be secretary of homeland security.
As a member of the Homeland Security Advisory Council, I have come to know Michael Chertoff as an able and intelligent man of integrity and vision. His energy, professionalism, and sustained commitment helped him handle with great aplomb the daunting task at hand: making the component agencies of DHS, some with proud and illustrious histories, work together under a common mission. Since the baton recently has been passed to a new administration and secretary, it is now especially appropriate to commend his contributions to the nation's safety and security.
This book is itself a valuable addition to our understanding of homeland security and a much needed explanation of some of America's post-9/11 policies. As such, it is educational. Americans need to know more about homeland security, and throughout this book, its author proves an able teacher.
America's approach to counterterrorism might be summed up as follows. First, we assess the threats terrorists pose. Armed with that assessment, we take steps to prevent and protect against future attacks. Recognizing that we cannot be everywhere at once, we prioritize in hopes of minimizing the risk of attack, rather than engage in futile and counterproductive attempts to eliminate every threat imaginable. Well aware that despite our best efforts another attack remains possible, we plan and prepare for a response that will minimize its costs. And understanding the global nature of terrorism, we know we cannot go at it alone, so we cultivate relations with our friends and allies overseas. Each of these steps is difficult. We have not executed them perfectly, but progress has been made in all of them. That is our nation's strategy, and it is one that this book lays out with clarity and precision.
One of the first axioms of any conflict is to know one's enemy. In our battle against terrorism, we must not only know the identity of our foes, but understand the ideology that fuels their desire to harm us—and counter it.
Weakening terrorists and their sponsors and eliminating safe havens are necessary but not sufficient. We must engage in the battle of ideas, speaking and listening to the world's Muslims in the struggle to win hearts and minds. We must be sensitive to their hopes, dreams, and concerns. And we must explain our values and our policies. We must put forward an agenda of opportunity, one that supports pragmatic political reform, as well as education, the rule of law, civil society, and economic empowerment.
With all of his skills in orchestrating the budgetary and organizational challenges of homeland security, Michael Chertoff did not neglect these broader and fundamental aspects of the effort to secure America. This book underscores how crucial they are and will continue to be. Rejecting the notion that military might alone can win the day, he displays a genuine understanding of how our security depends on successfully integrating and utilizing all the tools of American power in defense of our national interests.
This volume has many strong qualities, but I will highlight a few. First, as exemplified by his balanced discussion of missteps prior to 9/11, this book transcends partisanship and instead identifies the structural obstacles that confront policy-makers in any administration.
Second, the author is not self-congratulatory. This book, although reflective and retrospective at points, is ultimately forward-looking. It warns of looming perils, the need to confront threats, close vulnerabilities, and resist a spirit of national complacency, a perennial obstacle to common-sense policies that can help make us safe.
And yet, while this book warns against the risks of complacency, it exhibits an admirable balance by rejecting the opposite extreme: total risk elimination. Not only is that aim unachievable, but an across-the-board pursuit of it would court disaster. It could shutter our commerce, threaten our liberties and way of life, and hand the terrorists a critical victory. The way to combat complacency is to work tirelessly against opposition to sound policies rooted in proven risk management principles. Such policies aim to prevent attacks and also to plan and prepare for an effective response should attacks occur.
By discussing these matters candidly and straightforwardly, and by puncturing associated myths, legends, and wrongheaded notions about homeland security, Michael Chertoff does the reader, and the nation, a service. One of the greatest myths is the idea that in combating terrorism, America is or should be a Lone Ranger nation. In response to this assertion, this book cites impressive examples of how we and our allies are not only working closely together, but have enacted remarkably similar security policies, from biometrics to secure identification.
Clearly, this book is a notable and important addition to our ongoing national discourse and understanding about homeland security from one of the country's most informed and distinguished public servants. It is also a welcome reminder of his accomplishments.
Introduction
IN March 2008, the United States commemorated the fifth anniversary of the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. The occasion was marked by a historic event in the nation's capital, at which I hosted President George W. Bush and my predecessor, Tom Ridge, along with thousands of dedicated men and women of the department.
This volume highlights the achievements of the Department of Homeland Security since its founding, along with its continued challenges in relation to its mission. That mission is to pursue a unified, risk-managed strategy of preventing or reducing America's vulnerability to terrorism and natural disasters, a strategy designed to guard the nation and its infrastructure from dangerous people and material, while mitigating the consequences of disasters by strengthening the nation's emergency preparedness and response systems.
Certainly the first step in preventing or mitigating the risk of disaster is to know and understand the dangers we face. Accordingly, the book's initial section catalogues the known threats to the homeland. It spells out both natural and man-made threats, from tornados to terrorism.
Concerning the terrorist threat, the September 11 attacks compelled us to recognize the growing power of an extremist global movement, one that had birthed a series of networked organizations dedicated to the destruction of America, its institutions, and its way of life. Who were these dangerous individuals and groups? What were their fundamental objectives and goals? What motivated them to destroy the lives of nearly 3,000 innocent civilians on that fateful day? What level of threat will they likely pose to our homeland for the foreseeable future?1
In Chapter 1, “Assessing the Dangers,” I discuss these sworn enemies of our nation and of its friends and allies. While identifying Al Qaeda as the principal threat, I also depict organizations like Hezbollah as having the motivation and capabilities to pose a serious risk to our security over the next generation. I also discuss the emerging threat posed by transnational gangs like MS-13. These increasingly sophisticated criminal organizations engage in drug and human trafficking, kidnapping, and murder-for-hire. They pose an immediate danger to the stability of governments in our hemisphere and have the potential to evolve into ideological organizations with political objectives that are similar to those of international terrorist groups.
In Chapter 2, “The Ideological Roots of Terror,” I identify and explore the historical roots of radical Islamism, the ideology that drives our foes. Pointing to the surprisingly Western, totalitarian roots of this extremism, I describe how it threatens Western democracy and traditional Islam alike. Clearly, we are opposed not merely by a physical enemy, but by this virulent ideology. I portray the fight against global terrorism as a contest between the ideals of freedom and those of tyranny. Like the Cold War, this struggle will likely last for decades. It is a global battle for hearts and minds as well as territory, and its outcome will depend on our ability to resist complacency and retain our resolve and belief in the rightness of our cause.
A final point must be made about the threats America faces to its safety. Homeland security deals not only with terrorism and related dangers, but also with natural threats like hurricanes and floods, wildfires and tornados. Unlike man-made threats, these obviously cannot be prevented from occurring. We can and should, however, continue to take action to minimize their likely impact.