Ethics

The Path to Paradise is a movie released by HBO and it dwells on the terrorist attack at the World Trade Center on February 26, 1993. The protagonist, Agent John Anticlev (as portrayed by Peter Gallagher), is telling how the agency failed in preventing the bombing in 1990 in front of a panel that is tasked with investigating the matter. The film explores how police and other authorities are unable to stop the attack even as they were already given a lot of opportunities to preempt the attack. It is interesting to note that the movie was never shown on HBO after the September 11, 2001 attack on the twin towers of the World Trade Center.

In the movie, the authorities are trying to find out if El Sayyid Nosairs murder of a Jewish extremist leader is related to the activities of sheik Omar Abdel Rahman. The movie revolves around a central theme of how easy it is to become a terrorist in the United States. In a number of instances, terrorists are led face to face with the police or the FBI but they somehow easily find a way out after making excuses. The bomb specialist Ramzi Yousef was even allowed entry into the United States after pretending that he is trying to escape the conflict in Iraq. Additionally, the terrorists are also able to easily find materials they need to make bombs. This includes the controlled substances since they have a vast network. Likewise, they are able to easily find a storage area for the chemicals they are holding without much question.

While the authorities are not entirely to blame for failing apprehend the terrorists during the instances wherein the latter were caught in dubious situations, it can be said that they are somehow lax in some aspects. In the scene at the airport, airport security personnel decided to let Yousef go instead of detaining him. One reason for the failure of the authorities may actually be the rights that are supposed to protect the citizens.

Ironically, the authorities already had a lead in the character of Emad Salem who willingly came to the FBI to offer help in getting information regarding the activities of the Sheik for some money but they suspend him because of suspicion that he may telling the terrorists what the FBI is up to. Salem detaches himself from the terrorists and the FBI and later, the terrorists successfully bombed their target killing six people. They however did mediocre damage compared to the damage that they wanted to inflict. They were aiming to topple one of the towers which should then collide with the other tower. After the bombing, authorities again enlist the help of Salem for the price of 1 million which led to the capture of the Sheik and other people connected with the World Trade Center bombing in 1993. The bomb speicalist Yousef remained at large but was arrested in Pakistan in 1995 and expedited to the United States.

During much of the movie, the investigators had hunches that the terrorists are out to kill but in the absence of an inside man and informant they are unable to get credible information to prove such. They event went as far as giving subpoenas to all people related to Nosair but they got nothing.
For the terrorists, they believe that they can do anything in America. Perhaps they have a distorted view of democracya democracy wherein they can do whatever they want and whatever they deem is right. They laugh at how they are able to fool police officers into believing that they have no bad intentions even when they are caught with controlled chemicals used to make bombs, explosives as well as firearms.

Even as the movie ended with all the terrorists related to the bombing incident being captured, the protagonists instills a message that it is not yet overthat it is too easy for terrorists to repeat what they had done. Even if more people were delegated to prevent such incidents and even if more funding was allocated, it will still happen as long as there is intent. In the ending scene, Yousef was shown in a helicopter hovering near the twin towers and saying that he will get both of them next time is like depicting the events of the September 11 terrorist attack at the World Trade Center wherein two planes were crashed into the twin towers.

No matter the security measures that will be implemented, it is really too easy for terrorists to hide themselves or any malicious intent that they have as they can always assert their rights as protected by the First Amendment. After the 1993 attack, the government should have already realized that they need to heighten security to prevent another such attack. For all we know, terrorists must already be staging another attackmaybe on the World Trade Center or they may be aiming for another target, something more devastating than all previous attacks.

This brings to light how current crime fighting techniques and the criminal justice system should adjust to better deal with such government adversaries. These terrorists are not afraid and they are even willing to risk their lives for the sake of what they call a holy war. With willpower as strong as the willpower of Islamic terrorists, it will really be very difficult to preempt and prevent another terrorist attack. However, it is the governments duty to ensure that the nation is safe from attacks foreign or local.