In the past few decades the homeland has grown to be a prime target for terrorist especially foreign elements looking to undermine the sovereignty of the United States. Acts of God such as hurricanes, tornadoes and floods among others also present a formidable threat to critical infrastructure. Legislations such as the PATRIOT ACT and the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 demand that every level of government in the United States to protect, respond and proactively prevent such activities. In doing this, all concerned agencies need to coordinate their activities so that the damage is mitigated. Lack of sharing intelligence was considered a significant impediment to protecting the homeland.
The type of information that is of concern is equally as varied. According to Relyea & Seifert, (2005) crucial information that should be shared among security agencies includes:
Information relating to terrorism activity
Information that directly leads to preventing, interdicting or disrupting terrorist activity
Information that would lead to identification and investigation of a terrorism suspect
Information that would improve response to terrorist act
The above type of information should be shared among interdependent agencies. For instance, with regard to preventing a terrorist or arresting one, the FBI together with the CIA could coordinate with local law enforcement and the immigration department in apprehending such individuals.
Information regarding other key infrastructure could include unexpectedly high levels of readings or behavior such as seismic readings or levels of winds and current. If such information is shared in advance, response teams are able to be ready in time.
The United States does not need a catastrophic event in order to increase information sharing. Hurricane Katrina brought along several legislations. A legislation that was introduced was Hurricane Katrina Response and Recovery Oversight Act. The act was intended to remedy the nature of coordination in responding to disaster. However, in my view Hurricane Sandy may not result in any legislation because most agency were informed in due time.
The National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP) is a unified framework structured towards enhancing the country’s security and response to critical infrastructure. One of the main strengths of NIPP is that it provides a framework through which all government agencies and the private sector can coordinate to protect the homeland. One weakness that can be associated with the NIPP is the long bureaucracies involved in addressing national security issues.
References
Larry, A., & Maria, G. (2006, Feb 14). The Patriot Act: Key Controversies. Retrieved Nov 2, 2012, from http://www.npr.org/news/specials/patriotact/patriotactprovisions.html
Liu, E. (2011). Amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Set to Expire May 27 2011. Boston: DIANE Publishing.
Relyea, H. C., & Seifert, J. W. (2005). Information Sharing for Homeland Security: A Brief Overview. Washington DC: Congressional Research Service.
