HLS 6050 DF3: How Terrorists Have Evolved in 21st Century

Comment on these two post as if you were me with a 100 words each, DO NOT COMPARE THE POSTS, and put 3 references for each post, and please seperate the references with the post it was made for.
Kayla Strezsak
For this week I chose to focus on an article entitled, Inauguration security focusing on truck attack threat, Homeland Security says. In the recent years, the use of trucks has become a more common and unfortunate theme for terrorist attacks. With the inauguration passing and the increasing tension between parties, protest became very prominent. Whether there is a prominent threat or not it is extremely important especially on days like the inauguration to be vigilant. As the article states, “Federal authorities overseeing the far-flung security plan for next week's inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump are fortifying a perimeter around the Capitol to account for the threat of deadly truck attacks similar to recent assaults in Germany and France that left dozens dead.” While they did take precautions during the inauguration, it is not always the case. We should continue to keep our eyes peeled and ensure that we do not become complacent.
http://www(dot)usatoday(dot)com/story/news/politics/2017/01/13/security-trump-inauguration-focuses-truck-attack-threat-homeland-security/96544292/
Daniel Iannotti
The New York Times ran an article on December 7, 2016 about Donald Trump’s selection for Secretary of Homeland Security, General John Kelly. They outline his personality and his background which would qualify him for the position. The New York Times turned to immigration reform group leaders to see their views on the selection – noting that the General had a very practical view of immigration and understood that addressing the root causes, such as wide spread violence, would be more beneficial than simply building a wall.
General Kelly is slated to take over one of the largest bureaucratic agencies within the federal government. The organization chart for DHS shows 17 subcomponents of headquarters and 7 additional components, all of which were standalone organizations before the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. There are overlapping responsibilities between organizations and significant defiance within the ranks. Many of the organizations that existed before DHS was born, all feel like they should not be part of DHS and try to maintain their autonomy. The General’s primary concern, per the New York Times article will be illegal immigration. DHS currently has four different components that deal with immigration in one form or another.
The structure of DHS does not allow it function efficiently. Communication between components is minimal every sub agency attempts to handle issues in their own way. Gen. Kelly is inheriting a bureaucracy with the intention of making it operationally feasible to end illegal immigration. While the goal is admirable, transforming the way an entire organization functions is hard. DHS has been adapting its mission and working relationships since its inception. It will be hard for General Kelly to stabilize the change long enough to make an impact. The argument is between the centralization of the organization, restructuring everyone into non-redundant offices and fully decentralizing the department and having each subcomponent operate as an individual entity. A decentralized organization attempting to operate as a centralized one has and will continue to cause confusion and red tape.
References
Landler, M., & Haberman, M. (2016, December 7). Donald Trump Picks John Kelly, Retired General, to Lead Homeland Security. Retrieved from New York Times: https://www(dot)nytimes(dot)com/2016/12/07/us/politics/john-kelly-dhs-trump.html
Reese, S. (2013). Defining Homeland Security: Analysis and Congressional Considerations. Congressional Research Service.
U.S. Department of Homeland Security Organizational Chart. (n.d.). US Department of Homeland Security.