The tragic attacks of September 11th, 2001 completely altered the American federal government. The
government underwent the greatest organizational changes to date. Congress passed the Homeland
Security Act of 2002, in response to the attacks, which “consolidated the 22 disparate agencies and
bureaus responsible for disaster preparedness, prevention, and response into one Department of
Homeland Security with the unified purpose of protecting the homeland“ [1]. This policy is only one
example of numerous policies that have been passed either through congress or by executive order to
help achieve the mission of the DHS (Department of Homeland Security), to protect the homeland. Some
other policies that have been passed include but are not limited to Homeland Security Presidential
Directive 39: US Policy on Counterterrorism, Presidential Directive 63: Protecting Critical Infrastructure,
U.S.A. Patriot Act of 2001, Homeland Security Presidential Directive 2: Combatting Terrorism Through
Immigration Policies, and Homeland Security Presidential Directive 5: Management of Domestic
Incidents.
One of the most important homeland security laws or policies in my view that has been most useful
to the cause is Homeland Security Directive 5: Management of Domestic Incidents. According to the
Department of Homeland Security website itself, “the purpose of this directive, which was issued on Feb.
28, 2003, is to enhance the ability of the United States to manage domestic incidents by establishing a
single, comprehensive national incident management system” [2]. The national incident management
system, or NIMS, helps direct all degrees of government, nongovernmental associations, and private
companies to cooperate to forestall, safeguard against, alleviate, respond to, and recuperate from
incidents. Disastersrus.org claims that “NIMS strengthens America's response capabilities by identifying
and integrating core elements and best practices for all responders and incident managers. Through a
balance between flexibility and standardization, and use of common doctrine, terminology, concepts,
principles, and processes, execution during a real incident will be consistent and seamless. Responders
will be able to focus more on response, instead of organizing the response, and teamwork and
assignments among all authorities will be clearly enhanced.” [3] This policy has helped improve the
emergency management functions of not only the federal government, but all levels of government and
private industry across the board.
There is common belief that homeland security should only focus on counterterrorism efforts, and
therefore let go of emergency management functions. I disagree with this premise. Terrorism is a major
deal, preventing an attack like one that happened on 9/11 and the several other terrorist attacks that
occurred on US soil should be a major focus of the US government. Defense and security are vital, but
there are a number of government agencies, military structures, and private companies that are focusing
on this very task. Homeland security both as a field and from the agency standpoint, should also
undertake the emergency management functions. In 2019, according to statista.com, there were 90
natural disasters in the US. In the same year statista.com claims there were 68 terrorist attacks on US
soil. It is important to note this is a massive increase from previous years. Nevertheless, even with the
massive increase, there are more natural disasters than terrorism on average per year and thus the US
government must focus on being prepared for them.
This leads to the next question which is, what are the three biggest threats/hazards to the homeland? In
my opinion I believe that there are several threats that could be discussed, and these threats continue to
expand and grow each and every day. Some threats that are discussed publicly are overblown for
political reasons, and some are of legitimate concern. One threat that I would put around the top of the
list is trade and economic security. This includes intellectual property theft, unfair trade practices, and
more from foreign governments. Cybersecurity threats are another major threat that I believe should be
at the forefront of homeland security. Protecting both critical infrastructure and cyber infrastructure
should be essential. Finally, mass illegal immigration. This is the third threat/hazard I would put at the
top of my list. Other important hazards and threats that are not far behind include transnational criminal
organizations and natural disasters.
According to biblical scripture, peace and security are important values. Homeland security has evolved
over time and the US government’s organizational structure with it. There are many threats to the US
homeland, from both internal actors and external actors. God believes in peace and love and the bible
preaches about these things. “Peace be within your walls and security within your towers!” (Psalm
122:7). The most significant role of the federal government is defense and security. The main objective of
that role should be protecting the citizens of America both here at home and abroad.
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