After the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, policy makers realized that the exchange of intelligence among federal agencies was inadequate. As a consequence, President George W. Bush created the Office of Homeland Security (OHS) nine days after the terrorist attacks and appointed former Pennsylvania governor Tom Ridge in October 2001 to head the agency. The purpose of OHS was to coordinate intelligence efforts within the federal government. Modeled on the U. S. armed forces’ DEFCON system, the OHS developed a five-tier, color-coded system in March 2002 to warn about pending attacks and increase security around the nation. The levels are severe, high, elevated, guarded, and low, depending on the security threat. Readiness has remained mostly at the “elevated” level since its inception.
On November 25, 2002, the OHS was made a cabinet-level position with the passage of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 and was functioning by January 24, 2003. Ridge was appointed secretary of Homeland Security. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is charged with ensuring the defense of the United States from terrorist attacks but also included the task of coordinating relief efforts after a natural disaster. The DHS is divided into four directorates: Border and Transportation Security, Emergency Preparedness and Response, Science and Technology, and Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection. Many agencies from the Departments of Agriculture, Treasury, Defense, and Energy were incorporated into the new department. Among the most notable were the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA); the Secret Service and Customs, both formerly of the Treasury Department; the Nuclear Incident Response Team, formerly of the Energy Department; the Transportation Security Administration; and part of the Immigration and Naturalization Service of the Justice Department. Many of these agencies were incorporated into the DHS on March 1, 2003. In addition to the incorporation of many agencies under one umbrella, DHS launched a campaign to educate citizens through pamphlets, broadsides, and a Web site, Ready. gov, about proper emergency responses to terrorist attacks and natural disasters. Much of this literature included tips for businesses, families, and local government
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On how to make shelters and advice on food and water storage and the development of emergency plans.
Within two years of its inception, the DHS experienced a change in leadership and many problems expected of a department of its capacity. Secretary Ridge resigned his position after President Bush’s reelection in 2004, and Bush selected Bernard Kerik in December 2004 as a replacement. Kerik was a former New York Police Department commissioner and served as the interim minister of the Interior of Iraq, where he directed the Iraq National Police after the March 2003 invasion of Iraq. After accepting Bush’s nomination, Kerik withdrew one week later because of allegations over IMMIGRATION law violations. Bush subsequently appointed Michael Chertoff, who was confirmed by a 98-0 Senate vote on February 15, 2005. As the new secretary, Chertoff faced the fledgling department’s first of many trials. When Hurricane Katrina slammed against the Gulf Coast in September 2005, critics argued that the DHS and its subordinate agency FEMA were sluggish to respond to the natural disaster. Coupled with this failure was a report issued by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in July 2006, which cited the department for not establishing spending guidelines for employees. In response to this criticism, the agency has reformed many of its operating procedures while continuing to provide national security. Former governor of Arizona Janet Napolitano became secretary of DHS in 2009.
Further reading: Russell D. Howard, James J. F. Forest, and Joanne Moore, Homeland and Terroris'm:
Readings and Interpretations (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2005); The White House. Homeland Security Act of 2002. Available online. URL: Http://www. whitehouse. gov/deptof homeland/bill/. Accessed January 5, 2009.
—Matthew C. Sherman
World History
