solved Although homeland security strategy (HLS) was subsumed into the 2010

Although homeland security strategy (HLS) was subsumed into the 2010 national security strategy, the following original 2002 objectives remain essentially unchanged:

Prevent terrorist attacks within the United States
Reduce America’s vulnerability to terrorism
Minimize the damage, and recover from attacks that do occur

In 100–200 words, answer each of the following questions:

Of these 3 objectives, which do you think is most important, and why?
Of these 3 objectives, which do you think is most difficult to achieve, and why?
Of these 3 objectives, which one falls mostly within the responsibility of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)?

Responses to Other Students: Review at least 2 other posts. Do you agree or disagree with your peers’ responses?
Part 2
How well do you think Science and Technology (S&T) is performing? After 10 years, the most visible symbol of S&T development efforts is the airport passenger electronic scanner.
In 100–200 words, answer each of the following questions:

Has the electronic scanner improved airport security? Why or why not?
Will the electronic scanner prevent another hijacking? Why or why not?
Is the investment made in added security measures worth the impact on passengers?

classmate peer
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was created in the aftermath of the events of September 11th. The mission of DHS is to secure the nation from the many threats that are faced each day from terrorists. DHS is committed to relentless resilience, striving to prevent future attacks against the United States and our allies, responding decisively to natural and man-made disasters while advancing American prosperity and economic security (DHS, 2021). Safeguarding everything from borders to critical infrastructures, DH continues to face the new threats on the horizon: addressing systemic risks and strengthening recovery efforts of successful attacks. DHS has 3 primary objectives:

Prevent terrorist attacks within the United States
Reduce America’s vulnerability to terrorism
Minimize the damage and recover from attacks that do occur

Out of these 3 objectives, the most important would be the detection and prevention of terrorist attacks in the United States. The American people need to feel within their homes and their country. One of the main objectives of a terrorist act is to spread fear amongst a civilization. The casualty rate is a plus but if terrorist can create and spread fear, that has longer lasting effects than a death toll. DHS, in conjunction with local law enforcement and other federal agencies, is able to provide that security needed to detect and prevent terrorist acts. This is a very tangible way that people can see the efforts to protect their freedoms and liberties: increased patrols, increased securities, advancement in technology, and improved security screenings.
The most difficult to achieve from this list would be reducing the vulnerability of terrorism. Advancements in technology are constantly occurring every day. Each day there is a new app, a new platform, a new security protocol that is in the works and being implemented. Technology is constantly advancing in order to keep up with the way of life and improve the quality of it. With that said, comes the vulnerability of the nation’s cyber critical infrastructure. The safety of this infrastructure relies in the hands of individuals constantly looking for breaches in the nations firewall. The hardest part of this is that experts are charged with monitoring the firewall as a whole while a terrorist simply needs to find one gap in the infrastructure to gain access and spread terror. While there are systems put into place to keep this secure, as quickly as technology advances, that much quicker do terrorists in adapting to the system and identifying weak points and exposing them.
The objective that falls mostly within the responsibility of DHS would have to be all 3; DHS covers so many departments and covers all three of these objectives within its 22 departments. FEMA is responsible for damage recovery efforts post attacks; CISA is responsible for strengthening the nations vulnerability to terrorism; and prevent attacks falls within the realm of almost every department. CBP, ICE, USICS; just to name a few; work towards identifying possibly terrorist threats and reducing any attacks that may occur. This is what the DHS is responsible for: the nation’s security and to reduce the propensity for future attacks in any way possible.
Science and technology play a crucial role in detecting and preventing terrorist activity. As terrorists become wiser to their approaches, DHS must stay one step ahead of them to ensure there is peace and calm within the nation. The introduction of advanced imaging technology (AIT) in 2009, also known as the body scanner, throughout airports has been a landmark way at detecting and deterring terrorist activities. These body scanners have detected occasional knives, underwear full of ecstasy, plastic daggers, and even loaded guns (Kahn, 2017). Granted everything but the plastic dagger and ecstasy would’ve been found with just a simple metal detector, it begs the question: are AIT scanners that effective or do they pose more risks than they do safety? While the majority of the factual information on the statistics of this, one former TSA agent was quoted “they are expensive and ineffective”. How effective do the efforts to calm a person’s mind prior to getting on a flight need to be? Is this more of a deterrent effort than it is of actual detection? These are some of the questions that come to mind when working with the AIT scanners.
Whether or not these scanners can prevent another hijacking is the question. It seems to be that since the foiling of a hijacking plan in 2009, the implementation of AIT scanners has boomed: causing all major airports to utilize them. While the implementation measures have increased, public outcry over these has also increased. Many people feel as though the scanners are an invasion of privacy, especially if they set off the scanner prompting a 15-minute pat down, and increased wait times. Whether or not it has prevented more hijackings, that information is hard to quantify being that the TSA doesn’t necessarily release this information. One would like to think that it does (deterrent factors) but terrorists are more diligent than ever when it comes to executing an attack.
The investment of these scanners is an expensive one for airports. Not only is there a cost for the scanner, there is the long wait times (especially during holiday travel), the unexpected *beep beep* “step to the side ma’am/sir”, and delays in travel that will frustrate travelers. People want to feel safe in their surroundings but not inconvenienced as part of it. If there is an inconvenience factor behind it, people will choose not to do it (therefore choosing not to travel). The thought needs to be whether or not the focus is on security efforts 100 percent on looking for objects or whether the focus is shifted to a more discerning system that looks at categories of travelers and reduces the inconvenience factor (Greenemeier, 2010). Is the security investment worth the impact to passengers? Simply put: yes. While yes it is mildly inconvenient for people to wait a little longer, the peace of mind knowing you can travel under the guise of safety and security is unparalleled. Reducing, if not eliminating, the fear of terrorist actions is one of the best ways to combat terrorist activity and increase the safety of the American people.