Directions: Conduct independent research to select a terrorist plot or attack in 2016 or later, in the United States. Compare the Najibullah Zazi plot to the more recent plot or attack you selected, making sure the paper employs the following, four-part structure and answers the questions below. 9 pages. 12-point font. Use APA citation style for references.
Part I. The Basic Plots.
Compare the essentials of the Zazi plot with the other terrorist plot or attack that you chose. Include details about the participants, goals, resources and funding, threat to homeland security, and law enforcement detection and response (to be addressed in more detail in Part III). Describe both the type of threat (e.g., nuclear or chemical weapons attack, bombing, shooting) and the type of perpetrator (e.g., individual directed, enabled, or inspired by a foreign terrorist organization; domestic terrorist affiliated with an organization espousing hateful ideologies; lone actor).
Part II. Contextualize within the Current Landscape.
Describe the most important threats to homeland security in 2021, and how the plot or attack you selected relates to the current landscape. For example, was the plot inspired by a particular ideology, and how does that ideology fit into the overall threat landscape? Also discuss also how the Zazi plot relates to the current landscape: Does a similar type of plot still pose a threat, and how prominent is that threat currently?
Part III. Response and Resilience.
Discuss the roles of different government and law enforcement agencies in responding to the plot or attack you selected, and how this compares with the way authorities handled the Zazi case. Was the threat handled effectively? Was the response primarily national, local, or both? Did information and intelligence sharing, or inter-agency collaboration, occur effectively?
Part IV. Ethical and Legal implications.
Discuss any civil rights or civil liberties implications of how authorities detected and investigated the Zazi plot and the plot or attack you selected. Did authorities use bulk surveillance or other identifiable domestic intelligence capabilities? Has the U.S. government achieved an appropriate balance between securing the homeland and preserving basic freedoms (such as freedom of speech and religion, the right to privacy, and the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures)? How do the cases discussed in your paper demonstrate these principles?
Please incorporate as many course elements as possible in your answer.
