n a t i o n a l s t r a t e g y f o r

Homeland

security

ho m e l a n d s e c u r i t y c o u n c i l

o ctobe r 2 0 0 7

n a t i o n a l s t r a t e g y f o r

Homeland

security

homeland security council

october 2007

My fellow Americans,

More than 6 years after the attacks of September 11, 2001, we remain at war with adversaries who are committed to destroying our people, our freedom, and our way of life. In the 

midst of this conflict, our Nation also has endured one of the worst natural disasters in our 

history, Hurricane Katrina. As we face the dual challenges of preventing terrorist attacks in 

the Homeland and strengthening our Nation’s preparedness for both natural and man-made 

disasters, our most solemn duty is to protect the American people. The National Strategy for 

Homeland Security serves as our guide to leverage America’s talents and resources to meet this 

obligation.

Despite grave challenges, we also have seen great accomplishments. Working with our partners and allies, we have broken up terrorist cells, disrupted attacks, and saved American lives. 

Although our enemies have not been idle, they have not succeeded in launching another attack 

on our soil in over 6 years due to the bravery and diligence of many. 

Just as our vision of homeland security has evolved as we have made progress in the War on 

Terror, we also have learned from the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina. We witnessed countless 

acts of courage and kindness in the aftermath of that storm, but I, like most Americans, was 

not satisfied with the Federal response. We have applied the lessons of Katrina to this Strategy

to make sure that America is safer, stronger, and better prepared. 

To best protect the American people, homeland security must be a responsibility shared across 

our entire Nation. As we further develop a national culture of preparedness, our local, Tribal, 

State, and Federal governments, faith-based and community organizations, and businesses 

must be partners in securing the Homeland. 

This Strategy also calls on each of you. Every one of us should develop our own personal 

and family readiness plans to help protect us in the event of a natural or man-made disaster, 

enabling emergency responders and resources to be focused on those in greatest need. 

Many of the threats we face – pandemic diseases, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, terrorism, and natural disasters – also demand multinational effort and cooperation. To 

this end, we have strengthened our homeland security through foreign partnerships, and we 

are committed to expanding and increasing our layers of defense, which extend well beyond 

our borders, by seeking further cooperation with our international partners. 

As we secure the Homeland, however, we cannot simply rely on defensive approaches and 

well-planned response and recovery measures. We recognize that our efforts also must involve 

offense at home and abroad. We will disrupt the enemy’s plans and diminish the impact of 

future disasters through measures that enhance the resilience of our economy and critical 

infrastructure before an incident occurs.
Today, our Nation is safer, but we are not yet safe. Since September 11, 2001, we have made great 

progress in confronting new challenges and refining our approach to homeland security. As 

acknowledged in 2002 in the first National Strategy for Homeland Security, we will not achieve 

all of our goals overnight, but we will achieve them. By the very nature of this struggle, many 

of our victories will be unheralded and achieved in silence.

Despite the difficult challenges ahead, we will fulfill our responsibility to safeguard America 

just as generations of Americans have before us. Together, guided by this National Strategy for 

Homeland Security, we will continue working to protect our families and communities, our 

liberty, and our way of life.

GEORGE W. BUSH

THE WHITE HOUSE

October 5, 2007
Contents

Overview of America’s National Strategy for Homeland Security 1

Today’s Realities in Homeland Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Today’s Threat Environment 9

Our Vision and Strategy for Homeland Security 13

Prevent and Disrupt Terrorist Attacks 15

Protect the American People, Critical Infrastructure, and Key Resources . . . . . . . .25

Respond to and Recover from Incidents 31

Ensuring Long-Term Success 41

Conclusion 53

National Strategy for Homeland Security 

Overview of America’s

National Strategy for Homeland Security

America is at war with terrorist enemies who are intent on attacking our Homeland 

and destroying our way of life. The lives and livelihoods of the American people 

also remain at risk from natural catastrophes, including naturally occurring infectious diseases and hazards such as hurricanes and earthquakes, and man-made accidents. 

Our National Strategy for Homeland Security recognizes that while we must continue to focus 

on the persistent and evolving terrorist threat, we also must address the full range of potential 

catastrophic events, including man-made and natural disasters, due to their implications for 

homeland security. 

The purpose of our Strategy is to guide, organize, and unify our Nation’s homeland security 

efforts. It provides a common framework by which our entire Nation should focus its efforts 

on the following four goals: 

•	 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. 

While the first three goals help to organize our national efforts, the last goal entails creating and transforming our homeland security principles, systems, structures, and institutions. 

This includes applying a comprehensive approach to risk management, building a culture of 

preparedness, developing a comprehensive Homeland Security Management System, improving incident management, better utilizing science and technology, and leveraging all instruments of national power and influence. 

Homeland security requires a truly national effort, with shared goals and responsibilities for 

protecting and defending the Homeland. Our Strategy leverages the unique strengths and 

capabilities of all levels of government, the private and non-profit sectors, communities, and 

individual citizens. Mindful that many of the threats we face do not recognize geographic 

boundaries, we also will continue to work closely with our international partners throughout 

the world. 

This updated Strategy, which builds directly from the first National Strategy for Homeland 

Security issued in July 2002, reflects our increased understanding of the terrorist threats confronting the United States today, incorporates lessons learned from exercises and real-world 

catastrophes – including Hurricane Katrina – and proposes new initiatives and approaches 

that will enable the Nation to achieve our homeland security objectives. This Strategy also 

complements both the National Security Strategy issued in March 2006 and the National Strategy for Combating Terrorism issued in September 2006. 

Our first and most solemn obligation is to protect the American people. The National Strategy 

for Homeland Security will guide our Nation as we honor this commitment and achieve a more 

secure Homeland that sustains our way of life as a free, prosperous, and welcoming America. 

National Strategy for Homeland Security 

Today’s Realities in Homeland Security

Evolution of the Paradigm

The terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, were acts of war against the United States 

and the principles of freedom, opportunity, and openness that define the American 

way of life. The severity and magnitude of the attacks were unprecedented, and that 

dark day became a watershed event in the Nation’s approach to protecting and defending the 

lives and livelihoods of the American people.

Despite previous acts of terror on our Nation’s soil – most 

notably the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center and 

the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City – homeland security before September 11 existed as a patchwork of efforts undertaken 

by disparate departments and agencies across all levels 

of government. While segments of our law enforcement 

and intelligence communities, along with our armed 

forces, assessed and prepared to act against terrorism 

and other significant threats to the United States, we 

lacked a unifying vision, a cohesive strategic approach, and the necessary institutions within 

government to secure the Homeland against terrorism. 

The shock of September 11 transformed our thinking. In the immediate aftermath of history’s 

deadliest international terrorist attack, we developed a homeland security strategy based on a 

concerted national effort to prevent terrorist attacks within the United States, reduce America’s 

vulnerability to terrorism, and minimize the damage and recover from attacks that do occur. 

In order to help implement that strategy, we enhanced our homeland security and counterterrorism architecture at the Federal, State, local, Tribal, and community levels. 

Our understanding of homeland security continued to evolve after September 11, adapting 

to new realities and threats. As we waged the War on Terror both at home and abroad, our 

Nation endured Hurricane Katrina, the most destructive natural disaster in U.S. history. The 

human suffering and staggering physical destruction caused by Katrina were a reminder that 

threats come not only from terrorism, but also from nature. Indeed, certain non-terrorist 

events that reach catastrophic levels can have significant implications for homeland security. 

The resulting national consequences and possible cascading effects from these events might 

present potential or perceived vulnerabilities that could be exploited, possibly eroding citizens’ 

confidence in our Nation’s government and ultimately increasing our vulnerability to attack. 

This Strategy therefore recognizes that effective preparation for catastrophic natural disasters 

and man-made disasters, while not homeland security per se, can nevertheless increase the 

security of the Homeland.

Homeland Security Defined

Homeland Security is a concerted national effort to prevent 

terrorist attacks within the United 

States, reduce America’s vulnerability to terrorism, and minimize 

the damage and recover from 

attacks that do occur.
 National Strategy for Homeland Security

Shared Responsibility

Throughout the evolution of our homeland security paradigm, one feature most essential to 

our success has endured: the notion that homeland security is a shared responsibility built 

upon a foundation of partnerships. Federal, State, local, and Tribal governments, the private and non-profit sectors, communities, and individual citizens all share common goals and 

responsibilities – as well as accountability – for protecting and defending the Homeland. 

The Federal Government as a united whole – 

and not simply one or two departments or agencies – has a critical role in homeland security 

and leads in those areas where it has a constitutional mandate or where it possesses the unique 

capabilities to address the most catastrophic or 

consequential scenarios. Those areas include, 

for example, border security; intelligence missions; and detecting, tracking, and rendering 

safe weapons of mass destruction (WMD). The 

Federal Government also is responsible for 

developing national strategies as well as promulgating best practices, national standards 

for homeland security, and national plans, as 

appropriate. It also uses targeted funding based 

on a risk management approach to help ensure 

that homeland security partners are capable of working together effectively and efficiently – in 

a truly national effort. 

America’s constitutional foundations of federalism and limited government place significant 

trust and responsibility in the capabilities of State and local governments to help protect the 

American people. State, local, and Tribal governments, which best understand their communities and the unique requirements of their citizens, provide our first response to incidents through law enforcement, fire, public health, and emergency medical services. They 

will always play a prominent, frontline role in helping to prevent terrorist attacks as well as in 

preparing for and responding to a range of natural and man-made emergencies. 

The private and non-profit sectors also must be full partners in homeland security. As the 

country’s principal providers of goods and services, and the owners or operators of approximately 85 percent of the Nation’s critical infrastructure, businesses have both an interest in 

and a responsibility for ensuring their own security. The private sector plays key roles in areas 

as diverse as supply chain security, critical infrastructure protection, and research and development in science, technology, and other innovations that will help secure the Homeland. 

The non-profit sector, including volunteer and relief groups and faith-based organizations, 

provides important support services for the Nation, including meals and shelter, counseling, 

and compassion and comfort to Americans, particularly in the aftermath of an incident. 

In order to complete this truly national effort, we also must encourage and draw upon an 

informed and active citizenry. For instance, citizens should each understand what to do if 

they observe suspicious behavior in their community and what to do in the event of an attack 

State and Local Governments

This Strategy defines “State” to mean any 

State of the United States, the District of 

Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, 

Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, 

or the trust territory of the Pacific Islands. 

This Strategy also defines “local government” as any county, city, village, town, 

district, or other political subdivision of any 

State, and includes any rural community or 

unincorporated town or village or any other 

public entity for which an application for 

assistance is made by a State or political 

subdivision thereof.
National Strategy for Homeland Security 

or natural disaster – this will reduce the threat to lives and property as well as the burden on 

emergency managers and first responders. 

Partnerships in homeland security also extend beyond our Nation’s borders. International 

cooperation continues to be an enduring feature of our approach to terrorism and violent 

extremism, infectious diseases, and other threats that transcend jurisdictional and geographic 

boundaries. The United States will continue to develop and strengthen foreign partnerships 

and the homeland security capabilities of our friends and allies. Security at home ultimately 

is related to security abroad: as partners protect and defend their homelands, the security of 

our own Homeland increases.

Progress in Homeland Security and Beyond

We recognize that to the American people, progress should be measured not simply in terms 

of published plans or increased budgets; rather, it must be measured by the results that we 

achieve. Since September 11, we have made extraordinary progress, with most of our important successes in the War on Terror and in the full range of homeland security activities having 

been achieved through effective national and international partnerships. Our work, however, 

is far from over.

•	 We have greatly increased worldwide counterterrorism efforts since September 11, which 

has constrained the ability of al-Qaida to attack the Homeland and has led terrorist groups 

to find that the Homeland is a harder target to strike. These measures have helped disrupt multiple potentially deadly plots against the United States since September 11.

•	 We have instituted an active, multi-layered approach to securing the Homeland that integrates the capabilities of local, Tribal, State, and Federal governments, as well as those of 

the private and non-profit sectors, in order to secure the land, maritime, air, space, and 

cyber domains. 

•	 We have made our borders more secure and developed an effective system of layered 

defense by strengthening the screening of people and goods overseas and by tracking and 

disrupting the international travel of terrorists. 

•	 We have strengthened our ability to protect the American people by enhancing our homeland security and counterterrorism architecture through the creation of the Department 

of Homeland Security, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Homeland 

Security Council, the National Counterterrorism Center, and U.S. Northern Command, 

a Department of Defense combatant command focused on homeland defense and civil 

support. 

•	 The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) have 

made the prevention of terrorist attacks their highest priority, as evidenced by the creation of the FBI’s new National Security Branch and DOJ’s new National Security Division. We also have more effectively leveraged State, local, and Tribal law enforcement 

efforts as part of our national homeland security enterprise.

•	 Through the targeted risk-based delivery of Federal grant funding and technical assistance, we have enhanced State, local, and Tribal homeland security training and equipment, emergency management capabilities, and the interoperability of communications. 
 National Strategy for Homeland Security

•	 We have taken a series of historic steps to address biological threats, both deliberate 

and natural. These steps include unprecedented efforts to develop and procure medical countermeasures against bioterrorism and pandemic threats, improve capabilities for 

the detection of and response to biological attacks, and support State, local, and Tribal 

preparedness efforts through funding and explicit guidance.

•	 We have worked with the Congress to create, implement, and renew key legal reforms – 

such as the USA PATRIOT Act, the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 

2004, and the Protect America Act of 2007 – which promote security and help to implement both the 9/11 Commission and the WMD Commission recommendations while 

protecting our fundamental liberties. Furthermore, with the Military Commissions Act 

of 2006, the United States can prosecute captured terrorists for war crimes through full 

and fair trials.

•	 Since September 11, the Administration has worked with the Congress to establish the 

Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board as an integral part of the Executive Branch, 

and we have further established privacy officers in departments and agencies across the 

Federal Government – all to ensure that the rights of American citizens are considered 

and respected in our counterterrorism efforts. 

•	 We have created a full-scale, comprehensive National Exercise Program to increase our 

preparedness to respond to the consequences of terrorist attacks and natural disasters.

Challenges in Homeland Security and Beyond

While America is safer, we are not yet safe. Because of determined terrorist enemies and 

nature’s unyielding power, significant challenges remain, including: 

•	 The War on Terror remains a generational struggle, and our entire Nation must be 

engaged and prepared to participate in this effort. 

•	 Terrorists have declared their intention to acquire and use weapons of mass destruction 

(WMD) to inflict catastrophic attacks against the United States and our allies, partners, 

and other interests.

•	 Our vast land and maritime borders make it difficult to completely deny terrorists and 

their weapons access to the Homeland. 

•	 The United States is not immune to the emergence of homegrown radicalization and 

violent Islamic extremism. 

•	 We must counter potential waning in the sense of urgency and levels of international 

cooperation as September 11 becomes a more distant memory and perceptions of the 

terrorist threat diverge. 

•	 We must guard against complacency and balance the sense of optimism that is fundamental to the American character with the sober recognition that despite our best efforts, 

future catastrophes – natural and man-made – will occur, and thus we must always remain 

a prepared Nation. 

•	 Although we have substantially improved our cooperation and partnership among all 

levels of government, private and non-profit sectors, communities, and individual citi-
National Strategy for Homeland Security 

zens, we must continue to strengthen efforts to achieve full unity of effort through a 

stronger and further integrated national approach to homeland security. 

•	 Although we have improved our ability to manage the risks that we face in the 21st century global security environment, we must enhance our ability to measure risk in a consistent and commonly accepted fashion and allocate finite resources accordingly.

•	 We must make additional reforms to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) 

and ensure that the statute is permanently amended so that our intelligence professionals 

continue to have the legal tools they need to gather information about the intentions of 

our enemies while protecting the civil liberties of Americans. 

•	 While our information sharing capabilities have improved significantly, substantial 

obstacles remain. We must continue to break down information barriers among Federal, 

State, local, and Tribal partners and the private sector. 

•	 The Congress must better align its oversight and committee structure in order to reflect 

the need for streamlined and effective legislative action that supports a unified approach 

to securing the Nation. 

National Strategy for Homeland Security 

Today’s Threat Environment

Our Nation faces complex and dynamic threats from terrorism. In addition, other 

threats from catastrophic events – including natural disasters, accidents, and other 

hazards – exist and must be addressed. We will continue to advance our understanding of these threats so we are better able to safeguard the American people.

Terrorism

Despite concerted worldwide efforts in the aftermath of September 11 that have disrupted terrorist plots and constrained al-Qaida’s ability to strike the Homeland, the United States faces 

a persistent and evolving terrorist threat, primarily from violent Islamic terrorist groups and 

cells.

Currently, the most serious and dangerous manifestation of this threat remains al-Qaida, 

which is driven by an undiminished strategic intent to attack our Homeland. Although earlier 

efforts in the War on Terror deprived al-Qaida of its safe haven in Afghanistan and degraded 

its network by capturing or killing most of those responsible for September 11, the group has 

protected its top leadership, replenished operational lieutenants, and regenerated a safe haven 

in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas – core capabilities that would help facilitate 

another attack on the Homeland. 

Al-Qaida likely will continue to enhance its ability to attack America through greater cooperation with regional terrorist groups, particularly al-Qaida in Iraq – currently the group’s 

most visible and capable affiliate and the only one known to have expressed a desire to attack 

us here. Moreover, although we have discovered only a handful of individuals in the United 

States with ties to al-Qaida senior leadership, the group likely will intensify its efforts to place 

operatives here in the Homeland. We also must never lose sight of al-Qaida’s persistent desire 

for weapons of mass destruction, as the group continues to try to acquire and use chemical, 

biological, radiological, or nuclear material.

In addition to al-Qaida, a host of other groups and individuals also use terror and violence 

against the innocent in pursuit of their objectives and pose potential threats to the security of 

the United States. These include Lebanese Hizballah, which has conducted anti-U.S. attacks 

outside the United States and, prior to September 11, was responsible for more American 

deaths than any other terrorist organization. Hizballah may increasingly consider attacking 

the Homeland if it perceives the United States as posing a direct threat to the group or Iran, 

its principal sponsor. 

The United States also is not immune to the emergence of homegrown radicalization and 

violent Islamic extremism within its borders. The arrest and prosecution inside the United 

States of a small number of violent Islamic extremists points to the possibility that others 

in the Homeland may become sufficiently radicalized to view the use of violence within the 

United States as legitimate. While our constitutional protection of freedom of religion, history 

of welcoming and assimilating new immigrants, strong economic opportunities, and equalopportunity protections may help to mitigate the threat, drivers of radicalization still exist. 
10 National Strategy for Homeland Security

We will continue efforts to defeat this threat by working with Muslim American communities 

that stand at the forefront of this fight. 

The terrorist threat to the Homeland is not restricted to violent Islamic extremist groups. We 

also confront an ongoing threat posed by domestic terrorists based and operating strictly within 

the United States. Often referred to as “single-issue” groups, they include white supremacist 

groups, animal rights extremists, and eco-terrorist groups, among others. 

Catastrophic Natural Disasters

Our National Strategy for Homeland Security recognizes that the lives and livelihoods of the 

American people also are at risk from natural catastrophes. Our vast Nation, with its varied 

population, geography, and landscape, will continue to endure a range of natural hazards and 

disasters. 

Naturally occurring infectious diseases pose a significant and ongoing hazard. Increasing 

human contact with domesticated and wild animals (from which many human diseases 

emerge), the growing speed and volume of global travel and commerce, and a decline in the 

development of new infectious disease therapeutics complicate this challenge. In 2003, Severe 

Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) demonstrated the potential for a global impact of a novel 

infectious disease. Originating in rural China, SARS resulted in more than 8,000 infections 

and 800 deaths worldwide and significant economic and social disruptions. The emergence of 

another novel disease without a known countermeasure, or a new influenza pandemic, could 

have dramatically greater consequences. Influenza pandemics have occurred intermittently 

over the centuries. The last three pandemics – in 1918, 1957, and 1968 – killed approximately 

40 million, two million, and one million people worldwide, respectively. Although the timing 

cannot be predicted, history and science suggest that we will face one or more pandemics in 

this century.

Natural disasters also encompass a variety of meteorological and geological hazards. Hurricanes, for example, account for seven of the ten most costly disasters in U.S. history, including Hurricane Katrina – the Nation’s most destructive natural disaster. While experts differ 

on the predicted intensity and frequency of future storms, history suggests the question is 

not if, but when, a devastating hurricane will reach our shores again. Earthquakes also will 

continue to be part of the hazard landscape. Although major advances have been achieved in 

understanding and mitigating earthquake hazards, Americans in 39 States face significant risk 

from earthquakes. Additionally, although each incident is often less significant than major 

hurricanes and earthquakes, floods are the most frequently occurring natural disaster and the 

leading cause of property damage and death from natural disasters in the Homeland over the 

past century. In an average year, more than 800 tornadoes are reported nationwide, resulting 

in 80 deaths and more than 1,500 injuries. In addition, wildfires remain a persistent hazard 

throughout many regions of the country. 

Catastrophic Accidents and Other Hazards

We also remain vulnerable to catastrophic domestic accidents involving industrial hazards 

and infrastructure failures. These include the thousands of chemical spills that occur each 

year with the potential for significant public health and environmental impacts. In addition, 
National Strategy for Homeland Security 11

incidents that pose potential threats to our Nation’s critical infrastructure can lead to significant cascading effects across multiple systems. For example, an estimated 50 million people 

across eight States and the Canadian province of Ontario were left without electrical power 

in August 2003 when a utility in Ohio experienced problems that began a chain reaction of 

events leading to power outages lasting, in some places, several days. This incident, known as 

the “Northeast Blackout of 2003,” cost roughly $6 billion and caused at least 265 power plants 

to shut down.

National Strategy for Homeland Security 13

Our Vision and Strategy for Homeland Security

We are a Nation blessed with unprecedented liberty, opportunity, and openness – foundations of the American way of life. Our principal terrorist enemies – al-Qaida, its affiliates, and those inspired by them – seek to destroy this way of life. Al-Qaida’s 

plotting against our Homeland, for instance, focuses on prominent political, economic, and 

infrastructure targets designed to produce mass casualties, visually dramatic destruction, significant economic damage, fear, and loss of confidence in government among our population. 

Catastrophic events, including natural disasters and man-made accidents, also can produce 

similar devastating consequences that require an effective and coordinated national effort. 

The United States, through a concerted national effort that galvanizes the strengths and capabilities of Federal, State, local, and Tribal governments; the private and non-profit sectors; and 

regions, communities, and individual citizens – along with our partners in the international 

community – will work to achieve a secure Homeland that sustains our way of life as a free, 

prosperous, and welcoming America. 

In order to realize this vision, the United States will use all instruments of national power 

and influence – diplomatic, information, military, economic, financial, intelligence, and law 

enforcement – to achieve our goals to prevent and disrupt terrorist attacks; protect the American people, critical infrastructure, and key resources; and respond to and recover from incidents that do occur. We also will continue to create, strengthen, and transform the principles, 

systems, structures, and institutions we need to secure our Nation over the long term.

This is our strategy for homeland security.

National Strategy for Homeland Security 15

Prevent and Disrupt Terrorist Attacks

I

n the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, the United States, together with partners 

across the globe, has waged an unrelenting War on Terror both to hold the perpetrators 

accountable and to prevent the recurrence of similar atrocities on any scale, whether at 

home or abroad. 

The updated National Strategy for Combating Terrorism, released in September 2006, articulates our strategy for winning the War on Terror. Over the short term we are working to 

prevent attacks by terrorist networks, 

deny weapons of mass destruction 

(WMD) to rogue states and terrorists 

who seek to use them, deny terrorists 

the support and sanctuary of rogue 

states, and deny terrorists control of 

any nation they would use as a base 

and launching pad for terror. From 

the beginning, however, we recognized that the War on Terror is a different kind of war – not only a battle 

of arms but also a battle of ideas. 

Accordingly, we are advancing effective democracy as the antidote to the 

ideology of our terrorist enemies and 

the long-term solution for winning 

the War on Terror. 

This National Strategy for Homeland Security is a companion to the 

National Strategy for Combating Terrorism, and the sections in both on 

preventing and disrupting terrorist attacks are complementary and 

mutually reinforcing. In order to 

prevent and disrupt terrorist attacks 

in the United States, we are working to deny terrorists and terrorist-related weapons and materials 

entry into our country and across all 

international borders, disrupt their 

ability to operate within our borders, 

and prevent the emergence of violent Islamic radicalization in order 

to deny terrorists future recruits and 

defeat homegrown extremism. 

Preventing WMD Terrorism

The intent of our principal terrorist enemies to inflict 

catastrophic damage on the United States, coupled 

with their demonstrated contempt for human life, has 

fueled their desire to acquire WMD. Among our most 

important missions in denying entry to terrorists, their 

weapons, and other implements of terror is to detect, 

disrupt, and interdict the movement of WMD-related 

materials into the Homeland. This is one objective in 

our comprehensive strategy to prevent WMD terrorism, which is fully discussed in the National Strategy 

for Combating Terrorism. By integrating the operational and intelligence efforts of all levels of government, the private sector, and our foreign partners, and 

enabled by an international framework and domestic 

institutions supporting its implementation, our strategy involves simultaneous action to: 

•	Determine terrorists’ intentions, capabilities, and 

plans to develop or acquire WMD;

•	Deny terrorists access to the material, expertise, 

and other enabling capabilities required to develop 

WMD;

•	Deter terrorists from employing WMD;

•	Detect and disrupt terrorists’ attempted movement 

of WMD-related materials, weapons, and personnel;

•	Prevent and respond to a WMD-related terrorist attack; and

•	Define the nature and source of a terrorist-employed 

WMD device. 

WMD in the hands of terrorists is one of the gravest 

threats we face, and we cannot permit the world’s 

most dangerous terrorists to threaten us with the 

world’s most destructive weapons. 
16 National Strategy for Homeland Security

Deny Terrorists, Their Weapons, and Other Terror-Related 

Materials Entry to the Homeland 

Denying our terrorist enemies the ability to travel internationally and, particularly, across and 

within our borders, severely inhibits their effectiveness. By preventing terrorists and their 

implements of destruction from entering the United States, we hinder their ability to identify 

and surveil possible targets, conduct planning, and launch an attack within our Homeland. 

Our National Strategy to Combat Terrorist Travel, National Strategy for Maritime Security, 

and National Strategy for Aviation Security are helping to guide our efforts. While we have 

strengthened travel and document security, improved information sharing with our domestic and international partners, and enhanced the screening of all visitors and cargo to the 

United States, our principal terrorist 

enemies are determined to infiltrate 

operatives and attack us on our soil. 

They also remain adaptive, exploiting 

perceived weaknesses in our dynamic 

travel system and using illicit means to 

circumvent our border and transportation security. We will defeat terrorists’ 

efforts to infiltrate our Homeland while 

continuing to promote the reliable and 

efficient flow of people, goods, and services across our borders that is essential 

to American openness and economic 

prosperity. 

•	 Prevent terrorist exploitation 

of legitimate pathways into 

the Homeland. Continuing to 

strengthen our layered system 

of protections that start overseas 

and continue along our borders, 

at our ports, on our roadways and 

railways, and in our skies is fundamental to preventing terrorists, 

their weapons, and related materials from entering our country 

through exploitation of legitimate 

pathways. In order to do this, 

we must continue to act deliberately on several fronts. A critical 

component of screening people is 

travel document security, because 

official documents are the key 

enablers for screening all people 

at ports of entry. The Western 

Hemisphere Travel Initiative and 

Border Security and Interior Enforcement

As part of our broader effort for comprehensive immigration reform, we will work to further secure the 

Homeland and disrupt terrorist and other criminal 

activity in the United States. This includes improving our ability to detain and remove criminal and 

fugitive aliens and visa violators. We will continue 

to hire, train, and deploy additional Border Patrol 

agents, Customs and Border Protection officers, 

and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, as well as to build on the substantial improvements to the infrastructure and technology deployed at our borders. Additionally, we will expand 

detention bed space for aliens subject to detention 

and removal. 

At the same time, we will enhance interior enforcement efforts, including worksite enforcement 

programs. Employers should be required to verify 

the work eligibility of all employees, preventing illegal immigrants from obtaining jobs through fraud 

or the use of stolen identification, including Social 

Security numbers. In order to accomplish this, we 

must expand the use of an electronic employment 

eligibility verification system that is timely, accurate, and easy for employers to use. We also will 

continue to crack down on employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants by applying criminal 

penalties to those who circumvent the law. In 

addition, we will continue to step up efforts to verify 

the status of non-immigrants studying in the United 

States through the Student and Exchange Visitor 

Information System (SEVIS) and have appropriate 

follow-up where there may be violations. Taken 

together, these efforts will reinforce significantly 

enhanced border and interior security and help 

deny employment to those who are present in our 

country illegally, including criminals and potential 

terrorists. 
National Strategy for Homeland Security 17

the REAL ID Act are additional 

efforts to improve the integrity 

of documents used for entry into 

the United States. Enhancing 

international security standards 

through the use of biometrics, 

including in passports and visas, 

has made it increasingly difficult to counterfeit travel documents, and we must encourage 

those countries not in the Visa 

Waiver Program to adopt biometric passports. In the face of 

resourceful terrorists, however, 

we must continue to expand the 

US-VISIT program’s biometric 

enrollment from two fingerprints to ten fingerprints, as well 

as leverage science and technology to enable more advanced 

multi-modal biometric recognition capabilities in the future 

that use fingerprint, face, or iris 

data. In order to further enhance 

travel document security, we 

will continue to press our international partners to strengthen 

and fully enforce laws criminalizing the counterfeiting, alteration, and misuse of identification and travel documents, and 

to report lost and stolen passports in a timely manner. These efforts build on the Department of State’s screening for fraudulent passports and other documents through the visa 

interview process and U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s examination of passports 

and visas for evidence of fraud during the admissions process.

By improving the screening of visa applicants, we also can help control access through 

ports of entry. Improved screening means enhancing our ability to more effectively 

identify prospective travelers who pose security threats through improved interview 

techniques, background checks, and the collection and comparison of biometrics. This 

includes expanding the use of security personnel abroad who are focused on assessing 

security threats and fraudulent documents used in the visa application process. It also 

means that we will continue to work with our foreign partners to share terrorist watchlists and to ensure other relevant electronic databases are accurate, up-to-date, and wellmanaged. 

Screening People

•	The REAL ID Act establishes Federal standards for 

State-issued driver’s licenses and non-driver’s identification cards.

•	Secure Flight will require airlines to submit passenger information to DHS for flights that operate to, 

from, and within the United States, as well as those 

that fly over the continental United States. 

•	The Student and Exchange Visitor Information 

System (SEVIS) is an internet-based system that 

is improving America’s ability to track and monitor 

foreign students and exchange visitors.

•	The United States Visitor and Immigrant Status 

Indicator Technology (US-VISIT) program, when fully 

implemented, will create an entry and exit system 

that matches foreign travelers’ arrival and departure 

records using biometrics to screen applicants for 

admission to the United States.

•	The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) 

reduces the number of identification and citizenship 

documents that may be used by persons entering or 

re-entering the United States, from more than 8,000 

documents, to a few dozen secure documents. This 

expedites document review at ports of entry while 

combating fraudulent documents. 

•	The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) enables nationals 

of over two dozen countries to travel to the United 

States for tourism or business for stays of 90 days 

or less without obtaining a visa. 
18 National Strategy for Homeland Security

Terrorists also can exploit the global 

supply chains through which cargo 

enters the United States to smuggle 

their tools of terror, including possibly WMD. To counter this potential infiltration, and particularly to 

prevent the introduction of nuclear 

and radiological material into the 

Homeland, we will continue to 

expand the type of information we 

collect and improve cargo screening, scanning, and detection procedures and systems at foreign ports. 

Enhancing the Container Security 

Initiative, Megaports Initiative, and 

Secure Freight Initiative, among 

other international, multilateral, and 

bilateral efforts, is an important step 

toward developing a more robust 

global inspection and detection 

architecture for the 21st century. 

We will combine these efforts with 

strengthened interdiction measures 

for all types of cargo and all modes 

of transport to further constrain the 

mobility of terrorists, their weapons, 

and other material. We also will 

continue to strengthen and enhance screening, scanning, and detection capabilities at 

all U.S. maritime ports and land ports of entry for cargo entering, leaving, and moving 

within the country. 

Additionally, in order to improve the security of international commercial systems and 

supply chains, the United States will enhance the Customs-Trade Partnership Against 

Terrorism to further develop public-private partnerships with the full range of partners 

involved in commerce and transportation. The private sector is central to improving 

security along the entire supply chain – from the factory floor to foreign vendors, at seaports, and across borders. This integrated public-private partnership also will be important in stimulating the development and implementation of best practices, risk management approaches, and industry codes of conduct. Risk assessment is a critical element of 

corporate valuations, so companies that minimize risk will be rewarded by the market. 

•	 Prevent terrorist use of illicit pathways into the Homeland. While some terrorists will 

continue to exploit legitimate channels to move personnel and weapons into and within 

our country, others might attempt to infiltrate our land, maritime, and air borders by 

car, truck, rail, foot, boat, or aircraft. In order to disrupt the use of illicit pathways into 

the Homeland, we will continue to implement an integrated system of people, technology, and tactical infrastructure through the Secure Border Initiative to detect, identify, 

Screening Cargo

•	The Container Security Initiative (CSI) creates 

a security regime to prescreen and evaluate 

maritime containers – before they are shipped 

from foreign ports – through automated targeting tools, ensuring that high-risk cargo is examined or scanned.

•	The Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) is a voluntary U.S. Customs and 

Border Protection program whereby participating 

businesses undergo a review of security procedures and adopt enhanced security measures in 

order to expedite shipping.

•	The Megaports Initiative is a Department of Energy program in which the United States collaborates with foreign trade partners to enhance 

their ability to scan cargo for nuclear and other 

radiological materials at major international 

seaports. 

•	The Secure Freight Initiative is a comprehensive model for securing the global supply chain 

that seeks to enhance security while keeping 

legitimate trade flowing. It leverages shipper 

information, host country government partnerships, and trade partnerships to scan cargo 

containers bound for the United States. 
National Strategy for Homeland Security 19

respond to, and resolve illegal entry attempts at our land borders. We also will enhance 

and improve the coordination of surveillance of watercraft and general aviation. We will 

work with our neighbors and international partners to shrink the illicit travel networks 

used by human smugglers, narco-traffickers, and other transnational criminals whose 

activities foster continued exploitation of our borders. 

Disrupt Terrorists and Their Capacity to Operate

in the United States 

The United States and our partners and allies are attacking terrorists and their networks in a 

campaign of direct and continuous action to deny them what they need to operate and survive 

overseas. We are on the offense at home, too – taking the fight to an enemy that exploits our 

open and diverse society, hides among us, and tries to attack us from within. Leveraging our 

Nation’s foundation of homeland security partnerships, as well as our relationships with committed friends across the globe, we will work to uncover terrorists and terrorist activity within 

our borders and take swift and effective action to preempt and disrupt their activities and 

enterprises. The Federal Government must ensure that we have the necessary and appropriate legal tools to accomplish these objectives while at the same time preserving the rights and 

civil liberties of all Americans. 

•	 Identify and locate terrorists and uncover terrorist activity. In order to uncover terrorists and terrorist activity against the backdrop of our highly mobile, dynamic, and diverse 

society, we must attain domain awareness of the actions, events, and trends that occur 

throughout our land, maritime, air, space, and cyber domains. This is a multifaceted process. First, partners throughout the entire law enforcement community must continue to 

enhance their baseline understanding of their operating environments – the people, the 

geography, and the daily and weekly rhythm of activities and events. By understanding 

trend lines, we can better identify anomalies and deviations that could indicate terrorist 

activity. The reporting of unusual or suspicious activity by private sector partners and a 

vigilant public also is essential to this effort. Identifying terrorists and detecting terrorist activity and plotting also require a greater understanding of how suspect activities at 

the local level relate to the strategic environment. Our law enforcement and intelligence 

communities must have detailed knowledge of our Homeland adversaries, including their 

identities, sources of support, intentions, capabilities, and modi operandi. This information must be assessed against 

a current strategic threat picture that continues to integrate 

national intelligence. 

In order to enhance our 

domain awareness as well as 

improve our understanding 

of how terrorist enemies are 

likely to operate in the Homeland, the law enforcement 

community, along with the 

intelligence community, must 

work to develop and impleIntelligence-Led Policing

Intelligence-Led Policing (ILP) is a management and 

resource allocation approach to law enforcement using 

data collection and intelligence analysis to set specific 

priorities for all manner of crimes, including those associated with terrorism. ILP is a collaborative approach 

based on improved intelligence operations and community-oriented policing and problem solving, which the 

field of law enforcement has considered beneficial for 

many years. Today it is being adopted by a variety of 

law enforcement entities.
20 National Strategy for Homeland Security

ment national information requirements – developing a process for identifying information gaps, determining critical information requirements, and meeting those requirements collaboratively. We also must encourage the implementation of Intelligence-Led 

Policing by State, local, and Tribal law enforcement – after all, they best understand their 

communities, citizens, and current trend lines. Working in a collaborative environment, 

the Federal Government will recommend priorities for State, local, and Tribal homeland 

security activities that focus resources on the most pressing problems, adopt a formal 

intelligence process with requirements generation and tasking of information collection, 

and analyze and disseminate the information. Underlying our efforts to achieve domain 

awareness and identify and locate terrorists and terrorist activity in the Homeland is a 

fully developed and integrated Information Sharing Environment (see the chapter titled 

“Ensuring Long-Term Success”) that supports the vertical and horizontal distribution of 

terrorism-related information among Federal, State, local, Tribal, and foreign governments and the private sector, as appropriate. 

•	 Disrupt terrorists and their activities 

and networks. As we achieve domain 

awareness throughout our communities, our Federal, State, local, and Tribal 

law enforcement authorities will collaborate to investigate, disrupt, and 

preempt terrorist activity and deny 

terrorists the capacity to operate effectively within our borders. This means 

targeting all elements of a network that 

terrorists need to operate and survive. 

For instance, we will investigate, arrest, 

and prosecute or, where appropriate, 

remove terrorist leaders, operatives, 

facilitators, and trainers. We also will 

freeze or seize terrorist funds, disrupt 

funding sources, and interdict their 

financing transfer mechanisms. Furthermore, we will focus on criminal 

behavior and other terrorist financing 

methodologies that terrorist groups or 

cells may use to finance or otherwise 

facilitate their activities. 

We also will work with domestic and international partners to deny terrorists what they 

need to operate in the Homeland, including the weapons and tools they use to kill the 

innocent. These include missiles, rockets, explosives, and small arms acquired through 

a variety of means, including theft, fraud, state sponsor support, and black market 

purchases. Terrorists and their state sponsors also may exploit dual-use technologies, 

including technologies that are being used for great benefit in medicine, agriculture, and 

industry. We will stringently enforce our export control laws as a means of denying 

rogue actors – including terrorist groups – access to restricted dual-use items. We will 

Improvised Explosive Devices

Over the past several years, al-Qaida – our 

principal terrorist enemy – has demonstrated 

its ability and intent to employ innovative 

weapons against U.S. interests, including in 

the Homeland, and our friends and allies overseas. The disrupted 2006 U.K.-based plot 

to blow up multiple trans-Atlantic commercial 

airliners with liquid explosives is especially 

noteworthy. We remain particularly concerned 

about the employment of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in an attack against the 

Homeland, given the ready availability of IED 

components and the relative technological 

ease with which they can be fashioned. In 

conjunction with an array of activities to deny 

terrorists the weapons and tools they use 

to kill the innocent, our National Strategy for 

Combating Terrorist Use of Explosives, which is 

being developed pursuant to Homeland Security Presidential Directive-19 (issued February 

12, 2007), will help guide our efforts. 
National Strategy for Homeland Security 21

work with our private sector and international partners to ensure the presence of industry standards, national systems of oversight, and penalties for misuse of such items while 

preserving the advancement of science and technology to save lives and improve our 

quality of life. 

Defeating terrorist activity in the Homeland also requires preventing terrorist exploitation of our financial, cyber, and legal systems. Terrorists use financial systems to raise, 

store, and transfer funds that serve as the lifeblood of their operations. We have hardened 

U.S. financial systems against terrorist abuse by building upon our anti-money laundering system and broadening and deepening safeguards in the international financial system while taking steps to deter and disrupt specific terrorist funding. We have done this 

in large part by building strong international law enforcement alliances and effective 

public-private partnerships committed to preventing the flow of 

illicit capital through formal and 

informal financial mechanisms. 

We will continue to strengthen 

this approach and use intelligence, 

law enforcement, and regulatory 

steps, such as our targeted financial sanctions, to identify and isolate actors involved in terrorist 

financing. 

Terrorists also seek sanctuary 

in the cyber domain, particularly the Internet, an inexpensive, geographically unbounded, 

and largely unconstrained virtual 

haven for our enemies. Terrorists use the Internet to create and 

disseminate propaganda, recruit 

new members, raise funds, and 

plan operations. The Internet 

has become a training ground, 

with terrorists acquiring instruction once possible only through 

physical training camps. In addition to discrediting their terrorist 

propaganda on the Internet with 

the promotion of truthful messages, we will seek to deny the 

Internet to our terrorist enemies 

as an effective safe haven for their 

recruitment, fund-raising, training, and operational planning. 

Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act 

Modernization

Since its enactment in 1978, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), as amended, has 

provided a legal framework through which the Intelligence Community lawfully collects foreign intelligence information of value to our Nation’s security, 

while simultaneously protecting the civil liberties of 

Americans. Revolutionary changes in technology 

since 1978 had the effect of expanding the scope 

of FISA’s coverage to include foreign intelligence 

collection efforts that Congress did not intend to 

subject to the statute’s requirements. This unintended expansion of FISA’s scope meant that our 

intelligence professionals, in a significant number 

of cases, needed to obtain a court order to collect 

foreign intelligence information against a target 

located overseas. This circumstance created an unnecessary obstacle to our Intelligence Community’s 

ability to gather real-time information about the 

intent of our enemies overseas and diverted scarce 

resources that would be better spent safeguarding 

the civil liberties of people in the United States, 

not foreign terrorists who wish to do us harm. The 

Protect America Act of 2007, which passed with bipartisan support in the House and the Senate, was 

an important interim step in modernizing FISA to 

account for modern changes in technology and the 

threats that we face in the 21st century. Working 

with Congress, we must make additional reforms 

to FISA and ensure that the statute is permanently 

amended so that our intelligence professionals continue to have the legal tools they need to gather information about the intentions of our enemies while 

protecting the civil liberties of Americans – now and 

in the future.
22 National Strategy for Homeland Security

The United States has a domestic legal system that supports the investigation and prosecution of terrorist activities while simultaneously protecting individual privacy, the First 

Amendment rights of association, religious freedom, and free speech, and other civil 

liberties. We are a Nation built on the rule of law, and we will apply our laws to defeat terrorism while always preserving our liberties. Toward that end, not only must we guard 

against any gaps in our system that would offer terrorists a virtual haven to exploit, but 

we also must ensure that our law enforcement community has the necessary and proper 

mix of tools and authorities to defeat the threats of the 21st century. 

Prevent Violent Islamic Extremist Radicalization

in the United States 

The arrest and prosecution inside the United States of a small number of violent Islamic 

extremists demonstrates that we are not immune to the emergence of homegrown violent 

Islamic extremism. Potential catalysts for radicalization within Muslim American communities include feelings or perceptions of social discrimination that generate a sense of alienation 

from society and distrust of the government; perceptions of political and economic inequalities; and dissatisfaction with foreign and domestic U.S. policies viewed as hostile to Muslims. 

Preventing and disrupting radicalization requires concerted, focused action in the near term. 

While our Strategy focuses on preventing homegrown violent Islamic extremism – the ideology underpinning the principal terrorist threat confronting the United States today – we 

recognize that terrorists and violent extremists can arise in many other faiths, communities, 

or persuasions. Accordingly, our Strategy can be appropriately tailored to address a variety of 

domestic communities and groups whose members may be susceptible to radicalization. 

•	 Engage key communities as partners in the War on Terror. Our Strategy recognizes the 

centrality of the very people our terrorist enemies most want to exploit: the faithful followers of Islam. The fact that our country has not experienced the level of homegrown 

violent Islamic extremism that has begun to plague other Western democracies is, in 

large measure, a tribute to American society, which values free expression and encourages all to engage politically and economically. As the primary targets of radicalization 

who stand at the forefront of the struggle against violent extremism, Muslim Americans 

are uniquely situated to offer insights and solutions. More broadly, community engagement and public-private partnerships across American society are essential to our success. We will continue to strengthen grassroots dialogue and interaction among Muslim 

communities and all levels of government, as well as with non-Muslim sectors of our 

society, because Americans of all religions, races, and ethnicities have a stake and role to 

play in the War on Terror. Engagement, taking place through public-private task forces 

and forums, includes work to ensure the preservation of liberty and religious pluralism 

and the enforcement of civil rights and hate crimes laws, discussions about U.S. foreign 

and domestic policy concerns, and addressing the ability of Muslim Americans to fulfill 

obligations of charitable giving, international travel, and religious practice.

•	 Identify and counter the sources of radicalization. The purveyors of violent extremism 

rely upon access to targeted communities to inculcate and spread their ideology. Law 

enforcement officials, therefore, must continue to identify and address sources of violent 

extremist radicalization in the Homeland. One place where we have already witnessed 

radicalization is in our prison system, but we must continue to identify other places vio-
National Strategy for Homeland Security 23

lent propagators exploit within the United States, overseas, and on the Internet. In order 

to counter sources of radicalization, we will continue to support community and grassroots initiatives that publicly condemn the use of violence in general and specific acts 

of terror whenever and wherever they occur, debunk the claim of our terrorist enemies 

that the United States is at war with Islam, and counter all forms of propaganda that 

distort and misrepresent U.S. policy by clearly communicating U.S. policies – what they 

mean, how and why they are carried out, and how they affect all Americans. We also will 

support community and grassroots efforts to promote the values of citizenship, democracy, integration, religious tolerance, and the protection of civil rights, as well as increase 

cooperation among Tribal, State, and Federal prison officials and Muslim communities 

to counter radicalization in prisons.

•	 Enhance Federal, State, local, and Tribal government capacities to address radicalization. All levels of our government must strengthen institutions and human resources 

in a way that increases our ability to prevent violent Islamic extremism within our borders, identify when it is occurring, and spot new trends and developments in the radicalization process. To that end, we will continue to educate and train law enforcement 

and other U.S. Government personnel on Islamic cultural and community norms as well 

as prioritize the recruitment and retention of those having relevant language skills and 

cultural backgrounds; educate Federal, State, local, and Tribal government personnel on 

radicalization, expand current training programs on cultural proficiency, and encourage 

interagency training and career opportunities to facilitate the development and sharing of 

expertise; and improve interagency cooperation and information sharing at all levels of 

government. 

•	 Continue to advance our understanding of radicalization. As we achieve success in 

preventing homegrown violent Islamic extremism, we should expect our adaptive enemies to create new methods for spreading their ideology of hate and murder. In order 

to identify and preempt new trends and developments, we will continue to advance our 

knowledge and understanding of radicalization by supporting relevant public and private 

research, including with regard to the vulnerabilities or susceptibility of individuals to 

violent Islamic extremism. Furthermore, we will keep working with Muslim communities 

to improve our understanding of the sources and evolving trends of radicalization and 

identify how changing technologies could affect radicalization. 

National Strategy for Homeland Security 25

Protect the American People,

Critical Infrastructure, and Key Resources

While protecting the lives and livelihoods of the American people demands that we 

work to prevent and disrupt terrorist attacks in the Homeland, it also requires that 

we undertake measures to deter the threat of terrorism, mitigate the Nation’s vulnerabilities, and minimize the consequences of an attack or disaster should it occur. Our 

efforts include, among other things, protecting our population from infectious diseases and 

catastrophic public health threats, as well as reducing the effects and consequences of all hazards through improved systems to notify, alert, and warn the public. 

Safeguarding the American people 

also includes the preservation of 

the Nation’s critical infrastructure 

and key resources (CI/KR). As set 

forth in the 2006 National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP), 

critical infrastructure includes 

the assets, systems, and networks, 

whether physical or virtual, so vital 

to the United States that their incapacitation or destruction would 

have a debilitating effect on security, national economic security, 

public health or safety, or any combination thereof. Key resources 

are publicly or privately controlled 

resources essential to the minimal 

operations of the economy and government. By protecting CI/KR, we further protect the 

American people and build a safer, more secure, and more resilient Nation. 

Deter the Terrorist Threat 

We seek to deter state sponsors of terrorism, terrorist groups, and other non-state actors who 

support or facilitate terrorism by undertaking various actions to decrease their likelihood of 

success as well as alter their motivational calculus. 

•	 Decreasing likelihood of success. Terrorist actors can be deterred and dissuaded from 

conducting attacks if they perceive that they are not likely to achieve their objectives or 

that the costs of their efforts are too high. The counterterrorism and homeland security 

activities outlined in the chapter titled “Prevent and Disrupt Terrorist Attacks” are part 

of our deterrent strategy – making it increasingly difficult for our enemies to achieve 

their objective of an attack in the Homeland by denying them and their weapons entry to 

the United States, denying them the ability to operate effectively within our borders, and 

denying them future recruits by preventing homegrown radicalization. 

Protection and Risk Management 

Despite our best efforts, achieving a complete state of 

CI/KR protection is not possible in the face of the numerous and varied catastrophic possibilities that could 

challenge the security of America today. Recognizing 

that the future is uncertain and that we cannot envision 

or prepare for every potential threat, we must understand and accept a certain level of risk as a permanent 

condition. Managing homeland security risk requires a 

disciplined approach to resource prioritization and the 

diversification of protective responsibilities across the 

full spectrum of our Nation’s homeland security partners. Applying a risk-based framework to all homeland 

security efforts will help to ensure our success over the 

long term and is discussed in detail in the chapter titled 

“Ensuring Long-Term Success.”
26 National Strategy for Homeland Security

As a protective function, this concept of “deterrence through denial” requires additional 

actions, including increased defensive postures at potential sites of attack. Prominent political, economic, and infrastructure targets are attractive to our enemies, as are large places 

of public gatherings and symbolic targets, such as national monuments. In order to deny 

terrorists access to potential targets and decrease their likelihood of success, the Federal 

Government, in full collaboration with State, local, Tribal, and 

private sector partners, will continue to harden sites, as appropriate, and strengthen security 

through the presence of security 

forces, reinforcement of defensive barriers, and enhancement 

of access control measures. The 

continued targeted provision of 

Federal assistance to State, local, 

and Tribal governments and the 

private sector – through riskand performance-based criteria 

– will ensure that these entities 

receive the dollars and training 

necessary to effectively implement these measures. Additionally, the use of both active and 

passive countermeasures as well 

as their unpredictable application will help ensure greater effectiveness. We also must promote public awareness of our 

increased security practices so terrorists understand that we are increasing the likelihood 

that they will not succeed. 

Hardening sites against external threats is only one side of the deterrence equation. 

Terrorists also may seek to infiltrate or recruit an individual with privileged access to a 

hardened site. These insiders can offer our terrorist enemies information on exploitable 

vulnerabilities or even provide terrorist operatives access to sensitive or controlled areas. 

We must therefore continue to work with our State, local, Tribal, and private sector partners to review workforce surety programs and standards for screening and background 

checks, where appropriate. Finally, we must continue to conduct threat and vulnerability 

assessments and calibrate our defensive measures accordingly to account for changes in 

terrorists’ strategic targeting, tactics, techniques, and procedures, as well as changes in 

the larger operating environment. 

•	 Changing motivational calculus. Terrorist actors also can be deterred or dissuaded from 

conducting attacks if they fear potential consequences for their actions. Since September 

11, the United States has made it clear that we and our partners in the War on Terror 

make no distinction between those who commit acts of terror and those who support 

and harbor them. Any government that chooses to be an ally of terror has chosen to be 

The National Infrastructure Protection Plan

Guiding our efforts to protect the Nation’s CI/KR 

is the 2006 National Infrastructure Protection Plan

(NIPP) and its supporting Sector-Specific Plans, which 

were developed pursuant to Homeland Security Presidential Directive-7, issued on December 17, 2003. 

The NIPP sets forth a comprehensive risk management framework and provides a coordinated approach 

to CI/KR protection roles and responsibilities for Federal, State, local, and private sector security partners. 

It sets national priorities, goals, and requirements 

for the effective distribution of funding and resources 

that will help ensure that our government, economy, 

and public services continue to function in the event 

of a man-made or natural disaster. In accordance 

with HSPD-7, the NIPP includes an augmented focus 

on the protection of CI/KR from the unique and 

potentially catastrophic effects of terrorist attacks. 

However, the NIPP framework supports a larger allhazard approach to CI/KR protection.
National Strategy for Homeland Security 27

an enemy of freedom, justice, and peace, and we, along with our international partners, 

will hold our terrorist enemies to account. 

Altering the calculus of our terrorist enemies – including all elements of the terrorist 

network – so that they fear the consequences of their actions requires credibility. We will 

continue to communicate and demonstrate our will to take action, both to our enemies 

in order to raise their awareness and to the American people so that they remain confident in our resolve. Maintaining our credibility also requires that we not only demonstrate our will to hold terrorists, their sponsors, and facilitators accountable, but that we 

also retain the capabilities and flexibility to do so. This includes enhancing our ability to 

respond to acts of terror using all instruments of national power, as well as refining our 

ability to define the nature, source, and perpetrator of an attack. To further strengthen 

the potential consequences our terrorist enemies face, we will continue to isolate and 

discredit those who support or facilitate terrorism, bring to justice terrorist actors, build 

a moral counterweight to undermine the perceived legitimacy of terrorism and the targeting of innocents, and ultimately create a global environment inhospitable to terrorists, 

violent extremists, and all who support them. 

Mitigate Vulnerabilities 

We will not be able to deter all terrorist 

threats, and it is impossible to deter or 

prevent natural catastrophes. We can, 

however, mitigate the Nation’s vulnerability to acts of terrorism, other manmade threats, and natural disasters by 

ensuring the structural and operational 

resilience of our critical infrastructure 

and key resources and by further protecting the American people through 

medical preparedness. 

•	 Ensuring CI/KR structural resilience. While the devastation of 

even one sector of our critical 

infrastructure or key resources 

would have a debilitating effect on 

our national security and possibly 

damage the morale and confidence 

of the American people, interdependencies make the protection 

of CI/KR particularly essential. 

A failure in one area, such as our 

water supply system, can adversely 

affect not only public health but 

also the ability of first responders to provide emergency services. Accordingly, ensuring 

the survivability of our CI/KR assets, systems, and networks requires that we continue to 

accurately model their interdependencies and better assess and understand the potential 

Critical Infrastructure and Key Resources

Our Nation has identified 17 sectors of critical 

infrastructure and key resources, each with crosscutting physical, cyber, and human elements: 

Agriculture and Food

Banking and Finance

Chemical

Commercial Facilities

Commercial Nuclear Reactors, Materials, and 

Waste

Dams

Defense Industrial Base

Drinking Water and Water Treatment Systems

Emergency Services

Energy

Government Facilities

Information Technology

National Monuments and Icons

Postal and Shipping

Public Health and Health Care

Telecommunications

Transportation Systems
28 National Strategy for Homeland Security

cascading effects that could impact and impede operations in interconnected infrastructures. 

For each CI/KR sector, we must collectively work to ensure the ability of power, communications, and other life sustaining systems to survive an attack by terrorists, a natural 

disaster, and other assessed risks or hazards. In the past, investments in redundant and 

duplicative infrastructure were used to achieve this objective. We must now focus on the 

resilience of the system as a whole – 

an approach that centers on investments that make the system better able to absorb the impact of an 

event without losing the capacity to 

function. While this might include 

the building of redundant assets, 

resilience often is attained through 

the dispersal of key functions across 

multiple service providers and flexible supply chains and related systems. Resilience also includes the 

protection and physical survivability of key national assets and structures. 

Additionally, an important aspect 

of promoting resilience includes 

seismic retrofitting and adherence 

to stricter building codes, as appropriate. Flood mitigation activities 

are also important and include the 

maintenance of flood plains. We 

also must increase participation in 

the National Flood Insurance Program and base that program on 

actuarial rates. 

While the Federal Government 

provides overarching leadership 

and coordination for protecting 

and mitigating the vulnerabilities 

of our Nation’s CI/KR, all partners 

in homeland security have important roles to play. This is especially true of the private sector, which owns and operates approximately 85 percent of the Nation’s critical infrastructure and is the first line 

of defense for those assets. We will continue to strengthen our partnerships with State, 

local, and Tribal governments and the private sector so that we collectively can fulfill 

our responsibilities, as outlined in the NIPP, to protect and ensure the resilience of our 

Nation’s most critical assets. Our partnerships also extend to our international neighbors. Many of our CI/KR assets are intertwined with a global infrastructure that has 

Cyber Security: A Special Consideration

Many of the Nation’s essential and emergency 

services, as well as our critical infrastructure, rely 

on the uninterrupted use of the Internet and the 

communications systems, data, monitoring, and 

control systems that comprise our cyber infrastructure. A cyber attack could be debilitating to 

our highly interdependent CI/KR and ultimately to 

our economy and national security. 

A variety of actors threaten the security of our 

cyber infrastructure. Terrorists increasingly exploit 

the Internet to communicate, proselytize, recruit, 

raise funds, and conduct training and operational 

planning. Hostile foreign governments have the 

technical and financial resources to support 

advanced network exploitation and launch attacks 

on the informational and physical elements of our 

cyber infrastructure. Criminal hackers threaten 

our Nation’s economy and the personal information of our citizens, and they also could pose a 

threat if wittingly or unwittingly recruited by foreign 

intelligence or terrorist groups. Our cyber networks also remain vulnerable to natural disasters. 

In order to secure our cyber infrastructure against 

these man-made and natural threats, our Federal, 

State, and local governments, along with the private sector, are working together to prevent damage to, and the unauthorized use and exploitation 

of, our cyber systems. We also are enhancing our 

ability and procedures to respond in the event of 

an attack or major cyber incident. The National 

Strategy to Secure Cyberspace and the NIPP’s 

Cross-Sector Cyber Security plan are guiding our 

efforts. 
National Strategy for Homeland Security 29

evolved to support modern economies. While this global system brings efficiencies and 

benefits, it also creates vulnerabilities and challenges, and we must continue to work with 

our partners across the globe to protect the structural resilience of what has become a 

system of systems at home and abroad. 

•	 Ensuring operational resilience. Mitigating the vulnerability of government and private 

sector operations to man-made or natural disasters depends not only on the structural 

resilience of our assets, systems, and networks but also on operational resilience. First, 

we will continue to maintain comprehensive and effective continuity programs, including those that integrate continuity of operations and continuity of government programs, 

to ensure the preservation of our government under the Constitution and the continuing 

performance of national essential functions – those government roles that are necessary to lead and sustain the Nation during and following a catastrophic emergency. A 

national approach to continuity also requires that State, local, and Tribal governments 

work to ensure that they are able to maintain or rapidly resume effective functioning during and after catastrophic incidents and are able to interact effectively with each other and 

the Federal Government. Likewise, we strongly encourage the private sector to conduct 

business continuity planning that recognizes interdependencies and complements governmental efforts – doing so not only helps secure the United States, but also makes good 

long-term business sense for individual companies. Such integrated and comprehensive 

planning is essential to protecting and preserving lives and livelihoods and maintaining 

our robust economy during crises. 

•	 Protecting the American people through medical preparedness. As we protect our 

Nation’s critical infrastructure and key resources by working to deter terrorist threats 

and mitigate vulnerabilities through structural and operational resilience, we are helping 

to protect the American people. Our population, however, requires additional protective 

measures. We must reduce the vulnerability of the American populace to intentional dissemination of harmful biological agents, detonation of a nuclear or radiological device, 

the intentional or accidental release of toxic chemicals, naturally occurring infectious 

disease such as an influenza pandemic, and meteorological or geological events such as 

hurricanes or earthquakes.

Reducing the Nation’s vulnerability to public health threats requires that we continue to 

build sustainable systems for prevention, detection, reporting, investigation, control, and 

recovery. We must continue to expand the capabilities of the public health and medical 

communities to identify and assess threats and to determine if an attack or outbreak has 

occurred – all in a rapid and reliable manner. In order to facilitate our efforts, we will 

continue to upgrade our systems for clinical surveillance and environmental monitoring, 

as well as ensure the effective and timely integration and sharing of data, conclusions, and 

other information with State, local, and Tribal authorities and other appropriate homeland security partners. Likewise, we will encourage the timely sharing of information 

learned at the State, local, and Tribal level with the Federal Government. 

In order to further mitigate the vulnerability of the American people to natural or manmade health threats, we must ensure that we have access to the necessary medical countermeasures, appropriately enhancing and expanding our flexible medical toolkit against 

potential biological threats. We must facilitate States and local and Tribal communities 
30 National Strategy for Homeland Security

in establishing appropriate levels of medical stockpiles and the systems that can rapidly 

distribute medical countermeasures to large, at-risk populations. Finally, we must assist 

communities as they develop medical systems that are able to sustain delivery of situation-appropriate care in the setting of catastrophic events. Like other homeland security 

activities, protecting the health of citizens is a shared responsibility – one that starts at the 

individual and family level, involves government and the private sector, and relies heavily on local action. While the Federal Government possesses unique tools and resources 

to guide and assist efforts to protect the health of citizens from all disasters, collaborative community and regional planning is essential for the protection of the American 

people. 

Minimize Consequences 

Despite our best deterrent and mitigation efforts, terrorist attacks and natural disasters will 

happen, and we must work to minimize the consequences of their occurrence. Several of our 

efforts to reduce our Nation’s vulnerabilities necessarily reduce the consequences of a disaster. 

This is the mutually reinforcing nature of our integrated efforts to protect the American people, critical infrastructure, and key resources. Moreover, the core of our efforts to minimize 

consequences lies with our comprehensive approach for responding to and recovering from 

incidents, which is described in the next chapter. 

There are, however, pre-incident steps that we can take that can help to further reduce the 

effects and consequences of those events that do occur and better protect the American people, 

particularly through improved notification, alert, and warning systems. We must continue to 

develop reliable, effective, and flexible national systems to warn Americans of impending 

threats, including acts of terrorism, natural disasters, acts of war, and other hazards to public security and well-being. Beyond press conferences and warnings through television and 

radio, these systems must leverage modern and changing technology to push vital information to citizens wherever they are. Pre-incident alerts and warnings should be geographically 

or functionally targeted and provide guidance and instruction so that governments, the private sector, and individual citizens can take necessary preparatory or protective actions. These 

messages should continue throughout and immediately after the event, providing situational 

updates and current directions, as appropriate. 
National Strategy for Homeland Security 31

Respond to and Recover from Incidents

Despite our comprehensive and steadfast efforts to prevent and disrupt terrorist attacks 

and protect the American people, critical infrastructure, and key resources, our terrorist enemies remain determined to destroy our way of life, and nature continues to 

release its destructive forces. Given the certainty of catastrophes on our soil – no matter how 

unprecedented or extraordinary – it is our collective duty to provide the best response possible. When needed, we will bring to bear the Nation’s full capabilities and resources to save 

lives, mitigate suffering, and protect property. As the Nation responds based on the scope 

and nature of the incident, we must begin to lay the foundation not only for a strong recovery 

over the short term but also for the rebuilding and revitalization of affected communities and 

regions over the long term. This is crucial to reducing the psychological, social, and economic effects of an incident. Ultimately, response, recovery, and rebuilding efforts are tightly 

intertwined, each tapping into the resilience of the American spirit and our determination to 

endure and become stronger in the face of adversity. 

In order to respond effectively to an incident and initiate short-term recovery, we must have 

a system that can quickly adapt to the full range of catastrophic scenarios confronting the 

Nation today and seamlessly integrate capabilities and resources from all stakeholders – Federal, State, local, and Tribal governments 

and the private and non-profit sectors 

– to achieve common objectives. At the 

core of our efforts have been the National 

Response Plan (now referred to as the 

National Response Framework) and the 

National Incident Management System 

(NIMS), which were developed pursuant to Homeland Security Presidential 

Directive-5, issued on February 28, 2003. 

Building on best practices, lessons learned 

from exercises and real-world events, 

including our response to Hurricane 

Katrina, and the ongoing formal review 

and revision of the National Response 

Framework, we will continue to improve 

our all-hazards approach for responding 

to and recovering from incidents. Ultimately, our National Response Framework must help 

us strengthen the foundation for an effective national response, rapidly assess emerging incidents, take initial actions, expand operations as needed, and commence recovery actions to 

stabilize the area. This framework must be clearly written, easy to understand, and designed 

to be truly national in scope, meeting the needs of State, local, and Tribal governments and 

the private and non-profit sectors, as well as the Federal Government. We also will ensure 

that those communities devastated or severely affected by a catastrophic incident are set on a 

sustainable path for long-term rebuilding and revitalization. 

Incident Management Versus Response

The homeland security community has used the 

terms “incident management” and “response” in 

complementary and occasionally interchangeable 

manners. Within this Strategy, “response” refers 

to actions taken in the immediate aftermath 

of an incident to save lives, meet basic human 

needs, and reduce the loss of property. “Incident 

management,” however, is a broader concept that 

refers to how we manage incidents and mitigate 

consequences across all homeland security 

activities, including prevention, protection, and response and recovery. This concept, including the 

role of the National Incident Management System 

(NIMS), is discussed further in the chapter titled 

“Ensuring Long-Term Success.” 
32 National Strategy for Homeland Security

Strengthen the Foundation for an Effective

National Response 

An effective all-hazards response effort must begin with a strong foundation based on clear 

roles and responsibilities across all levels of government and the private and non-profit sectors, strengthened doctrine to guide our national response, a joint planning process to improve 

response capabilities, and advance readiness activities to better prepare for an impending or 

emergent event. The effectiveness of our efforts will be determined by the people who fulfill 

key roles and how they carry out their responsibilities, including their commitment to develop 

plans and partnerships, conduct joint training and exercises, and achieve shared goals. 

•	 Clarify how national roles and responsibilities are fulfilled across all levels of government and the private and non-profit sectors. Disaster response has traditionally been 

handled by State, local, and Tribal governments, with the Federal Government and private and non-profit sectors playing supporting and ad hoc roles, respectively. A lack 

of clarity regarding roles and responsibilities across these levels can lead to gaps and 

seams in our national response and delay our ability to provide life-saving support when 

needed. Accordingly, we must better articulate how roles, responsibilities, and lines of 

authority for all response stakeholders are fulfilled across all levels of government and 

among the private and nonprofit sectors so that each understands how it supports the 

broader national response. We will continue to base our Federal planning and response 

efforts on the premise that the vast majority of incidents will be handled at the lowest 

jurisdictional level possible, with the Federal Government anticipating needs and assisting State, local, and Tribal authorities upon request, when their capabilities are insufficient, or in special circumstances where Federal interests are directly implicated. Publicprivate partnerships also are essential, and we will work together to better define the roles 

that the private and non-profit sectors can play, particularly in their local communities, 

to achieve a more successful response. 

•	 Strengthen doctrine to guide the national response. Incidents that begin with a single 

response discipline within one jurisdiction may quickly expand to multi-disciplinary, 

multi-jurisdictional incidents that require additional resources and capabilities. In order 

to ensure high-level organization and efficiency among multiple actors in these challenging and complex environments, the response community must rely on fundamental 

principles that guide the full range of response activities. NIMS forms the backbone of 

this doctrine and includes, among other things, an Incident Command System as the 

overall management structure for responding to an incident as well as the concept of 

Unified Command, which provides for and enables joint decisions and action based on 

mutually agreed-upon objectives, priorities, and plans among all homeland partners 

involved in the response effort without affecting individual agency authority, responsibility, or accountability. We will continue to expand and refine the full set of fundamental 

doctrinal principles underlying our National Response Framework. For example, we will 

incorporate and further emphasize the concept of readiness to act that is imperative for 

no-notice incidents as well as incidents that have the potential to expand rapidly in size, 

scope, or complexity. Through the framework, we will encourage engaged partnerships 

in which all organizations establish shared objectives, assess their capabilities, identify 

gaps, and work collaboratively to fill those gaps well in advance of an incident. We also 
National Strategy for Homeland Security 33

will underscore that our national response must be scalable, flexible, and adaptable to 

respond to the full range of potential incidents that our Nation could confront.

•	 Develop and apply joint planning and training processes. An effective, coordinated 

response begins with sound planning well before an incident occurs. The planning 

process will translate policy, strategy, doctrine, and capabilities into specific tasks and 

courses of action to be undertaken during a response. The resulting plans must repreRoles and Responsibilities

In today’s dynamic threat environment, we must strive for a national response based on engaged 

partnerships at and across all levels that enable us to anticipate where we should increase or 

reduce support based on changing circumstances. Success starts with understanding the following fundamental roles: 

Community Response. One of the fundamental response principles is that all incidents 

should be handled at the lowest jurisdictional level possible. The initial response to the 

majority of incidents typically is handled by local responders within a single jurisdiction and goes 

no further. When incidents exceed available resources, the local or Tribal government may rely 

on mutual aid agreements with nearby localities or request additional support from the State. It 

is worth noting that for certain types of Federal assistance, Tribal nations work with the State, 

but, as sovereign entities, they can elect to deal directly with the Federal Government for other 

types of assistance.

State Response. State governments have the primary responsibility for assisting local 

governments to respond to and recover from disasters and emergencies. When an incident expands to challenge the resources and capabilities of the State coordinate requests for 

additional support, the State may request support from the private and nonprofit sector, turn to 

other States for support through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, or call upon 

the Federal Government for assistance. States also may collaborate with one another to ensure 

a broader, more effective regional response. 

Federal Response. The Federal Government maintains a wide array of capabilities and 

resources that may be made available to States and local governments. Federal assistance is provided when needed to support State and local efforts or lessen or avert the threat 

of a catastrophe within the United States. Accordingly, Federal response efforts are designed to 

complement and supplement, rather than supplant, the State and local response. The Federal 

Government also maintains relationships with private and non-profit sector entities to aid in 

facilitating additional support.

Private and Non-Profit Sector. The private and non-profit sectors fulfill key roles and work 

closely with communities, States, and the Federal Government. The private sector plays an 

essential role implementing plans for the rapid restoration of commercial activities and critical 

infrastructure operations, which can help mitigate consequences, improve quality of life, and 

accelerate recovery for communities and the Nation. Non-profit organizations serve a vital role 

by performing essential services within communities in times of need, such as mass sheltering, 

emergency food supplies, counseling services, or other vital support services.

Special Circumstances. There are special circumstances where the Federal Government 

exercises a larger, more proactive role. This includes catastrophic incidents when local and 

State governments require significant support, and incidents where Federal interests are directly 

implicated, such as those involving primary Federal jurisdiction or authorities. For example, the 

Federal Government will lead response efforts to render safe weapons of mass destruction and 

coordinate related activities with State and local partners, as appropriate.
34 National Strategy for Homeland Security

sent collaborative efforts involving communities, States, and the Federal Government 

as well as private sector and non-profit partners to ensure we effectively bring to bear 

all instruments of national power in our response to an incident. The planning effort 

also must be based on a clear set of planning assumptions and guided by a full range of 

national planning scenarios, depicting a spectrum of catastrophic man-made and natural 

disasters that would test our Nation’s response capabilities. Finally, because each incident is unique, our planning processes must be dynamic and flexible, ensuring we have 

the ability not only to produce deliberate plans but also the ability to adapt our plans at 

the operational and tactical levels in a compressed period of time to address the specific 

characteristics of each incident. 

Complementing our process for joint planning is a joint training and exercise program 

that will help response professionals practice the application of those plans well in advance 

of an actual incident. Ultimately, a continuous cycle of joint training and exercises will 

ensure that all government, private sector, and non-profit stakeholders are capable of 

fulfilling their roles and responsibilities and can achieve unity of effort when responding 

to a real-world natural or man-made disaster. It is vital that best practices and lessons 

learned from exercises be applied to continually improve our Nation’s response.

•	 Conduct advance readiness activities. There are times when we are able to anticipate 

impending or emergent events that will require a national response, such as an upcoming hurricane season, a potential pandemic, or a period of heightened terrorist threat. 

We must capitalize on this critical window of opportunity to increase readiness activities. For example, we can pre-identify needs and fill gaps in our current capabilities or 

resources that will be required to address the specific nature of the forthcoming incident. 

We also will pre-position commodities such as water, ice, emergency meals, tarps, and 

other disaster supplies so they will be readily available for use. Additional advance readiness activities include establishing contracts with the private sector prior to an incident 

and developing pre-negotiated agreements with Federal departments and agencies to 

ensure that appropriate Federal resources are available during a crisis. 

Assess Situation and Take Initial Action 

When an incident occurs, responders work to assess the situation – including possible causes, 

extent of affected population and geographic area, and the degree of damage – in order to take 

the initial actions that will save 

lives, mitigate suffering, and protect property. Our Nation must 

acknowledge the critical role of 

first responders to rapidly assess 

ongoing and emerging incidents. 

This includes effectively prioritizing and coordinating initial 

actions, mobilizing and deploying resources and capabilities, 

and anticipating additional support that may be needed. 

Situational Awareness

Maintaining situational awareness is essential to assessing emerging incidents as well as conducting operations 

and ultimately ensuring the effective management of incident response. It demands that we prioritize information 

and develop a common operating picture, both of which 

require a well-developed national information management 

system and effective multi-agency coordination centers to 

support decision-making during incidents. The concept of 

situational awareness, along with other fundamental principles of incident management, is detailed in the chapter 

titled “Ensuring Long-Term Success.”
National Strategy for Homeland Security 35

•	 Prioritize and coordinate initial actions to mitigate consequences. Since there will be 

a degree of confusion and turmoil in the initial hours of an incident, it is critical that 

our Nation use standardized incident response structures and procedures to prioritize and coordinate 

initial actions. Our framework must 

better integrate the National Incident Management System (NIMS), 

which enables a consistent approach 

and allows multiple organizations 

to work together effectively. For 

example, as first responders arrive at 

the affected area, they must quickly 

establish on-scene incident command to coordinate the activities of 

numerous responders under a single 

structure. Using NIMS, the incident command develops an Incident 

Action Plan, which outlines incident 

priorities, objectives, and initial 

actions and drives the development 

of supporting plans. These initial 

activities may include search and 

rescue, evacuations, communication 

of key information to the public, 

restoration of essential critical infrastructure, and provision of community law enforcement, fire, and 

emergency medical services, among 

others. As the incident unfolds, 

the incident command will revise 

plans and courses of action based on 

changing circumstances.

•	 Effectively mobilize and deploy people, resources, and capabilities. In 

response, every minute counts, and 

a failure to quickly surge people, 

resources, and capabilities can result 

in lives lost, increased property damage, and cascading consequences 

that can magnify the effects of the 

incident. To ensure rapid mobilization and deployment of response 

assets, our National Response 

Framework must describe how this 

process occurs across various levels 

Examples of Federal Field Teams

Since September 11, the Federal Government 

has strengthened deployable teams to help 

respond to natural and man-made disasters. 

These teams support the emergent needs of 

State, local, and Tribal jurisdictions or exercise 

Federal statutory responsibilities by providing 

specialized expertise and capabilities, establishing emergency response facilities, and supporting overall incident management. 

•Emergency Response Teams (ERT) – to be 

replaced by the Federal Incident Response Support Teams (FIRST) and Incident Management 

Assistance Teams (IMAT)

•Damage Assessment Teams

•Nuclear Incident Response Team (NIRT)

•Disaster Medical Assistance Teams (DMATs)

•Department of Health and Human Services’ Incident Response Coordination Team – formerly 

the Secretary’s Emergency Response Team

•Department of Labor/Occupational Safety and 

Health Administration’s Specialized Response 

Teams

•National Veterinary Response Teams (NVRT) 

– formerly the Veterinarian Medical Assistance 

Teams (VMATs)

•Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Teams 

(DMORTs)

•Medical Emergency Radiological Response 

Team (MERRT)

•National Medical Response Teams (NMRTs)

•Scientific and Technical Advisory and Response 

Teams (STARTs)

•Donations Coordination Teams

•Urban Search and Rescue (US&R) Task Forces

•Incident Management Teams (IMTs)

•Domestic Emergency Support Team (DEST)

•Domestic Animal and Wildlife Emergency 

Response Teams and Mitigation Assessment 

Team
36 National Strategy for Homeland Security

of government and with the private and nonprofit sectors. In addition, all responders 

should be encouraged to maintain and regularly exercise notification systems and activation protocols. Activation and deployment should be a deliberate and informed – yet 

rapid – process that reflects the size, scope, nature, and complexity of an incident.

•	 Anticipate additional support that may be needed. Minute by minute, the scope and 

scale of an incident can rapidly evolve, such as when a hurricane changes course or it 

becomes apparent that a terrorist bombing is actually one in a series of attacks in multiple cities. Responders at all levels must be able to anticipate the course of an incident 

and associated requirements and work with their counterparts to surge or deescalate 

resources and capabilities as needed. While there is no substitute for experience, our 

National Response Framework must help drive joint planning and training programs 

that will help responders across all levels better anticipate alternative courses of action 

and work together effectively. 

Expand Operational Capabilities, As Needed 

While the vast majority of incidents are effectively handled at the community level, some 

require additional support from nearby jurisdictions or the State, including through mutual 

aid agreements with other States. If needed, the Federal Government also will provide support. In catastrophic or highly complex events, all who respond should provide assistance in 

an organized fashion within the existing response framework, anticipating needs and coordinating with their partners in advance as opposed to waiting to be asked. As the incident 

grows in severity and complexity, our national response operations must effectively coordinate 

requests for additional support and integrate resources and capabilities into ongoing operations. It is critical that our Nation continue to improve and clearly describe the processes used 

to coordinate requests for additional support and integrate resources and capabilities into 

ongoing operations. 

•	 Effectively coordinate requests for additional support. If resources and capabilities 

beyond the immediate area are required, the on-scene incident command requests additional support, activating response structures and personnel to support and coordinate 

the overall response. In many cases, resources and capabilities are provided from surrounding areas. Our Nation must work together to clarify the processes to request and 

provide assistance and ensure we have the necessary awareness, training, and familiarization programs for responders to execute related plans and agreements. This includes 

familiarization with the processes that States use to request support through mutual aid 

agreements as well as from the Federal Government and how the Federal Government 

provides this support to States. Effective support requires that all organizations review 

and update their existing agreements and plans, meet with their partners, and verify their 

expectations and capabilities on a regular basis. 

•	 Integrate resources and capabilities. During large-scale incidents, we establish response 

structures and facilities to effectively receive, stage, track, and integrate incoming 

resources and capabilities into ongoing operations. For example, personnel are deployed 

to staging areas to receive commodities that can then be integrated into operations in 

support of the State and then distributed to communities. For large, complex incidents, 

resources and capabilities might arrive from a diverse array of organizations – ranging 
National Strategy for Homeland Security 37

from multiple private-sector companies to non-governmental organizations to the Federal Government – through pre-arranged agreements and contracts. In order to assist 

with the full assimilation of resources and assets, we will continue to develop comprehensive and integrated logistics systems and procedures that enhance our Nation’s overall 

response capabilities. In addition, our National Response Framework must describe the 

policies and procedures for how to manage disaster assistance offered by our international partners, as well as clarify responsibilities and procedures for inquiries regarding 

affected foreign nationals.

Commence Short-Term Recovery Actions to Stabilize the 

Affected Area and Demobilize Assets 

Even as the immediate imperatives for response to an incident are being addressed, the need 

to begin recovery operations emerges. In an almost imperceptible evolution, response efforts 

will transition to short-term recovery operations, such as the restoration of interrupted utility services, reestablishment of transportation routes, and the provision of food and shelter 

for those displaced by the disaster – actions that will help individuals, communities, and the 

Nation return to a general state of normalcy. While short-term recovery efforts are the primary responsibility of States and communities, they also involve significant contributions 

from all sectors of our society – Federal, State, local, and Tribal governments, the private sector, nonprofit partners, as well as individual citizens. As the priorities and needs of an incident 

evolve, people, assets, and resources will be reassigned or demobilized to provide a flexible 

and scalable response, evolving as needs evolve, changing as the incident priorities change. As 

immediate life-saving and life-sustaining activities subside, and short-term recovery decisions 

are made over a period of weeks or even months, we must recognize that these efforts are steps 

to an effective transition to long-term rebuilding and revitalization efforts. 

Ensure an Effective Transition to Long-Term Rebuilding and 

Revitalization Efforts 

Ensuring a successful transition from short-term recovery to rebuilding and revitalization 

efforts is vital and must include active participation and leadership by the breadth of political, 

economic, private, and non-profit actors that form the fiber of any community. Rebuilding 

and revitalization efforts are distinguished from shorter-term recovery efforts not only by the 

length of time involved, but also by the scope and nature of the incident, the complexity of 

efforts required to regenerate infrastructure, and the effect on the social fabric of the community and region.

Rebuilding and revitalizing those communities so devastated or severely affected by a catastrophic incident that a State or region is overwhelmed can take several months and sometimes years, depending on the severity and extent of destruction. Some cases might require 

the complete reconstruction of critical infrastructure and key resources, redevelopment of 

homes and long-term housing solutions, and the restoration of economic growth and vitality. 

In the past, we have undertaken reconstruction operations for major catastrophes in an ad hoc

and reactive fashion, developing large-scale disaster-specific rebuilding approaches and tools 

only after major crises arise. The resulting process of rebuilding has been slow, complex, and 

extremely expensive. Notwithstanding the tremendous efforts of the individuals involved, the 
38 National Strategy for Homeland Security

challenges of an ad hoc approach are reflected in the experiences in lower Manhattan after the 

September 11 attacks, in the southeastern United States during the 2004 hurricane season that 

witnessed landfall of four major hurricanes within six weeks, and in the Gulf Coast region 

after Hurricane Katrina.

Going forward, we must develop a comprehensive – but not bureaucratic or government-centric – framework wherein communities that are directly or indirectly affected by a large-scale 

disaster can flourish on a sustainable path to rebuilding and revitalization. This framework 

and accompanying plans must be closely guided by, and have at their core, the citizens, private sector, and faith-based and community organizations that are most severely and directly 

affected. After all, individual citizens and the private and non-profit sectors are our society’s 

wells of creativity, innovation, and resourcefulness, and they have the greatest stake in, and 

urgency for, revitalizing their community. 

The majority of reconstruction efforts will occur beyond the Federal Government’s purview. 

However, the Federal Government, in collaboration with all stakeholders, will draw upon and 

apply the field’s most innovative thinking, lessons learned, and best practices to create a comprehensive framework for our Nation that fully appreciates free markets and the vast power 

of incentives and empowers individuals, businesses, and non-profit groups in the decisions 

about the future of their communities. 

In order to develop this new framework, our Nation must continue to assess the challenges in 

this area and provide recommendations to improve our ability to rebuild and revitalize areas 

following a catastrophic natural or man-made disaster. We must determine how Federal, 

State, local, and Tribal governments, the private and non-profit sectors, and communities can 

improve collaboration and develop recommendations that further economic renewal and help 

stabilize and reconstruct communities.

In addressing these challenges, Federal, State, local, and Tribal governments, the private and 

nonprofit sectors, and communities must be focused on citizens – and not on bureaucracy or 

processes – and be guided by the concepts of compassion, speed, efficiency, common sense, 

and the devolution of as many decisions as reasonably possible to individual citizens, businesses, and communities. Specific areas of focus include: 

•	 Restore community services and the economy. In the wake of a catastrophic event, all 

facets of society will need to work together to restore communities and the economy. 

This includes helping to facilitate the return of private, non-profit, and government operations to the affected area. Individuals, communities, and private sector and non-profit 

entities should strive to resume their services as quickly as possible, while government 

at all levels should carry out activities and investments that foster this rapid and orderly 

revitalization. Federal, State, local, and Tribal governments may consider a range of 

actions based on the circumstances and careful consideration of the situation and, in 

some cases, may temporarily reduce or waive regulations that could result in unintended 

consequences from large-scale incidents. 

•	 Organize planning efforts among key players. The Nation should coalesce around public-private partnerships that can more effectively integrate and coordinate collective 

recovery efforts. This requires plans and policies that support basic needs such as housing, medical care, and the food service industry. In some circumstances, this will require 
National Strategy for Homeland Security 39

the creation of special purpose entities and unique, temporary tax or other financial 

incentives that foster cooperation and collective engagement in rebuilding of the affected 

communities. In addition, as warranted and in accordance with existing laws and regulations, the Federal Government can scale back select requirements that communities 

match Federal expenditures with certain percentage of funding from their own budgets. 

•	 Facilitate long-term assistance for displaced victims. Ensuring the availability of 

medium-term housing and promotion of long-term housing solutions for the affected 

area are often important initial measures. Other focus areas must include care and treatment of affected persons in terms of sustained medical care and additional measures for 

social, political, environmental, and economic restoration. In order to be effective, longterm efforts to assist displaced victims must begin as soon as possible following response 

efforts, in conjunction with short-term recovery.

•	 Rebuild critical infrastructure. A key Federal role in long-term reconstruction involves 

both rebuilding the most essential critical infrastructure and providing economic incentives, when appropriate, to support the return of citizens and the private sector to the 

affected community. Because this is a very different problem from response and immediate recovery efforts, long-term rebuilding and revitalization must be addressed through 

tailored approaches that creatively engage the full spectrum of government, private sector, and non-profit entities. Furthermore, including mitigation measures in critical 

infrastructure designs during the restoration process also is important for reducing the 

consequences of future similar events.

National Strategy for Homeland Security 41

Ensuring Long-Term Success

Preventing and disrupting terrorist attacks; protecting the American people, critical 

infrastructure, and key resources; and responding to and recovering from those incidents that do occur are enduring homeland security responsibilities. In order to help 

fulfill those responsibilities over the long term, we will continue to strengthen the principles, 

systems, structures, and institutions that cut across the homeland security enterprise and support our activities to secure the Homeland. Ultimately, this will help ensure the success of our 

Strategy to secure the Nation. 

Risk Management

The assessment and management of risk underlies the full spectrum of our homeland security 

activities, including decisions about when, where, and how to invest in resources that eliminate, control, or mitigate risks. In the face of multiple and diverse catastrophic possibilities, 

we accept that risk – a function of threats, vulnerabilities, and consequences – is a permanent 

condition. We must apply a risk-based framework across all homeland security efforts in order 

to identify and assess potential hazards (including their downstream effects), determine what 

levels of relative risk are acceptable, and prioritize and allocate resources among all homeland 

security partners, both public and private, to prevent, protect against, and respond to and 

recover from all manner of incidents. A disciplined approach to managing risk will help to 

achieve overall effectiveness and efficiency in securing the Homeland. In order to develop this 

discipline, we as a Nation must organize and help mature the profession of risk management 

by adopting common risk analysis principles and standards, as well as a professional lexicon.

Culture of Preparedness

Our entire Nation shares common responsibilities in homeland security. In order to help prepare the Nation to carry out these responsibilities, we will continue to foster a Culture of Preparedness that permeates all levels of our society – from individual citizens, businesses, and 

non-profit organizations to Federal, State, local, and Tribal government officials and authorities. This Culture rests on four principles. 

The first principle of our Culture of Preparedness is a shared acknowledgement that creating a 

prepared Nation will be an enduring challenge. As individual citizens we must guard against 

complacency, and as a society we must balance the sense of optimism that is fundamental 

to the American character with a sober recognition that future catastrophes will occur. The 

certainty of future calamities should inform and motivate our preparedness, and we will continue to emphasize the responsibility of the entire Nation to be flexible and ready to cope with 

a broad range of challenges. 

The second principle is the importance of individual and collective initiative to counter fundamental biases toward reactive responses and approaches. Our Culture, therefore, must 

encourage and reward innovation and new ways of thinking as well as better align authority 

and responsibility so that those who are responsible for a mission or task have the authority 

to act. 
42 National Strategy for Homeland Security

The third principle is that individual citizens, communities, the private sector, and non-profit 

organizations each perform a central role in homeland security. Citizen and community preparedness are among the most effective means of securing the Homeland, and leadership must 

continue at all levels to promote and strengthen their preparedness, including through public 

dialogue and specialized programs such as the “Ready” campaign, the Nation’s public service 

initiative for individual and corporate preparedness (see ready.gov for more information). All 

Americans must share in the full range of homeland security activities, including prevention 

and protection, but it is particularly important that we all take responsibility for increasing the 

likelihood that we can survive an incident and care for our own basic needs in the immediate 

aftermath. As more Americans contribute to homeland security through self-reliance and 

mutual assistance, we reduce the burden on our emergency responders so they can focus on 

those most in need.

We also will continue to encourage the preparedness of other homeland security stakeholders, including private sector and non-profit groups such as non-governmental organizations 

and faith-based groups and, whenever appropriate, incorporate them as full partners into our 

national preparedness efforts across all homeland security disciplines. The private sector is 

particularly important in this endeavor. As highlighted throughout this Strategy, the private 

sector is the Nation’s primary provider of goods and services and the owner and operator of 

approximately 85 percent of our critical infrastructure. It is an essential partner in ensuring 

structural and operational resilience that protects the American people, establishing supply 

chain security to help deny terrorist weapons and material entry into the Homeland, and 

reporting suspicious activities at work sites that could uncover and ultimately help disrupt 

terrorist activity. The private sector also is a critical partner in rebuilding communities devastated or severely affected by a catastrophic incident as well as in fielding scientific and technological advancements that can help secure the Homeland. Due to the multiple and essential 

roles the private sector plays across all areas of homeland security, continued collaboration 

and engagement with the private sector to strengthen preparedness is imperative. 

The fourth principle of our Culture of Preparedness is the responsibility of each level of government in fostering a prepared Nation. Although Federal, State, local, and Tribal governments 

will have roles and responsibilities unique to each, our Culture must continue to embrace the 

notion of partnership among all levels of government. Built upon a foundation of partnerships, common goals, and shared responsibility, the creation of our Culture of Preparedness is 

an enduring touchstone for homeland security. 

Homeland Security Management System

In order to continue strengthening the foundations of a prepared Nation, we will establish and 

institutionalize a comprehensive Homeland Security Management System that incorporates 

all stakeholders. Relevant departments and agencies of the Federal Government must take the 

lead in implementing this system, and State, local, and Tribal governments are highly encouraged to ultimately adopt fully compatible and complementary processes and practices as part 

of a full-scale national effort. 

Our current approach to managing homeland security has focused on doctrine and planning 

through the National Preparedness Guidelines (NPG). Called for in Homeland Security Presidential Directive-8, issued on December 17, 2003, the NPG delineates readiness targets, pri-
National Strategy for Homeland Security 43

orities, standards for preparedness assessments and strategies, and a system for assessing the 

Nation’s overall level of preparedness to prevent, protect against, and respond to and recover 

from incidents. The NPG aligns national efforts by using national planning scenarios that 

represent a wide range of catastrophic terrorist attacks and natural disasters that would stretch 

the Nation’s prevention, protection, and response capabilities. Those scenarios form the basis 

of the 37 essential capabilities, identified in the NPG and the accompanying Target Capabilities List, that must be developed or maintained, in whole or in part, by various levels of government across our homeland security efforts. In this manner, the NPG constitutes a capabilities-based preparedness process for making informed decisions about managing homeland 

risk and prioritizing homeland security investments across disciplines, jurisdictions, regions, 

and levels of government, helping us to answer how prepared we are, how prepared we need 

to be, and how we prioritize efforts to close the gap.

We must build on this current process in order to establish a more deliberate and comprehensive system that will ensure unity of effort and help maximize success as we work to prevent 

and disrupt terrorism, protect the American people, critical infrastructure and key resources, 

and respond to and recover from incidents that do occur. This new Homeland Security Management System (depicted in Figure 1) will involve a continuous, mutually reinforcing cycle of 

activity across four phases. 

•	 Phase One: Guidance. The first phase in our Homeland Security Management System 

encompasses overarching homeland security guidance. It is the foundation of our system, and it must be grounded in clearly articulated and up-to-date homeland and relevant national security policies, with coordinated supporting strategies, doctrine, and 

planning guidance flowing from and fully synchronizing with these policies. Accordingly, we will update, clarify, and consolidate, where necessary, homeland and national 

security presidential directives and other key policies, all of which encompass high-level 

executive articulations of the broad homeland security goals we must achieve.

•	 Phase Two: Planning. The second phase is a deliberate and dynamic system that translates our policies, strategies, doctrine, and planning guidance into a family of strategic, 

operational, and tactical plans. These plans should be coordinated with relevant stakeholders, consistent with the fundamental roles and responsibilities of local, Tribal, State, 

and Federal governments bring to bear all appropriate instruments of national power 

and influence, assign activities to specific homeland security actors, and appropriately 

sequence these activities against a timeline for implementation. 

Strategic plans educate and drive resource requirements and capabilities, laying the foundation for more detailed operational and tactical plans. Based on the resource and capability requirements identified in strategic plans, operational and tactical plans prescribe 

the actions of all applicable stakeholders arranged in time and space in order to achieve 

specific goals. For the Homeland Security Management System to be effective and address 

long-range challenges across multiple disciplines, all homeland security partners should 

develop a planning capability that may also be employed during times of crisis. 
44 National Strategy for Homeland Security

Figure 1

HOMELAND SECURITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

DOCTRINE AND PLANNING GUIDANCE

Fundamental principles and instructions by which organizations 

guide their actions in fulfilling strategy

STRATEGY 

An integrated approach to achieve a policy that takes into account 

underlying assumptions, context, tradeoffs, and necessary resources.

POLICY

High-level executive articulation of broad goals that must be achieved

GUIDANCE

PLANNING

STRATEGIC PLANNING

REQUIREMENTS AND CAPABILITIES

EDUCATION

Prof. Development

Continuing Education

TRAINING

Mission-specific

Multi-disciplinary

LOGISTICS

Public and Private

Supply Chains

Intermodal Delivery

RESOURCES

People

Equipment

Technology

Funds

OPERATIONAL AND TACTICAL PLANNING

EXECUTION

EXERCISES

National Exercise and Evaluation 

Program

OPERATIONS

All Hazards

ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION

LESSONS LEARNED BEST PRACTICES
National Strategy for Homeland Security 45

Requirements and capabilities within the planning phase of our system also must place 

particular emphasis on training and education so that homeland security professionals not only acquire the specific functional skills that are needed to successfully execute 

operational plans but also understand the broader strategic context in which these plans 

will be executed. Leadership development must be emphasized in this education and 

training process, because planning and execution across a wide 

array of communities, organizational structures, and professions requires specific leadership skills. The second phase 

ultimately culminates in tactical 

plans by homeland security partners that describe the specific 

field-level activities they will 

undertake to fulfill the responsibilities assigned to them in the 

operational plan.

•	 Phase Three: Execution. The 

third phase in the Homeland 

Security Management System 

encompasses the execution of 

operational and tactical-level 

plans. This may occur as actual 

operations in response to realworld events or may happen as 

part of an exercise, including 

through the National Exercise 

Program, that allows us to practice the plan and ensure all actors 

fully understand their roles and 

responsibilities. 

•	 Phase Four: Assessment and Evaluation. The fourth phase involves the continual assessment and evaluation of both operations and exercises. This phase of the system will 

produce lessons learned and best practices that must be incorporated back into all phases 

of the Homeland Security Management System. This sequence of activities ensures our 

highly adaptive system reflects current realities and remains responsive to a dynamic, 

changing homeland security environment. 

Because homeland security is a shared responsibility, the Federal Government must 

provide leadership and guidance for non-Federal partners across the four phases of the 

Homeland Security Management System. For the Homeland Security Management System to succeed, Federal dollars must be allocated based on constantly improving risk 

assessments and on accountability for results; once allocated, funds must be used to support or develop operational plans and their derivative requirements and capabilities. In 

addition, our Nation still faces the challenge of developing tools for assessing our overInvesting in Intellectual and Human Capital

In order to ensure the success of the Homeland 

Security Management System, our Nation must 

further develop a community of homeland security 

professionals. This requires establishing multidisciplinary education in homeland and relevant national 

security policies and strategies; the planning process; execution of operations and exercises; and 

overall assessment and evaluation. Furthermore, 

this should include an understanding and appreciation of appropriate regions, religions, cultures, legal 

systems, and languages. Education must continue 

outside the classroom as well – in order to enhance 

knowledge and learning, build trust and familiarity among diverse homeland security practitioners, 

break down organizational stovepipes, and advance 

the exchange of ideas and best practices, we must 

continue to develop interagency and intergovernmental assignments and fellowship opportunities, tying 

them to promotions and professional advancement. 

Executive Order 13434 of May 17, 2007 (“National 

Security Professional Development”) and the resulting National Strategy for the Development of Security 

Professionals are essential steps forward in meeting these educational needs, and we will continue 

to build on these endeavors to ensure that we have 

the necessary depth and breadth of intellectual and 

human capital across all levels of homeland security 

partnerships and disciplines. 
46 National Strategy for Homeland Security

all security posture and measuring the effectiveness of Federal assistance. We therefore 

must develop assessment tools that measure not only State, local, and Tribal response 

capabilities but also capabilities in support of our prevention and protection goals. These 

tools must recognize and reward partnership with and among neighboring jurisdictions 

and regions and all levels of government.

Incident Management

While our Homeland Security Management System provides a framework for integrating four 

essential phases in a deliberate process to secure the Homeland, there will be times when incidents force the homeland security community to compress this cycle of activity and assume a 

more crisis-oriented posture. Decision-making during crises and periods of heightened concern, however, is different from decision-making during a steady-state of activity, and we must 

develop a comprehensive approach that will help Federal, State, local, and Tribal authorities 

manage incidents across all homeland security efforts. 

Our approach will build upon the current National Incident Management System (NIMS). 

An outgrowth of Homeland Security Presidential Directive-5 (HSPD-5), issued on February 

28, 2003, NIMS focuses largely on stakeholders in the discipline of response. Incidents, however, are not limited to natural and man-made disasters that strike the Homeland. They also 

include, for example, threats developing overseas, law enforcement and public health actions 

and investigations, and even specific protective measures taken at critical infrastructure sites, 

for example. In order to realize the full intent of HSPD-5, our new approach to incident 

management must apply not only to response and recovery but also to the prevention and 

protection phases of an incident as well. Federal efforts must be directed toward coordination 

of resources across sectors (public, private, and non-profit), disciplines, and among Federal, 

State, local, and Tribal officials. 

Incident management rests on a core set of common principles and requirements. The first of these 

is an Incident Command System, which provides 

the overall structure for managing an incident. Our 

current system for incident command has five major 

functional areas: command, operations, planning, 

logistics, and finance and administration. Although 

a sixth area – intelligence – is currently applied on 

an ad hoc basis, we must institutionalize this area 

throughout our new approach in support of prevention and protection activities. Unified Command 

is a second core principle. The Federal Government must fully adopt and implement this principle, 

which is commonly used at the State and local levels 

and provides the basis from which multiple agencies 

can work together effectively to manage an incident 

by ensuring that all decisions will be based upon mutually agreed upon objectives and plans, 

regardless of the number of entities or jurisdictions involved. 

Principles and Requirements 

of Incident Management

Incident Command System

Unified Command

Crisis Action Planning Resources

Situational Awareness

Prioritization of Information

Multi-Agency Coordination Centers

Skilled Leaders and Partners

Training and Exercises
National Strategy for Homeland Security 47

Crisis action planning is a third key principle in our approach to incident management. This 

planning process takes existing contingency plans and procedures and rapidly adapts them to 

address the requirements of the current crisis or event of concern in a compressed timeframe. 

We must ensure that all stakeholders across all homeland security disciplines have the ability 

to transition quickly from contingency planning to crisis action planning. They also must be 

able to provide resources – a fourth requirement – in support of their plans and activities, and 

we call on all stakeholders to have predetermined capabilities available on a short deployment 

timeline. 

The maintenance of situational awareness through timely and accurate information is a fifth core principle integral to 

incident management. It requires continuous sharing, monitoring, verification, 

and synthesis of information to support 

informed decisions on how to best manage threats, potential threats, disasters, 

or events of concern. In order to help 

facilitate situational awareness and decision-making, we must prioritize incident 

information – a sixth requirement. While 

timely information is valuable, it also can 

be overwhelming. We must be able to 

identify what is required to assist decision makers and then rapidly summarize 

and prioritize the information we receive 

from multiple reporting systems. In 

order to be successful, our new approach 

to incident management also must have 

an information management system that 

integrates key information and defines 

national information requirements. 

A seventh requirement of incident management consists of the various multiagency coordination centers that exist 

throughout all levels of government. 

They are essential to maintaining situational awareness and overall incident management, and they assist in the flow of information, 

the reporting of actions and activities, and ultimately the development of a common operating picture, but they also are hubs for coordinating operational activities during an incident. 

Examples include State, local, and Tribal emergency operations centers; State, local, and Tribal 

fusion centers; the National Operations Center, National Infrastructure Coordination Center, 

and the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Response Coordination Center 

(all part of the Department of Homeland Security); the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Strategic Information and Operations Center and National Joint Terrorist Task Force (both part 

of the Department of Justice); and the National Counterterrorism Center (part of the Office 

Interoperable and Resilient 

Communications 

Our Nation continues to confront two distinct 

communications challenges: interoperability 

and survivability. Unimpeded and timely flow of 

information in varying degrees across multiple 

operational systems and between different disciplines and jurisdictions is critical to command, 

control, and coordination of operational activities. To achieve interoperability, we must have 

compatible equipment, standard operating 

procedures, planning, mature governance structures, and a collaborative culture that enables all 

necessary parties to work together seamlessly.

Survivable communications infrastructure is 

even more fundamental. To achieve survivability, 

our national security and emergency preparedness communications systems must be resilient 

– either able to withstand destructive forces 

regardless of cause or sufficiently redundant to 

suffer damage and remain reliable. Without the 

appropriate application of interoperable communications technologies, standards, and governance 

structures, effective and safe incident management will be hindered. Although much progress 

has been made, effective communication during 

major disasters requiring multi-jurisdictional coordination depends on continued improvement to 

our Nation’s communications systems.
48 National Strategy for Homeland Security

of the Director of National Intelligence). We will continue to develop and strengthen these 

centers and systems to ensure that activities are better coordinated and related information is 

shared among multiple agencies. 

People exist at the heart of our refocused incident management approach, and deploying people with the skills necessary to manage each incident is the eighth key principle. Building 

on the professional development initiatives that are part of our Homeland Security Management System, we will ensure that the most qualified professionals are identified in advance so 

that they may be quickly and efficiently activated and deployed during an incident. We will 

embrace and institute a continuous training cycle to ensure that leaders and partners at all 

levels of government are fully trained and well versed in the principles of incident management. Finally, we will conduct exercises, consistent with the National Exercise Program, so 

that all stakeholders can ensure they are fully capable of executing their incident management 

responsibilities. 

Science and Technology 

The United States derives much of its strength from its advantage in the realm of science and 

technology (S&T), and we must continue to use this advantage and encourage innovative 

research and development to assist in protecting and defending against the range of natural 

and man-made threats confronting the Homeland. 

Over the past six years, focused partnerships with our Nation’s vast and varied research enterprise, which includes businesses, research institutes, universities, government laboratories as 

well as Federal departments and agencies, have yielded significant capabilities that are helping 

us to better protect the lives and livelihoods of the American people. For instance, the focused 

application of the Nation’s nuclear expertise has produced improved tools for countering the 

threat of nuclear terrorism against the Homeland. We also have applied biometric technologies and systems to enhance the security of travel documents and inhibit the movement of 

terrorists internationally and across our borders. The development and application of a variety of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear countermeasures are helping to prevent 

WMD terrorism and address the public health consequences that can stem from a range of 

natural and man-made disasters. We also have upgraded the technical capabilities of our first 

responders through the provision of decontamination equipment and protective gear; these 

advances serve not only to better protect our Nation’s first responders but also to increase 

their ability to save the lives of others. Other improvements in the critical area of S&T include 

additional funding of independent analysis for homeland security S&T research and setting of 

standards for homeland security technology. 

We will continue to build upon this foundation of scientific and technological advancement 

and support funding for research and development to further strengthen the security of the 

Homeland. We will streamline processes and reduce red tape in order to enhance our partnerships with the country’s national research enterprise, including within and among Federal 

departments and agencies. Specifically, we will continue to engage in disciplined dialogue 

about the threats we face, our strategies to counter them, and how S&T can bridge gaps in 

approaches or facilitate the more effective and efficient achievement of our objectives. Our 

collaborative S&T efforts should continue to explore existing or emerging technologies used 

for multiple or non-security specific purposes and develop rapid prototyping methods to adapt 
National Strategy for Homeland Security 49

them to fill critical homeland security needs. Research in systems and operations science that 

will allow the integration of technology into functional capability is of equal importance. For 

example, a sound scientific knowledge base regarding health and medical response systems 

could improve our ability to manage the health consequences of disasters. By promoting the 

evolution of current technologies and fielding new, revolutionary capabilities, S&T will remain 

an essential and enduring enabler of our Strategy. 

Leveraging Instruments of National Power and Influence 

In the wake of both the September 11 terrorist attacks and lessons learned from our response 

to Hurricane Katrina, the United States has used its instruments of national power and influence – diplomatic, information, military, economic, financial, intelligence, and law enforcement – to prevent terrorism, protect the lives 

and livelihoods of the American people, and 

respond to and recover from incidents. For 

instance, we have enhanced our ability to analyze and integrate all intelligence pertaining 

to terrorism through the establishment of the 

Office of the Director of National Intelligence 

and the National Counterterrorism Center as 

well as the creation of an Information Sharing 

Environment. The general sharing of information, however, extends beyond terror-related 

intelligence, and we will continue to enhance 

our processes for sharing all relevant and 

appropriate information throughout our levels 

of government and with the private and nonprofit sectors and our foreign partners on the 

full range of homeland security issues. 

We are applying targeted financial sanctions 

to identify and isolate terrorist financiers and 

facilitators and using a restructured approach 

to economic assistance, both overseas to meet 

current and long-term challenges such as terrorism, and here at home to assist in the recovery of communities severely affected by catastrophic homeland security incidents. We also are building enduring public-private partnerships to leverage our Nation’s economic power by driving improvements in global security 

practices, including measures relating to international air travel and global supply chains. We 

are engaging in transformational diplomacy within the international arena as well as leveraging our engagement with and among Federal, State, local, Tribal, and private sector partners 

here in the Homeland. We will continue to utilize our public diplomacy and strategic communications resources to offer a positive vision of hope and opportunity that is rooted in our 

most basic values; work with our partners to isolate and discredit those who espouse ideologies of hate and oppression; and nurture common interests and values between Americans 

and peoples of different countries, cultures, and faiths across the world.

Information Sharing Environment

In December 2004, Congress passed 

and the President signed the Intelligence 

Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 

2004 (IRTPA). IRTPA calls for, among 

other things, the creation of the Information Sharing Environment (ISE) – a trusted 

partnership among all levels of government, 

the private sector, and our foreign partners 

to detect, prevent, disrupt, preempt, and 

mitigate the effects of terrorism against the 

territory, people, and interests of the United 

States through the appropriate exchange of 

terrorism information. 

In addition, IRTPA establishes a Program 

Manager for the ISE who is responsible for 

overseeing its implementation. With the 

enactment of the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 

2007, the ISE has been expanded further 

to include not only “terrorism information” 

as defined in IRTPA but also other categories of homeland security information and 

weapons of mass destruction information. 
50 National Strategy for Homeland Security

As we sustain the evolution underway in these areas, success in securing the Homeland 

requires that we prioritize the continued transformation of our law enforcement and military 

instruments of national power. Our Nation’s law enforcement community – Federal, State, 

local, and Tribal authorities – collaborate to detect, prevent, and disrupt a range of threats 

to the public, including terrorism. Our Federal law enforcement community is composed of 

more than 100,000 full-time personnel who play a decisive leadership role with respect to terrorism and related homeland security matters, including collecting and analyzing significant 

terrorist and criminal information through more than 100 Federal Bureau of Investigation-led 

Joint Terrorism Task Forces. Moreover, the U.S. Attorney for each of our country’s 94 Federal 

judicial districts leads an Anti-Terrorism Advisory Council that brings together a cross-section of investigators and prosecutors from all levels of government, as well as first responders and private security personnel, to coordinate counterterrorism initiatives and support the 

operational efforts of the Joint Terrorism Task Forces. 

Our State, local, and Tribal law enforcement communities, representing more than one million personnel from coast to coast, also play an integral role in the all-hazards approach to 

homeland security. Their role includes active engagement in a broad array of activities that 

detect and investigate potential threats, protect the American people and critical infrastructures, and restore and maintain law and order in the wake of catastrophic incidents. We will 

continue to work with and enable State and local fusion centers to leverage their capabilities 

in the War on Terror and maximize the flow of information among Federal, State, local, and 

Tribal entities. State, local, and Tribal law enforcement and other first responders also are the 

leaders in maintaining public safety by performing other essential response services, such as 

conducting evacuations. 

Given the significant overall demands of homeland security and the simultaneously increasing technological and organizational sophistication of terrorist and criminal elements, there 

is a growing need to better manage and more efficiently leverage all of our law enforcement 

resources. Specifically, we must build on six years of progress to further enhance collaboration among our numerous law enforcement entities, developing a common baseline for law 

enforcement activities (e.g., standardizing information collection and collation, reporting 

procedures, and data archiving across all jurisdictions in order to improve analysis and detection of emerging threats or patterns) so that they may work together seamlessly throughout 

the Nation. This common approach must be capable of tailoring activities at each level to 

support specific priorities of importance to their respective communities and, as necessary, 

be able to fulfill select requests for information as part of the broader national effort to secure 

the Homeland. The approach should be consciously designed to be all-crimes relevant so 

that investments in information technology, communications equipment, and other support 

structures are used to drive efficiencies across the full range of law enforcement activities. We 

also will continue to fund training and exercises as well as the development of a common baseline for reporting and requesting information requirements. By enabling seamless integration 

and true unity of effort among all Federal, State, local, and Tribal law enforcement entities, we 

will better protect and defend the Homeland and the American people. 

Our Nation’s armed forces are crucial partners in homeland security. Our active, reserve, 

and National Guard forces are integrated into communities throughout our country, and they 

bring to bear the largest and most diverse workforce and capabilities in government to pro-
National Strategy for Homeland Security 51

tect the United States from direct attacks and conduct missions to deter, prevent, and defeat 

threats against our Nation. 

Over the past several years, our armed forces have been preparing to meet a wider range of 

challenges to our Nation by restructuring their capabilities, rearranging their global force posture, and adapting forces to better fight the War on Terror. While defending the Homeland is 

appropriately a top priority for the Department of Defense, the country’s active, reserve, and 

National Guard forces also must continue to enhance their ability to provide support to civil 

authorities, not only to help prevent terrorism but also to respond to and recover from manmade and natural disasters that do occur. Working with the Nation’s Governors and State 

Adjutants General, the Department of Defense must develop operational plans based upon 

the national planning scenarios that will integrate and synchronize military forces to achieve 

unity of effort in support of homeland security missions across the Nation. These plans will 

determine specific military requirements and capabilities for accomplishing homeland security missions that will most effectively be met by the combined effort of active, reserve, and 

National Guard forces. 

Legislative Branch 

Homeland security at the Federal level is not the sole purview of the executive branch of government. The Congress also must take bold steps to fulfill its responsibilities in the national 

effort to secure the Homeland and protect the American people. The current committee 

structure, for example, creates competing initiatives and requirements and fails to establish 

clear and consistent priorities or provide optimal oversight. Accordingly, both houses of the 

Congress should take action to further streamline the organization and structure of those 

committees that authorize and appropriate homeland security-related funds and otherwise 

oversee homeland security missions. The Congress also should fully embrace a risk-based 

funding approach so that we best prioritize our limited resources to meet our most critical 

homeland security goals and objectives first, as opposed to distributing funds and making 

decisions based on political considerations. In addition, Congress should help ensure that 

we have the necessary tools to address changing technologies and homeland security threats 

while protecting privacy and civil liberties. Finally, in the same manner that Congress was an 

important partner in building an effective national security system during the Cold War and 

beyond, a strong partnership with Congress will be essential to help secure the Homeland in 

the years ahead. 

National Strategy for Homeland Security 53

Conclusion

S

ince the turn of the millennium, our Nation has endured history’s deadliest attack of 

international terrorism and the most destructive natural disaster to strike American 

soil. In the face of these challenges, America has responded courageously, with focus 

and clarity of purpose, and today we are safer, stronger, and better prepared to address the 

full range of catastrophic events, including man-made accidents and natural disasters, that 

threaten us. Our work, however, is far from over. We remain resolute in our commitment to 

prevent and disrupt terrorist attacks in the Homeland, protect the American people and the 

Nation’s critical infrastructure and key resources, and effectively respond to and recover from 

those incidents that do occur. Working together, our Nation will secure the Homeland in 

order to sustain our way of life – now and for generations to come.