Foreign-based terrorist influence Essay Example for Free

Foreign-based terrorist influence Essay The influence of foreign-based terrorist organizations is here to stay, and al-Qaeda is not the only one. Appendix D lists many other groups in the world that are full of hate and have no limitations in their pursuit of fulfilling their beliefs. Many groups have had Ð ° presence, Ð ° following, or have conducted business in the U. S. for decades. According to the U. S. State Departments designated foreign terrorist organization list for 2002, four groups have Ð ° confirmed presence in the U.S. : †¢ al-Qaeda, Arabic for â€Å"the base† (worldwide), an Islamic extremist organization that opposes â€Å"non-Islamic† regimes and that has been linked to bombings throughout the world against U. S. government interests †¢ Al-GamaÐ  Al-Islamiyya (Egypt), an Islamic extremist group responsible for attacks on tourists in Egypt. †¢ Hizbollah (Lebanon), an Islamic extremist group linked to the Iranian government and responsible for suicide truck bombings against U.S. interests †¢ Kahane Chai (Israel and the West Bank), Ð ° Jewish extremist group seeking to continue the founders rejectionist agenda Hamas, Ð ° Palestinian fundamentalist group, an offshoot of the Muslim Brethren that came into existence in 1987, is another group with an alleged presence in the United States. â€Å"In addition to the deep-seated concern of the groups with confirmed presences in the U. S., seven countries have been designated as being sponsors of terrorism: Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan, North Korea, and Syria. The potential for terrorist activities that threaten the security of the U. S. , its nationals, or allied nations, is greatly enhanced because of the states that sponsor terrorism. However, these countries cannot be handled by local or state law enforcement. This mission falls on the federal government and the military. The role of law enforcement is to provide detailed local information and intelligence to the appropriate authorities on domestic-related matters and on those that involve international groups. Cyber activity is one component that will likely play key roles in future foreign-based terrorist endeavors and will be handled largely by law enforcement. The cyber world provides Ð ° way for faceless operatives within terrorist organizations to attack key infrastructure systems from virtually anywhere in the world. † (Richard 2004 159).