Introduction
The existence of weapons of mass destruction and nuclear energy is the real threat to the United States and other actors in the international system. The US has various options regarding mitigating the nuclear energy problem, including equipping the medical personnel with adequate skills and tools to respond to biological attacks. This would perhaps entail linking the activities of health care providers, hospitals and other health agencies. A different strategy involves strengthening the country’s nuclear security whereby nuclear detection architecture would be enhanced and nuclear materials would be secure. In this regard, policy makers would be expected to establish strong plans, which would allow coordination of government security activities.
Through this, the country would guarantee a capability that would radically reduce the effects of radiological or any nuclear events (Kay, 2006). Expert analysis and reliable data shows that the US would achieve its national security interests through strengthening nuclear security. This entails enhancing nuclear detection architecture and preventing the distribution of weapons of mass destruction. In this regard, the government has made some progress as far as security homeland security is concerned. Since 9/11 incident, the country has consistently fought terrorism and extremism, which are serious threats to the interests of many Americans.
Current State of Affairs
Some of the measures already in place include distracting manifold potentially lethal plots against the government of the States and its people. The Al Qaeda has not been able to access the country in order to conduct its heinous acts of terrorism due to the present of strong immigration measures. In fact, terrorists admit that the United States is the hardest target to strike in the world hence they resort to harming the American allies, particularly those in the third world. The establishment of the department of homeland security is seen as a milestone as far as mitigating terrorism and the spread of weapons of mass destruction is concerned. The government has improved homeland defence and counterterrorism structural design through establishing the office of Director of National Intelligence, the homeland security council, and the counterterrorism centre.
Through the department of homeland security, the country’s borders are safe meaning that people are cross-examined thoroughly before they are allowed to enter the country. Before any foreigner enters the country, he or she goes through thorough screening at the border to ascertain his intentions in the United States (Binnendijk, & Kugler, 2006). Similarly, goods are checked whenever they enter the country and when they leave to ensure that no weapon of mass destruction leaves or enter the country. Through border checks and screening, the government has been able to monitor and disrupt the activities of international terrorists.
The government came to the realization that terrorism is a complex issue that needs the cooperation of various stakeholders. In this case, the government has been engaging tribal, local, state, and federal agencies in order to institute an active, multilayered approach that would resolve the issue. Through this program, the federal government provided funds to help state and local security agencies in diversifying their training. Moreover, the funds have played a critical role in acquiring equipments that would be used in emergencies. This is based on idea that stable communication equipments are usually necessary when mitigating any security threat. For any policy to work effectively, other arms of the government should always be incorporated in the making process.
The executive has been working with the congress in developing, executing, renewing laws that would help in coping with the terrorism issue, as well as the issue posed by the weapons of mass destruction (Fierke, 2007). The legislature must always be involved in policy formulation since it deals with law enactment. In 2004, the congress passed the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act and in 2007, it passed the Protect Act. The two acts of parliament have played a critical role in promoting the security of the country. The legal acts have also helped the government in implementing the recommendations of the 9/11 commission. Moreover, the acts have been of great help in implementing the recommendations of the WMD commission.
Challenges
Even though the government has been engaging various stakeholders to strengthen nuclear security, it still faces a number of challenges. One of the challenges is related to information gathering and analyzing. The government has not been able to share information effectively, something that has given terrorists an advantage whereby they capitalize on the reluctance of the government to commit their acts. For the government to prevent nuclear threats effectively, intelligence collection should be strengthened whereby government security agencies are encouraged to share information freely.
Through intelligence collection, the government would have the capability of identifying and interdicting individuals with an intention of harming the innocent citizens. In this regard, the government is encouraged to invest heavily in analytical capabilities. Terrorists take advantage of the existing freedom in information and communication. The government of the United States should secure global digital information since terrorists have been devising methods through which they can access governmental data.
As earlier noted, the government has put in place measures that would allow partnerships between the state security agencies and other stakeholders. However, the relationship has not been strong enough to deter the activities of terrorists. A cordial relationship between the private sector and the state organs at all levels of government would perhaps create an efficient, holistic, and decisive infrastructure protection plan. This plan would indeed focus on business, technology development, civil society awareness, government, and education (Viotti, 2005). The security interests of Americans would be achieved through establishing stable partnerships with the private sector. Therefore, the government should come up with a policy compelling all private investors to cooperate with the government in terms of strengthening nuclear security. In fact, research shows that some private investors and organizations understand the operations of terrorists since some partner with them.
Finally, the government has been advocating for border screening and cross-examination, yet some country’s borders are not secured. In this regard, the government needs to come to the realization that the state is not the only actor in the international. Policy makers in government must try as much as possible to consult other global partners, both state and non-state. The US government has been reluctant over years to employ technology in order to maximize port security. Experts argue that technology would probably cause delays hence affecting economic development. Research shows that technology can be employed to enhance security in major transportation routes without necessarily affecting economic development. Furthermore, the government should aim at designing strong immigration policies that would help in mitigating the major issue of illegal immigration. Whenever any level of government raises security concerns, the government should be willing to listen in order to improve nuclear security.
References
Binnendijk, H., & Kugler, R. L. (2006). Seeing the elephant: The U.S. role in global security. Washington, D.C: National Defence University Press.
Fierke, K. M. (2007). Critical approaches to international security. Cambridge, UK: Polity.
Kay, S. (2006). Global security in the twenty-first century: The quest for power and the search for peace. Lanham, Md: Rowman & Littlefield.
Viotti, P. R. (2005). American foreign policy and national security: A documentary record. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Pearson/Prentice Hall.
