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:
  • Provide a brief summary of the event.
  • What psychological impacts will most likely be present
    • At the local level? Explain
    • At the national level? Explain.
  • What could be the social impacts? Explain.
    • Consider that the attack has significantly affected a major form of public transit for a major city.
  • What could be the economic impacts? Explain.
    • Consider consumer confidence and impacts to businesses.
  • 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.