What a difference a year makes. After the tragic events of 11 September, a topic reserved largely for government and academic insiders exploded into the national debate over how best to preempt, prepare, and respond to attacks on the United States. Despite the fact there has been a near-warp acceleration of these discussions, there is little common understanding of many generally accepted homeland-security concepts and terms.
Definitions
Although everyone has been using "homeland security" freely since the terrorist attacks last year, the U.S. government did not formally define it until late this past summer. The definition in President George W. Bush's National Strategy for Homeland 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." While this enables the President to articulate his vision more clearly, the debate is far from over. Congress continues to formulate its own definitions and concepts, and could expand the executive mandate beyond terrorism. For example, future missions might include missile defense, computer network operations, and coordination of governmental efforts to mitigate the effects of manmade and natural disasters.
Among several other new terms added to the Department of Defense (DoD) lexicon, the most important is homeland defense: "protection of U.S. territory, domestic population, and critical defense infrastructure against external threats and aggression." While this definition is somewhat imprecise, its intent is to underscore that there are certain missions only the U.S. military can perform for the nation. They include combat air patrols over the United States and maritime interdiction operations far from our shores—traditional military roles. All other domestic military requirements normally are labeled as civil support.
The Defense Department defines civil support as "DoD support to U.S. civil authorities for domestic emergencies, and for designated law enforcement and other activities." Recent missions have included military support to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Customs Service, Border Patrol, and state and local governments. While some of these missions are not necessarily new, the scale of military requirements—sometimes involving tens of thousands of troops—has not been called for since World War II.
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has stated that the duration and depth of homeland defense or civil support tasks will depend on conditions at the time.
- In "extraordinary circumstances"—such as massive attack on the United States or when the capabilities of civilian agencies are overwhelmed or incapable of providing traditional support—military forces will play a leading role in deterring, defeating, and responding to the threats.
- In "emergency circumstances"—for example, catastrophic events like forest fires, floods, and hurricanes—they could be asked to provide or supply unique capabilities in support of federal, state, and local agencies.
- During "temporary circumstances," the military can aid civilian authorities in tasks that are limited in scope and duration, such as the Winter Olympics or National Guard support to airports after the 11 September attacks.
Extraordinary circumstances are classified as homeland defense; emergency and temporary circumstances are classified as civil support. The size of commitments may vary. Large military forces will not be required to meet day-to-day tasks, but could be called on in extraordinary circumstances. In any case, there is no doubt that the armed forces will assume a major—and unprecedented—role in homeland defense and civil support.
Homeland Security Organizations
Even before the tragic events of 11 September 2001, a few pundits recommended that a new agency or department be created to oversee the nearly 100 federal entities charged with domestic security and recovery from disasters. Those obscure proposals grew quickly into an absolute necessity only a few weeks after the attacks. On 8 October 2001, the President established the Office of Homeland Security, which was created to develop and coordinate a comprehensive national strategy for strengthening the nation against terrorist threats and attacks in the United States. He appointed Governor Tom Ridge (R-PA), a decorated combat veteran, as the first office director, with responsibility for coordinating all federal counter-terrorism activities within the United States. Governor Ridge's highest priorities were to shape a national strategy for homeland security, assess and counter threats posed by biological weapons, and enhance capabilities of first responders (police, firefighters, and emergency services). Although the office was fundamental to advising the President on homeland security matters, it was not given budgetary power and authority to control federal counter-terrorism efforts.
Thus, this past summer the President asked Congress to create the Department of Homeland Security under a cabinet-level secretary to consolidate many of the federal agencies tasked with securing the homeland. If Congress concurs with the President's request, the new executive arm will be second only to the DoD in size and budget; its elements will include the Coast Guard, Secret Service, and Border Patrol. The department's final design and charter are scheduled to be in place some time this fall.
U.S. Northern Command
Until recently, no single military organization was charged with defending the United States. Instead, aerospace security of North America was the responsibility of U.S.-Canadian North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD); land and maritime defense was unassigned until late September 2002, when those missions fell to U.S. Joint Forces Command. Because having two commanders for essentially one mission violates the principle of unity of command and is inefficient, the President recently approved the creation of U.S. Northern Command (NorthCom).
This new combatant command is headquartered at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and commanded by Air Force General Ralph Eberhart, the chief of NORAD as well. The primary mission of NorthCom is to defend U.S. citizens and territory against external threats, and coordinate the use of military forces supporting civil authorities. While the structure still is in the formative stages, NorthCom was directed to have an initial operating capability by the time it stood up on 1 October 2002. This is a historic feat—the idea for this command was in the conceptual stage just a few months ago.
One of the greatest challenges that NorthCom will face is developing plans and exercises for defense against, and response to, terrorist actions. Considering the multitude of federal, state, and local governmental agencies involved, this will be a herculean task. Merely establishing effective lines of communication between NorthCom and the various agencies presents unique bureaucratic obstacles that currently are under review at the highest levels of government. In addition to homeland defense and civil support missions, NorthCom will be responsible for certain aspects of security cooperation with Canada, Mexico, and nations in the Caribbean, which will add important politico-military activities to its wide-ranging defensive functions.
What's Next?
Although strategic frameworks are either in place or will be soon, key issues remain unresolved:
- To what extent will the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps be required to prepare, train, and equip for homeland defense and civil support missions? How will this affect their overseas commitments?
- What is the role of the Army and Air Force National Guards? Should their forces be earmarked for homeland defense?
- Where is the dividing line between the Navy and the Coast Guard when it comes to maritime defense and security?
- Should the Posse Comitatus Act be amended to grant U.S. military forces increased measures of arrest, search, and seizure authority?
- How do the armed forces implement homeland security concepts effectively?
These topics and many others are likely to dominate thinking on the staffs of the services, at military academic institutions, and among the civilian leadership. There are no easy solutions to such eternally thorny issues—and certainly no early consensus. The war against terrorism is fought at home as well as overseas. The true measure of success will come years in the future, when we can look back and see that we succeeded on both fronts.
Commander Zelvin, a naval aviator, is a politico-military planner in the Joint Staff’s J-5 Homeland Security Division.