Counter Terrorism Jobs

With the increase in fear and paranoia following September 11, counter terrorism jobs are booming. I started my counter terrorism job over 20 years ago in the Army. I was a special investigator assigned to look into the bombing of a US military installation, so I got to see firsthand how anti terrorism techniques work, as well as the causes of terrorism. One of the interesting things you learn in an anti-terrorism job is that the whole category of terrorism and terrorist is kind of arbitrary. Sure, there are some terrorists who are definitely bad people, doing destructive things for the sake of spreading chaos and fear. Then again, there are people we call terrorists simply will because we don't like what they are doing. For example, when Earth First! burns down a new housing site after being careful that no one is there who could be hurt, we call it an environmental terrorist attack. I may not personally like it or agree with it, and I may even consider it to be a criminal act of malicious property destruction, but clearly causing terror isn't the goal. Understanding the difference between different sorts of so-called terrorist organizations is one of the first challenges I faced in my counter terrorism career.

Nowadays, counter terrorism jobs are pretty fast track. You get some quick training by the Department of Homeland Security and they put you out in the field as quickly as possible. Sure, there are people who get degrees in international relations and go through sophisticated programs, but basically the goal of the government here is to get as many qualified people out there as quickly as possible. This lends itself to a certain mindset among anti-terrorism professionals. People who get involved in counter terrorism jobs nowadays feel like we are under attack. They are taught to believe that we are fighting a group or a number of groups who are an immediate and serious threat. The reality, however, is a little bit more complicated. It is as much about engaging in a long-term low-grade propaganda war as about security on our borders and preventing terrorist attacks.

As a matter of fact, many of the most important counter terrorism jobs aren't in security at all, but an international relations. The old phrase win the hearts and minds rings as true today as it did in the Vietnam era. Unfortunately, we haven't learned as much as we should have since that era. Many counter terrorism jobs involve revamping our propaganda strategy both at home and abroad to have greater appeal to more people. In fact, the United States has alienated many potential allies, further increasing the threat of terrorism. Nowadays, people in counter terrorism jobs are largely there to find out a way to gain allies in volatile regions like the Middle East.