HOMELAND
SECURITY
ASSESSING THE FIRST FIVE YEARS
Michael Chertoff
Foreword by Lee H. Hamilton
PENN
University of Pennsylvania Press
Philadelphia
Copyright © 2009 University of Pennsylvania Press
All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations used for purposes of review or scholarly citation, none of this book may be reproduced in any form by any means without written permission from the publisher.
Published by
University of Pennsylvania Press
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104-4112
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Chertoff, Michael, 1953–
Homeland security : assessing the first five years / Michael Chertoff.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8122-4202-7 (alk. paper)
1. United States. Dept. of Homeland Security—Evaluation.
2. National security—United States. I. Title.
HV6432.4.C47 2009
363.34'560973—dc22 2009008428
Contents
2: The Ideological Roots of Terror
3: Securing the Border—and Reforming Immigration
PROTECTION: REDUCING VULNERABILITIES
7: Protecting and Preserving Infrastructure
12: Biological Threats and Biodefenses
13: The Question of FEMA and Homeland Security
14: Cooperation and Consensus Abroad
15: The Responsibility to Contain
Conclusion: Before September 11—and Since
Foreword
Lee H. Hamilton
SINCE the September 11 attacks, the United States government has undergone dramatic reforms. Both during and after my tenure as vice chairman of the 9/11 Commission, I witnessed striking changes, ranging from the restructuring of our intelligence agencies to the creation of the Department of Homeland Security.
These changes, despite some missteps, have generated genuine progress toward better securing the United States. Still, making our homeland more secure is a work in progress. The FBI has made counterterrorism a top priority, fundamentally changing the law enforcement culture and directive of the bureau. An integrated terrorist watch is now complete. Under a new Transportation Security Administration, airline security is tighter. US-VISIT helps ensure that people crossing our borders are who they say they are, though immigration reform remains on the backburner. And Washington, along with state and local governments and the private sector, has invested billions of dollars in protecting our communities and securing critical infrastructure at the federal, state, and local levels.
Notwithstanding these and other efforts, it was the unanimous view of the 9/11 Commission that the United States faced the real prospect of further attacks—a view every expert we consulted in the course of our work shared. Terrorists continue to plot and plan another attack, and in an open and democratic society, defending the country at all times and in all places is practically impossible. Above all, we must not become complacent.
We have yet to endure another terrorist attack on American soil. There are many reasons for that: the weakening of Al Qaeda, financial sanctions, better intelligence, more secure borders, tougher law enforcement, and a host of other steps to better protect the American people. In no small measure, credit belongs to initiatives like the ones I have cited—and to public servants like Michael Chertoff.
As head of the Justice Department's Criminal Division, he led the investigation of the 9/11 attacks. In 2005 he gave up a lifetime federal judicial appointment on the Third Circuit to become the nation's second secretary of homeland security. There is always debate in Washington about what is the second toughest job in town. My candidate