This article overviews terrorism and the United States Government Agencies responsible for investigating terrorism.
Terrorism has always been one of the greatest threats to America’s peace and tranquility. Ever since the attacks of September 11th, the American Government has spent a considerable amount of resources on establishing new counter-terrorism agencies and reinforcing existing ones.
Terrorism is defined as the systematic use or threatened use of violence to intimidate a population or government and affect political, personal, religious, or ideological change. Terrorist attacks are designed to influence the broader society by causing mayhem, killing innocent people, taking hostages, and creating fear.
The dramatic focus of mass media is often ascribed as amplifying and broadcasting feelings of intense fear and anger that make terrorism more effective in the modern world. As unconventional warfare, terrorism is designed to weaken or supplant existing political landscapes through capitulation or acquiescence instead of subversion or direct military action.
Counter-terrorism (also spelled counterterrorism) refers to the practices, tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, military organizations, police departments, and corporations adopt in response to terrorist threats and acts, both natural and imputed.
Suppose terrorism is part of a broader insurgency. In that case, counter-terrorism may also form a part of counterinsurgency doctrine. Still, political, economic, and other measures may focus more on the insurgency than the specific acts of terror. Foreign internal defense (FID) is a term used by several countries for programs either to suppress insurgency or reduce the conditions under which insurgency could develop.
United States Government Agencies Responsible for Terrorism Investigations
These agencies are part of a system that is one of the largest and most technologically advanced. Their work involves collecting and analyzing data to develop the most stringent prevention measures in the war against terrorism. The top agencies that play a key role in terrorism investigations include:
FBI’s Counter-terrorism Division
The FBI National Security Branch includes the Counter-terrorism Division or CTD. This division is primarily in charge of investigating terrorism within the US borders. It also provides information on terrorists outside the country and tracks them down.
The CTD’s operations scale depends on individual field offices’ capabilities. Large field offices, such as the Los Angeles branch, have single squads dedicated to each terrorist group and separate squads for terrorism financing and domestic terrorism. The smaller field offices divide the responsibilities across two or three smaller squads.
The CTD is divided into four main branches or sections: Operations Branch 1, Operations Branch 2, Analytical Branch, and Operational Support Branch.
Operations Branch 1 primarily focuses on Middle Eastern terrorist outfits such as Al Qaeda, Palestinian Rejectionists, Hezbollah, and other suspected Middle Eastern militant groups. Operations Branch 2 focuses on terrorism financing, domestic terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, and terrorist communications.
The Analytical Branch assesses and analyzes information. The Operational Support Branch manages the Foreign Terrorist Tracking Task Force and the CTD’s resource and administrative requirements.
National Counter-terrorism Center (NCTC)
The NCTC is a Federal Organization responsible for dealing with national and international terrorism. It comprises experts from various law enforcement and national security agencies, such as the FBI, CIA, and the Department of Defense. The NCTC reports to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
The agency’s overall duty is to advise the US Government on Terrorism. The other main activities of the NCTC include analyzing intelligence data regarding terrorism, both domestic and international. This involves monitoring domestic and international communications to identify terrorist threats, developing immediate information to prevent domestic criminal activities, storing information related to terrorism, and enabling IT support for counter-terrorism measures.
The NCTC also develops counterterrorism measures according to instructions from the American President, the Homeland Security Council, and the National Security Council.
Its goals include providing information on terrorists and terrorist activities to various intelligence agencies. It supports action against terrorist activities in the US and around the world. The NCTC is also responsible for providing briefings and assessments to policymakers.
Additional Resources and Information
- Counter-Terrorism Proposals – Electronic Privacy Information Center – Counter-Terrorism Proposals.
- International Association For Counterterrorism & Security Professionals—Founded in 1992, the IACSP addresses security challenges facing the world as it enters the 21st-century era of globalization. It is founded on the principle that a better-informed society will result in a freer one.
If you have any questions about the United States Government agencies responsible for conducting terrorism investigations, comment below. For a full list of government agencies, click here.