Abstract: Defending Our We are a nation still struggling with the aftermath of being attacked on our own soil. We are a nation of diverse people trying to recapture a way of life that may no longer exist. We are a nation committed to preventing future attacks by terrorists. We are a nation at war! We are fighting a seemingly invisible enemy, who lurks in the shadows, assessing our strengths and weaknesses, waiting for the opportunity to exploit them. We are fighting an enemy who is actively seeking to obtain chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear weapons with the sole purpose of unleashing their deadly capabilities on the American people. We are engaging an enemy that has chosen to integrate itself into the very fabric of our society with a single purpose of tearing it apart. We will use every means available to protect our nation, our citizens, and our democratic way of life. The war against terrorism affects every American citizen, business, and government agency. It has, in essence, focused and mobilized our nation with a common goal--to defeat those who would threaten the peace and security of our homeland. The defense of our homeland is the responsibility of every citizen, government agency, business, educational institution, and organization both public and private. All must work in unison to defeat terrorism and to secure peace, prosperity, and freedom, the hallmarks of our country. I There is a place in our technology classes to educate our students about the war on terrorism that our nation is waging. We have the opportunity, perhaps even a duty, to make our students aware of how we are fighting this war (our national strategy) and what every citizen can do to help secure our homeland. National Strategy for On October 8, 2001, President George W. Bush established the Office of and charged the newly formed agency to produce the first National Strategy for Security. The purpose of the Strategy is to mobilize and organize our nation to secure the U.S. homeland from terrorist attacks. This is a difficult and complex mission that requires a coordinated and focused effort from our entire society--the federal government, the private sector, and the American people. Homeland Security is a new term for the American people and since September 11, 2001 has come to mean many things to many people. The federal government has put forth its own definition: security is 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. Derived from this definition are the strategic objectives for our homeland security. In order of priority they are: * Prevent terrorist attacks within the U. S. * Reduce America's vulnerability to terrorism. * Minimize the damage and recover from attacks that do occur. These objectives can be fulfilled in part through an informed and proactive citizenry acting in concert with local, state, and national efforts to build communication and delivery systems indispensable to our national effort to detect, prevent, and if need be, respond to terrorist attacks (National, 2002). In order to better meet the requirements set forth by the National Strategy for Security, the Homeland Act of 2002 was signed into law by President Bush on November 25, 2002. The act established a new Department of Security, creating for the first time a federal department whose primary mission is to help prevent, protect against, and respond to acts of terrorism on our soil (President's, 2002). Building A Secure The creation of the Department of (DHS) is the most significant conversion of the U.S. government since 1947, when President Harry S. Truman combined the separate branches of the U.S. Armed Forces into the Department of Defense to better coordinate the nation's defense against military threats. …
Publication Year: 2003
Publication Date: 2003-09-01
Language: en
Type: article
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