ABSTRACT
To meet the challenges the nation faces from external and domestic terrorist threats, the Department of Homeland Security was established in 2001. This chapter examines the government institutions that are charged with protecting the country from threats, domestic and foreign, as well as natural disasters and pandemics. The lightning invasion of Iraq in April 2003 quickly tumbled Saddam Hussein from power and created within the Bush administration a heightened sense of euphoria as it envisioned the transformation of Iraq into a functioning democracy and a pro-United States stabilizing force in the Middle East. The chapter discusses the policies put in place by the government to address the threats and protect the American people and American assets. It presents the public debates, policy differences, and national divisions that have arisen in the United States and the most appropriate, effective, and legal approaches to protecting the homeland.
