Security is of uttermost importance to any nation that is keen on maintaining peace, which allows for economic, social, and political growth. The US is one of the countries that has made great strides in ensuring that its borders are safe from external threats in the wake of terrorism. The insistence on security comes against the 9/11 attack which shook the nation to its core forcing it to rethink about is security. This nation is aware that the 9/11 attack did not mark the end of such attacks but instead created an avenue for similar or worse attacks in the future. Homeland Security and Homeland Defense, which are central security agencies, exist to ensure that the US remains safe. While these two security agencies tend to overlap in their missions, responsibilities, tasks and operations, they are two different entities. The National Security Strategy of 2017 provides overarching themes that can be used by these agencies to deal with terrorism. An analysis of Ends Ways and Means Framework helps to determine how Homeland Security and Homeland Defense can be more effective in cushioning the US against external terror attacks.
Topic 1
Concepts of Homeland Security and Homeland Defense
Homeland Security and Homeland Defense as national security agencies in the US are related and complementary in their missions, responsibilities, tasks, and operations. The agencies were created in response to the 9/11 terrorist attack to handle national security which had been the work of the US Army (Homeland Security, 2018) These two agencies exude high levels of cooperation which creates a seamless network when it comes to protecting the nation. While Homeland defense and Homeland security are used interchangeably, they have a distinct definition. Homeland Security was created to deal with terrorist attacks and aggression on the US from within the nation’s borders by minimizing damage and managing recovery efforts. The Department of Homeland Security is charged with the responsibility of protecting inhabitants and US territories (Givens, Busch, and Bersin, 2018).
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On the other hand, Homeland Defense protects the US, its infrastructure, its inhabitants from terrorist attacks and aggression that come from outside its borders (Joint Chiefs of Staff: US Navy, US Air Force, and US Coast Guard, 2018). More so, this agency is tasked with the responsibility of preparing military forces and responses in case of a failure of deterrence activities. Homeland Defense is initiated in foreign countries where forward-deployed troops, which are stationed in these countries, avert attacks before they reach the US.
Homeland Security and Homeland Defense carry out their duties and responsibilities in alignment with their distinct missions. Homeland Security's mission is about preventing, reducing vulnerabilities to terrorist attacks and aggression, as well as providing resources to enhance quick recovery from further attacks (Givens, Busch and Bersin, 2018). DHS accomplishes this mission by combining resources in intelligence and threat analysis, which have been decentralized to the local, and states level. On the other hand, Homeland Defense has a twofold mission, which guides its operations outside of the nation’s boundaries. The first mission is about conducting activities that are aimed at deterring preventing and defeating aggression and threats aimed at the US, its interests and territories within an assigned area. The second mission is about providing civil authorities with military assistance as well as dealing with the aftermath of attacks under the guidance of Secretary of Defense or the President (Joint Chiefs of Staff: US Navy, US Air Force, and US Coast Guard, 2018). The mission rides on the assumption that first responders to an emergency may not have the necessary resources to respond to or manage emergencies owing to their scale or nature. In such situations, the military is required to provide specialized know-how, extra personnel, and equipment to deal with emergencies.
Overlaps between Homeland Security and Homeland Defense
While these two security agencies seem distinct in their missions, and scope of operation, they tend to overlap owing to the complementarity of their activities. These two agencies seem to overlap so much that one is not sure of which agency is in charge of US security. Homeland Defense which is considered the Lead Federal Agency and which is concerned with external security, interacts with Homeland Security from time to time. For instance, Homeland Defense supports the efforts of Homeland Security through Military Assistance to Civil Authorities (MACA by equipping first responders to domestic emergencies (Culclasure, 2013). More so, Homeland Defense offers Defense Support of Civil Authorities (DSCA), where the military provides personnel and resources to assist civil authorities’ missions. State governors usually liaise with DOD to request assistance to deal with domestic emergencies and terrorist attacks.
Homeland Security and Homeland Defense tend to overlap when it comes to the question of determining the nature of aggression or terrorist attacks. While it is clear that Homeland Defense deals with external attacks and the Homeland security deals with internal attacks, their roles overlap. The US has to deal with both national security threats and law enforcement threats, which creates a threat matrix. Military threats fall within Homeland Defense while law enforcement threats fall within Homeland Security. However, it is not easy to put clear boundaries, as the actors may be foreigners or US nationals. Take, for instance, narco-terrorists and international criminal rings whose actions are illegal as opposed to ideological or political. In as much as these individuals or groups are external threats, Homeland Defense cannot process them, as they do not require direct military involvement (National Defense University Joint Forces Staff College, 2014). In this case, this becomes the work of Homeland Security, which is required to offer counter drug support. In such a case, the determination of whether an issue is the responsibility of DHS or DOD depends on its circumstances as opposed to outlined roles leading to inter-agency overlaps.
Recommendation for a Definition for Homeland Security
Homeland Security is a security agency that ensures that the US territories, interests, and inhabitants re free from any attack emanating from within its borders.
Topic 2
Recommendations for the New National Security Strategy for Counterterrorism based on the Overarching Themes of the National Security Strategy from 2017
The new National Security Strategy for Counterterrorism should be aimed at protecting the US interests that are vested in foreign countries from terrorism activities. The strategy comes against the background of increased terrorism threats and terrorist organizations across the world. So far, the US, which works with coalition partners, has made great strides in countering terrorism by decimating ISIS in Iraq and Syria (White House, 2017). The National Security Strategy for Counterterrorism is crucial as it guides the US on ways of protecting the nation from terrorist attacks. More so, this framework fosters the nation’s agility in anticipating, preventing, and responding to new threats. The government needs to develop a new strategy considering that the existing National Security Strategy (NSS) one has encountered political influence, which has diluted it. According to Cordesman (2017), President Trump may have tampered with it having reviewed and altered it largely. The framework as it represents the President’s view as opposed to being a bureaucratic compromised aimed at enhancing national security. Instead of offering the change that America needs, the NSS focuses on continuing with the traditional approaches, which place the US as the leader of the free world. In this way, the NSS leaves no room for the US to be diplomatic in enhancing national security efforts, which threatens US National Security.
While the National Security Strategy has many loopholes, it is a model national security framework, which can be adopted by the new National Security Strategy for Counterterrorism. The new security strategy must be nested within the principle of strategic hierarchy, which is based on four interconnected pillars, as outlined in the NSS. The first pillar in the principle of strategic hierarchy is the protection of the Americans, the homeland as well as the American way of life. In this case, any security framework must focus on immigration, border security, combating threats from weapons of mass destruction as well as improving the nation’s resilience to catastrophic occurrences (White House, 2017). The second pillar in the principle of strategic hierarchy focuses on promoting American prosperity. This objective is achieved through the promotion of reciprocal and free economic relationships, revamping the domestic economy, leading in innovation, invention, and research and securing national security innovation base. The third pillar in the NSS framework is about preserving peace by improving and building upon the nation’s strengths and endowments. The pillar is enhanced through a focus on defense policies by enhancing the lethality of joint forces and articulation of US interests around the world (White House, 2019). More so, the pillar calls upon the concerned stakeholders to advance US interests through both economic means and diplomacy. The fourth pillar in the NSS framework is about enhancing American influence to improve the nation’s ability to achieve its desired outcomes in the world forums. Moreover, the US can strengthen its impact by broadening the community states it collaborates with on a global scale.
Recommendations for Critical Elements and Focus Areas for the Part of a New Domestic-Focused Counterterrorism Strategy
A new counterterrorism strategy must include key national security elements and focus areas if it is to deal with rising terrorist threats. For one, the new CT strategy must recognize that terrorism and targeted violence are intertwined and, as such should be solved similarly (The White House, 2018). Next, the new strategy should have a mechanism for creating new definitions for national security concepts to allow for shared understanding, better understanding, resource allocation and mitigation. The framework must also establish the nature of modern domestic challenges by providing an assessment of threats associated with domestic terrorists including violent racial and ethnic extremists (Feve and Elshimi, 2018).
Additionally, the new CT strategy should assess security and defense agencies’ past to come up with future roadmaps (US Department of Homeland Security, 2019). At the same time, the strategy should focus on security agencies' successes to establish if these successes could be duplicated to deal with present challenges. The new CT framework ought to understand that there is a need to protect populations that are vulnerable to terrorists such as youths and unemployed who may be recruited (The White House, 2018). Finally, the new CT should focus its attention on ensuring transparency, protection of data as well as civil rights and liberties.
To this end, the new CT framework should be based on Lykke’s Ends, Ways, and Means strategy framework. The framework establishes that an effective strategy must outline its goals as well as the means and ways of achieving those goals. In the case of the new CT strategy, the stakeholders ought to set their national security goals and articulate effective means of achieving these goals (US Department of Homeland Security, 2019). The ways to meet national security goals by countering terrorism activities are the monetary, physical, and human resources. A well-articulated CT strategy that has its purposes and means outlined clearly will promote national security.
In conclusion, national security is of importance to any nation, especially in this era of increased terrorism, immigration, and political competition. A country that is keen on thriving must secure its national and international borders from criminal and terrorist proliferation. The US is one of the nations that have put in place stringent measures to defend its interests, territories, and inhabitants. Some of the most visible national security measures include Homeland Security and Homeland Defense. These two security agencies ensure that the US is secure from within and outside of its borders respectively. While these two agencies have distinct responsibilities and scope, they tend to complement and overlap each other. These agencies together with various national security frameworks such as National Security Strategy (NSS) and National Security Strategy for Counterterrorism, enhance US national security. The National Security Strategy for Counterterrorism ought to ride on NSS’s four pillars of the principle of strategic hierarchy to be effective. More so, it ought to base its mission on the Lykke’s Ends, Ways, and Means strategy framework that outlines goals and means of achieving the goals. On this end, the US will be in a better position to deal with imminent internal and external terror attacks and disasters.
References
Cordesman, A. (2017, December 21). Giving the New National Security Strategy the Attention It Deserves. Center for Strategic and International Studies. Retrieved on January 21, 2020, from https://www.csis.org/analysis/giving-new-national-security-strategy-attention-it-deserves
Culclasure, H. (2013). Homeland Security and Homeland Defense: The Seam of Uncertainty Unstitched? In Bert B.Tussing, Brian Nussbaum, Thomas Keegan, Karl Bopp & Ritchie Dion (Eds.) In Support of the Common Defense (pp. 9-26). Carlisle Barracks, PA: U.S Army War College Press.
Feve, S., & Elashimi, M. (2018). Planning for Prevention: A Framework to Develop and Evaluate National Action Plans to Prevent and Counter Violent Extremism. Global Center on Cooperative Security. Washington: DC.
Givens, A. D., Busch, N. E., & Bersin, A. D. (2018). Going global: The international dimensions of U.S. Homeland Security policy. Journal of Strategic Security, 11(3), 1-34.
Joint Chiefs of Staff: US Navy, US Air Force, and US Coast Guard. (2018, April 10). Joint Publication 3 -27: Homeland Defense. Retrieved on January 21, 2020, from https://www.jcs.mil/Portals/36/Documents/Doctrine/pubs/jp3_27.pdf
National Defense University Joint Forces Staff College. (2014). Homeland Security Vs. Homeland Defense Who Does What and to Whom. Scotts Valley, CA: CreateSpace Independent Publishing.
The White House. (2017, December 18). National Security Strategy of the United States of America . Retrieved on January 21, 2020, from https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/NSS-Final-12-18-2017-0905.pdf
The White House (2018, October). National Strategy for Counterterrorism of the United States of America. Retrieved on January 21, 2020, from https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/NSCT.pdf
US Department of Homeland Security. (2019). Strategic Framework for Countering Terrorism and Targeted Violence. Retrieved on January 21, 2020, from https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/19_0920_plcy_strategic-framework-countering-terrorism-targeted-violence.pdf
US Department of Homeland Security. (2018, January 25). Strengthening Homeland Security Enterprise . Retrieved on January 21, 2020, from https://www.dhs.gov/strengthening-homeland-security-enterprise
US Department of Homeland Security. (September 2019). Department of Homeland Security: Strategic Framework for Countering Terrorism and Targeted Violence. Retrieved on January 21, 2020, from https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/19_0920_plcy_strategic-framework-countering-terrorism-targeted-violence.pdf
