Main Content
Course Introduction
Course Textbooks
Understanding Homeland Security
The textbook: Understanding Homeland Security by Gus Martin (3rd ed.) will be the primary text utilized throughout the course.
The 9/11 Commission Report
As a result of the September 11 attacks, President George W. Bush established the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. Informally known as the 9/11 Commission, the objective of the Commission was not to assign individual blame, but to “provide the fullest possible account of the events surrounding 9/11 and to identify lessons learned” (National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, 2004).
The Commission learned the following:
The institutions charged with protecting our borders, civil aviation, and national security did not understand how grave this threat could be and did not adjust their policies, plans and practices to deter or defeat it. The Commission learned of fault lines within our government, between foreign and domestic intelligence operations and between a myriad of federal agencies. The Commission learned of the pervasive problems of managing and sharing information across a large and unwieldy federal government that had been built in a different era to confront a different danger (National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States, 2004, p. xvi).It is imperative to understand the importance of the 9/11 Report. It details the history but as the Commission discovered, terrorism authorities were vague and poorly established prior to September 11. Because of their efforts, legislation has continued to emerge with the objective of solving many of the recognized shortfalls and inefficiencies that existed at the federal level. Accordingly, many statutory improvements and a massive reorganization of the federal government did occur that has dramatically changed the way we manage our all-hazards approach to terrorism. The statutes, presidential directives, and executive decisions that have been issued in large part due to the 9/11 Commission Report will be addressed throughout the course.
Reference
National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. (2004). The 9/11 commission report: Final report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. Washington, DC: National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States.