Today, the most influential initiatives of the U.S. Government in relation to the question of the national security are realized depending on the principles of the developed War on Terror. To prevent the terrorist’s activity means preserving the security of the Americans.
That is why, to cope with the task successfully, it is necessary to combine all the efforts in gathering and analyzing the information which can be discussed as important for preventing the definite threats of terror and crimes dangerous for millions of people.
Thus, having analyzed the problem, the authorities concluded that the information and intelligence should be shared between the federal government, and state, local, tribal, and private sector partners. The main concept following which the process can be completed effectively is the idea of collaboration.
Intending to create the conditions for the public safety at the local levels and for improving the principles of national security in general, the U.S. Government developed significant programs and took the definite initiatives in order to provide the activities in preventing the treats of terror and the other crimes.
From this point, it is necessary to concentrate on the importance of creating the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the State and Local Fusion Centers (SLFCs) regulated by DHS, and the National Information Sharing Strategy controlled by FBI as the initiatives the obvious effects of which can be assessed.
The necessity of creating the special department for preserving the national security became obvious as a result of rethinking the threats of the terror after September 11, 2001. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security was founded in order to respond to the threats which are associated with the domestic emergencies when the Department of Defense is responsible for the military questions and issues of the state’s security in this field (Defense Intelligence Agency 2012).
In this case, the threat of terrorist’s attacks is discussed as the most controversial problem which requires its continuous controlling and effective solving. Nevertheless, it is impossible to regulate the situation successfully with accentuating only the centralized control because it is significant to create the environment in which the shared information could be successfully gathered and analyzed to prevent the risky situations.
The ideas on the improvement of sharing the information and intelligence between the state and local levels of government were realized with establishing the State and Local Fusion Centers.
In spite of the fact the positive results of creating the SLFCs are usually stated as the system’s successes, there is no single vision of the role of these centers for preserving the national security (Fusion Center Success Stories n.d.; ODNI 2012).
The Fusion Centers were organized as the practical realization of the idea of sharing the threat-related information and intelligence between the state, local, and tribal levels of government. It is possible to agree that the effective control of the situation at all the countries’ levels and territories is difficult to be realized without references to the local centers. Thus, it is important to gather, share, and analyze the information locally in order to guarantee the protection of the definite communities.
This fact contributes to increasing the law enforcement in general. Nevertheless, working with the questions of the potential threats, it is important to be attentive to the problem of the privacy and to find the balance between determining the threat’s potentials, protecting security, and preserving the right of privacy.
The Fusion Centers work to prevent the realization of the certain threat and often stop it with references to the information taken from the private sector (ODNI 2012). This controversial point is actively discussed by the researchers of these initiatives’ effectiveness.
To prevent the threats and examine their possibilities, the methods and strategies of FBI were used. That is why, the development of the National Information Sharing Strategy on the basis of FBI was determined. Today, the necessity of gathering and sharing the threat-related information and intelligence is perceived as the important task realized by the government at all the levels.
That is why, the reports of FBI in relation to the National Information Sharing Strategy are focused on the details of the projects in protecting the Americans from the possible terrorist’s attacks or the other threats (Johnson 2007). From this point, the accents are made on the responsibility of the Government and every person to contribute to the national security following the principles of the National Information Sharing Strategy or participating in the work of the State and Local Fusion Centers.
The fact of sharing the threat-related information and intelligence is important for preserving the national security in the USA. To respond to the requirements of the modern situation in the world, it is necessary to pay attention to the principle of collaboration when the powers at all the levels are combined in order to reach the definite results.
Therefore, the establishment of the Department of Homeland Security and the State and Local Fusion Centers is the steps toward creating the positive environment for enforcing the local officials to regulate the situation and enabling the state officials to receive the complex picture of the situation in the country.
Reference List
Defense Intelligence Agency. 2012-2017 DIA Strategic Plan. 2012. Web.
Fusion Center Success Stories. Homeland Security. n.d. Web.
Johnson, Loch K. 2007. Handbook of intelligence studies. New York, NY: Routledge.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence. U.S. National intelligence: An overview 2011. 2012. Web.