There is a wide spectrum of potential threats to the U.S. homeland that do not involve overt attacks by states using long-range missiles or conventional military forces. Such threats include covert attacks by state actors, state use of proxies, independent terrorist and extremist attacks by foreign groups or individuals, and independent terrorist and extremist attacks by residents of the United States. These threats are currently limited in scope and frequency, but are emerging as potentially significant issues for future U.S. security. In this comprehensive work, Cordesman argues that new threats require new thinking, and offers a range of recommendations, from expanding the understanding of what constitutes a threat and bolstering Homeland defense measures, to bettering resource allocation and improving intelligence gathering and analysis. No pattern of actual attacks on U.S. territory has yet emerged that provides a clear basis for predicting how serious any given form of attack might be in the future, what means of attack might be used, or how lethal new forms of attack might be. As a result, there is a major ongoing debate over the seriousness of the threat and how the U.S. government should react. This work is an invaluable contribution to that debate.

The terrorist attacks of September 11 struck at the very heart of the American homeland. It was a new form of total war in the age of terrorism, and it put all Americans on notice that the United States is dangerously vulnerable and that new means are urgently needed to strengthen the security of the homeland. The Heritage Foundation Homeland Security Task Force was formed days after the September 11 attacks to meet this urgent need. This comprehensive study incorporates the recommendations of the Task Force for securing a vulnerable America.--Provided by publisher.

A good deal has been done to improve the safety of Americans on their own soil since the attacks of September 11, 2001. Yet there have been numerous setbacks. The Bush administration and Congress wasted at least six months in 2002 due to partisan disagreement over a new budget for homeland security, and as one consequence, resources were slow to reach first responders across the country. Most improvements in homeland security have focused on "refighting the last war"—improving defenses against attacks similar to those the country has already suffered. Not enough has been done to anticipate possible new kinds of terrorist actions. Policymakers have also focused too much attention on the creation of a department of homeland security—rather than identifying and addressing the kinds of threats to which the country remains vulnerable. While the creation of a cabinet-level agency focusing on homeland security may have merit, the authors of this study argue that the department will not, in and of itself, make Americans safer. To the contrary, the complexity of merging so many disparate agencies threatens to distract Congress and the administration from other, more urgent security efforts. This second edition of Protecting the American Homeland urges policymakers to focus on filling key gaps that remain in the current homeland security effort: identifying better protection for private infrastructure; using information technology to share intelligence and more effectively "connect the dots" that could hold hints to possible terrorist tactics; expanding the capacities of the Coast Guard and Customs Service, as well as airline transportation security; dealing with the possible threat of surface-to-air missiles to airliners; and encouraging better coordination among intelligence agencies. While acknowledging the impossibility of preventing every possible type of terrorist violence, the authors recommend a more systematic approach to homeland security that focuses

The United States government is reorganizing to increase domestic security. How will these changes impact the American criminal justice system? DEFENDING THE HOMELAND: DOMESTIC INTELLIGENCE, LAW ENFORCEMENT, AND SECURITY is the only book that illustrates up-to-the minute information on how our criminal justice system has changed since 9/11. Written by an expert on academic leave to provide training for the Department of Defense, White provides an insider's look at issues related to restructuring of federal law enforcement and recent policy challenges. The book discusses the problem of bureaucracy, interaction between the law enforcement and intelligence communities, civil liberties, and theories of war and police work. From a practical perspective, the book examines offensive and defensive strategies. The book gives an introduction to violent international religious terrorism and an overview of domestic terrorist problems still facing law enforcement. Important Notice: Media content referenced within the product description or the product text may not be available in the ebook version.

Immediately after September 11, the Brookings Institution began a comprehensive, multidisciplinary project focused on the key policy challenge of these dangerous times—assessing and improving homeland defense. That intense effort produced Protecting the American Homeland, and it continues in this important new book. In Protecting the Homeland 2006/2007, Brookings foreign policy experts analyze current homeland security concerns and the adequacy (or inadequacy) of current policies designed to address them. The authors present both the big picture and the smaller components of homeland security policy that make up the whole. They make specific recommendations on intelligence reform, science and technology policy and the protection of critical infrastructure within the United States. They also look ahead to consider what dangers we should anticipate and plan for, recommending policies that will work to that end. One of the strands running through Protecting the Homeland 2006/2007 is the need to "stitch the seams" in our homeland security blanket through greater integration and coordination. The authors emphasize that the U.S. federal government must work together with key partners who have been insufficiently integrated into American homeland security activities to date. These actors include foreign governments, state and local government, and the private sector, and the coordination must occur in several different areas (e.g. border protection, finance, technology, intelligence). The U.S. government should not—indeed, it cannot—do it alone. By its very nature, homeland security is a problem that defies the usual bureaucratic boundaries. Effective homeland security policy demands intense collaboration on new issues and between organizations that have not traditionally needed each other. This book is of interest and importance to journalists, analysts, policymakers, scholars, and citizens concerned with protecting their homeland against terrorism and r

Homeland security is the most complex endeavor this nation has ever faced. Some see this new mission as just an evolutionary step in the national security process. This is not the case--it is a change in kind, not degree. For most of our history, national security took place in Washington, D.C. and overseas. The key players were all in the federal government, most notably, the Departments of Defense, State, and the Intelligence Community. Today there are 57 federal agencies, 50 states, 8 territories, and 3,066 counties involved in U.S. homeland security. In fact, there are 87,000 different governmental jurisdictions that will play roles in homeland security Furthermore, the private sector will play a major role in homeland security, and this role will not be limited to logistical support. Corporate America will be required to play a major operational role in homeland security. The changes that have and will continue to occur make it difficult to even decide which questions to ask, much less, how to answer them. Perhaps the first step will be to change how we think about security in the twenty-first century. If we are to secure the American homeland from 21st century threats, we must learn to do something that is very difficult ... we must change the way we think. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to help the readers change the way they think about homeland security, no easy task.