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Introduction—Overview—Background

“We Have Some Planes”1

Chapter Summary

No book about homeland security and emergency management law is complete without mention of 9/11 and reference to The 9/11 Commission Report and other factual reporting about the attack. Next in the chapter is a discussion of “what is homeland security?” There are sections on what homeland security looks like from the outside and from the inside, and a discussion about the development of homeland security law since 9/11. Next are definitions of terrorism, a list of goals or learning objectives for the reader, and then a little about this text.

“HS” = homeland security.

“EM” = emergency management.

“HSEM” = homeland security and emergency management.

After 9/11 America drafted laws to protect us.

9/11

Understanding what happened and how September 11, 2001, affected America and the world is important for understanding HSEM law and policy, but is beyond the scope of this book. Readers can familiarize themselves with the well‐documented history and background. The 9/11 Commission Report, 2 the result of an intensive government‐sponsored investigation, is the official version of the events. Columbia University's The World Trade Center Attack: The Official Documents, 3 and City University of New York/George Mason University's The September 11th Digital Archives 4 both have a wealth of information.

I find the following two sources helpful. “Up From Zero” 5 is a one‐hour video from the U.S. Department of Labor. It is an uplifting profile of the tradespeople who removed what was left of the World Trade Center after September 11, 2001. A remarkable story in itself made even more so because some of the same workers also helped to build it years earlier.

The Boston Marathon bombing on April 15, 2013, is the topic of a remarkable 14‐minute video by Chris Bellavita and the CHDS media team. “Lilacs out of the dead land: 9 lessons to be learned from last week” 6 introduces many of the issues relevant to understanding HSEM.

What Is Homeland Security and How Do We Know When We Have It?

Vision of Homeland Security

According to the Homeland Security Council in 2007, “the United States, through a concerted national effort that galvanizes the strengths and capabilities of Federal, State, local, and Tribal governments; the private and non‐profit sectors; and regions, communities, and individual citizens— along with our partners in the international community— will work to achieve a secure Homeland that sustains our way of life as a free, prosperous, and welcoming America.”7

The 2014 Quadrennial Homeland Security Review described the Homeland Security Vision as “A homeland that is safe, secure, and resilient against terrorism and other hazards, where American interests, aspirations, and way of life can thrive.”8

Mission Statement

The Department of Homeland Security lists six “overarching homeland security missions: Counter Terrorism and Homeland Security Threats; Secure U.S. Borders and Approaches; Secure Cyberspace and Critical Infrastructure; Preserve Prosperity and Economic Security; Strengthen Preparedness and Resilience; and ‘Strengthening the integrated relationships between and among Headquarters Offices and Operational Components to optimize the Department's efficiency and effectiveness.’”9, 10

Homeland Security, Emergency Management, and Homeland Defense, Distinguished

The boundaries of jurisdiction and responsibility are on occasion, blurry, and often overlap. In addition, different agencies have different skills. This is one of the reasons representatives of multiple agencies will respond to an incident.

“Homeland security and homeland defense are complementary components of the National Security Strategy. Homeland defense is the protection of US sovereignty, territory, domestic population, and critical defense infrastructure against external threats and aggression…. Missions are defined as homeland defense if the nation is under a concerted attack.

The Department of Defense (DOD) leads homeland defense and is supported by the other federal agencies. In turn, the DOD supports the nation's homeland security effort, which is led by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).”11

“HS is an integral element of a broader national security and domestic policy. Protecting the US from terrorism is the cornerstone of HS…

HS describes the intersection of evolving threats and hazards with traditional governmental and civic responsibilities for civil defense, emergency response, law enforcement, customs, border control, and immigration… However, as a distributed system, no single entity has the mission to directly manage all aspects of HS.”12

Definition of Homeland Security

Homeland Security is defined 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.”13

No Consensus

Despite the definition, mission statement, and vision, there is no consensus among practitioners and the public as to what the term Homeland Security means. Different groups view it differently.14 The extremes of opinion are represented, for the narrow view, by those who feel homeland security is only about terrorism. They believe focusing on anything additional dilutes, distracts, and weakens the homeland security mission.

Others say its focus is terrorism and natural disasters. To some, homeland security is focused on “jurisdictional hazards” (i.e., homeland security means different things depending upon where you live and the particular hazards your region faces). Examples include hurricanes, tornados, flooding, and earthquakes.

One practitioner uses the term “Generational Hazards.” These are hazards created by the present generation that “take many decades to metastasize before finally reaching a disastrous end‐state that impacts future generations.”15 Climate change is one example. The Strategic Environment chapter discusses many other threats that qualify as HSEM threats.

Still others claim homeland security is about “all hazards” (terrorism, man‐made disasters, and natural disasters). All hazards is, appropriately, the current focus.

The broad view of homeland security advocates that homeland security is about everything— that it implicates almost every sector of our lives and there is very little which does not relate to it in some way.

Under this view, the arts (painting, poetry, music, dance, theatre) have homeland security implications. Known to break down barriers and overcome cultural differences, sometimes the arts are the only connection between otherwise hostile/unfriendly countries.16 “We must never forget that art is not a form of propaganda; it is a form of truth.”17 Even food counts. “It's often said that the closest interaction many Americans have with other countries' cultures is through food. That kind of culinary diplomacy is particularly common in Washington, D.C., where immigrants from all over the world have cooked up a diverse food scene….”18

For those who think America's homeland security is global, homeland security is synonymous with “One World Security.”19 We can plan to prevent, prepare for, and recover from a terrorist attack. We can also take the broader and longer‐term view and strive to make the world a better place where there will be fewer terrorists.

A Different Name—A Different Focus

The titles we used and the focus of what we now call HSEM has changed over the years.20 During the Cold War, we called it “Civil Defense,” focused on nuclear war with the Soviets. When the Cold War ended, the focus moved to natural hazards. After 9/11, we called it homeland security, focused on terrorism. Homeland security is now focused on “all hazards.” Within this list of terms should also be “public safety.”

Views of Emergency Management

Further insight into what is homeland security can be gained by examining different models of emergency management. Michael D. Selves21 describes two philosophically different views of emergency management— the “emergency services” model and the “public administration” model.

The “emergency services [model is] primarily concerned with the coordination of emergency services.” Among other things, Selves points out that under the emergency services model

Organizational interactions tend to be primarily with emergency services agencies. Managers operating under the E‐S model may be reluctant to interact with non‐emergency services agencies and especially with senior, elected officials. Often emergency management functions are embedded within an emergency service agency. This has the effect of isolating them...