The events of 9/11 showed us the importance of national security. The attack highlighted the weakness in identifying and denying asymmetrical style attacks against the United States. Port security, along with aviation, ground transportation, customs and other realms of security have seen their share of changes after 2001. In regards to seaborne trade, more than 95 percent of the nation's imported cargo moves through America's 361 seaports each year, and the maritime industry contributes more than $1 trillion to America's annual gross domestic product (Chris, para. 16). The United States port system and that of the worlds is one of the most vital transportation nodes when talking about volume, capacity, and revenue. To strengthen this vital …show more content…
While the entire Bill lays out new regulatory guidance and authority for existing and new government agencies. Section 102 directly talks about methods, policy, and programs that will be enacted to safeguard ports and harbors. The first change the MTSA dictates is how the Coast Guard or its designee will conduct assessments of all existing port facilities and vessels. These assessments will identify critical assets, threat to these assets, and weaknesses in physical security (GPO, 2002, p.7). Overall these assessments will allow Homeland Security to prioritize critical infrastructure and assign limited assets to the most valuable locations. These assessments will also provide the security managers at these locations with updated knowledge of their vulnerabilities and what needs to be …show more content…
These plans are to be used to deter and when responding to a maritime incident (GPO, 2002, p.7). These plans will lay out response procedures, asset availability and locations, policies, and techniques. The premise of this section is to limit the secondary and tertiary effects of a maritime incident in order to limit the economic impacts of such an event. Part of these plans will direct methods to reestablish the flow of commerce to other transportation nodes to limit the detrimental effects the loss of a port would have on the entire economy. The encompassing part of this section is the focus on methods and procedures on how to identify an incident and report it up the echelons of command. Subset to the “security plans” is the Facility and Vessel response plans. All facilities and vessels have to create and submit a plan that shows how each entity will incorporate and notify local, state, federal agencies. It is basically the plan that informs personnel at the location on how to mitigate damage and actions that must be taken to safeguard their own lives and that of their fellow workers. A response plan required under this subsection for a vessel or facility will most likely be included in the security plan prepared for that area (GPO, 2002,
Homeland Security Presidential Directive 5 directly relates to the National Incident Management System and the National Response Framework. In fact, it directly correlates with their missions. HSPD-5 was the directive that needed to start things in motion; NIMS and the NRF are the aftermath of the directive. With the formation of NIMS and soon after the NRF, America can operate successfully under one national manage...
The Change in Airport Security from 9/11 The terrorist attacks on September 11, 2011 prompted the world to reevaluate and drastically modify airport and airline security. “Four targets had been chosen, all iconic American buildings that would send a clear message of the depth of their hatred for the United States. All four planes crashed, killing all on board—terrorists, crew members, and passengers, along with hundreds who were killed inside the structures, on the ground, and the men and women who ran into collapsing buildings in an effort to try and save others” (Smutz 1). As Jason Villemez said “the decade after the 9/11 attacks reshaped many facets of life in America” (Villemez 1). Before the attacks, people did not think that large scale hostility towards innocent people in our country was remotely possible.
9/11 was one of the United States biggest disasters. Killing nearly 3,000 people including the 19 hijackers that hijacked the planes that crashed in to the two world trade center towers. Many things could have been done differently on the day of September 11, 2001, that could have saved many lives, including the lives of many fire fighters, NYPD officers, and thousands of civilians. The biggest thing that could have been done to stop the attacks is if airport security was much more advanced and more careful with who got on the planes and what they had on them.
When a giant explosion ripped through Alfred P. Murrah federal building April 19,1995, killing 168 and wounding hundreds, the United States of America jumped to a conclusion we would all learn to regret. The initial response to the devastation was all focused of middle-eastern terrorists. “The West is under attack,”(Posner 89), reported the USA Today. Every news and television station had the latest expert on the middle east telling the nation that we were victims of jihad, holy war. It only took a few quick days to realize that we were wrong and the problem, the terrorist, was strictly domestic. But it was too late. The damage had been done. Because America jumped to conclusions then, America was later blind to see the impending attack of 9/11. The responsibility, however, is not to be placed on the America people. The public couldn’t stand to hear any talk of terrorism, so in turn the White House irresponsibly took a similar attitude. They concentrated on high public opinion and issues that were relevant to Americans everyday. The government didn’t want to deal with another public blunder like the one in Oklahoma City. A former FBI analyst recalls, “when I went to headquarters (Washington, D.C.) later that year no one was interested in hearing anything about Arab money connections unless it had something to do with funding domestic groups. We stumbled so badly on pinpointing the Middle East right off the bat on the Murrah bombing. No one wanted to get caught like that again,”(Posner 90). The result saw changes in the counter terrorism efforts; under funding, under manning, poor cooperation between agencies, half-hearted and incompetent agency official appointees and the list goes on. All of these decisions, made at the hands of the faint-hearted, opened the doors wide open, and practically begged for a terrorist attack. So who’s fault is it? The public’s for being
The attacks that occurred on 9/11 took place on September 11th, 2001. In this devastating event, four different attacks had taken place. Each of the attacks were carried out by terrorists. The group responsible for the attack was Al-Qaeda, a militant Islamist organization that is known to be global in present day. The group itself has a network consisting of a Sunni Muslim movement that aims to make global Jihad happen. Furthermore, a stateless, multinational army that is ready to move at any given time. This terrorist group focuses on attacking non-Sunni Muslims, those who are not Muslim, and individuals who the group deems to be kafir. Ever since the late 1980s, Al-Qaeda has been wreaking havoc all around the world. The leader of the group once being Osama bin Laden. Three planes were bound for New York City while another plane headed towards Washington, D.C. which was supposed to take out the U.S. Capitol. Two of the airplanes crashed into the World Trade Center. One plane hitting the North Tower and the other hitting the South Tower. The third plane had crashed into the Pentagon taking out the western side of the building. The last and final plane was focused solely on taking out the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C. but failed due to passengers of the plane coming hijacking it from the hijackers. The passengers attempted to take out the hijackers but sadly failed, crashing it into a field in Pennsylvania. Throughout the content of this paper, we will be focusing on the role of media when it comes to 9/11; more specifically: how the media's coverage of 9/11 manipulated our feelings towards 9/11, how it affected Islamophobia in America, and the lasting effects of 9/11.
After September eleventh, President George W. Bush signed a congressional bill to create a department of Homeland Security. This department examines the levels of security risk at airports, ship ports, railway stations, and other public transportation locations. Both candidates Bush and Kerry agree that homeland security is a priority. Furthermore, the candidates have stated that it is essential to provide the American people with a strong common defense. For example, “both pledge to have the government spend more money to furnish first-responders-the police and firefighters who are the first to arrive on the scene of an accident or an attack-with the materials and equipment they need to do their jobs to the best of their ability” (David Dulio). The recent war in Iraq has divided the candidates on how to carry out the plan on homeland security. Bush believes that we must take a protective approach in Iraq to prevent further terrorist damage to the United States. Kerry on the other hand believes that the United States must seek international support in Iraq to insure safety at home and abroad.
Look around you America. Your world is changing. Suddenly, it’s no longer safe to fly in airplanes, attend sporting events, or just open your junk mail. Almost daily, news of threats and security breach’s litter the airwaves, leaving many asking the same question. “How can we make our country safe again?”
Terrorism represents a continuing threat to the United States. It is the most significant threat to our national security. Terrorist attacks have definitely left many concerns about the possibilities of future incidents of terrorism in the United States. Since the events of September 11, 2011, Americans and much of the world are afraid. Americans are at war with terrorism and no longer feel comfortable. A part of this unease feeling has to do with cyber terrorism.
The United States has endured numerous security breaches and high security threats over the past two decades. After the attacks on 9/11, the office of Intelligence became a vital source in retrieving sensitive data and tracking down potential terrorists and their networks which could pose a threat to the American people and then forwarding that vital information to the Department of Homeland Security and other government agencies. Intelligence became a key role in “assessing threats to critical American infrastructures, bio-and nuclear terrorism, pandemic diseases, threats to the borders to the nation, and radicalization within American society” (Randol, 2009, p. 7). The sharing of homeland security intelligence has become a precedence for Congress and the government. Our nation must be one step ahead of any potential terrorists that want to harm our turf. Within this text the capabilities and limitations of both domestic and foreign intelligence in supporting homeland security efforts will be explained;
Bellavita, C. (2009). Changing homeland security: The year in review - 2008. Homeland Security Affairs, 5(1) Retrieved from http://ezproxy.fau.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/1266212855?accountid=10902
New policies established by the White House security strategy assigned the federal government an essentially passive role towards protecting assets located in the United States. According to Flynn and Prieto, the private sector has sufficient assets to supply protection, outside of national defense and border security, and should be relied upon to address certain aspects of securing infrastructure. Enhancing security directly contributes to the prevention of terrorism and the private sector is in the best position to address the expanding vulnerability of critical infrastructure (Flynn & Preito 2006,
Analyzing and reducing the cyber threats is key to keeping the nation’s networks secure. By employing individuals who work directly in the information Technology industry, helps reduce the security breaches that could occur during a cyber attack to the nation’s networks. Disasters happen to the nation whether they are environmental, natural causes, or terroristic. Planning and preparing for potential disasters as well as having a good response and recovery strategy is a key factor. Making sure the strategies can have to correct amount of funding levitates the amount of help that can be given to answer a
The Department of Homeland Security Strategic Plan, passed during the Obama Administration in February 2012, contains seven key missions and goals. According to the textbook, the missions identified are:preventing terrorism and enhancing security; securing & managing our borders; enforcing & administering our immigration laws, Safeguarding & Securing Cyberspace, Ensuring resilience to disasters, providing support to national and economic security and mature & Strengthen DHS (Oliver, pg. 166)
Contingency plan-A rapid response unit to evacuate all individual on board and the implementation of safety procedure e.g. life jackets for each individual.
Unequivocally speaking, the threat of a cyber-attack has become one of the most critical domestic and national security challenges we face as a nation today. Infrastructures supporting government operations are ...