CHAPTER 1 What Is Homeland Security Have you ever been asked to take your shoes off in an airport security line And then walk through a metal detector And then watch while workers go through your backpack These days if you’re flying to another city you have to be ready for a few delays in getting to your plane These safety measures were set up by the Transportation Security Administration TSA which is part of a new government body called the Department of Homeland Security DHS TSA agents work to make sure air travel remains as safe as possible for us And they’re just one part of the DHS The DHS is now the third-largest department in the United States government The person who runs it known as the secretary of homeland security is a member of the president’s cabinet The cabinet is occupied by people the president trusts for 4 21st century skills library
Airport security makes sure no one carries anything illegal onto a plane A CITIZEN’S GUIDE 5
The 9 11 attacks forever changed how America addressed airport security honest and direct advice on all critical matters They also include the vice president the attorney general and the secretaries of state defense and the treasury Congress created the DHS in November 2002 It combined 22 other agencies a huge reorganization plus it required some new positions as well In the early days the main thrust of the DHS was to more efficiently collect and analyze data from intelligence-gathering bodies These included the Central Intelligence Agency CIA the Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI and the National Security Agency NSA 6 21st century skills library
On September 11 2001 the United States suffered the worst foreign attack on its soil since the bombing of Pearl Harbor by Japanese forces on December 7 1941 A group of terrorists hijacked four commercial jets Two were crashed into the World Trade Center towers in New York City buildings that stood as symbols of American business and power Another jet was flown into the Pentagon the headquarters for the Department of Defense located in Arlington Virginia The fourth jet was on its way to Washington D C when the passengers and crew hearing 21st Century Content Terrorism has unfortunately been around for hundreds of years The basic definition of terrorism is the practice of using threats or violence to frighten or pressure others often for making a statement against a political system Religious and political groups and governments around the world have clashed since at least the first century Even the famed Boston Tea Party carried out by American rebels in 1773 was considered an act of terrorism Nowadays extremists plan bombings and assassi nations Today’s terrorists have a startling array of tools at their disposal including advanced weaponry the funding and support of various governments and the power of the Internet A CITIZEN’S GUIDE 7
