A 5 page research paper that offers an overview evaluation of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Proponents of Homeland Security argue that this institution is a necessary precaution for ensuring national security. Opponents wonder if its powers will be used to justify the "exercise of prerogative power" in a manner that is harmful to the constitutionally guaranteed freedoms (Relyea, 2002). This examination of the record of Homeland Security, thus far, attempts to discern, which of these positions has the greatest validity. The writer concludes that the DHS is "better than nothing," but not by much. Bibliography lists 10 sources.
Name of Research Paper File: D0_khdhs.rtf
Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
to deal with the possibility of more terrorist attacks on the US. Many regard the phrase "homeland security" as being uncomfortably reminiscent of "past, highly nationalistic invocations of the fatherland
or the motherland by nations pursing cultural or racial purity or seeking to expand their borders or political influence" (Relyea, 2002, p. 397). Proponents of Homeland Security argue that this
institution is a necessary precaution for ensuring national security. Opponents wonder if its powers will be used to justify the "exercise of prerogative power" in a manner that is harmful
to the constitutionally guaranteed freedoms (Relyea, 2002). This examination of the record of Homeland Security, thus far, attempts to discern, which of these positions has the greatest validity. In March
of 2003, 22 different federal agencies were merged into a "massive new cabinet-level entity, the Department of Homeland Security" (Marek, Knight and Levine, 2005, p.22). According to Lehrer (2004) the
three principal tasks of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) are to access border control, law enforcement, and disaster mitigation. While the establishment of the DHS has accomplished "much good work,"
according to Lehrer (2004), there have also been considerable structural impediments to its implementing serious reform. While the DHS has an extensive reach, the DHSs constituent agencies have encountered numerous
obstacles, which suggests that this department is, at best, a "work in progress" (Lehrer, 2004, p. 71). The various bureaus that come under the auspices of the DHS remain so
limited in scope, and also too committed to their legacy missions, to significantly affect the manner in which the country confronts terrorists (Lehrer, 2004). The DHS was established when
it became evident that the Office of Homeland Security, which was set up immediately following the terrorists attacks, was too weak to be effective (Kayyem, 2003, p. 46). While the