Question One: Homeland Security
Homeland security in essence refers to the protection of the United States of America against terrorist attacks. However, the department’s work is not limited to terrorism activities only. In that context, homeland security may be defined as the national concerted effort to prevent terrorist attacks within the US, reduce the vulnerability of the US to terrorism and minimize the damage from the attacks upon occurrence. From the definition, it can be gathered that Homeland Security is especially designed for the prevention of terrorist attacks and or mitigation of the effects of the attacks upon occurrence. It can be argued that the department is a new creation courtesy of the realized terrorist attacks threats in the United States of America. It is imperative to appreciate that Homeland Security is a multidimensional approach to terrorism and related disasters. In that breadth, the federal government during the incumbency of George Bush formed the Department of Homeland Security. As it stands, the Secretary to the Department is Jeh Johnson. Some of the agencies falling under the purview of the Department of Homeland Security include but are not limited to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, US Custom and Border Control, Federal Emergency and Management Agency, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Transportation Security and Administration, National Protection and Program Directorate, United States Secret Service and the US Coast Guard. It is imperative to appreciate that the Homeland Security in itself does not have absolute control of the mentioned agencies. In addition, some duties of the Homeland Security fall outside the domain of the Department and are discharged by other institutions including the Central Intelligence Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigations. It is instructive, therefore, to appreciate the premise of operations of the Homeland Security.
Question Two: Assess the Critical Infrastructure Protection Programs in the United States of America
The American critical infrastructure protection programs are equally informed by the 9/11 attacks and its aftermath. It was from the realization of the inevitability of risks and threats that the United States decided to consolidate its resource base so as to ensure that it is ready to prevent and or contain by mitigation the occurrence of risks. On that premise, the critical infrastructure and key resources are intended for the focused and risk informed prevention, protection and preparedness for disasters. It is imperative to appreciate that while the resources are for all disasters, a substantial portion relates to terrorism activities whose risks of occurrence are higher.
The paper’s brief in this section is to access some of the critical infrastructure programs. It is imperative to appreciate the multidimensional nature in the provision of overall security in the United States of America. Within the context of critical infrastructure, the approach taken is multi-departmental in that it includes a number of departments and units within different department. Some of the departments and units include agriculture and food, defense industrial base, energy, health care and public health, national monuments and icon, water, chemical and commercial facilities, information technology, banking and finance and transportation systems, among others. These resources are considered critical for the reason that through them, the United States of America remains ready to defend itself. In addition, through some of these resources, it is possible to forestall occurrences of disasters and or mitigate the same upon occurrence.
The capability of the programs is continuously enhanced using the risk management framework. Under the same, a triple approach that takes into consideration the physical, the virtual (cyber) and human aspects are considered. In the same, in the first stage, the goals and objectives are set, assets, systems, and networks are then identified. The third stage involves assessment of risks for possible vulnerabilities and threats after which the prioritization is done. After prioritization, the programs are implemented and effectiveness of the same measured. This approach equally employs an open communication systems that affords the players feedback and consequential feedback analysis. The corrections are then implemented as and when the need arises.
Another essential area that enhances the effectiveness of the critical resource programs relates to the Department of Homeland Security operations nodes which is four dimensional with the Homeland Security at the center of coordination. The four ends of the nodes include the private sector node, the state, territorial, local and tribal node, the federal infrastructure community and the federal intelligence community. It is imperative to appreciate the contribution the four nodes make to the Homeland Security Department as far as matters of prevention, preparation and risk mitigation are concerned.
This paper concludes by observing that the United States of America continue to face a litany of disasters. However, the severity of the same depends on the preparation and mitigation setup by the responsible stakeholders. The effects would be minimal if the stakeholders applied themselves fully to the discharge of their obligations.
Bibliography
Blair, Dennis. Overview of the U. S. Intelligence Community for the 111th Congress. Washington D.C.: Diane Publishing, 2009.
Federal Bureau of Investigations. Terrorism. December 25, 2013. http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/investigate/terrorism (accessed December 17, 2013).
US Department of Homeland Security . National Infrastructure Protection Plan. Washington DC: US Department of Homeland Security , 2009.
Whitehouse. Homeland Security: Guiding Principles . December 14, 2013. http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/homeland-security (accessed December 25, 2013).
