America faces a wide range of security risks
America faces a wide range of security risks. Terrorist attacks and cybersecurity are among the threats. The country is also vulnerable to severe natural and man-made disasters. As a result, in 2002, the Department of Homeland Security was founded as one of the tools that may be utilized to combat terrorism in the country. According to Rice (2003), following the 9/11 attacks, the American government under President Bush implemented one of the most extensive internal reorganizations, including the restructuring of law enforcement capacities and national intelligence, as well as the establishment of DHS. This was done by bringing together several departments with the hope of coordinating information that could assist prevent similar attacks. Thacher (2005) notes that the major purpose for the formation of this department was to safeguard and to protect the United States of America. Today, the department is vested with power for monitoring of the border movements and immigration. Also, the department monitors terror activities and cybersecurity threats.
The Department of Homeland Security and its agencies
The Department of Homeland Security is made up of agencies from the department of agriculture, Energy, Transportation, Human Services, Treasury, and FBI to mention a few. Also, the customs service, Coast Gourd, the INS and the Secret Service were all moved to the DHS. Currently, it is the third largest in the country with at least 200000 workers (Sylves, 2011). Today, the largest component of homeland security is the Directorate of Border and Transportation that is tasked with maintaining the security of the country along the borders. Secondly, is the directorate of Emergency preparedness and response that is charged with ensuring the country is well prepared and can recover from both natural disasters and terrorist's attacks. The Coast Gourd, which when the president declares the war or releases specific order, it functions under the department of defense. The highlight of DHS is the secret service that functions as an interdependent agency.
Assessing vulnerability and the National Response Framework
The DHS is responsible for assessing the vulnerability of the country, and this means that the department takes the lead in the evaluation of vulnerabilities and coordinates with the local, state and federal government and private entities in ensuring the citizens are well protected. Each time the department is tasked with coming up with the National Response Framework (NRF) that focus as on the responses and the short- term security plans. The NRF articulates the principles, doctrine, and architecture by which the country prepares for and respond to security threats as they arise across all the government levels and community sectors (Walby and Lippert, 2015). The establishment of NRF was a response to the repeated local, state and federal governments and private agencies need for a streamlined document that was less bureaucratic and user-friendly. The document focuses on the preparedness of the country as a whole and encourages a very high level of alertness and preparedness across all the relevant jurisdictions.
The strategies and challenges of DHS
Since the September 11, 2001, attack, DHS has been at the forefront in protecting the security of Americans from terrorist attacks. Because of the unfortunate incident of 9/11, DHS uses the following strategy: DHS acknowledges the fact that although it is proper to continue focusing on the persistently evolving terrorist threats in the country and globally, it is proper to recognize that there are also non- terrorist activities with catastrophic consequences that significantly affects Homeland Security. Secondly, as the country secure Homeland, it cannot simply depend on well- planned responses and defensive approaches and recovery measures; the efforts of DHS should also include offenses both at home and abroad. Thirdly, in the prevention and disruption of terrorist activities, it is proper to work towards denying terrorist weapons and material entry in the country.
The importance of Homeland Security and the challenges it faces
Bullock, Haddow, and Coppola (2011) contend that The Homeland Security program is a wonderful national preparedness program that can adequately protect the country. It is national since it largely depends on the local communities. The number of partnership from the local to the federal government are difficult to estimate. The federal agencies, the military, local agencies, state agencies and private agencies are all tasked with the noble duty of ensuring that there is adequate preparedness as a country. The interests of these agencies are one: to prevent terrorism incidences from happening, to protect the critical infrastructure and citizens and to offer necessary disaster management responses as a way of reduces the level of consequences, and to recover the vitality of the people when a disaster like terrorist interrupts routine.
Criticisms and the need for balance
However, the DHS faces some challenges. The department has a unique structure that is headed by the secretary appointed by the president. Below the department secretary is the deputy and below are the various agencies that comprise DHS. The leadership of the department is often under criticism for transparency issues. Also, it has been criticized for the bureaucracy that makes it ineffective (Clarke, 2009). Many Americans view DHS as a waste of taxpayers' money and audit report released show a lot of flaws and wastages within the department. Additionally, fragmented oversight renders its management difficult; there has been an increase in the number of committees tasked with the affairs of the department.
Intrusion into personal space and the effectiveness of DHS
Secondly, the department has been accused of intrusion into personal space. Most of the operations carried out by the Department of Homeland Security involve snooping into businesses and people. On several occasions, the department has been accused of sharing private information, and this has often led to legal tussles. Because of this, there is a need for urgent measures to address the issues facing the department and streamline its affairs. The department is often seen as a toothless bulldog that needs urgent restructuring. But in the wake of modern security threats, especially terrorism, the importance of Homeland Security cannot be downplayed. It is through its intelligence that the country has been able to avert most of the security threats. Although many might see it as ineffective, DHS is very effective and functional in gathering intelligence and averting security threats. It has a wide network that is comprised of the secret service and other securities apparatus capable of gathering intelligence on threats before they happen. Were it not for the homeland security, perhaps America could be facing more serious threats than the 9/11 attack.
The balance between security and civil liberties
Wong and Lovelace (2004) note that there is a widely-held agreement that there are individuals who are hell-bent on ruining America. At the same time, there is also a widely-held agreement that after the 9/11 attack, most civil liberties were suspended or curtailed. This calls for the need to strike a balance between these two issues. Sutherland (2014) contends that among the challenges that were brought about by the war on terror, especially after the 9/11 attack, is to ensure that as the country increasingly and continually secures itself from terrorism, it must also preserve the people's way of life- a life full of civil liberty. Sutherland notes that the core mission of the DHS is not just the protection of tangible assets in the county but also the protection of the American way of life that includes the freedom of the press, speech, assembly, worship, and among others.
The need for policies based on knowledge and civil liberty
Sutherland (2014) offers the need for all the legal arguments in the country to have a proper analysis of facts and law if the DHS is to be effective and efficient. He argues for the need to have policies that have a deep understanding of facts and challenges that the twenty-first century places upon the country. All the policy measures regarding homeland security should be made with a wider knowledge of civil liberty as entrusted to the country by the founding fathers. In particular, it is important for the people responsible for Homeland security to understand the aspirations of the founding fathers. Simply put, Sutherland (2014) contends that all the people involved in Homeland security should look ahead to the threats facing the country while redoubling their efforts to understand the liberties that the country is built on. The issue of homeland security and civil liberty is a hotly debated topic, especially with the growth of encryption technology and homegrown terrorism, and it seems very far from over. But if the advice given by Sutherland (2014) is followed, that standstill will end soon.
References
Bullock, J., Haddow, G., & Coppola, D. P. (2011). Introduction to homeland security: Principles of all-hazards risk management. Butterworth-Heinemann.
Clarke, R. A. (2009). Your government failed you: Breaking the cycle of national security disasters. Harper Collins.
Rice, S. E. (2003). The new national security strategy: focus on failed states
Sutherland, D. W. (2014). Homeland Security and Civil Liberties: Preserving America’s Way of Life. Notre Dame JL Ethics & Pub. Pol’y, 19, 289.
Sylves, R. (2014). Disaster policy and politics: Emergency management and homeland security. CQ Press.
Thacher, D. (2005). The local role in homeland security. Law & Society Review, 39(3), 635-676.
Walby, K., & Lippert, R. K. (2015). The difference homeland security makes: Comparing municipal corporate security in Canada and the United States. Security Dialogue, 46(3), 238-255.
Wong, L., & Lovelace Jr, D. C. (2004). Homeland Security and Civil Liberties. ARMY WAR COLL STRATEGIC STUDIES INST CARLISLE BARRACKS PA.
