Modern Threat of Terrorism and the Homeland Security program 

Elements of the modern threat of terrorism and the homeland security program are unique and  have no valid comparisons to other historical periods or events

By:  Jonathan B. Smith,  http://whisprwave.com/  for HDS  September 2004

Most of the elements of the modern homeland security infrastructure and terrorism threat are rooted in our past.  The Department of Homeland Security’s website is broken down into four primary directorates and two other separate agencies: Secret Service and Coast Guard: 

§                     Border and Transportation Security Directorate
§                     Emergency Preparedness and Response Directorate
§                     Science and Technology Directorate
§                     Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection Directorate
§                     Secret Service
§                     Coast Guard[i]

 These directorates and agencies represent an amalgamation and/or realignment of existing government initiatives and infrastructure.  In some cases, the history of the Department of Homeland Security’s precursor agencies dates all the way back to the American Revolution.

 However, there is one major element of the modern threat of terrorism that makes the current situation unique with no truly valid comparison in history: THE ASSYMETRICAL THREAT OF WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION (WMD) DELIVERED BY A TERRORIST, NOT ANOTHER SOVEREIGN NATION, ON U.S. SOIL.

Since the advent of the nuclear bomb during WWII, nuclear containment has been a major international relations global policy agenda.  Throughout the cold war the United States and Russia maintained relative nuclear equality.

  “Each side could destroy the other many times.  This fact was officially accepted in military doctrine known as Mutually Assured Destruction, a.k.a.           MAD.”[ii]  

This simple paradigm of “us vs. them” or “good vs. evil” does not work well in today’s terrorist environment.   

Nuclear proliferation is no longer a nightmare, it is a reality.  The primary fear during the cold war was a nuclear attack.  Today it is a WMD attack, nuclear weapons are one class of WMD’s, same result different name.    

Unfortunately, today’s enemy is not easily swayed by the traditional military strategy of deterrence.  A new security and defense paradigm to protect the homeland from the terrorists needs to be developed and efficiently executed.  This strategy will be based upon military experiences battling asymmetrical threats of the past, but in many cases will have to be “adjusted on the fly” to address the situation at hand.   Regardless, the strategy needs to be based on more than fear of MAD, it needs to include the fact that:

 “neither active, passive, nor retributive actions by themselves are effective in deterring asymmetrical threats; it is only when these three actions are integrated together into a single campaign plan where one can hope to deter asymmetrical threats and regain the deterrence equilibrium.”[iii]

§                     The enemy is not easily discernable. 

§                     The enemy lives among the population, the ultimate Trojan horse. 

§                     The enemy is clever.

§                     The enemy is organized.

§                     The enemy is well financed.

§                     The enemy is patient.

§                     The enemy is prepared to wait years and perhaps even decades to attack at an opportune moment or vulnerability.

 This time in history is very different than any in the past.  The amorphous terrorist cells are willing and potentially capable of delivering a WMD attack on the U.S. homeland.   “Speaking softly and carrying a big stick” (President Theodore Roosevelt) can no longer be the homeland defense and security strategy.  A radically different and far more complicated policy needs to be developed and employed. This time is truly different.

 Useful URLs:

 "Forces alone can't beat terror, Rumsfeld says," The Boston Globe, September 8, 2004

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2004/09/08/force_alone_cant_beat_terror_rumsfeld_says/  

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