Credible Sources Table Offers Assignment
Prior to beginning this summative assignment, read Chapter 15 in Martin (2016). In addition, consult the National Security Strategy (Links to an external site.) (2015) and the National Strategy for Counterterrorism (Links to an external site.) (2011) documents, and review readings from earlier in the course. You may wish to review the tables set forth in Martin (2016) Chapter 13 which offer a variety of policy options. Pay particular attention to both of your course texts, as the combination of the two lay the foundation for understanding terrorism. To check your understanding of the material required for this summative assignment, you may wish to access the quizzes and flash card activities on the companion website (Links to an external site.) for the Martin (2016) text.
In the first few weeks of the course, your goal was to understand terrorism and who the terrorists are. You then explored the various tools used by terrorists and learned how terrorism is used around the world to achieve the goals of terrorist organizations. In Week 4, you examined the capabilities of a specific terrorist group and proposed an international counterterrorism strategy. Finally, you further examined the U.S. Counterterrorism Strategies in Week 5.
- For the final assignment, you will develop a counterterrorism policy for the department you chose in Week 2, the DOS, the DHS, or the DOD. Your policy will be used to implement the overarching U.S. Counterterrorism Strategy, as published by The White House. It will specifically address the threat of an international terrorist organization. You may use the terrorist organization you chose in Week 4, or you may focus on another organization.
Address the following elements in your department-specific policy that will be used to implement the U.S. Counterterrorism Strategy that specifically addresses an international terrorist organization threat to the United States:
- Evaluate the historical socio-political structures that contributed to the establishment of your chosen international terrorist group and the impact of those socio-political structures on your chosen department policy.
- Analyze the unique tactics, techniques, and capabilities within the historical context of your chosen international terrorist organization to tailor appropriate counterterrorism policies.
- Critique current international and U.S. counterterrorism policies intended to combat terrorist organizations.
- Evaluate the ethical and legal issues from a historical context that helped shape current U.S. Counterterrorism Strategy intended to combat the chosen terrorist organization’s tactics, techniques, and capabilities.
- Defend your chosen department policy by succinctly emphasizing its potential benefits within the context of historical socio-political structure and the tactics, techniques, and capabilities of your chosen terrorist organization.
The Department Counterterrorism Policy
- Must be 10 to 12 double-spaced pages in length (not including title and references pages) and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center (Links to an external site.).
- Must include a separate title page with the following:
- Title of paper
- Student’s name
- Course name and number
- Instructor’s name
- Date submitted
- Must use at least ten scholarly sources in addition to the course text. Four of these scholarly sources must be found in the Ashford University Library. Official government websites may be substituted for up to four additional scholarly sources.
- The Scholarly, Peer Reviewed, and Other Credible Sources table offers additional guidance on appropriate source types. If you have questions about whether a specific source is appropriate for this assignment, please contact your instructor. Your instructor has the final say about the appropriateness of a specific source for a particular assignment.
- Must document all sources in APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
Carefully review the Grading Rubric (Links to an external site.) for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment.