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Homeland Security
Homeland security refers to governmental actions
designed to prevent, detect, respond to and recover from
acts of terrorism or other national security threats to a
country’s home territory, domestic population, or critical
infrastructure. The term became prominent in the United
States following the September 11, 2001 attacks; it had
been used only in limited policy circles prior to these
attacks. Before this time, such action had been classified
as civil defense.
Homeland security is officially defined by the National
Strategy for Homeland Security as “a concerted national
effort to prevent terrorist attacks within the United States,
reduce America’s vulnerability to terrorism, and minimize
the damage and recover from attacks that do occur.”
Because the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
includes the Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA), it has responsibility for preparedness, response
and recovery to natural disasters as well.
The scope of homeland security includes:
• Emergency preparedness and response (for both
terrorism and natural disasters), including volunteer
medical, police, Emergency Management and fire
personnel;
• Domestic intelligence activities, largely today within
the FBI;
• Critical infrastructure protection;
• Border security, including both land and maritime
borders;
• Transportation security, including aviation and
maritime transportation;
• Biodefense;
• Detection of nuclear and radiological materials;
• Research on next-generation security technologies. |
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