Chicago Terror Attack: Terrorism Case Study.
An incidence of terror attack took place at El in Chicago, Illinois that involved a suicide bomber detonating an incendiary device. The attack that took place at 5 p.m. on a busy afternoon resulted in the death of 14 people and leaving 67 others wounded. Chicago Terror Attack: Terrorism Case Study. The damage of the explosion also affected valuable properties including one of Chicago’s significant infrastructures, the Ashland station, that has since affected traffic in its environs. Al-Shabaab, a Somali terrorist organization, affiliated to Al-Qaeda, has claimed responsibility and gone further to warn of two more acts of terror in the country’s major cities. According to the organization, these are vengeful attacks in response to the deaths of three pirates linked to the group. The incidence has left the public, both local and national in a state of panic, fear, and anxiety thus calling for rapid measures to restore public confidence and protect the lives of the civilians and properties against acts of violence from the terrorist organization. Chicago Terror Attack: Terrorism Case Study.
Psychological Impacts
Many studies on the impact of terrorism reveal many psychological implications of the acts of violence to the survivors and everyone indirectly affected by the event. Following numerous attacks on the US soil, acts of terror have proven to affect the locals of the affected areas and the nation at large with the 9/11 attack being an ideal example. Mental conditions the locals of Chicago are likely to would be more severe compared to what the entire nation would exhibit. This is because, as suggested by Huddy and Friedman (2011), people who witness or experience acts of violence suffer severe psychological conditions compared to the general community. Therefore, the 67 survivors of the explosion, as well as the rest of the Chicago locals, as most scientific evidence postulate, are likely to be diagnosed with cases of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Chicago Terror Attack: Terrorism Case Study.
In their study, Huddy and Friedman (2011), concluded that nearly 40 percent of the witnesses of acts of terror display signs of PTSD which means approximately 40 percent of residents of the area will have PTSD. According to Susan Brandon (2011), the mental effects of terrorism transcend borders. This is to say, the entire US, and not only Chicagoans, will display some levels of the psychological downside of the attack. Owing to the warnings of pending attacks on unknown cities, residents in these cities and other parts of the country are likely to suffer from stressor-related disorders (Friedmann & Cannon, 2007). Panic and cases of anxiety will be suffered across the United States until the condition is stabilized and confidence in the authorities restored.
Social Impacts
The social impact of terrorism is evident in any of terror attacks on a country including the just concluded impact. The human cost is one of the social aspects of the effects of acts of violence. Regarding the case, the explosion has caused the country 14 innocent lives with injuries standing at 67 people. The figures might get scarier given the warnings of two different bombings targeted at different popular cities. The main objective of terrorists when resorting to acts of violence is to cause as many deaths and destroy as much property as possible. These two objectives, from the terrorist perspective, have successfully been met in one of the attacks.
Owing to the attack, one of the most significant infrastructures was affected causing massive traffic nightmare in some parts of Chicago. In some ways, the attack has negatively affected the movement of people and goods in the affected areas in two main ways. The usual movement of people has been interrupted by the explosion that has seen the destruction of the key infrastructure of the city. Until something is done, traffic will continue to be a nightmare for the residents. Secondly, out of panic caused by the explosion, people are rushing out of the city in fear of being victims of further attacks. These panic movements to rush out of the city has contributed to the growing problem of traffic.
Economic Impacts
The attack has had an extreme economic impact on Chicago and the entire state of Illinois. An important thing to note is that Chicago is one of America’s most visited cities by local and international tourists. The attack renders the city unsafe for tourist activities and this reason, potential tourists are likely to refrain from visiting the city. Tourism is a major economic activity that the state government sources its income. When tourists do not visit, it means the state loses its earnings for various critical developments and public service projects. Having been established as an unsafe city, Chicago is likely to see a significant drop in investments as potential local and foreign investors will go to other cities due to the attractiveness of the state in terms of business activities. (Khan, 2013)
The explosion destroyed buildings and other monument structures in the city; the destruction has caused losses probably amounting to hundreds of millions or billions incurred by both the private and the public sector. The economic implications of the attack can also be felt in the defense sector of the Illinois state and that of the entire country. Given pending attacks and the urgency to restore law and order in the country, the collaboration of federal and state governments are likely to invest heavily on defense mechanisms. This would involve increased militancy and anti-terrorism units and agencies aimed at preventing terrorism, controlling and managing its implications (Wray, Kreuter, Jacobsen, Clements, & Evans, 2004). Because of this, more funds will be channeled into beefing up security and defense thereby placing less emphasis on other demanding sectors of the economy such as healthcare, education, and agriculture among many others. Chicago Terror Attack: Terrorism Case Study.
Government Response
Preventing potential acts of violence at different parts of a country is a difficult task, especially for a government dealing with an attack that has already happened and caused catastrophic damage and results in a state of national panic and fear. At this point, the government has to deal with controlling and managing the situation that has already happened, prevent further attacks that have already been confirmed and also deal with the harsh reality of the event they are unable to prevent the rest of the two attack or any of them. Chicago Terror Attack: Terrorism Case Study.Having confirmed warning of the two attacks, this is now a matter of the federal government who must work in collaboration with security agencies all across the country and other key stakeholders such as local governments and the general public to prevent attacks.
The government needs to approach the problem strategically, and this has to begin by reassuring the general public that they have full control of the situation and pursuance of the attacks in an aim to curb panic, fear, and anxiety and also restore confidence according to Bush (2009). This can be accomplished by communicating directly to the public through platforms that have wider coverage such as national radio stations, TV channels, and newspapers among others. Chicago Terror Attack: Terrorism Case Study.
Regardless of the size, location, venue, type of an attack, and so on, continuous and ongoing efforts to improve interagency coordination and information sharing with event stakeholders will enhance security and improve emergency response. If the federal government takes into consideration the most common tactics of attacks by Al-Shabaab or similar types of groups, it can devise methods of planning, coordinating, and exercising them, the actors involved would be in a better position to prevent, respond to and mitigate such and related acts of violence (Friedmann & Cannon, 2007). Some of the strategies that can be used include using police patrol cars, installing alarm systems and monitoring technologies that detect suspicious activities in major cities. Chicago Terror Attack: Terrorism Case Study.
The government should advise and work closely with public event organizers for purposes of beefing up security for these events and public gatherings as they act as primary targets for terrorists. Security agencies like Homeland security, FBI, and CIA among others are equipped with adequate resources that can be used to fight terrorism. Judging from their previous success stories of using information technology (IT) and other forms of innovative technologies to detect plots and prevent them, the same technologies can be used for this case. These technologies include computer networks and systems that connect with other systems within and beyond the American borders, and they can be used to monitor communications between individuals and organizations and identify ones that might be linked to acts of terror or other criminal activities. Chicago Terror Attack: Terrorism Case Study.
References
Brandon, S. E. (2011). Impacts of psychological science on national security agencies post-9/11. American Psychologist, 66(6), 495.
Bush, G. W. (2009). The national security strategy of the United States of America. Wordclay.
Friedmann, R. R., & Cannon, W. J. (2007). Homeland security and community policing: Competing or complementing public safety policies. Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, 4(4). Chicago Terror Attack: Terrorism Case Study.
Huddy, L., & Feldman, S. (2011). Americans respond politically to 9/11: Understanding the impact of the terrorist attacks and their aftermath. American Psychologist, 66(6), 455.
Khan, M. T. (2013). The Social, Political and Economic Effects of the War on Terror: Pakistan 2009 To 2011. ISSRA PAPERS, 65.
Wray, R. J., Kreuter, M. W., Jacobsen, H., Clements, B., & Evans, R. G. (2004). Theoretical perspectives on public communication preparedness for terrorist attacks. Family & community health, 27(3), 232-241. Chicago Terror Attack: Terrorism Case Study.