Following the terror attacks of 9/11, President Bush created the Office of Homeland security
(OHS), which was led by Pennsylvania governor Tom Ridge as the first director. Following the
creation of the OHS, congress passed the Homeland Security Act in November of 2002, which
allowed the Department of Homeland Security to formally become its own agency, to coordinate
with state and local agencies for national security through preparation and planning. With the
creating of DHS, both counterterrorism and disaster response became a focus for the government
due to the increased threat of terrorism on U.S. soil, as well as the threat of major natural
disasters.
The most important policy/law developed and enacted in accordance with DHS is the PATRIOT
Act. President Bush passed the PATRIOT Act, which allows law enforcement more leeway to
surveil potential terrorist, allowed federal agencies to utilize more resources for counterterrorism
efforts and increased the penalty for terrorists who are caught committing the act. The PATRIOT
Act also allowed for the creation and expansion of counter terrorism task forces, with a 2011
article stating, “we have expanded the number of Joint Terrorism Task Forces (JTTFs) around the
country from 35 to 104 and increased the number of JTTF personnel from roughly 1,000 to
nearly 4,500” (AG Holder, 2011). Increasing the surveillance of potential terrorist targets, as well
as hardening targets in cities through the increased participation from local and state agencies
allows for a more vigilant defense against terrorism. It also allows for the federal agencies to
focus on large scale terrorism organizations while the smaller agencies proactively patrol their
jurisdictions, investigating suspicious incidents and reacting to possible threats.
DHS should include emergency management functions due to the severity of some of the natural
disasters, as well as the aftermath of large scale terrorist attacks having similar chaos as a large
hurricane, tornado or earthquake. DHS allows for the participation of local and state agencies to
assist in the event of disaster. Included in this increase in local participation, is the use of new
techniques to better aid in terrorist attacks, or natural disaster. Some of these techniques and tools
are the National Incident Management system (NIMS), Incident Command Systems (ICS), All-
Hazards approach to disaster management, mutual aid agreements between different
jurisdictions, interagency communication, allowing for easy allocation of assets after a disaster,
and increased joint training between local, state and federal agencies. Allowing for disaster
training to be conducted allows for the quick allocation of assets in the event of a disaster,
quicker response and a faster recovery, such as the response to the Boston Marathon bombing. A
2015 article speaking on local governments participating in homeland security functions through
DHS stated, “the increase in agency participation may be due to the federal government enacting
homeland security policies and laws, providing homeland security grants, tying federal disaster
aid to homeland security activities, providing training, and sharing military surplus equipment”
(Johnson and Hunter, 2015). Prior to the attacks on 9/11, there was very little assistance from
local agencies when it came to national security and preparedness. There was very little plan on
how to respond to an attack and how to recover once the damage was done. Following the
attacks on 9/11, mutual aid in NYC came from every surrounding state, but there was not a
detailed plan in place to quickly allocate resources and determine what was needed for response
and recovery
The three biggest threats to our homeland at this time is domestic terrorism, in the form of mass
shootings, such as the Pulse nightclub or the Las Vegas Musical Festival shooting. Foreign
Terrorism, such as attacks suffered on major cities at the hands of foreign radical groups. Lastly,
natural disasters, which strike certain areas with significant force, like hurricanes on the east
coast or tornados in the Midwest. All-hazards approach, included in FEMA and DHS policy,
allows for a response to all of these disasters, as well as defense from the terrorist acts through
counterintelligence and target hardening.
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