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The United States National Strategy for Homeland Security is a formal government response to the events of
September 11, 2001 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerc ...
at the
Pentagon In geometry, a pentagon (from the Greek πέντε ''pente'' meaning ''five'' and γωνία ''gonia'' meaning ''angle'') is any five-sided polygon or 5-gon. The sum of the internal angles in a simple pentagon is 540°. A pentagon may be sim ...
and World Trade Center. The document issued by President George W. Bush outlines the overall strategic considerations for cooperation between the federal government, states, private enterprises, and ordinary citizens in anticipating future terrorism attacks as well as natural disasters and other incidents of national significance. The National Response Framework is the part of the
homeland security Homeland security is an American national security term for "the national effort to ensure a homeland that is safe, secure, and resilient against terrorism and other hazards where American interests, aspirations, and ways of life can thrive" t ...
national strategy that is a Comprehensive Emergency Management guideline for implementing scalable responses to disasters and other incidents of national significance.


Goals

The four primary goals of the National Strategy for Homeland Security are: * Prevent and disrupt terrorist attacks; * Protect the American people, our critical infrastructure, and key resources; * Respond to and recover from incidents that do occur; and * Continue to strengthen the foundation to ensure our long-term success. The first three goals help to organize national efforts while the last goal entails creating and transforming
homeland security Homeland security is an American national security term for "the national effort to ensure a homeland that is safe, secure, and resilient against terrorism and other hazards where American interests, aspirations, and ways of life can thrive" t ...
principles, systems, structures, and institutions.


Implementation

One of the first steps in implementing the strategy was the creation of the
Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior or home ministries of other countries. Its stated missions involve anti-ter ...
. According to the "Homeland Security and National Security" section of the national strategy document:NSHS page 5 {{quote, The Preamble to the Constitution defines our federal government's basic purposes as "... to form a more perfect Union, establish justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity." The requirement to provide for the common defense remains as fundamental today as it was when these words were written, more than two hundred years ago. The National Security Strategy of the United States aims to guarantee the sovereignty and independence of the United States, with our fundamental values and institutions intact. It provides a framework for creating and seizing opportunities that strengthen our security and prosperity. The ''National Strategy for Homeland Security'' complements the '' National Security Strategy of the United States'' by addressing a very specific and uniquely challenging threat – terrorism in the United States – and by providing a comprehensive framework for organizing the efforts of federal, state, local and private organizations whose primary functions are often unrelated to national security.


NIMS/ICS

Generally, the United States
Federal Emergency Management Agency The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Ex ...
(FEMA) provides local guidance on implementing the
National Incident Management System The National Incident Management System (NIMS) is a standardized approach to incident management developed by the United States Department of Homeland Security. The program was established in March 2004, in response to Homeland Security Presidenti ...
(NIMS) and Incident Command System (ICS) for local handling of emergency responses. As responses use up local resources, state and federal resources are mobilized under the National Response Framework, so that operational priorities are met during emergency responses of increasing size and complexity. All of these response activities are within the overall scope of the National Strategy for Homeland Security, whether emergency incidents are the result of terrorism or failure to respond may cause increased vulnerability to terrorism that may occur later.


References

* Office of Homeland Security, ''National Strategy for Homeland Security'' (October 2007), available at https://www.dhs.gov/national-strategy-homeland-security-october-2007


Notes

Disaster preparedness in the United States Emergency management in the United States United States Department of Homeland Security 2000s in the United States