1. Assignment Description: Terror
Primary Task Response: Your first task is to post your own Key Assignment Outline to the discussion area so that other students are able to review your plan. Attach your document to the main discussion post, and include any notes you feel are appropriate. The purpose of this assignment is to help improve the quality of the Key Assignment Draft you will complete next week.
Respond to Another Student: Review at least 1 other student's Key Assignment Outline and provide meaningful feedback. Refrain from general feedback, such as simply stating "good job." Your feedback to other students is most helpful if you not only point out weak areas but also offer suggestions for improvement. The best feedback takes a three-stage approach to identify what was done well, weaknesses, and areas for improvement.
2. Assignment Description
A suicide bomber has detonated his incendiary device on the Pink Line of the "El" in Chicago, IL. The emergency response teams have quickly extinguished the fire and have begun to treat the wounded. The explosion took place at 5 p.m. on a busy Thursday afternoon. The initial estimates are that 14 people have been killed and 67 wounded.
There is also significant infrastructure damage to the Ashland station, impeding traffic on the Green and Pink lines as well as to and from the Illinois Medical District.
Al-Shabaab, a terrorist group from Somalia, has claimed responsibility in response to the U.S. Navy's killing of Somali pirates. Al-Shabaab warns that 2 more explosions will occur somewhere in other major U.S. cities. Their rationale is that three pirates were killed, and therefore three explosions will occur.
As can be expected, the public across the U.S. is in a panic. You are the public relations director for the Deputy Director of Homeland Security. He has asked you to develop a comprehensive white paper explaining the intervention options that the state and federal government can exercise to alleviate public fear and anxiety.
He wants to make sure that you anticipate economic impacts at the local, state, and federal levels; use historical incidents if necessary. Your paper will be the basis for an upcoming DHS press conference in which the Deputy Director will attempt to assuage the public's fear.
Assignment Guidelines
• Address the following in 1,250-1,500 words:
o Provide a brief summary of the event.
o What psychological impacts will most likely be present
at the local level? Explain
at the national level? Explain.
o What could be the social impacts? Explain.
Consider that the attack has significantly affected a major form of public transit for a major city.
o What could be the economic impacts? Explain.
Consider consumer confidence and impacts to businesses.
o How would the government respond to the attack? Explain.
How would the government address the psychological, social, and economic impacts? Explain.
Consider immediate, short-term, and long-term impacts.
• Remember to fully support your arguments with scholarly resources.
• Be sure to reference all sources using APA style.
Please submit your assignment.
For assistance with your assignment, please use your text, Web resources, and all course materials.
Reading Assignment
Poland, Chapters 6-8
Assignment Objectives
• Describe and discuss the psychological consequences of mass-casualty terrorist attacks.
• Describe and discuss the impact of the interventions applied to victims of terrorism and the generalized fear and anxiety experienced by the public at large.
• Describe and discuss current government strategies used to disseminate information on terrorist groups, acts of terror and potential threats.