As part of International rules and regulations, whenever a foreign aircraft from a different country enters into the airspace of a different country, they must make contact with the country before doing so. The foreign aircraft must readily identify themselves and provide the necessary information in order for there to be an understanding reached and the flight can be continued. A country can't fly into the airspace of another country without permission, and this is for safety and security reasons. A country owns the land below the physical country, the skies above the physical country and everything in between those two areas. If the foreign aircraft does not obey this rule, then the hosting country chases the foreign aircraft out of their skies, but if the foreigner doesn't comply, then a more assertive action can be taken.
In the article from the New York Times entitled, "Iran says foreign planes violated airspace", this provided the information on the event that took place just yesterday, November 17th, 2010. Iranian officials claimed, "that unidentified foreign planes violated its airspace six times as the country began its biggest air-defense drill ever, but that the intruders were intercepted and forced back by Iranian jets." (The New York Times) For fear of the country's safety, their strongest and biggest air-defense drill was put into action in order to drive out the intruders. Gen. Hamid Arjangi, a spokesman for the military during its exercises, said "Iran’s radar stations and observation posts picked up on the planes as they entered Iranian airspace during the five-day drill, which started Tuesday." (The New York Times) As soon as the suspected aircrafts where in violation of trespassing into unwelcomed airspace, the Iranian jets picked up on the plans as soon as the entered into Iran. I think this was a good test for the Iranian airspace defense team and it was a success in that in drove out the intruders in a timely and effective fashion. It is not released yet as to who was in those unidentified aircrafts and for what reason.
After the events of September 11th, 2001, not only has the United States, but other countries as well have made sure to strengthen their security systems when it comes to airplanes and airspace. Another attempted terrorist attack can be on the rise, so all countries need to be aware of this potential threat occurring. I think that this is good Public Relations on the part of the United States as well as Iran that they are taking all of the necessary actions to protect their communities and their citizens by taking precautionary steps to security.
In our book by Babbie, it discussed frequency distribution which is, "a description of the number of times the various attributes of a variable are observed in sample." (Babbie 454) I think Iran, the United States, or any country would be wise to do a frequency distribution on how many times they receive threats or tips of a terrorist attack, and this could help predict when another potential attack is eminent. Better to be prepared than unprepared in a situation like this.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
U.S. radical says to Muslims: Kill U.S. 'devils'
HATE. This is a very powerful word. Sometimes we can use it in a loose manner saying, "I hate this weather. Or, I hate this color on me." Other times, hatred can develop into a much deeper feeling by having hatred for another person. That hatred can cultivate into something stronger,and can cause people to act unreasonably and pursue distasteful actions.
Hatred was definitely the motive behind terrorist attacks that have occurred from September 11th, to the recent terrorist plot of sending packages to the U.S. with explosives. In one of my previous blog entries, I discussed this attempted attack on the U.S. with these packages, and how it was unsuccessful. Recently, the al-Qaida branch in Yemen claimed responsibility for the failed bomb plot. It is unfortunate for the U.S. to have to continue putting up with and be on the look out for these daily terrorist attacks. To add fuel to the flame, there has been a recent rallying by a radical cleric to kill any American. In an article published by the Record Journal entitled, "Cleric to Muslims: Kill U.S. 'devils'", this article stated that "A U.S. born radical cleric who belongs to the al-Qaida offshoot behind the cargo bomb plot on the United States told Muslims theya re free to kill American 'devils' at will in a video posted on extremist websites." (Record Journal) This man, named Anwar al-Awlaki has inspired several attacks agsint the United States and has made it his life goal to seeking revenge against the United States.
So, why is al-Awlaki filled with all of this hatred against the U.S. and what are his motives? According to some of his past messages, "he has justified killing American civilians as retaliation for the killing of hundres of thousands of Muslim civilians in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere."(Record Journal) I think that killing people, especially on the basis of no rationale, but just based on hatred is the worst thing a person could possibly do and this is very inhumane and unloving. Every living person has the right to continue living peacefully and ruling their life they want to fulfill it, and no one has the right to take away a person's right to live. Al-Awlaki encourages any Muslim to not consult with anybody in the killing of the Americans, but just to go ahead and kill them. It upsets me to see that someone could have no heart and go this far to say it is ok to take someone's life away, as if that person was valueless. No one knows the extent that al-Awlaki has on his outreach to people, but I sincerely hope that people will think rationally about this matter and not listen to what this radical and heartless cleric has to say.
This blog post is not meant to alarm people and think that all Muslims are going to kill Americans, but rather it is to inform and educate people that Muslims are good people. The problem is terrorist groups, especially al-Qaida, and they are the organization behind this hatred. Muslims still need to be treated and viewed in a respectable manner, but it is unfortunate to see that Muslims' reputation is being harmed and tarnished all because of this terrorist group. I think people need to come together and learn more about each other's differences in order to be more accepting. Instead of promoting hatred in this world, we need to start promoting LOVE.
In Chapter 13 of our book by Babbie, it discussed qualitative research, specifically Semiotics, which is, "The study of aigns ad the meanings associated with them. This is commonly associated with content analysis." (Babbie, 422) Since semiotic analysis invovles a search for the meanings either intentionally or unintentioinally attached to signs, this would be a good method of research to conduct. One study can examine the sign of Islam and get the results of what people think of when they see this sign, especially since a particular sign means something to a particular person. To go further, since people too could be examples of signs, it would be interesting to put a Muslim person in front of people, and then get people's initial reactions of the Muslim person.
Hatred was definitely the motive behind terrorist attacks that have occurred from September 11th, to the recent terrorist plot of sending packages to the U.S. with explosives. In one of my previous blog entries, I discussed this attempted attack on the U.S. with these packages, and how it was unsuccessful. Recently, the al-Qaida branch in Yemen claimed responsibility for the failed bomb plot. It is unfortunate for the U.S. to have to continue putting up with and be on the look out for these daily terrorist attacks. To add fuel to the flame, there has been a recent rallying by a radical cleric to kill any American. In an article published by the Record Journal entitled, "Cleric to Muslims: Kill U.S. 'devils'", this article stated that "A U.S. born radical cleric who belongs to the al-Qaida offshoot behind the cargo bomb plot on the United States told Muslims theya re free to kill American 'devils' at will in a video posted on extremist websites." (Record Journal) This man, named Anwar al-Awlaki has inspired several attacks agsint the United States and has made it his life goal to seeking revenge against the United States.
So, why is al-Awlaki filled with all of this hatred against the U.S. and what are his motives? According to some of his past messages, "he has justified killing American civilians as retaliation for the killing of hundres of thousands of Muslim civilians in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere."(Record Journal) I think that killing people, especially on the basis of no rationale, but just based on hatred is the worst thing a person could possibly do and this is very inhumane and unloving. Every living person has the right to continue living peacefully and ruling their life they want to fulfill it, and no one has the right to take away a person's right to live. Al-Awlaki encourages any Muslim to not consult with anybody in the killing of the Americans, but just to go ahead and kill them. It upsets me to see that someone could have no heart and go this far to say it is ok to take someone's life away, as if that person was valueless. No one knows the extent that al-Awlaki has on his outreach to people, but I sincerely hope that people will think rationally about this matter and not listen to what this radical and heartless cleric has to say.
This blog post is not meant to alarm people and think that all Muslims are going to kill Americans, but rather it is to inform and educate people that Muslims are good people. The problem is terrorist groups, especially al-Qaida, and they are the organization behind this hatred. Muslims still need to be treated and viewed in a respectable manner, but it is unfortunate to see that Muslims' reputation is being harmed and tarnished all because of this terrorist group. I think people need to come together and learn more about each other's differences in order to be more accepting. Instead of promoting hatred in this world, we need to start promoting LOVE.
In Chapter 13 of our book by Babbie, it discussed qualitative research, specifically Semiotics, which is, "The study of aigns ad the meanings associated with them. This is commonly associated with content analysis." (Babbie, 422) Since semiotic analysis invovles a search for the meanings either intentionally or unintentioinally attached to signs, this would be a good method of research to conduct. One study can examine the sign of Islam and get the results of what people think of when they see this sign, especially since a particular sign means something to a particular person. To go further, since people too could be examples of signs, it would be interesting to put a Muslim person in front of people, and then get people's initial reactions of the Muslim person.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Yemeni woman arrested for bomb package sent to the U.S.
If you have been to an airport recently within the past 5 years, you will agree with me that security is very strict on what items you can bring on the plane with you. The items one is allowed to bring has been limited, you can't bring tweezers, a plastic knife, toothpaste or shampoos need to be in a container no bigger than 3 oz. These limitations have been taken into action after the events of September 11th, in hopes to prevent any more terrorists attacks. Seems like a full proof system doesn't it? Well, even with this system in action, packages with explosives were on an American airplane en route to the United States. These explosives were in packaged form and addressed to Chicago-area synagogues, and contained PETN, which is an industrial explosive. The fact that these explosives made it onto airplanes showed that nearly a decade wince the events of September 11th, terrorists continue to find security vulnerabilities, and somehow make it successfully past this intense security system.
The Record Journal's article, "Yemeni woman arrested, al-Qaida bomber eyed in plot" followed up on this story and provided details on this plot. A Yemeni woman was arrested on suspicion of mailing these packages because her name was on the return address. This young woman was a medical student, and she along with her mother were detained for questioning regarding this matter. The packages were located on airplanes in England and the United Arab Emirates. Primes Minister David Cameron of England said he believes the explosive device found in England was, "intended to detonate aboard the plane." Other officials said, "it's unclear whether the bombs were wired to cell phones, timers and power supplies, and were intented to be detonated remotely while the planes were in the air, or when the packages were halfway around the world in the U.S."(Record Journal) The suspected bomb maker behind this attack is assumed to be the same maker behind the Christmas Day attack, Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri. Al-Asiri has been kept a close eye on by the United States and are hoping to find him to detain him. The packages' destinations were to synangogues in Chicago, which has about 100 members, and serves Jews in the gay community and their families. It is unknown at the moment the reasoning behind this specific synogogue and if there were any potential targets specifically.
How did the United States discover these bombs in the packages? Thanks to intelligence passed from Saudi Arabia, they had been monitoring actions from terrorists groups, and passed this tip along to the United States, which then discovered the bombs.
The U.S. has been on the lookout for terrorists plots, "having received indnications that the Yemeni-based al-Qaida faction was interested in exploring an operation involving cargo planes, said a U.S. counterterrorism official on the matter. (Record Journal) As a results of this incident, the U.S. has temporarily banned all incoming cargo and mail from Yemen. This failed attack should serve as a "wake up call" that the United States needs to increase security on cargo planes and be more alert to bomb threats associated with terrorism, especially from Yemen's al-Qaida branch which is the most active of the terrorist group's affiliates. While the U.S. is trying to build relationships with other countries, such as Yemen, it is difficult to maintain any trustworthy relationship because of the numerous amount of terrorist attacks. Maybe, the U.S. is abiding by the saying, "keep your friends close, and your enemies closer." I appreciate the fact that other countries have the U.S.'s back in a sense, by keeping an eye out for terrorism, and attempted to hault any harm done to the U.S. Saudi Arabia is not viewed by the U.S. in a highly respected manner, but hopefully the fact that they provided an essential tip, which prevented precious lives from being taken, can somewhat put them in a better position in the minds of people here in the United States.
This event relates to Chapter 12 in Babbie because it discussed evaluation research which is, "research undertaken for the purose of determinng the impact of some social intervention, such as a program aimed at solving a social problem." (Babbie 390) An evaluative research program that can be conducted relating to this event of the bomb threat is to create and invoke a security plan for cargo planes and see the results produced by this security plan. Is it successful or not in finding bombs and explosives before allowing entrance on an aircraft? This evaluative process can prove to be helpful in the war against terrorism.
The Record Journal's article, "Yemeni woman arrested, al-Qaida bomber eyed in plot" followed up on this story and provided details on this plot. A Yemeni woman was arrested on suspicion of mailing these packages because her name was on the return address. This young woman was a medical student, and she along with her mother were detained for questioning regarding this matter. The packages were located on airplanes in England and the United Arab Emirates. Primes Minister David Cameron of England said he believes the explosive device found in England was, "intended to detonate aboard the plane." Other officials said, "it's unclear whether the bombs were wired to cell phones, timers and power supplies, and were intented to be detonated remotely while the planes were in the air, or when the packages were halfway around the world in the U.S."(Record Journal) The suspected bomb maker behind this attack is assumed to be the same maker behind the Christmas Day attack, Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri. Al-Asiri has been kept a close eye on by the United States and are hoping to find him to detain him. The packages' destinations were to synangogues in Chicago, which has about 100 members, and serves Jews in the gay community and their families. It is unknown at the moment the reasoning behind this specific synogogue and if there were any potential targets specifically.
How did the United States discover these bombs in the packages? Thanks to intelligence passed from Saudi Arabia, they had been monitoring actions from terrorists groups, and passed this tip along to the United States, which then discovered the bombs.
The U.S. has been on the lookout for terrorists plots, "having received indnications that the Yemeni-based al-Qaida faction was interested in exploring an operation involving cargo planes, said a U.S. counterterrorism official on the matter. (Record Journal) As a results of this incident, the U.S. has temporarily banned all incoming cargo and mail from Yemen. This failed attack should serve as a "wake up call" that the United States needs to increase security on cargo planes and be more alert to bomb threats associated with terrorism, especially from Yemen's al-Qaida branch which is the most active of the terrorist group's affiliates. While the U.S. is trying to build relationships with other countries, such as Yemen, it is difficult to maintain any trustworthy relationship because of the numerous amount of terrorist attacks. Maybe, the U.S. is abiding by the saying, "keep your friends close, and your enemies closer." I appreciate the fact that other countries have the U.S.'s back in a sense, by keeping an eye out for terrorism, and attempted to hault any harm done to the U.S. Saudi Arabia is not viewed by the U.S. in a highly respected manner, but hopefully the fact that they provided an essential tip, which prevented precious lives from being taken, can somewhat put them in a better position in the minds of people here in the United States.
This event relates to Chapter 12 in Babbie because it discussed evaluation research which is, "research undertaken for the purose of determinng the impact of some social intervention, such as a program aimed at solving a social problem." (Babbie 390) An evaluative research program that can be conducted relating to this event of the bomb threat is to create and invoke a security plan for cargo planes and see the results produced by this security plan. Is it successful or not in finding bombs and explosives before allowing entrance on an aircraft? This evaluative process can prove to be helpful in the war against terrorism.
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