4.4 Homeland Security Strategy

WHO? Once again, the Department of Homeland Security.

WHAT? Is built and guided by a strategy predicated on evolving goals and missions.

WHEN? The first strategy came before DHS was created, and is now updated every four years.

WHERE? Homeland Security Strategy guides DHS operations both at home and abroad.

WHY? Strategy helps apply limited resources in the most effective manner to attain stated goals.

Strategy is a plan identifying steps necessary towards achieving a goal. In this topic we will take a look at Homeland Security Strategy. The first National Strategy for Homeland Security was issued in July 2002, four months before Congress passed the 2002 Homeland Security Act creating the Department of Homeland Security. The 2002 Homeland Security Strategy established three goals:

1. Prevent terrorist attacks within the United States;

2. Reduce America’s vulnerability to terrorism; and

3. Minimize the damage and recover from attacks that do occur.

Note that these goals contain no guarantees for success; in fact, they anticipate failure. Remember what we said in Topic 1.1: you can no more stop a determined attacker than a hurricane. There is no such thing as “absolute security”. The 2002 Homeland Security Strategy also identified the steps necessary to achieve its goals:

1. Intelligence & Warning

2. Border & Transportation Security

3. Domestic Counterterrorism

4. Critical Infrastructure Protection

5. Defense Against Catastrophic Terrorism (i.e., WMD)

6. Emergency Preparedness and Response

You will recognize these steps as the missions incorporated into DHS when it was created in 2002. You will note that this strategy is strongly focused on terrorism. You will also note that this focus caught DHS unprepared when Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005. You could say it was a flawed strategy. Accordingly, the goals were revised when a new strategy was released in 2007:

1. Prevent and disrupt terrorist attacks;

2. Protect the American people, our critical infrastructure, and key resources;

3. Respond and recover from incidents that do occur; and

4. Continue to strengthen the foundation to ensure our long-term success.

Terrorism is still important, but you may notice a shuttle shift in language to include non-terrorist threats such as those posed by hurricanes and other natural hazards, what DHS called “all hazards”. Also, DHS added the last goal recognizing that it too must change to meet changing threats. As we told you in 4.1, the Quadrennial Homeland Security Review was instituted to conduct a comprehensive examination of DHS’ mission and organization every four years starting in 2009. We also told you the first QHSR in 2010 elevated cyber-attack as a priority threat to the nation. Though they were cast in new language, basically the goals didn’t change. The missions were also cast in new language, but they were expanded to include cybersecurity:

1. Prevent Terrorism and Enhance Security;

2. Secure and Manage Our Borders;

3. Enforce and Administer Immigration Laws;

4. Safeguard and Secure Cyberspace; and

5. Ensure Resilience to Disasters.

The 2014 QHSR again used different language, but basically kept the same goals and missions. There’s one significant piece missing from all the homeland security strategies: the ability to measure progress. Can we say our strategy is working because there hasn’t been another 9/11? Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. Remember, there were no hurricanes in 2006. So how do we know if our strategy is work? Without some means to measure we can’t know where we are, and if we don’t know where we are, how can we plot where we’re going? It’s a problem that’s frustrated DHS from the start. A million dollars awaits the person who solves it. Congress would love to know how much homeland security they’re buying with taxpayer dollars. Join us next time when we examine how Homeland Security is related to National Security.