Homeland Security Policy

The creation of the Department of Homeland Security was a result of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. “The establishment of this organization provided this nation with a real opportunity for making vast improvements within our communities social and economic infrastructures to combat all threats, mainly terrorism” as stated by Bullock, (2013, P. 1). The 9/11 attacks exposed a

The Department of Homeland Security was created in the aftermath of one of our nation's greatest tragedies: the events of September 11, 2001 (Newman, 2002). Almost immediately the Department began overseeing 22 federal agencies that pre-existed 9/11. The rationale for this transformation was to improve the coordination of the federal government's various security efforts both internally and externally in an effort to forestall any future terrorist threats. What has occurred, however, is a Cabinet Department that is highly bureaucratic with too many divergent responsibilities. Its effectiveness is questionable and serious consideration should be given to the abolition of the Department and its agencies reassigned to other Departments.

Since its inception the DHS has gone through a shift in terms of overall concepts and missions. Something had to be done to ensure the safety of American people and protecting the U.S. homeland against future terrorist attacks. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security was enacted shortly after the September 11th 2001 attacks and the creation of DHS was one of the most significant changes made by the U.S. government with a clear mission of protecting our homeland.

The Federal bureaucracy before 9/11 was nonexistent. The Federal bureaucracy was dealing with foreign rather than domestic threats. The federal bureaucracy was very limited at the, because DHS don’t exist at that time. Since 2001 until now the DHS has improvement a lot from interdepartmental transitioning in find the threat. The federal bureaucracy get all other countries involve in the betterment and transformation to stop any form terroristic threats.

Prior to the catastrophic 9/11 attacks The Department of Homeland Security was known as only Homeland security. Homeland security initially was defined as, “A concerted national effort to prevent terrorist attacks within the United States, reduce America’s vulnerability to terrorism, and recover from and minimize the damage of attacks that do occur.” (McEntire, 2009) In response to what marked the United States forever, the September 11 attacks, the federal government then procreated what is now known as The Department of Homeland Security. The Department of Homeland Security also known as DHS is now known as a, “Newly created organization which aims to prevent terrorist attacks or react to them effectively; it is also comprised of over 170,000 employees from 22 federal agencies and

Only eleven days subsequently the September 11, 2001 acts of terrorism, George W. Bush, who was the president at the time, made an announcement. As reported by Elizabeth C. Borja, the announcement was that he would “…create an Office of Homeland Security in the White House and appoint Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge as the director” (Borja 4). About one month after the attacks, Senator Joseph Lieberman introduced a new bill meant to establish a Department of National Homeland Security. This again followed the same recommendations of the Hart-Rudman Task Force on Homeland Security. This bill was intended to establish a Cabinet-level department and to unite certain agencies that were vital in critical infrastructure protection. Again, there were hearings held for this specific bill as well, and once more there was no action taken upon it (Borja 5).

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was constructed during the time of government reorganization and has become the largest restructured group in the American government in more than a half-century. The restructuring incorporated the association of constituents and agencies from diverse organizations to form an integrated section centered on homeland security. Statistically the DHS offered job opportunities by consuming roughly 240,000 citizens in 2015 only and spending nearly $61 billion. On account, the third largest agency in the Cabinet has spent $544 billion approximately on its programs since 2003 (Congressional Budget Office, 2012). Senate has given The Department of Homeland Security the responsibility of safeguarding the country.

If I was making decisions on what homeland security funding was being spent on I would likely lean towards barrier defense, deterrence, and improving DHS intelligence gathering and dissemination practices.

First article I selected was written by Columbia University Press (2012), Homeland Security, United States Department of. The author’s research was taken from The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th edition. Columbia University Press conducted a tremendous research that provides readers clear insight on how and when the Department of Homeland Security was established and under what circumstances. The author indicates that DHS was established in the aftermath of September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on Pentagon and World Trade Center. The

“The struggle against international terrorism is different from any other war in our history. We will not triumph solely or even primarily through military might.” (National Strategy for Combating Terrorism, 2003) And so to combat this in the post 9/11 time, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was born. And as we have seen in the past event, DHS is needed more today than ever. But DHS was born out of not only necessity but also function.

The Department of Homeland Security was created after 9/11, which adjusted the priorities in both federal and state levels. The primary changes included coordinated homeland security in the state level,, the protection of key assets and infrastructure, shared intelligence between state and federal levels, secured land borders we well as air and sea, new equipment preparation, task force coordination and collaboration between local and federal agencies, tactics and

“The Department of Homeland Security was created through the incorporation of 22 different federal departments and agencies into a joint, integrated Department.” DHS has become a more efficient and integrated Department that has become highly strengthened; the homeland security is an agency that has a more secure America. Without a doubt, it is highly equipped to confront the vast range of threats the United States of America faces. This analysis will explain why the Department of Homeland Security exists. It will also explain why the Department of Homeland Security grew into and whom they have become after September 11, 2001. Also, an explanation of who DHS is, in this I will explain all 22 different departments of DHS. Another important

On September 21st, 2001 only eleven days after 911, a day that will go down in infamy because of the terrorist attacks on the twin towers, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge was appointed as the first Director of the Office of Homeland Security. The nation fell to pieces after this horrible attack. Just shy of 3,000 people lost their lives, and thousands of families lost loved ones. Never before had the United States lived in such fear and uncertainty. Something needed to be done, and it had to happen quickly.With the creation of the Department of Homeland Security our borders, and even our cyberspace is safer. We, as citizens of the United States of America, can worry less about terroristic threats on our lives. Homeland Security has

After the attacks on September 11th, 2001 the United States was forced to reassess its policies over the defense of the country within its borders. Until that time the United States’ homeland security was under the jurisdiction of the Department of Justice (Masse, O’Neil, & Rollins, 2007). After the attack the Executive branch of the government created a new organization that would be responsible for deciding where the biggest threats to the country were. This was the birth of the Department of Homeland Security. The Department of Homeland Security is responsible for assessing all risk to the Nation within its borders and developing way to mitigate these threats before a disaster can take place. One of the documents that the Department of

“We have learned as a Nation that we must maintain a constant, capable, and vigilant posture to protect ourselves against new threats and evolving hazards. But we have also learned that vigilance and protection are not ends in and of themselves, but rather necessary tools in the service of our national purpose.”(Napolitano, 2010, p.iv) In the wake of the September 11th, 2001 attacks our nation has taken upon itself extreme vigilance to ensure the security and defense of the American people. The relationship between homeland security and homeland defense is one that is tightly knit. Each has a very distinct mission set but somewhere along the spectrum they cross over and mutually support each other in the best interest of the nation.