Historical Development of Homeland Security
The narrative of homeland security is an evolving and complex story, characterized by a lengthy sequence of government and non-government actions, either pre-emptive or responsive to man-made or natural threats. When domestic instability and external threats caused the Framers of the Constitution to design a governing structure which would protect the states and the people (and their established rights), they created a form of governance which endeavored to do that, but one which would also protect the individual from the abuses and tyranny of an oppressive government. The resulting federal government with its limited, internally checked, annually funded, prodecures has often produced a reactive set of strategies and organizations to establish justice, provide for the common defense, and promote the general welfare.
During its earlier history, the U.S. benefited from relative isolation from Europe and Asia, weak neighbors, and was preoccupied with internal stability and expansion. During this time, it developed a sense that wars were fought overseas, and that strong defenses along defined borders would repel conventional enemies. That outlook was certainly altered with the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, although even that act of war was far away and against a U.S. administered territory.
During the Cold War, especially after the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, Americans came to accept the reality that the U.S. was vulnerable to conflict on its soil. The feasibility of defending against Soviet nuclear missiles became so complicated that a policy of mutual destruction, or deterrence, became the most effective means of protecting the homeland. In the post Cold War period, the perception of relative safety was significantly shaken on February 26, 1993 when a bomb exploded in the underground parking garage of the World Trade Center in New York City, resulting in six deaths, thousands of injuries, and billion in damage. It was intended to be far worse, with the toppling thetwin towers and a blow to the U.S. economy. Shortly after the blast, the perpetrators proclaimed themselves to be an army and promised more attacks if the U.S. did not disengage from the Middle East, and cease support to Israel. The N.Y. bombing against a prominent symbol of U.S. economic power, and global strength, began to bring some focus to the need for better homeland defense.
U.S. vulnerability to terrorism was then fully displayed on September 11, 2001, by 19 terrorists with a 400,000 dollar bankroll, who took advantage of the openness of our society to turn four commercial aircraft into weapons, resulting in nearly 3,000 deaths, 120 billion dollars in direct costs and an estimated 7 trillion dollars in equity losses. With the likelihood of other low impact, high consequence actions, it is obvious that this new form of violence poses a long term challenge of protecting U.S. freedom and economic well-being.
The US is clearly a target rich environment. The U.S.-Canadian border is 5,500 miles long (including Alaska) and consists of dozens of crossing points. Each day, well over a billion dollars in goods cross the border as many U.S. states count Canada as their largest trading partner. Likewise, Mexico, with a 2000 mile shared border, sends about 90 percent of its exports to the U.S. and is its second largest trading partner behind Canada. The unrestricted cross border flow of goods is critical to all three economies. To inspect all commerce at the borders is impractical and economically infeasible. Thus, protection of borders and stopping low level acts of violence, let alone the possibility of a weapon of mass destruction from entering the U.S. makes for a true national challenge, requiring strong cooperation and information sharing at all levels.
Prior to 9/11, the national security establishment had already experienced several direct attacks on its diplomatic, military and intelligence units abroad. But, the attack of 9/11 on civilian targets resulted in a new state of homeland security awareness. And, since then, a mixture of terrorist related incidents and natural disasters have continued to keep that ‘new normal’ very relevant.