Reference no: EM131684997

Assignment 1 (4-5 pages)

Consider, hypothetically, a small community called Plainsville, Colorado, which has a critical rail line running through it. On this line, hazardous chemicals are routinely transported en route to a neighboring community (Southtown) where they are crucial for industrial use in manufacturing a certain type of nuclear defect x-ray material that is made nowhere else in the world. The rail line was first laid in the late 1800s and has been patchily maintained over its life.

Given new priorities through Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Grant Programs and state mandates, both the Plainsville community leaders and operators of the railway are concerned with increasing vulnerabilities associated with rail transport because there is evidence of structural decline due to its age and uneven maintenance.

Serious damage to, or degradation of, the line in the vicinity of Plainsville might be catastrophic with worst-case consequences including: irreparable destruction of the rail; a train derailment; a chemical spill; the creation of a hazardous environment for people, livestock, and agriculture; disruption of the industrial manufacturing in Southland; and the possible economic crippling of the entire area.

Any of these components alone could result in a crisis; yet a combination of these, or if combined in totality, would be a scenario considered unimaginable by Plainsville's leadership and emergency management personnel.

By way of background, Plainsville has a "strong" mayor, meaning she is elected by the people rather than chosen by a council, etc. Based upon DHS grant dollars that have trickled down through her state and all-hazards homeland security region, Mayor Witley has determined that a commission in the form of a short-term task force should look at the vulnerabilities associated with the rail line.

The commission would take the scenario outlined above, consider its many variations, study possible consequences while articulating and researching the problem(s) and receiving testimony from experts, and then make recommendations about courses of action to prevent, mitigate, or respond to any resultant crisis.

The issues at hand for the community include the integrity of the rail line, the prevention of a hazardous spill, the safety of the citizens, and the continuity of the neighboring town's industry. (More issues may exist, but this gets you started.)

• Consider and list at least 10 potential organizations that would either provide a representative to sit on the commission or that would provide information to the commission.

• When listing each partner, describe his, her, or its value to the commission and what expectations the mayor (and others) might have as to the expertise, capabilities, resources, or anything else an individual or agency might contribute.

• Choose the most relevant entities or individual experts you can, and think about everything from a public safety and emergency management perspective.

• Your answer may require research and properly cited references in APA format.

Assignment 2 (5-6 paragraphs, APA format)

In the wake of the terrorist attacks in September 2001, the 9/11 Commission recommended that the U.S. Intelligence Community (USIC) find a way to improve information sharing of terrorism-related intelligence at all three levels of government (local, state, and federal). The USIC's answer to this recommendation was the creation of intelligence fusion centers.

Since the creation of these intelligence fusion centers, there has been much controversy because of the large amounts of personal information secretly collected and shared within the U.S. intelligence and law enforcement communities. In addition, some critics argue that in the years since their creation, fusion centers and the law enforcement entities affiliated with them have moved away from their original purpose and instead have utilized federal grants and resources to fight local crime.

Assignment Guidelines

• In 5-6 paragraphs, address the following:

o In your opinion, how effective are U.S. fusion centers? Explain.

o Do you feel that the creation of fusion centers has improved information sharing of terrorism-related information at all three levels of government? Why or why not?

o Do you feel that fusion centers have ultimately moved away from their intended purpose? Why or why not?

o Are fusion centers now being used as a local law enforcement tool to help fight local crime? Why or why not?

Assignment 3 (4-5 pages , APA format)

Read the 10-page report titled Information Sharing, Dot Connecting and Intelligence Failures: Revisiting Conventional Wisdom, by Russell Travers (2009). To access the report, click on the following link, and then scroll down to the bottom of the page. At the bottom, click on the link with the same title as the report:

National Counterterrorism Center Web site

Travers argues that information sharing in general has improved significantly since the attacks of 9/11. He proceeds to deconstruct many popular arguments made by others claiming that intelligence gathering and information sharing, as practiced by entities in the United States today, are flawed.

He also discusses legal, policy-based, and regulatory obstacles that impair reasonable intelligence and information collection and processing.

After reading this piece, complete the following:

• Define (that is, "operationalize") the concepts of intelligence versus information.

• Do differences in these terms matter?

• How might either be easier-or more difficult-to share with other agencies?

o Also consider if some levels of government or sectors of society might be more or less amenable to sharing information.

(For example, private sector entities that own and operate critical infrastructure upon which the nation or communities rely might hesitate to share proprietary information that makes them less competitive, economically. Is their reluctance reasonable?)

• Research, summarize, critically evaluate, and report at least 3 of the significant information-sharing problems and challenges (and key agencies) reported in the 9/11 Commission Report.

o For each of these challenges, use or dispute at least 2 of Travers' main arguments that he makes in his paper to explain or justify these challenges.

• Make certain to connect Travers' arguments to the report's challenges that you select.

Attachment:- Challenge of terrorism.rar