Law

Question 1
Explain the development of the Department of Homeland Security. Include federal agency shortcomings and the event that led to its creation.

Originally designated as the Office of Homeland Security, the George W. Bush administration signed into law the Homeland Security Act at the end of 2002 which in effect led to the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. It has been noted in the literature that, while intelligence operations began with the passage of the legislation, the actual Department of Homeland Security did not exist as a formal operational entity until March, 2003.  This legislative act was motivated most specifically by the perceived intelligence breakdowns leading up to the terror attacks on the World Trade Center and the belief that intelligence operations needed to be more integrated and efficient to address growing concerns about terrorism.  The Department of Homeland Security is an executive branch entity and its secretary holds a Cabinet position.  The development of this executive department was characterized more by an integration of existing federal employees and pools of intelligence talent rather then by a grassroots or ground-up developmental process.  The scope of this integration was extraordinary.  One scholar has stated in this respect that the new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was made up of about 160,000 federal workers from 22 separate agencies, with a planned budget of about 38 billion for its first full year of operation, about the same level as the U.S. Intelligence Community.

It was tasked with taking measures to protect American citizens and American commercial interests both domestically and internationally.  The aforementioned integration, development, and functions have not been without growing pains and problems.  One of the main criticisms has been that the integration was made too quickly and has resulted in inefficiencies.  Specifically, one commentator posed one of the troublesome questions as Is this reorganization, actually a huge merger, supposed to make the federal government more responsive, more effective, and more efficient. A number of problems have been identified such as the addition of unnecessary complexities in order to give everyone something to do, cultural and organizational incompatibilities among many of the integrated professionals, cost inefficiencies owing to huge administrative burdens, and internal competition that rewards symbolic achievements as much or moreso than real performances.  Nobody seems to disagree with the concept of a Homeland Security organization in general the speed with which the current Department of Homeland Security was patched together in the aftermath of September 11, however, has resulted in much criticism that seems to be justified.

Question 2
Discuss the threat of domestic terrorism within the U.S., concentrating on the 1990s.

Whereas the anti-terrorism emphasis in the early twenty-first century, both in the minds of policy makers and the public, tends to be focused most precisely on the threats posed by Islamic fundamentalists this was not the sole terrorism emphasis in the 1990s.  Quite the contrary, there was a tremendous amount of attention during the 1990s paid to threats involving domestic terrorism.  There were many reports of domestic extremist groups being formed and styled as militias, patriot groups, and even different types of groups based on racial or religious affiliations that were unified to the extant that they rejected to varying degrees the validity or the power of both federal and local governments.  This domestic terrorism threat became plainly visible with the bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995.  The significance of this event has been noted in the academic literature one scholar has observed that The Oklahoma City bombing allegedly heightened the publics awareness of and insecurity about domestic terrorism. The underlying presumption was that if terrorism could strike in Americas heartland, then no place and no one could be safe. FBI resources, for example, were increased and a new emphasis was placed on the identification of domestic extremist elements and the infiltration of these groups in order to prevent similar attacks.  This concern about domestic terrorism was a prelude to the current war against terrorism more globally.

Question 3
Explain the economic losses (financial and non-financial) resulting from the terror attacks of September 11, 2001.

Although the loss of life was the immediate concern, there were substantial and pervasive economic losses that flowed from the terror attacks of September 11.  It has only been in recent years that economists and researchers have begun to be able to begin to quantify the types of economic losses and the scope of economic damage caused.  With respect to New York City, the site of the attacks and perhaps the most economically diverse and powerful city in the world, it has been noted that The terrorist attack also had a profound impact on the citys economy, its labor market dynamics, and individual businesses. Just what the immediate and long-term economic effects of the attack were and will be on New York City has been the subject of some debate.

Some of the financial losses were caused by disruptions to businesses, destruction of business assets, and interruptions that made businesses and the government temporarily dependent in certain ways on the extension of credit and insurance claim processes.  Businesses, individuals, and the government all suffered financial losses in the form of lost profits, increased short-term expenses, and lost tax revenues.  There were economic costs of a non-financial nature as well.  There was a lack of confidence in the security of employment in New York City and a sense of fear of being associated with certain American businesses.  Unemployment increased, exports suffered, and the very nature of New Yorks labor market was affected statistically, it has now been reported that Within the city, the attack resulted in about 430,000 lost job months and a loss in wages of 2.8 billion. These lost job months were equivalent to approximately 143,000 jobs, each month, for 3 months. The effect of 911 was centered on the citys export economy, which represented 68.0 percent of all lost job months and 86.0 percent of all lost wages.  Because New York is the heart of American finance and international trade these economic losses affected the rest of America and the world.  The economic losses were truly staggering.

Question 4
Compare and contrast the intelligence communitys culture before and after the terror attacks of 911.

Given the fact that the terror attacks of 911 have rather consistently been characterized as an intelligence failure, it is hardly surprising that the intelligence communitys culture was criticized and a prime target for reform.  Prior to the attacks the intelligence community was highly compartmentalized more particularly, different intelligence organizations didnt share information and placed territorial turf and individual accomplishments above the sharing of information and common goal-accomplishment.  It has been noted in this respect that With respect to 911, the diagnosis ran something like this American law enforcement and intelligence officials possessed all the information need to stop the attacks before they occurred. The problem was not one of data collection, but analysis in the well-worn metaphor of the day, we failed to connect the dots.  Switching metaphors, the solution was to tear down the walls that had compartmentalized information. (Lerner, 2007, p. 1)  Because of this lack of a team-oriented culture, the post-911 reforms sought to create an intelligence community culture that freely shared information, that worked together toward common goals, and that could connect the dots through these cultural reforms.  This did not mean that intelligence specialties were reassigned quite the contrary, the National Security Agency continued to specialize in signals intelligence, the CIA continued to specialize in clandestine operations, and other intelligence specializations were maintained.  The fundamental cultural change that was deemed necessary and pursued through legislation and policy changes was one which emphasized an integrated team approach to intelligence rather than competing intelligence compartments.