Weekly discussion to be answered
1.
In your own words, compare and contrast sabotage and espionage.
Additionally, explain what you believe to be the two (2) greatest concerns when it comes to trucking, shipping and railroad security and justify your choices.
2. Chapter 14 of your textbook describes two (2) viewpoints on the expanded homeland security bureaucracy that resulted from the creation of the DHS. Take a position on the expansion debate. Support your position with facts from the text. See excerpt from CH 14 below for reference.
Bureaucracy and Preventing Terrorism
There are two views concerning the expanded homeland security bureaucracy. Supporters of one position maintain that consolidating power is efficient. They argue that a large bureaucracy with a clear mission will empower the security forces to perform their mission. The decision to create DHS was based on this idea (Office of Homeland Security, 2002). Proponents of the second position suggest that decentralizing power personalizes services and helps develop links to communities. They believe localized, informal offices are more adept at recognizing and handling problems. Support for this position can be found among those who seek to trim the homeland defense concept and those who favor limiting the involvement of state and local governments in a larger organization (see Another Perspective: Taking Aim at Bureaucracy). Although both ideas appear to be new in the wake of September 11, they are actually part of a long-time, ongoing debate.
Intelligence in Bureaucracy
The role of law enforcement and intelligence in homeland security is not exempt from the issues surrounding bureaucracy. Whether federal, state, or local, bureaucratic police work is a political process occurring in the context of official, routine procedures. Intelligence agencies, whether involved with the military or not, face the same problems. Both intelligence-gathering and law enforcement organizations oper- ate within the American political system. They reflect governmental power, and their actions have political ramifications. Internally, conflicts arise from personal rivalries, territorial fights, and power struggles.
Homeland security involves the use of intelligence and law enforcement. The Bush Administration argued that counterterrorism is mainly a military problem. In the United States, however, the lead agency for counterterrorism is the FBI (Best, 2001). The FBI has several charges in this realm. First, under Director Robert Muel- ler, its charge is to prevent terrorism. Second, it is to coordinate intelligence-gathering and intelligence-sharing activities with the Border Patrol, Secret Service, and CIA. Third, it is to operate as a partner of state and local law enforcement. Finally, because the FBI is in the Department of Justice (DOJ), it is to coordinate its activities with DHS and the Department of Defense (DOD). Under the intelligence reform law of 2004, all intelligence coordination must take place in the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) (U.S. Congress, 2004).
3.Suggest the key changes that you would make to the existing homeland bureaucracy in order to improve its effectiveness. For each of your suggested changes, provide a rationale for your suggestion, and determine the fundamental manner in which your suggested change would impact the effectiveness of the DHS.
4.Benjamin Franklin said, “Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” Discuss the origins of the quote, and assess its relevance in relation to the USA PATRIOT Act. Provide a rationale for your response.
5.From the e-Activity, analyze one (1) provision of the USA PATRIOT Act that some consider unconstitutional. Take a position on whether or not you believe the USA PATRIOT Act should be considered unconstitutional overall. Provide facts to support your answer.
E-Activity
Research the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT) Act of 2001. Focus your research on the factors that have led the general public to question the constitutionality of the Act.
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