1. Objectives
2. Road Map
3. Introduction
4. Ground Zero
5. 9/11 Commission Report
6. Army National Guard Katrina Presentation
7. System Under Stress
8. Bullock Text Readings
9. Terrorism
10. What is Terrorism?
11. Purpose and Motivation for Terrorism
12. Terrorism as an Act of War
13. Terrorism as an Act of War
14. References
15. Assignments

The Threat (Weeks 2 & 3)

Introduction

One of the basic principles of our national emergency management effort is that all incidents should be and will be managed at the local level first.   This principle emanates from U.S. Constitutional law and the simple realization of the fact that in the vast majority of incidents, local resources and local mutual aid and assistance agreements will provide the first line of emergency management and incident response to any type of incident simply because of proximity.  If additional or specialized resources or capabilities are required, local leaders and State Governors may request Federal assistance.  The development of the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and the National Response Framework (NRF) are based on the concept that local jurisdictions retain command, control, and authority over response activities for their jurisdictional areas.  By adhering to these basic NIMS principles, local emergency managers, first responders, and leaders will be capable of better utilizing additional resources when and if provided regardless of their origin.

As you work your way through the assigned readings and videos for this block of instruction it is important that you keep the basic concepts highlighted in the previous paragraph in mind.   When disasters occur and unfold it may be nearly impossible for first responders to immediately identify the causal factors of the incident.  For example, as you watch the “9/11 - The Filmmaker’s Commemorative Edition” video and you observe the scene where the first hijacked aircraft on September 11, 2001 strikes the north tower of the World Trade Center you will see that the only thing that the on-scene fire chief was certain of as he observed that horrific collision was that there was a terrible incident which may or may not have been intentionally caused.  Regardless of the actions that precipitated that incident, his first responder actions would have been the same.

The events of September 11, 2001 and more recently the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina in the late summer of 2005 have dictated the creation of an improved homeland security and emergency management system and incident response capabilities along with improved coordination processes throughout the country.  Consequently, the remainder of this course will provide a foundational understanding of these national and local efforts to develop and implement a comprehensive national approach to homeland security and emergency management actions which are applicable at all jurisdictional levels and across all functional disciplines that will increase the effectiveness of emergency management and response personnel across the full spectrum of potential incidents and hazard scenarios (including but not limited to natural hazards, terrorist activities, and other manmade disasters).   This course emphasizes the necessity for such an approach because it improves coordination and cooperation between public and private agencies and organizations across a variety of emergency management and incident response activities.