Protecting The Homeland

Immediately after September 11, the Brookings Institution began a comprehensive, multidisciplinary project focused on the key policy challenge of these dangerous times—assessing and improving homeland defense. That intense effort produced Protecting the American Homeland, and it continues in this important new book. In Protecting the Homeland 2006/2007, Brookings foreign policy experts analyze current homeland security concerns and the adequacy (or inadequacy) of current policies designed to address them. The authors present both the big picture and the smaller components of homeland security policy that make up the whole. They make specific recommendations on intelligence reform, science and technology policy and the protection of critical infrastructure within the United States. They also look ahead to consider what dangers we should anticipate and plan for, recommending policies that will work to that end. One of the strands running through Protecting the Homeland 2006/2007 is the need to "stitch the seams" in our homeland security blanket through greater integration and coordination. The authors emphasize that the U.S. federal government must work together with key partners who have been insufficiently integrated into American homeland security activities to date. These actors include foreign governments, state and local government, and the private sector, and the coordination must occur in several different areas (e.g. border protection, finance, technology, intelligence). The U.S. government should not—indeed, it cannot—do it alone. By its very nature, homeland security is a problem that defies the usual bureaucratic boundaries. Effective homeland security policy demands intense collaboration on new issues and between organizations that have not traditionally needed each other. This book is of interest and importance to journalists, analysts, policymakers, scholars, and citizens concerned with protecting their homeland against terrorism and r

The September 11 attacks forcefully brought home the need to better protect the U.S. homeland. But how can this be accomplished most effectively? Here, a team of Brookings scholars offers a four-tier plan to guide and bolster the efforts under way by the Bush administration and Congress. There has been some progress in making our homeland more secure. But the authors are concerned that the Bush administration may focus too narrowly on preventing attacks like those of the recent past and believe a broader and more structured approach to ensuring homeland security is needed. Given the vulnerability of our open society, the authors recommend four clear lines of direction. The first and last have received a good deal of attention from the Bush administration, though not yet enough; for the other two, a great deal remains to be done: Perimeter defense at the border to prevent entry by potential perpetrators and the weapons and hazardous materials they may use Prevention by detecting possible terrorists within the United States and securing dangerous materials they might obtain here Identification and defense of key sites within the county: population centers, critical economic assets and infrastructure, and locations of key political or symbolic importance Consequence management to give those directly involved in responding to an attack that may nevertheless occur the tools necessary to quickly identify and attack and limit its damage Included are specific recommendations on how much more to spend on homeland security, how much of the cost should be borne by the private sector, and how to structure the federal government to make the responsible agencies more efficient in addressing security concerns. Specifically, the authors believe that annual federal spending on homeland security may need to grow to about $45 billion, relative to a 2001 level of less than $20 billion and a Bush administration proposed budget for 2003 of $38 billion. They also

The thirteenth of a well-received and highly acclaimed series on critical infrastructure, Commercial Facilities Protection and Homeland Security is intended to help law enforcement, security specialists, managers, and anyone involved in protecting commercial facilities, handle the security threats that they deal with on a daily basis. The Commercial Services sector includes a diverse range of sites that draws large crowds of people for shopping, business, entertainment, or lodging. Facilities within this sector operate on the principle of open public access meaning that the general public can move freely without the deterrent of obstructive security barriers. The majority of these facilities are privately owned and operated, with minimal interaction with the federal government and other regulatory agencies. Since these facilities are not subject to the same security measures as an airport or an government building, they are a terrorist's dream. Commercial Facilities Protection and Homeland Security gives clear and straightforward guidelines on improving the security and the resilience of the commercial services sector. Readers will determine how to assess risk, identify assets, implement protective programs, create and emergency response plan, and much more.

A compelling overview of systems and strategies implemented to safeguard U.S. resources from a plethora of threats, the vulnerabilities and security gaps in these infrastructure systems, and options to enable the future security of the homeland. Since the first edition of this book was published in 2009, significant changes have occurred in the security landscape, both domestically and internationally. This second edition is thoroughly updated to reflect those changes, offering a complete review of the various security and resilience measures currently in place and potential strategies to safeguard life and property within the U.S. homeland. As noted in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's National Preparedness Goal, the mission area of protection is vital to the homeland in its focus on actions to protect people, vital interests, and our nation's way of life. With that in mind, this book discusses strategies such as risk analysis and assessment, information sharing, and continuity planning. The authors focus on relevant and timely threats and hazards facing specific infrastructure components including, but not limited to, agriculture and food, banking and finance, water, energy, telecommunications, and transportation. The dynamic posture of critical infrastructure security and resilience (CISR) underscores the importance of an integrated, layered all-hazards approach. In describing this approach, the book includes new chapters on planning and guidance, public and private partnerships, cyber issues and threats, and careers in infrastructure protection. Additions such as discussion questions, learning objectives, and fundamental concepts for each chapter provide additional direction for instructors and students alike.

In “a lively debut…[with] plenty of enthusiastic ‘can-do’ advice” (Publishers Weekly), a Homeland Security advisor and a Pulitzer Prize–nominated columnist—and mother of three—delivers a timely message about American security: it begins at home. Soccer Moms are so last decade. Juliette Kayyem is a “Security Mom.” At once a national security expert who worked at the highest levels of government, and also a mom of three, she’s lived it all—from anthrax to lice to the BP oil spill—and now she tells it all with her unique voice of reason, experience, and humility. Weaving her personal story of marriage and motherhood into a fast-paced account of managing the nation’s most perilous disasters, Juliette recounts the milestones that mark the path of her unpredictable, daring, funny, and ultimately relatable life. Security Mom is modern tale about the highs and lows of having-it-all parenthood and a candid, sometimes shocking, behind-the-scenes look inside the high-stakes world of national security. In her signature refreshing style, Juliette reveals how she came to learn that homeland security is not simply about tragedy and terror; it is about us as parents and neighbors, and what we can do every day to keep each other strong and safe. From stocking up on coloring books to stashing duplicate copies of valuable papers out of state, Juliette’s wisdom does more than just prepare us to survive in an age of mayhem—it empowers us to thrive. “You got this,” Juliette tells her readers, providing accessible advice about how we all can better prepare ourselves for a world of risks.

This major new study presents both conceptual and practical guidance at a crucial time when intellectual and practical efforts to protect against the new terrorism should move beyond a purely domestic focus. Creating an effective and integrated national homeland security effort is a significant challenge. Europe and the United States have reacted differently to the emergence of mass casualty terrorism, but must work together to cope with the diverse issue areas, sectors, professions, and relevant actors involved in such a broad-based concept. The authors suggest that Europe and the US have a lot to gain by coordinating more closely, and that the exchange of experience is crucial as we attempt to stay ahead of a learning enemy.

Drawing on two decades of government efforts to "secure the homeland," experts offer crucial strategic lessons and detailed recommendations for homeland security. For Americans, the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, crystallized the notion of homeland security. But what does it mean to "secure the homeland" in the twenty-first century? What lessons can be drawn from the first two decades of U.S. government efforts to do so? In Beyond 9/11, leading academic experts and former senior government officials address the most salient challenges of homeland security today.

Argues that the federal model of homeland security is failing, and promotes a model that restores power to the nation's governors and mayors and that will be less costly and more successful.