Other Homeland Security Related Definitions

As we start our journey through this lesson and the course, it is important to identify and define some terms with which the homeland security strategist and practitioner must be familiar. You have already come across some of those definitions in your Lesson 1 textbook readings.   

Attribution - assessing or identifying which organization or nation was behind an attack or a terrorist activity (Atlantic Council, "Beyond Attribution: Seeking National Responsibility in Cyberspace" by Jason Healey, February 22, 2012)

Consequence Management (CM) - those actions required to manage and mitigate problems resulting from disasters and catastrophes.  It may include Continuity of Operations (COOP)/Continuity of Government (COG) measures to restore essential government services, protect public health and safety, and provide emergency relief to affected governments, businesses, and individuals.  Responses occur under the primary jurisdiction of the affected state and local government, and the Federal government provides assistance when required.  When situations are beyond the capability of the state, the governor requests federal assistance through the President.  The President may also direct the Federal government to provide supplemental assistance to state and local governments to alleviate the suffering and damage resulting from disasters or emergencies.  DHS/FEMA has the primary responsibility for coordination of federal CM assistance to state and local governments.” (Homeland Security, Joint Publication 3-26, August 2005)

Deterrence - the prevention of action by the existence of a credible threat of unacceptable
counteraction and/or belief that the cost of action outweighs the perceived benefits. (Joint Publication 3-0) For example, many security experts believe that mere possession of nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them deters over 98% of conventional threats to our security because deterrence rests on assured and targeted retaliation.  

Mitigation - the activities designed to reduce or eliminate risks to persons or property or to lessen the actual or potential effects or consequences of an incident.  Mitigation measures may be implemented prior to, during, or after an incident.  Mitigation measures are often informed by lessons learned from prior incidents.  Mitigation involves ongoing actions to reduce exposure to, probability of, or potential loss from hazards.  Measures may include zoning and building codes, floodplain buyouts, and analysis of hazard- related data to determine where it is safe to build or locate temporary facilities.  Mitigation can include efforts to educate governments, businesses, and the public on measures they can take to reduce loss and injury. (National Incident Management System - NIMS)

Policy - "the statements and actions of government: it is the output of what is often called the 'policy process,' which takes place within and among the departments and agencies of the Executive branch of the federal government and between it and Congress.  Strategy ... should be thought of as an input to that process, a guiding blueprint whose role is to direct policy, to determine what the government says and does."  (Deibel, Foreign Affairs Strategy - Logic for American Statecraft, 2007, p. 10). 

Preemption - the anticipatory use of force in the face of an imminent attack; it has long been accepted as legitimate and appropriate under international law. (Brookings, "The New National Security Strategy and Preemption" by James B. Steinberg, Michael E. O'Hanlon, and Susan E. Rice, December 2002) 

Prevention - actions to avoid an incident or to intervene to stop an incident from occurring.  Prevention involves actions to protect lives and property.  It involves applying intelligence and other information to a range of activities that may include such countermeasures as deterrence operations; heightened inspections; improved surveillance and security operations; investigations to determine the full nature and source of the threat; public health and agricultural surveillance and testing processes; immunizations, isolation, or quarantine; and, as appropriate, specific law enforcement operations aimed at deterring, preempting, interdicting, or disrupting illegal activity and apprehending potential perpetrators and bringing them to justice. (National Incident Management System - NIMS)

Resilience - the ability to adapt to changing conditions and withstand and rapidly recover from disruption to emergencies. (Presidential Policy Directive 8:  National Preparedness - March 2011)

Response - activities that address the short-term, direct effects of an incident.  Response includes immediate actions to save lives, protect property, and meet basic human needs.  Response also includes the execution of emergency operations plans and of mitigation activities designed to limit the loss of life, personal injury, property damage, and other unfavorable outcomes.  As indicated by the situation, response activities include applying intelligence and other information to lessen the effects or consequences of an incident; increased security operations; continuing investigations into nature and source of the threat; ongoing public health and agricultural surveillance and testing processes; immunizations, isolation, or quarantine; and specific law enforcement operations aimed at preempting, interdicting, or disrupting illegal activity, and apprehending actual perpetrators and bringing them to justice. (National Incident Management System - NIMS)  From a national security perspective, a response may be an action(s) to eliminate current threats and prevent future actions.  Responses are required to establish deterrence.