how future terrorism might be like
Since the 2001 terrorist attacks in the US, the government has been continuously investing in deterring terrorism and fighting against responding effectively to terrorist attacks. However, terroristic attacks are dynamic, and it becomes hard to predict when and how it will occur. However, it is necessary for the US government, primarily Homeland Security, the federal department that deals with terrorism to predict future terrorism so that it may include the best strategies to counter the same. This paper predicts how future terrorism might be like.
First, terroristic attacks in the US are expected to be committed by US residents, especially by White Supremacist Extremists and Homegrown Violent Extremists. This was supported by the 2020 terrorism report on terrorism by the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness. Over time, terrorism threats have shifted from Islamic extremists to domestic terrorists. Since the 1980s to the early 2000s, the US was under continuous threat by the Al-Qaida, a Middle East Islamic terrorist group. However, since the government put in place adequate security measures minimizing the chances of the groups entering the US, homegrown terrorism has taken over in the form of mass shootings over recent years. For instance, on August 3, 2019, a domestic terrorist attacked Walmart store in El Paso, Texas, killing 22 and injuring 24 people.
Combating domestic terrorism will prove harder than global terrorism in the US. It will be hard to detect a person with a terroristic indent because the law protects US citizens against private surveillance by the police. Since it is hard to identify domestic terrorists, Homeland Security will put severe penalties for people found guilty of such activities. Both global and domestic terrorism will likely be treated similarly, unlike previously, when they have been treated differently.