Homeland Security: Home

Former Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano offers an insightful analysis of American security at home and a prescription for the future. Created in the wake of the greatest tragedy to occur on U.S. soil, the Department of Homeland Security was handed a sweeping mandate: make America safer. It would encompass intelligence and law enforcement agencies, oversee natural disasters, commercial aviation, border security and ICE, cybersecurity, and terrorism, among others. From 2009-2013, Janet Napolitano ran DHS and oversaw 22 federal agencies with 230,000 employees. In How Safe Are We?, Napolitano pulls no punches, reckoning with the critics who call it Frankenstein's Monster of government run amok, and taking a hard look at the challenges we'll be facing in the future. But ultimately, she argues that the huge, multifaceted department is vital to our nation's security. An agency that's part terrorism prevention, part intelligence agency, part law enforcement, public safety, disaster recovery make for an odd combination the protocol-driven, tradition-bound Washington D.C. culture. But, she says, it has made us more safe, secure, and resilient. Napolitano not only answers the titular question, but grapples with how these security efforts have changed our country and society. Where are the failures that leave us vulnerable and what has our 1 trillion dollar investment yielded over the last 15 years? And why haven't we had another massive terrorist attack in the U.S. since September 11th, 2001? In our current political climate, where Donald Trump has politicized nearly every aspect of the department, Napolitano's clarifying, bold vision is needed now more than ever.

As potential targets such as military facilities, symbols of democracy, government buildings, and infrastructure are 'hardened' against possible terrorist attacks, terrorists will shift to softer targets: churches, schools, malls, mass entertainment centers, high-rise apartments, transportation centers, and energy facilities. Their goal will be to disrupt or destroy our economy, impose fear and uncertainty, break our national will, and deflect our attention and support from the Middle East. We could wait for it to happen, or we can prepare now. This new book empowers Americans by providing them with the knowledge and skills needed to understand terrorist strategies, which, in turn, allow each of us to contribute to disrupting the terrorists' intended goals through observing and reporting suspicious activity, reducing target vulnerabilities, and minimizing casualties through education and preparation. The authors define terrorism and its origins and describe present-day organizations: where they operate, what their philosophies entail, and what their motivation and objectives are. They review different terrorist tactics and their desired effects, providing readers with guidelines and checklists for surviving them. Knowing how to prepare for, and how to survive an attack is a step toward marginalizing intended casualty rates, psychological impacts, and propaganda values. At the same time, the lifesaving skills presented in this book may also be used in naturally occurring catastrophic events such as hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, or earthquakes.

The Information Plus Reference Series provides statistical data on 32 of todays most controversial and most studied social issues. Each Information Plus title is a compilation of current and historical statistics -- with analysis -- on aspects of one contemporary social issue, such as abortion, capital punishment, and genetic engineering. Each title is divided into chapters that are devoted to a particular topic. The text provides a clear and comprehensive summary of up-to-date research on the topic and is interspersed with the statistical tables, charts, and graphs. Each table is directly referred to and carefully explained in the text. Designed as ready-reference tools, Information Plus titles save researchers and students from the cumbersome task of locating statistics from various sources. Information Plus data are compiled from reports generated by branches of the U.S. government, information collected by major independent polling organizations and authoritative associations, and from professional journals, newspapers, pamphlets, and other reliable sources. With the text presented in an even-handed and unbiased manner, Information Plus is an excellent resource for researchers who want to understand social issues and controversies and draw their own conclusions about them. Each thoroughly indexed volume provides complete source citations for the statisti

Former CIA case officer and author of Operation Hotel California and the forthcoming Beyond Repair, Charles S. Faddis takes a look at the state of homeland security and attempts to answer the question, "Are we really any safer than we were on 9/11?" While not a security expert, Faddis knows more than most about the subject and he does understand terrorism. He has also run numerous offensive operations in his 20 years with the Agency, so it's easy for him to stand in the shoes of a terrorist and appraise targets. To date, he has taken a look at military installations, passenger rail, freight rail, chemical plants, LNG facilities, and water treatment plants. He's just started to look at dams, and next up will be nuclear power plants. He went into this project very skeptical of what he would find. Several months later, he is terrified. The picture is not pretty.