Only a few days after the 9/11 attacks, President Clinton launched “Operation Noble Eagle,” which resulted in the recruitment of 35,500 army reservists. After a few days, the President determined that the operation would be coordinated and supervised by the newly formed Office of Homeland Security (Bush, 2004). That is when the current Department of Homeland Security (DHS) became operational, replacing numerous government organizations that had developed in the name of homeland security. The ultimate goal of this paper is to investigate Homeland Security, how they make the best decisions in their plans and actions in fighting against terrorism. It also examines how ethical conduct and leadership influence decision-making.
Recognizing Homeland Security
As previously stated, about 11 days after the 9/11 event, President Bush announced the establishment of a homeland security office within the White House. Tom Ridge, the governor of Pennsylvania, was the department’s top official (Bush, 2004). The office’s mission was to review and develop measures to protect the country from terrorist threats. After four weeks, an effort was introduced to create the Department of Homeland Security or DHS. The goal was to bring together the agencies in charge of protecting infrastructure at the cabinet-level. The president decided to create two boards within the White House. The Office of Homeland Security would be in charge of national plans and other related operations to ensure the country’s safety, like combating terrorism activities.
Terrorism and DHS
Terrorist strikes come from a variety of sources. They can appear at any moment, at any place, and in any manner. To be honest, not everything can be safeguarded. As a result, it is critical to concentrate on fortifying critical structures (White, 2016). Bridges, subways, railways, and aircraft are examples of infrastructure that give way to terrorists to attack.
Because subway stations and airports contain buildings and entrances, the best protective strategy restricts entry points and monitors structures inside and outside (White, 2016). One of the DHS’s primary initiatives is to prevent terrorism while also improving security. This entails comprehending the hazard. In this sense, the DHS collects, gathers, scrutinizes, and correctly disseminates intelligence and other information on existing and emerging threats (White, 2016). The DHS also makes every effort to prevent and disrupt activities. This is accomplished by terrorists and other hostile actors interrupting surveillance rehearsals and carrying out operations (White, 2016).
Illegal immigration is also contributing to terrorism activities. Some of the immigrants use the weak vessels at the boundaries to access the country. According to Anderson (2010), the majority of these illegal immigrants in the United States claim bad economic, political, or social situations in their home countries as the impetus for their migration. Illegal immigrants have significant degrees of homeland insecurity in the United States. Moreover, they have been involved in a wide range of substantial criminal acts, including terrorism, theft, drug trafficking, murder, and illegal employment. They use forged papers to commit various terrorist activities. To curb the possibilities of the actions by the illegal immigrants, laws have been established to ensure immigrants present a social security card or a green card to do any legal activity.
Another deterrence technique the DHS uses in its anti-terrorist operations is prohibiting the unlawful purchase or use of chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear (CBRN) materials or capabilities. In this regard, the DHS detects and comprehends potentially hazardous actors, technologies, and materials. It also governs CBRN access (White, 2016). In addition, the DHS works diligently to enact and enforce immigration rules. It efficiently enforces immigration rules in the United States while also simplifying and easing the lawful immigration process. This is extremely helpful in identifying and removing all criminal immigrants who may represent a threat to public safety. The DHS also pursues employers who knowingly and repeatedly violate the law (White, 2016). As a result, criminals, fugitives, and undocumented foreign people are barred from entering the United States.
In conclusion, the national homeland security plans developed in 2010, 2007, and 2002 have acted as guiding texts for the White House in protecting the interests of the American people. According to the White House’s policies, the DHS has also produced a series of papers whose purpose is to guarantee that national objectives are met.
References
Anderson, B. (2010). Migration, immigration controls, and the fashioning of precarious workers. Work Employment And Society, 24(2), 300–317. https://doi.org/10.1177/0950017010362141
Bullock, J., & Haddow, G. (2006). Introduction to Homeland Security. Elsevier. https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=yHpkkc3ZqlMC
Bush, G. W. (2004). Homeland security presidential directive/Hspd-12. Office of the Press Secretary, White House. http://hspd12jpl.org/files/hspd-12.doc
White, J. R. (2016). Terrorism and Homeland Security. Cengage Learning. https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=XL8aCgAAQBAJ
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