NCJ Number
190402
Journal
Jane's Terrorism & Security Monitor Dated: August 2001 Pages: 13-16
Editor(s)
Afzal Khan
Date Published
August 2001
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article discussed the Bush administration's new strategy placing top priority on the defense of the American homeland from both external and internal threats.
Abstract
This article focused on the United States' new foreign and domestic terrorist threat strategy under the Bush administration. In July 2001, it was revealed that the new strategy would order the armed forces to "win decisively" in a single major conflict, defend the U.S. territory from new threats, and conduct a number of holding operations elsewhere in the world. In discussing the new strategy, it was revealed that there had been concern that excessive focus on terrorist threats from abroad could lead to too little attention paid to domestic threats. For the first time, the defense of the American homeland was incorporated into guidelines for U.S. military strategy. However, controversy over whether the political rhetoric and budget requests for the prevention of such threats were justifiable was presented and discussed. Several issues raised included: (1) the lack of clarity in the homeland security approach; (2) the actuality of the terrorist threat having diminished; (3) the homeland terrorist threat as a justification for budget growth or inflation; and (4) the agenda or reasoning behind the administration's change of course. Regardless of the controversies, the administration remains optimistic about the war against terrorism as noted with the success in the Oklahoma City bombing investigation and the ongoing investigation on the attack on the USS Cole. The prosecutions are seen as a more effective weapon against terrorism than reckless missile attacks and excessive rhetoric.