Intelligence related to Homeland Security Social Research Paper

Intelligence Related to Homeland Security
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Intelligence Related to Homeland Security
Introduction
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) forms part of the Intelligence Community (IC) in the United States. Its main function in the country is to prevent terrorist attacks, reduce vulnerability to terrorist attacks, while minimizing any damage that may result from terrorism, and facilitating the recovery process from terrorist attacks in other nations. DHS has an intelligence component that has been key in its operations since its inception in 2003 (Randol, 2010). It follows that better intelligence is crucial for improving homeland security thus effectively dealing with terrorism threats (Best Jr, 2004). This paper provides an examination of the different elements of domestic intelligence in the U.S, both at the national and local levels. Therefore, there are explanations of how the entities collaboratively assist the homeland security initiative to safeguard American citizens. Further, the paper addresses the capabilities and limitations of the homeland security enterprise to point out and deal with current challenges or those that may be encountered in the future.
An Examination of Domestic Intelligence Efforts in the United States
Before the terrorist attack in the U.S on September 11, 2001, there had been concerns that no Federal government agency or office was in a position to gather all the bits of diffuse information with clues to the planned attacks (Best Jr, 2004). Over many years, intelligence sharing between intelligence and law enforcement agencies was restricted by statutory prohibitions and administrative policies (Best Jr, 2004). In this regard, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was noted to have shortcomings that hampered its effectiveness and they included: 1) A lack of adequate information technology in its decentralized structure, thus it was unable to correlate knowledge in its possession; 2) Failure to make counterterrorism a priority in many of its offices; and 3) Failure to adequately inform policymakers about the extent of terrorism activities in the U.S due to fragmented information (Burch, 2007). 
In the foregoing, the 9/11 attack prompted a massive response to reorganize the elements of domestic intelligence in the country, in a bid to ensure better prevention and response to terrorism in the future. Several statutory barriers were addressed, such as through the 2001 USA-Patriot Act, alongside other relevant laws (Doyle, 2002). However, no legislation focused on analytical efforts to deal with terrorism. Consequently, the DHS was designed to deal with the analytical deficiencies in the domestic intelligence efforts, just like the Terrorist Threat Integration Centre which was made public by President Bush in January 2013 (Best Jr, 2004). Accordingly, the 2002 Homeland Security Act (Public Law 107-296) helped in developing a Directorate for Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection (IAIP).
The legislation establishing the DHS through the Information Analysis section helped foster close ties between intelligence analysts and the individuals responsible for assessing security risks at key infrastruc...