faults in Sageman’s supporting evidence and theories, the point is missed—a community of terrorists residing domestically without the instruction and ties that had once existed might serve themselves in reorganizing with differing tactics, potentially posing a greater risk. Newly formed or organized splinter groups may not act in the manner as they once had; likewise, new incarnations may become an addition to the pre-existing issues, should the original organization survive and rebuild itself.

Flynn writes an interesting piece, speaking of the need of a stronger public; stronger in self-sufficiency and self-esteem. Flynn outlines his beliefs that the American public has grown somewhat lazy, and has regressed to the status of a public depending heavily upon the government; something that seemed to grow rather than diminish following the attacks on September 11, 2001. Exactly how, where and when this phenomena occurred is—like all political discussion—up for debate; yet the argument remains that the people aren’t as resilient as they had been generations prior. Fortunately, time has passed since Flynn’s writing, and American society seems to be improving in this regard.

Two years prior to Flynn’s publication, our nation was astounded at the response—on civilian and all governmental levels—to the natural disaster commonly known as Hurricane Katrina. Immediately following Katrina came a barrage of studies and reports on the public and the nation’s infrastructure—many of which are referenced or hinted at in Flynn’s work. These reports helped supply Flynn in stating that we—as a nation—are ill-prepared for almost anything, and believe that the federal government will serve our better interests and fix these issues. In response, Flynn suggests that the entire public needs to take cue from those that had been aboard United Airlines Flight 93—to believe that they are capable of recognizing and challenging/preventing/overcoming disaster. Though United 93 did result in “martyrdom” of the passengers and crew, the actions showed that the public has the power to change their fate.

In his writing, Flynn suggested that the next president should take steps to re-enforce the public, and enact changes to allow for better distribution of power and aid to the people. As of late, we can see that some of these changes have taken place—whether or not one would want to attribute these changes to the current government. Despite political differences, the majority should be capable of agreeing that public involvement and opinion has increased, and that federal dependence—with regard to emergency/disaster situations—has changed and is continuing to change.

Personally, I believe that we—as a nation—do still need to keep an eye on foreign organizations; though we must not forget that the possibility exists for domestic terrorism. I also believe that we must do as much as possible to continue to raise the spirit and involvement of our public. Supporting both of these ideas should not be a difficult task to accomplish, nor should one detract from another. Through rebuilding public resiliency, we can better ourselves and nation—providing stronger abilities to respond in crisis, at home and abroad.

…throughout this response I have tried to refrain from offering political opinion; I prefer not to enter political debate. I will, however, offer this as my only political thought: It’s no coincidence that there has been improvement and change since Flynn’s writing—in 2009 a new President was sworn in, and a new director to FEMA was appointed… 😉

References:

Hoffman, B. (2008). The Myth of Grass-Roots Terrorism. Foreign Affairs, 87(3), 133-138. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.apus.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy2.apus.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=tsh&AN=31701303&site=ehost-live

Flynn, S. E. (2008). America the Resilient: Defying terrorism and mitigating natural disaster. Retrieved from https://edge.apus.edu/xsl-portal/site/196993/page/25ba99e3-522d-450c-ba01-7968f4ab10c7