Homeland Security - Assignment Example

The character of confrontation has been changing ever since the Vietnam War when in the face of overwhelming firepower of the US, the enemy resorted to guerrilla warfare using the support of local population as one of the main strategies to hit and run. This technique has by now metamorphosed into mindless violence, undertaken by persons indoctrinated to the point of committing suicide while carrying out terrorist strikes. Given the innumerable points around the world and the points of entry into the USA, it is almost impossible to have one hundred percent, foolproof systems to detect, restrain or destroy such persons in good time.

Such being the enormity of the task, it calls for constant vigilance and ever improving systems and procedures. The security breach that occurred at the Newark International Airport on Sunday, January 3, 2010, brings home the harsh reality of the potential human and systems failure simultaneously (Wilson, FOXNews.com). Or, take the case of the Nigerian who managed to board the flight from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas Eve. He evaded detection and almost succeeded in bombing the plane, using the explosives strapped inside his under-garments.

It was only by luck that he was apprehended. Prior to the incident, he was on the suspect's list and his father had even warned the authorities of his radicalization; yet he managed to board the flight, confirming a failure of information sharing among the security agencies and airport security checking. That the price of freedom is eternal vigilance is once again proved by this episode.