Homeland Security

by Kevin Bonsor
October 2004

The Issue


Photo courtesy U.S. AirForce
America's sense of security and perceived invincibility was shattered the morning of September 11, 2001, when four jetliners were hijacked and crashed, three into national landmarks. When an enemy invades your home, whether it is your house or the country in which you live, the natural response is to reassess the security measures in place and seek ways to improve.

Following the tragic events of September 2001, the United States government took stock of its homeland security. The president and Congress acted quickly, passing laws to restrict entry and exit to the country and unifying 22 government agencies to create a cabinet-level Department of Homeland Security.

Let's examine the events of September 11, 2001, the laws recently created to address homeland security in the United States, the reasons for the development of the Department of Homeland Security and how each candidate plans to secure the American homeland.

September 11, 2001 The national agenda, political and social, was changed by the terrorist attacks carried out on September 11, 2001. Many Americans wanted answers for how the American government failed to anticipate and prevent this attack.

In July 2004, the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks on the United States (also known as the 9/11 commission) published its final report. The commission found that Ramzi Yousef, the same terrorist who coordinated an attack on the World Trade Center in 1993, planned to blow up a dozen airliners in 1995 as they flew over the Pacific Ocean. Yousef's plan was never carried out, but it showed that terrorists were interested in attacking airliners. The commission declared that several more attacks and attempted attacks should have been enough warning for the U.S. government:

  • June 1996: A truck bomb explodes outside the Khobar Towers apartment complex in Dahran, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Hezbollah, backed by Iran, carried about this attack. Nineteen U.S. military personnel were killed, and hundreds were wounded.
  • August 1998: Al Qaeda coordinates truck bombings on U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The attacks killed 224 people, including 12 Americans, and wounded thousands.
  • December 1999: U.S. customs agents arrest Ahmad Ressam at the U.S.-Canadian border for attempting to smuggle explosives into the country with the intent to attack the Los Angeles International Airport.
  • October 2000: Al Qaeda bombs the destroyer, USS Cole, killing 17 U.S. sailors.
A pattern had been set, and America had clear warning that Islamic extremists were set on killing Americans and attacking American interests. By 2001, al Qaeda had established itself as a well-funded, organized terrorist group that was capable of attacking secure American targets.

We know now that two al Qaeda operatives entered the United States as early as January 2000, and those operatives were part of a "plane operation" planned by al Qaeda. These two operatives met up with a group of Muslims in San Diego, and lived there under their true names.

By the summer of 2000, three more al Qaeda operatives arrived on the East Coast and had begun pilot training. An additional two al Qaeda members began pilot training in Arizona in early 2001. During the first half of 2001, U.S. intelligence agencies received numerous warnings that al Qaeda was planning "something very, very, very big," according to one report.

On September 11, 2001, 19 hijackers walked through airport security checkpoints. Not a single terrorist was detained. They took control of four jetliners using box cutters. The 9/11 commission found the following failings on the part of the U.S. government:

  • Two Hijackers were not watch-listed even after they were spotted in Bangkok.
  • Information regarding one hijacker's link to the Cole attack was not shared.
  • Steps were not taken to find two hijackers that were in the United States as early as January 2000.
  • False statements on visa applications by the hijackers were not discovered.
  • Manipulation of passports was not recognized.
  • No-fly lists were not expanded to include names from terrorist watch lists.
  • Aircraft cockpit doors were not hardened to prepare for possible suicide hijackings.

Restructuring National Security
In the wake of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the personnel of many government agencies rushed to help, but confusion, miscommunication and bureaucracy prevented people from getting the help they needed. Following the problems of that day, President George W. Bush established the Office of Homeland Security on September 20, appointing Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge as the director.

By November 2002, 14 months after the terrorist attacks, Congress passed the Homeland Security Act of 2002 and President Bush signed the law to create the Department of Homeland Security, the fifteenth cabinet-level department. This new department brought together 180,000 employees from the 22 government agencies, including the Coast Guard, Customs Service, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Secret Service, The Transportation Security Administration, and most of the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

The creation of the Department of Homeland Security represents the largest U.S. government reorganization since the creation of the Department of Defense in 1947 to coordinate military activities.

According to the Homeland Security Act of 2002, the primary mission of the Homeland Security Department is to:

  • Prevent terrorist attacks within the United States
  • Reduce the vulnerability of the United States to terrorism
  • Minimize the damage, and assist in the recovery, from terrorist attacks

The Patriot Act and Other Homeland Security Laws
Within a month of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Congress and the president began passing homeland security laws, including:

  • Patriot Act (October 2001) - Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (PATRIOT) Act - Anti-terrorism legislation provides federal officials greater authority to track and intercept communications. It creates new crimes, penalties and procedures for use against domestic and international terrorism.

    Provisions include authorization of trap-and-trace devices for e-mail as well as telephone conversations, treats voicemail like e-mail in that it is not a conversation but a written record, and increases rewards for information in terrorism cases.

    This act is controversial in that some believe it grants overly broad powers to the federal government and damages civil liberties. Some of the more controversial components of the bill are due to expire at the end of 2005 unless Congress votes to renew them.

  • Aviation and Transportation Security Act (November 2001) - This created a Transportation Security Administration within the Department of Transportation that is responsible for transportation security, including aviation. It also created a uniform, consistent security system at our nation's airports.

  • Bio-terrorism Preparedness Act of 2001 (December 2001) - This addressed gaps in our nation's biodefense and surveillance system and our public health infrastructure. It provided $640 million to produce and stockpile smallpox vaccines, more money for the National Pharmaceutical Stockpile, and $1.6 billion for hospital preparedness and assessments of the vulnerability of local water systems.

  • Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act of 2001 (April 2002) - This was designed to strengthen the border protection for the United States. It increases the number of INS investigators and provides for more interagency sharing of information related to alien admissibility and deportation. It also requires that visas, issued to aliens by the United States, be machine-readable and tamper-resistant and include a standard biometric identifier.

The rules have changed in post-9/11 America -- laws have changed, and the once overriding sense of security has changed. For that reason, homeland security is a major issue in the 2004 election.

Badnarik: Position and Record
by Ed Grabianowski
October 2004

Badnarik thinks the security of the United States should be focused on defending our borders, not sending troops far away. As he puts it on his campaign Web site, "As a Libertarian, I reject a conception of national defense that keeps American troops overseas, meddling in the affairs of other nations." He points out that American interference with other nations (both military and political) is a direct cause of the hatred many nations feel towards the United States and its citizens, and he believes that this drives people to join extremist terrorist groups, which actually harms homeland security. Badnarik would bring U.S. troops "home where they belong."

In a position paper posted on his Web site, Badnarik also ties homeland security to immigration. He feels that border security would be improved by easing immigration rules for legitimate immigrants. Then, anyone who tried to enter illegally would be treated as an invader and dealt with by the military.

Record:
Since Badnarik has never held a public office, he has no voting record on this issue.

Bush: Position and Record
Not since America was attacked in 1941 at Pearl Harbor has a U.S. president had to respond to an attack on the country, as did George W. Bush after 9/11. Since the September 11, 2001, attacks, President Bush has been a supporter of the Patriot Act and supports extending all provisions of the act to allow law enforcement greater privileges in terror investigations. President Bush also proposed the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, which was established in 2002.

By attacking Iraq, President Bush began the doctrine of pre-emptive war, a decision that was intended to put America on the offensive in protecting the homeland. The Bush Administration attacked the Afghanistan government that was linked to al Qaeda for much the same reason.

Record

  • 2003 - Created "Ready campaign" and Ready.Gov
  • 2003 - Initiated reorganization of homeland defense
  • 2003 - Increased security of critical infrastructure
  • 2001 - Supported Patriot Act
  • 2000 - Allocated $1 billion more for military salary, $20 billion more for research and development of new weapons

Kerry: Position and Record
Democratic candidate John Kerry's position is not far distinguished from that of President Bush's position. The main difference is their view of the Patriot Act. Whereas President Bush would renew the Patriot Act in full, John Kerry would now favor letting the act expire to protect individual freedoms, despite having originally voted for the act.

Kerry's plan for homeland security calls for a national Defend America initiative that would make the National Guard's central mission homeland security. He would create a new community defense service comprised of thousands of volunteers to assist their communities in the event of an attack. This service would be similar to the Civil Defense Program that existed in World War II.

Additionally, Kerry has announced plans for a First Defenders initiative to ensure local law enforcement officers, firefighters and emergency medical technicians are equipped and ready to respond to an attack. Further, Kerry would equip firefighters and police with the equipment they need to communicate with each other, which was a problem during the response to the September 11, 2001, attacks.

Other ideas Kerry has proposed include reforming domestic intelligence to simplify the organizations, establishing a national Homeland Health initiative, improving port security, securing bridges and tunnels and protecting private infrastructure.

Record:

  • 2004 - Voted yes on an amendment to reallocate for ground-based midcourse interceptors to homeland defense and combating terrorism.
  • 2003 - Voted yes to raise the 2003 caps by $3.5 billion for homeland security funding through a Domestic Defense Fund at the Homeland Security's Office
  • 2003 - Voted yes to restore national security funding
  • 2003 - Voted yes to make additional funds available for certain homeland security needs
  • 2003 - Voted yes to provide immediate assistance to meet pressing homeland security needs by providing funding in 2003 for first responders, port security, bioterrorism preparedness and prevention, border security and transit security, the FBI

Nader: Position and Record
Ralph Nader, an independent presidential candidate, believes that laws passed since September 11, 2001, in response to terrorism are eroding America's civil liberties and due process of law. Nader wants to repeal the Patriot Act entirely and broaden civil liberties.

Record:
Because Ralph Nader has never held a political office, he has no voting record on homeland security.

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