Improving homeland security: challenges and improvement Essay

The United States of the States had its region of enemies since it was considered as the new military superpower. But with regards to intelligence work and the ability to flummox an pom-pom by an external army nonhing was as spectacular as the Pearl Harbor attack in 1941. It was a atrocious lesson in intelligence failure and past presidents vowed it will never risk again. But when 9/11 shook the nation, with an attack closer to home, some are wondering who dropped the ball in terms of intelligence work.This topic will look at the major challenges faced by the US intelligence familiarity and the subsequent changes and transformation initiated by government officials to append upon a marked improvement when it tell aparts to information gathering and preventing future attacks in the US homeland. Before going any further it is important to witness the historical background of US intelligence and how it was shaped by orbicular events especially during World War II and the Co ld War with the originator Union Soviet Socialists Republic of Russia. The discussion will then come in sharp focus to the events surrounding the infamous September 11, 2001 attacks. accentuate At the turn of the century, the Ameri nookie government, buoyed by the economic progress from the industrial Age began to rise as a superpower. It was considered by many in the global arena as a overstretch to contend with. moreover it took an unprovoked attack from an Imperial Army of Japan to finally force into everyones consciousness that indeed America is both feared and respected. So, one sunlight morning, more than sixty years ago, Hawaii part of the Union nonetheless situated far by in the Pacific was mercilessly bombed by Nipponese planes.The former President Franklin D. Roosevelt was right in denouncing the surprise attack as a day of infamy. There was no doubt that it was a day of ill repute as America was rudely make aware of their fast rising status. And with it comes ene mies who perceive America as a threat or a country guilty of exploiting others. Whatever the perception, the US government will arouse to defend itself from enemies both foreign and domestic. newsworthiness Failure In the aftermath of the Pearl Harbor attack, the U. S.intelligence community was severely criticized for failing to warn the nation of an impending attack from the Japanese aggressors. It was found out late that at that place was enough intelligence gathered to have alerted the army base there, alone it was largely ignored. This is a standard example of intelligence failure and the consequence of which lingers on for a capacious clipping. The Pearl Harbor incident was the catalyst that transformed the US discussion community. From then on the intelligence gathering capability of the United States of America was constrained to improve.And then again, complacency is the predict up to(p) effect of success. When Americas chief nemesis the USSR was toppled down, Americ a finds itself in unfamiliar territory, a arena where there is no one to challenge and serve as a counter-balance to Americas military superiority. When everything was quiet no one was able to anticipate that it was merely the calm before the storm so to speak. biography eerily repeated itself, the infamy of Pearl Harbor was relived again and this time it was not a thousand miles a elan from the center of America but the enemy struck the economic nerve center of the nation.It was the same terrible attack that stunned an unprepared government and its people. Predictably, just as it was in Pearl Harbor, there were also a great number of casualties. In spite of the previous changes and improvements, the US watchword community was again caught level footed. Intelligent Work harmonise to Michael Turner intelligence gathering empennage have a variety of definitions but for the professional it is encapsulated in the sideline statements intelligence is a particular kind of informati on that helps to inform, instruct, and educate the insurance policy world.To consumers of intelligence the policy makers intelligence is that and more. To semipolitical leaders a political liability, depending on whether intelligence information helps or hinders the fulfillment of political goals (2005, p. 3). Intelligence gathering is therefore a tool that helps create certainty in a very uncertain world. It follows therefore that intelligence gathering is not merely the action of collecting info but would also spurious the interpretation of the same. This aspect of intelligence gathering requires attention and the neglect of which is the fall of many intelligence failures.It is simply not enough to have data but there moldiness(prenominal) also be an equally efficient means of interpreting the said information. Adapting to Change For thousands of years the nature of war remained constant. Thus, two opposing camps fight it out in the battlefield. There was the trenchant use of troop movement and the use of military hardware. The commander who substructure utilize men and re bloodlines effectively wins the battle and ultimately the war. But since 9/11 the world has been rudely awakened to a different caseful of warfare. It is freedom fighter tactics brought into urban centers and far away from the traditional havele of war.If this is the new face of war then intelligence gathering must also be transformed to adapt to it. Intelligence gathering must now be geared towards an enemy led not by a traditional army but extremists who will fight for a cause that sometimes transcend national boundaries. Rendered Ineffective Aside from the guerilla tactics used by the members of the Al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups another primer for the failure of the US response were the laws that prevented for a more thorough probe of suspicious characters.The strength of America which is the significant number of civil liberties enjoyed by its citizens became th e liability that was exploited by the terrorists. In fact the 9/11 Commission pointed out that there were laws that were enacted to curtail some of the investigative powers of the FBI. According to the 9/11 Commission, The FBI was criticized, rightly, for the overzealous domestic intelligence investigations disclosed during the 1970s. The pendulum swung away from those types of investigations during the 1980s and 1990s (see 9/11 Commission Report).The FBI was then forced to take on kids gloves when treating suspected terrorists. Al-Qaeda on the other hand perceived these new developments as weaknesses they can exploit. Aside from ineffective laws the US Intelligence community has to deal with a host of other problems that includes 1) the incorrect analysis of information and intelligence 2) the lack of coordination between government agencies and 3) the absence of system where law enforcement agencies as well as counter-terror groups can share information.Human Intelligence But th e most significant intelligence source with regards to the topic is HUMINT or human intelligence. And the reason is easy to understand there are a lot of problematic factors related to this type of intelligence. introductory of all most information gathered through this method can be considered as secondary. There must be a way of processing raw data in order to determine its accuracy.In this regard there is now a move to develop good and human resources that will be able to fully analyze humint as expounded in the following statements The very nature of the transnational threat demands that we have analysts with language capabilities and are knowledge to understand local situations in blood to global, transnational, and international trends and impacts. Analysts get a professional network that transcends territorial borders, and they need to be comfortable turning to local as well as global information (Sands, 2005, p. 75).