Department of Homeland Security - Essay Example

Department of Homeland Security In the wake of recent terror activities, it becomes essential for States to step up their security setup. In the current scenario of Unites States under a recession, its authority being questioned and the objective and consequences of War on Terror, topic dear to its heart, being questioned, United States has to deal with the tough job of limiting the terrorists and the threat to its national security. Through this essay, we assess the Department of Homeland Security. We see whether the steps taken by the department are enough to prevent another 9/11 or are they good enough to checkmate the plans of terrorists, who are educated and carry out their motives with a sense of vengeance. Department of Homeland Security has the basic role of directing the initiatives of the government for protecting their homeland, of taking necessary steps to protect the citizens from the looming threats, and of supplying the necessary information to citizens to keep them safe. Since the department has its basic rules set by the government that steps in, it is a time for change for the department with the changing government. The years that saw the government of George Bush, also saw a terror attack that shook the world, woke up the Bush Government and brought a greater malice, that of angered Muslims over what happened in Iraq. However, another 9/11 never happened under the administration but one never knows what the terrorists want. With the recent Mumbai blasts, it brought the world to another standstill, for the terrorists showed that a handful of them can bring the world to a stop. It is difficult to estimate what their grand plans can yield. Due to these difficult situations, Barack Obama has a difficult work at hand. Since the Department of Homeland security is a part of the institution, its working depends on the new Presidents initiatives. Therefore, before directly assessing the department itself we shall first take a brief note of what the new government plans to do for homeland security. The basic agenda outlined by the government are Defeat Terrorism Worldwide, Prevent Nuclear Terrorism, Strengthen American Biosecurity, Protect Our Information Networks, Improve Intelligence Capacity and Protect Civil Liberties, Protect Americans from Terrorist Attacks and Natural Disasters, Modernize America's Aging Infrastructure, and Protect Critical Infrastructure1. The governemnt plans shift the attention of its War on Terror from Iraq to Afganistan. The agenda suggests winning the fights through ideas, by establishing a “$2 billion Global Education Fund to work to eliminate the global education deficit and offer an alternative to extremist schools2.” Besides that, the governemnt undersatnds the need of an influence, and plans to restore its value system. Regarding the nuclear setup, it plans to strengthen International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), “eliminate Iran's and North Korea's Nuclear Weapons Programs Through Tough, Direct Diplomacy3”, and form a nuclear-free world. Biosecurity is a 21st century threat, that seems to be the next best weapon at the disposal of terrorists, the governemnt plans to develop a good intelligence base to prevent the attacks altogether and to prepare medical officials for the job. The governemnt plans to “establish a Shared Security Partnership Program overseas to invest $5 billion over three years to improve cooperation between U.S. and foreign intelligence and law enforcement agencies4.” As for the natural disasters that pose a serious threat to americans as was evident with the Katrina, governemnt plans to prepare effective emergency response plans and support first responders. The agenda of the governemnt for the homeland security forms a layout of the work that the Department of Homeland Security is supposed to undertake. As on February 20, 2009, the Department marked the nation’s threat level as elevated or yellow, and the threat level of domestic and international fights as high or orange5. This clearly indicates that United States is still under the scanner of terrorists, this was evident when during the Mumbai attack terrorists were specific about killing more Americaans, Israelis, Jews and Indians. “The Department of Homeland Security is responsible for assessing the nation's vulnerabilities. It takes the lead in evaluating vulnerabilities and coordinating with other federal, state, local, and private entities to ensure the most effective response. The collection, protection, evaluation and dissemination of information to the American public, state and local governments and the private sector is central to this task6.” The Department of Homeland Security has three main areas of concern, they include information protection, intelligence analysis and information dissemination. There are certain measures undertaken by the department for the proper manifestation and development of the concerned areas. These measures include Homeland Security Advisory System, National Applications Office, Homeland Security Information Network, Integrated Common Analytical Viewer (iCAV), State and Local Fusion centers, Protected Critical Infrastructure Infoemation (PCII) Program among others. The department through its programs seek to integrate the help of citizens for their protection and the latest techniques available to help that happen. “The Homeland Security Advisory System is designed to guide our protective measures when specific information to a particular sector or geographic region is received7.” The department plans to decide the threat level for different regions differently, that means time and resources will be saved and available for the rescue quickly. The department seeks to add on to its intelligence capacity for better and reliable information. The security setup is always alert and there are steps to keep up the level of security that Unites States enjoy. However, despite all their efforts the basic plan to contain terrorism fails and the reason for that is that in spite of high intelligence and good machines for the army, the government fails to understand the general sentiment of Muslims. This is the reason why terrorism has not been eradicated in the past years despite the government concentrating almost all its money on the War on Terror. The government plans to focus their attention on Afghanistan, which undoubtedly is a good move but their inaction towards the growing problem of Pakistan is highly questioned. It is now evident that Taliban has spread its tentacles in the north-west region of Pakistan, with killings in the SWAT Valley being a norm for the people. What this indicates is the incapability of the government and the department to contain terrorism, what this also means is a growing menace for the United States. Even if bin Laden has finite goals, such as causing the United States to leave Saudi Arabia and back away more generally from Israel and the Middle East, he has spoken of defeating the U.S. by hitting its economy, 2 and the zealotry of his agents is surely enhanced to the extent that the United States is seen as deeply vulnerable at home8. Obviously, the terrorists seek to hit the economy of USA and with their economy already hit hard, what that means is a better chance for terrorism to grow. This is evident with their rise in recent times. The problem with the Unites States plan of eradication of terrorism is their lack of knowledge of Muslim society. The department knows how important it is to set up their influence in order to harbor more allies. Their influence was one reason that Pakistan always was friendly to United States, but with the recent tales, it is clearer that Pakistan had been very clever in obtaining the money from United States for the purpose of war on Terror and using that money for aiding Al Qaeda to fight against the US forces. This basically shows that the influence of America wasn’t a guarantee for containing terrorism. The other point is that it is their bossy way that in fact triggers the enemy. When United States tried to establish their influence in the Muslim world through Iraq war, they gave a reason to many Muslims to fight against Unites States. The problem with establishing influence or trying to get nations to do what the United States wants them to do is that this only triggers them to go against United States, so their strategy to establish influence is a complete disaster and unless United States understands that, terrorism will always be there to pose a threat to their security. If it will not be the Islamic Terrorists then it will be someone else. United States still has a basic problem with Pakistan. Pakistan, as it is now, is obviously a failed state. A failed state means a hysterical state, they obviously want to somehow tackle the situation and bring it to their favor. With the Mumbai blasts, it became clear that Pakistan is the breeding ground of terrorists, therefore the department need to come up with plans to bring Pakistan to get its actions right. However, since the government has no plans to do that, it is obvious that the department has no plans to do that either. Even if Afghanistan is liberated, Taliban will resurrect in Pakistan and then it will be a greater problem, so there are no definite measures being taken up by the department to eradicate the problem completely. Current measures are a waste of time and energy, as it was in the time of Iraq war. This is a battle for Pakistan’s soul. It must be fought by Pakistan liberals against Pakistani extremists, without regard to Indian or US interests or urgings. Once Pakistani liberals grasp this hard reality, as Beant Singh did in Punjab, they will find that victory over extremism can be surprisingly quick and complete9. The best way out for United States is to work at ground level. Unites states need to assure the Muslim world, which is full of distrust right now, that they are not alone. It is obvious that “Al-Qaeda-style Islam bears little relation to more mainstream beliefs and practices10”. United States needs to appeal to the Muslim world to help them in their battle. Only when United States will be able to take the help of Muslim liberals that the extremists will be thrown out of their den. For that, the United States doesn’t need gun trotting soldiers but helpful individuals who will fight for the cause of Muslims, since they too suffer under extremists. Therefore, whatever measures are taken by the department as of now is not sufficient. The department has been completely ignorant about one major influence and that is China. One would certainly wonder about the influence of China but that is the problem that everybody overlooks need of China in eradicating terrorism. China is a great economy and in spite of the differences between United States and China, Unites States need China for its economy as much as China needs United States for the purpose. China has its own problems with the Muslim world because of Mongolia and at the same time, it is single reason that Pakistan does not care about all the pressure that it has to handle from the rest of the world. China is treading a difficult path whereon it supports Pakistan no matter what for the simple reason that the two countries are against India and at the same time prevents the Islamic rebels from creating havoc on its land. Thus, it can never support terrorism but in supporting Pakistan, it supports terrorism. Department needs to understand the importance of a great ally that China can be. Here there is cliché since United States has to deal with both India and China then. The best thing to do would be to suppress the tensions between the two countries to isolate Pakistan and to force it to eradicate the terrorism. This obviously means treading on the dear issues of line of control, for India it would mean Kashmir and Arunanchal Pradesh (a land over which China and India are fighting). The department needs to reason with China about its need for being an ally that would obviously mean a reason to defy the terrorist activities in its own land. Thus, we see that the department in fact has a lot to do for homeland security. The current measures are superfluous rather than the definite measures that will strike the right note. The department has a lot of research to do before it can think of indulging in another war that will prove harmful to the security of the country. The Department of Homeland Security has a critical job at hand, but unless one performs better research and has a deeper understanding of the societies, their beliefs and the causes dearer to them, one cannot expect to establish complete security. Obviously, the department has done a lot to ensure safety of its citizens but the department needs to undertake further actions to ensure that its basic motive of rooting out terrorism is completed. References Aiyar, Swaminathan S. “Pakistan needs a Beant Singh.” Sunday Times of India. 22 Feb. 2009. Davis, Paul K and Jenkins, Brian M. Deterrence and Influence in Counterterrorism: A Component in the War on Al Qaeda. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Publication, 2002. MR-1619. www.rand.org/pubs/monograph_reports/2005/MR1619.pdf. “Homeland security.” . Retrieved on 23 Feb. 2009. “Activities and Programs.” . Retrieved on 22 Feb. 2009. “Homeland Security Advisory System.” . Retrieved on 23 Feb. 2009. Read More