Terrorism: Libya’s Role in The Instability of The Region

When media focuses its attention on the subject of terrorism, the country of Libya is not typically at the forefront of the discussion. However, Libya has a deep hand in terrorism dating back to when Colonel Muammar Qaddafi took control of the country in 1969. During the years that Qaddafi was in control, he financially backed terrorist organizations, who repeatedly aimed their sights on the United States and their allies. Even after the fall of Qaddafi’s regime, terrorism is still a part of the governmental strategy in the country. The attack in Benghazi against an American compound, which resulted in 4 American deaths shows that terrorism is alive and well within Libya. In this analysis, I will show the history of Libya prior to Qaddafi’s regime, and terrorism during and after Qaddafi’s regime. I will also show the connections between terrorism and the instability of the region following the fall of Qaddafi. The findings of this investigation, will inform the academic research, as well as the counter-terrorism efforts in Libya

Terrorism Preparedness: A Law Enforcement Perspective

Since September 11, 2001, the environments in which law enforcement agencies operate have been changing. Contingency theory hypothesizes that an organization adapts to their environment through organizational structure and contingencies in order to accomplish a state of fit or higher performance. Utilizing the contingency theory framework, the study looked to answer two research questions: (1) Do municipal and county police agencies believe they have the necessary resources and training to prevent and or respond to the next terrorist attack? (2) How does agency size, structure, funding, and perceived risk influence terrorism preparedness? A sample of 902 county and municipal law enforcement agencies from the East Central region of the United States was surveyed. A total of 522 electronic surveys were sent to municipal and county agencies across 5 states. The remaining 380 agencies were sent physical survey copies. The current findings explained that law enforcement agencies believe they have the necessary resources and training to respond and or prevent a terrorist attack. The variable risk was found to be a weak but positive predictor of preparedness. The study concluded that funding, risk, and structure did influence an agency\u27s level of terrorism preparedness. Overall, the contingency theory framework did help explain terrorism preparedness among law enforcement agencies. Implications and future research based on these outcomes are discussed at the end of the study