Discussion board week 2 What homeland security related law or policy do you find most useful.pdf

After 9/11, we created DHS and moved way from a Civil Defense paradigm. We also

merged FEMA under DHS. This was the largest shakeup and reorganization of the

government since WWII. Since 9/11, the world has changed even more.

What homeland security related law or policy do you find most useful to the

cause and why?

Should homeland security include what might be deemed emergency

management functions or should it only focus on terrorism, and why?

What do you see as the 3 biggest threats/hazards to our homeland and why?

What does the Bible tell us about such things?

September 11, 2001 was a day of events for the United States that forever changed the minds in regards

to could a terrorist attack occur on our soil and creating a manner to be proactive in attempting to

prevent it from occurring again. I say to attempt to prevent, because you can never state that it will

always prevent as there is no underestimating the will of those that wish to do harm. “Not long after

9/11, Congress and the president, working swiftly and in concert, moved passage of the Homeland

Security Act of 2002. The act seeks to minimize the threat of another 9/11 and poses its mission in broad

terms. Part of the act lays out the mission of DHS” (Nemeth, 2016, p. 36). FEMA was merged under DHS

and the creation of Homeland Security Act of 2002 became the most useful policy to begin the

preventive measures.

The primary mission of DHS became to prevent terrorist attacks, assist in recovery from attacks that do

occur, responding to natural and man-made crisis with emergency planning, and coordinate efforts that

target drug trafficking and terrorism links. Homeland Security merging with FEMA took on the

responsibilities of all things domestic related that adversely affect our citizens. It is important to maintain

the combination so that when there is a disaster, two agencies are not disputing as to which agency it

would fall upon to act. Keeping emergency management of natural disasters and of terroristic acts makes

sense to have one agency responsible for getting citizens the help they need. “The act further

compartmentalizes the agency into four main areas of responsibility, namely, border and transportation;

emergency preparedness and response; chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear countermeasures;

and information analysis and infrastructure protection” (Nemeth, 2016, p. 36).

Major incidents, including the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings, show the value of emergency

management for scene management and for investigations into the identification of suspects. Local

emergency management planned for having medical tents increased along the route in an effort to

provide care for heat related incidents. This proved to be a valuable increase due to the large number of

patients from the bombings being able to receive medical care quickly from those in the tents. Planning

for the worst seems to be overkill when nothing occurs, but when something does occur it is always

better to have in place than to wish you would have. “A majority of the patients were adult spectators

initially treated by bystanders, police, and fire personnel or prehospital medical providers prepositioned

at the medical tent. The medical tent served as a flow-through area for upward of 96 to 100 patients”

(Gates, 2014, p. 961).

The three major threats in homeland security involve cybersecurity, natural disasters, and terrorist

attacks. These are primary focusses for the federal agency. Cybersecurity is the newest due to all the

increases in modern technology through internet and the use of computers. Criminal organizations have

increased the methods of using the technology against those and therefore creates a new kind of threat

to American society. Natural disasters impact our country every year. This can occur with major

hurricanes including instances similar to Hurricane Katrina which necessitates a response for the

safeguarding and rebuilding of that area for stability. Terroristic attacks are always being thwarted more

than the general public knows. These threats can weaken our economy and other agendas just based on

the perception of being afraid for them to happen.

Psalm 122:7 states “Peace be within your walls and security within your towers”. This is accomplished

with the safeguarding of our citizens using local governments to federal agencies. We must be vigilant on

looking for ways that threats of attack can come and be prepared for all things that may occur. “America,

if it is to retain its long-term exceptional moral status, cannot afford to be exceptional in its championing

and protection of civil liberties and individual rights until such time as the threat of terrorism has been

eradicated. With such a logic, the possibilities for a permanent state of war—and exception—are well-

nigh palpable” (Duvall, 2013, p. 282). The balance between civil liberties of our citizens and the intrusion

of those rights to make sure there is no wrong doing in place, is going to be a constant struggle for some.

Some citizens do not mind the intrusion to an extent because of the understanding it is to keep all safe.

However, there are some that do not believe the threat is great enough to warrant the intrusion.

Nemeth, C.P. P. (2016). Homeland Security (3rd Edition). Taylor &

Francis. https://mbsdirect.vitalsource.com/books/9781498749121

Gates, J. D. , Arabian, S. , Biddinger, P. , Blansfield, J. , Burke, P. , Chung, S. , Fischer, J. , Friedman, F. ,

Gervasini, A. , Goralnick, E. , Gupta, A. , Larentzakis, A. , McMahon, M. , Mella, J. , Michaud, Y. , Mooney,

D. , Rabinovici, R. , Sweet, D. , Ulrich, A. , Velmahos, G. , Weber, C. & Yaffe, M. B. (2014). The Initial

Response to the Boston Marathon Bombing. Annals of Surgery, 260 (6), 960-966.

doi:10.1097/SLA.0000000000000914

Duvall, J.N. (2013). Homeland Security and the State of (American) Exception(alism): Jess Walter’s The

Zero and the Ethical Possibilities of Postmodern Irony. Studies in the Novel 45(2), 279-

297. doi:10.1353/sdn.2013.0041.

It is very interesting that you looked deep into this week’s thread and discussed an often forgotten part

of Homeland Security which includes Transportation Safety (TSA). I did not even think of this branch until

your discussion, but as you stated screening processes and the implementation of REAL ID has been

progressing towards safer air travel. I was not aware of the Aviation and Transportation Security ACT

(ATSA) and thought this fell under the Homeland Security Act of 2002. The interesting thing is that

nobody has protested REAL ID for travelling, but we protest getting just a simple ID for voting. That is a

debate for a different thread.

FEMA is the most underutilized agency and nobody wants to fund them until after an event occurs.

Homeland Security merging with FEMA took on the responsibilities of all things domestic related that

adversely affect our citizens. It is important to maintain the combination so that when there is a disaster,

two agencies are not disputing as to which agency it would fall upon to act. Keeping emergency

management of natural disasters and of terroristic acts makes sense to have one agency responsible for

getting citizens the help they need. “The act further compartmentalizes the agency into four main areas

of responsibility, namely, border and transportation; emergency preparedness and response; chemical,

biological, radiological, and nuclear countermeasures; and information analysis and infrastructure

protection” (Nemeth, 2016, p. 36).

I believe everyone can agree that Cybersecurity is the newest and constant threat now. It is too easy for

terroristic groups to sit in the comforts of their home and plot moves through internets. “As data

breaches, denial-of-service attacks, and other cybersecurity incidents lead to extraordinary economic

and national security consequences, commentators increasingly look to the legal system for solutions.

Unfortunately, U.S. laws do not have a unified and coherent vision for the regulation and promotion of

cybersecurity. For that matter, the U.S. legal system lacks a consistent definition of the term

‘cybersecurity law’” (Kosseff, 2018, p. 985). It is amazing to me that it is that simple to disrupt services

and economies based on web programs that we call progression in working fields.

Kosseff, J. (2018). Defining Cybersecurity Law. Iowa Law Review, 103(3), 985-1031.

http://ezproxy.liberty.edu/login?qurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.proquest.com%2Fscholarly-journals

%2Fdefining-cybersecurity-law%2Fdocview%2F2187899333%2Fse-2%3Faccountid%3D12085

Nemeth, C.P. P. (2016). Homeland Security (3rd Edition). Taylor &

Francis. https://mbsdirect.vitalsource.com/books/9781498749121

I agree that the most useful cause came in the form of the Homeland Security Act of 2002. I have

learned through some other posts that there were other legislative acts that are important, however I

believe that they all stem from this central idea. Other acts include Aviation and Transportation Security

ACT (ATSA) which supported changes in TSA for screening and REAL ID processes. As you have pointed

out, the two functions of FEMA and Homeland Security play into each other and cannot be a focus

without the other. Major incidents, including the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings, show the value of

emergency management for scene management and for investigations into the identification of

suspects. Local emergency management planned for having medical tents increased along the route in

an effort to provide care for heat related incidents. This proved to be a valuable increase due to the large

number of patients from the bombings being able to receive medical care quickly from those in the

tents. Planning for the worst seems to be overkill when nothing occurs, but when something does occur

it is always better to have in place than to wish you would have. “A majority of the patients were adult

spectators initially treated by bystanders, police, and fire personnel or prehospital medical providers

prepositioned at the medical tent. The medical tent served as a flow-through area for upward of 96 to

100 patients” (Gates, 2014, p. 961).

Cybersecurity is the most important growing aspect of Homeland Security. It is the newest and therefore

the most unknown exists with it. The struggle in America is the balance between individual rights versus

the protection of citizens. This intrusion is bigger when it comes to the monitoring of the World Wide

Web where terroristic threats can be made from anywhere without having to travel physically to the

United States. “America, if it is to retain its long-term exceptional moral status, cannot afford to be

exceptional in its championing and protection of civil liberties and individual rights until such time as the

threat of terrorism has been eradicated. With such a logic, the possibilities for a permanent state of war

—and exception—are well-nigh palpable” (Duvall, 2013, p. 282).