"As I write this, I'm sitting in a restaurant in a major U.S. airport, eating my breakfast with a plastic knife and fork. I worked up quite an appetite getting here two hours early and shuffling in the block-long lines until I got to the security checkpoint where I could take off my shoes, remove my belt, and put my carry-on luggage through the screening system . "What's going on? It's homeland security. Welcome to the new age of knee-jerk security at any price. Well, I've paid, and you've paid, and we'll all keep paying-but is it going to help? Have we embarked on a massive multibillion-dollar boondoggle that's going to do nothing more than make us feel more secure? Are we paying nosebleed prices for "feel-good" measures? . "This book was painful to write. By nature, I am a problem solver. Professionally I have made my career out of solving complex problems efficiently by trying to find the right place to push hard and make a difference. Researching the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, CIA, INS, the PATRIOT Act, and so forth, one falls into a rabbit's hole of interdependent lameness and dysfunction. I came face to face with the realization that there are gigantic bureaucracies that exist primarily for the sole purpose of prolonging their existence, that the very structure of bureaucracy rewards inefficiency and encourages territorialism and turf warfare."

A direct consequence of the War on Terror launched after the attacks of September 11, 2001 is an awareness of the need for homeland security. This war is being used to justify a huge expansion of government powers and spending, but funds allocated for homeland security are often for programs far removed from anything that might be termed defense or security. In Homeland Security Scams, James T. Bennett shows that this government spending is doing very little to make us safer, but a great deal to make us poorer, less free, and more dependent on the federal government.Regardless of the color of the security alert issued by the Homeland Security czar, the spending light is always green as pork barrel dollars are showered on programs of dubious worth. Lobbyists lobby for homeland security grants and contracts; corporations and state and local governments are becoming ever more dependent on federal subsidies; the vested interest in prolonging and intensifying the concern about homeland security increases; and lobbyists press for ever more money. As Bennett makes clear, with government money comes government control. Law enforcement and emergency response agencies at all levels of government are being effectively nationalized. Police power is being concentrated, and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) envisions a surveillance state that the East German State Police under Communism would have envied.In this hard-hitting critique, Bennett argues that all the spending and surveillance will not win the War on Terror or preserve us from natural disasters. The foe cannot be beaten (we're having trouble even finding the enemy), cannot surrender, and still has awesome powers to lay waste to American cities and citizens. He argues that we should view terrorism as just one of many other serious threats to individuals and to nations. More sternly, he warns that the War on Terror is also a War on Privacy and a War on Liberty.

This book explores the paradox of the ‘security dilemma’ in International Relations, as applied to the post-9/11 context of homeland security. The book's central argument can be summed up by the following counterintuitive thesis: the more security you have, the more security you will need. It argues that enhancing security does not make terrorism more likely, but rather it raises public expectations and amplifies public outrage after subsequent failures. The book contests that this dilemma will continue to shape American, Canadian and British domestic and international security priorities for decades. In exploring the key policy implications resulting from this, the book highlights the difficulty in finding a solution to this paradox, as the most rational and logical policy options are part of the problem. This book will be of interest to students of Homeland Security, Security Studies, US politics, and IR in general.

A legal scholar details the creation and function of the Department of Homeland Security, placing it in historical context. A concept so important, it is among the first words of the U.S. Constitution, the defense of our borders is as essential today as it was more than 200 years ago. In response to the breakdown of that function on September 11, 2001, the administration sponsored the USA PATRIOT Act, and created the Office of Homeland Security. Critics of those actions claim these measures give too much power to the government and impermissibly impinge on civil liberties; supporters claim they are necessary for national security. From the 1798 Alien and Sedition Acts to the present, the government has aggressively discharged its duty to ensure domestic tranquility, including jailing dissidents and forcing Japanese American citizens into internment camps. In this book, a leading legal scholar explains in detail the present federal actions and places them in historical context.

This timely book offers you a solid understanding of the critical facets of homeland security, including threats, countermeasures, and privacy. You find important discussions on how to overcome challenges in today's information systems and how to analyze emerging phenomena in large complex systems. The book offers detailed guidance on the model-based design of trustworthy health information systems. Moreover, you get an in-depth overview of the detection, identification, and track of dangerous materials. This comprehensive resource also explores urban defense using mobile sensor platforms, focusing on both surveillance and protection. Supported with nearly 100 illustrations, Homeland Security Facets includes detailed case studies and real-world examples.

The Wiley Handbook of Science and Technology for Homeland Security is an essential and timely collection of resources designed to support the effective communication of homeland security research across all disciplines and institutional boundaries. Truly a unique work this 4 volume set focuses on the science behind safety, security, and recovery from both man-made and natural disasters has a broad scope and international focus. The Handbook: Educates researchers in the critical needs of the homeland security and intelligence communities and the potential contributions of their own disciplines Emphasizes the role of fundamental science in creating novel technological solutions Details the international dimensions of homeland security and counterterrorism research Provides guidance on technology diffusion from the laboratory to the field Supports cross-disciplinary dialogue in this field between operational, R&D and consumer communities