In the past, national security and domestic security were clearly two different realms. National security generally concerned itself with events abroad while domestic security dealt with law enforcement issues within the United States. The distinction between domestic and national security, however, is becoming less clear. We are vigorous in rooting out terrorism abroad.
Domestic tranquility is just as important.
This traditional distinction is blurring in large part because of a rising concern over non-traditional threats. Drugs, terrorism, and information warfare are both foreign and domestic threats to U.S. interests simultaneously. The rise of intermestic threats has required deeper inter-agency cooperation and coordination.