Strengthening the Department of Homeland Security

Dr. Taylor,

I was surfing the web and I came across this website called "CSIS: Center for Strategic and International Studies." This website is a very good source public policy issues because it examines all of the programs and policies that have either been set into motion or are being discussed in the government. This site can also tell you policies and programs in other countries around the world, though other countries do not really apply to this class, it is good to have the information available in case any students want to know what is going on in the other countries or if any of the students are taking either comparative politics or international relations.
The section I was looking at was the Department of Homeland Security which can be found at the bottom of the website. There was a report published on September 18, 2008 titled "Homeland Security 3.0" and the purpose of the report is to recommend ideas for strengthening Homeland Security not just as a department of our government, but as a national enterprise. Thought this report is from September, it still applies today in January, especially now that we are on the eve of a new Administration. The report reiterates the importance of Homeland Security and addresses the significance of the matter in the plans of the new Administration. The report requests the new Administration to "urge completion of the most urgent task at hand, which is establishing a national homeland security enterprise that integrates all elements of society to protect America against catastrophic events." I think that strengthening Homeland Security is a great idea, since personally I feel that with a new President and the first African American President, we are a little more prone to attack in the eyes of our enemies, strengthening Homeland Security can only benefit us, not hurt us. Hopefully, Obama will make good decisions for this country and one good decision would definitely be to strengthen Homeland Security on a national level.

to access the website click http://www.csis.org/
to view the full report click http://www.csis.org/media/csis/pubs/080918_homeland_sec_3dot0.pdf