Department of Homeland Security
| Author | Jeffrey Wilson |
| Pages | 929-932 |
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As a response to terrorist attacks that took place on U.S. soil on September 11, 2001, Congress in November 2002 approved the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. This executive branch department aims to detect and prevent terrorist attacks in the United States by performing functions that were previously preformed by more than twenty federal agencies. The department has developed a series of broad strategic goals related to the fulfillment of its mission. These goals are as follows:
Raise awareness of threats of and vulnerabilities to terrorist attacks
Detect, deter and mitigate terrorist threats to the United States
Safeguard the United States, including its people, critical infrastructure, property, and economy, from acts of terrorism, as well as natural disasters and other emergencies
Lead, manage, and coordinate a national response to acts of terrorism, as well as natural disasters and emergencies
Lead efforts among national, state, local, and private entities to recover from acts of terrorism, natural disasters, and emergencies
Serve the public by facilitating lawful trade, immigration, and travel
Achieve organizational excellence
The Department of Homeland Security facilitates communication between federal agencies as well as state and local government entities. Moreover, each state has developed its own office or commission to address security and terrorism within its own border.
On the morning of September 11, 2001, 19 terrorists, working in teams of four or five, hijacked four commercial airliners. The terrorists crashed two of
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the planes into the World Trade Center in New York City, which eventually destroyed the structure. A third plane crashed into and seriously damaged the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., while a fourth crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. The hijackings killed nearly 3000 people.
The investigation into the attacks focused almost immediately on the activities of Osama Bin Laden, leader of the al-Qaeda terrorist organization. Investigators determined that the terrorists who staged the hijackings had lived in the United States for several months prior to the attacks. Several U.S. agencies, such as the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Department of Defense, later fell under harsh criticism for failing to communicate effectively with one another in a manner that could have prevented the terrorism from taking place.
Nine days after the September 11th attacks, President George W. Bush in an address to Congress announced that he would create the Office of Homeland Security. The goal of this agency was to coordinate the efforts of more than 40 federal agencies in order to prevent further terrorist attacks. Bush created this office nearly a month after the attacks. Tom Ridge, the former governor of Pennsylvania, became the first director of the office, which fell within the Executive Office of the President.
The Office of Homeland Security served primarily as a coordinating body. In other words, the president charged the office with coordinating efforts of other agencies, in addition to the development of a national strategy to prevent terrorism. Because of its...
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