"Ten years after 9/11, al-Qaeda and its affiliates, while still a serious threat, have a severely degraded capability to attack the homeland. As a result of offensive actions abroad and vigilant security measures at home, the U.S. government has reduced terrorists’ capabilities to perpetrate spectacular attacks on American soil." |
Hasty Decisions: New Government Agencies
A Taste of the 9/11 Overreaction
"I grew up in an era where the United States was never physically or geographically affected by world events. I grew up with a security that the citizens of the U.S. would always be safe in their own environments and homes. War was something that happened in other places, not here at home."
Paulette Lutz, Witness to 9/11, in a personal interview
Initial Reaction
The 9/11 attacks galvanized Congress to take immediate action in combating terrorism more effectively. New legislation was passed only nine days after the attacks that put an extra $40 billion into domestic defense spending. By 2004, an additional $80 billion was allocated to the domestic defense budget in order to prevent further terrorist attacks against the U.S., and also to fight Al-Qaeda.
With the sudden influx of domestic defense orientated spending, the number of intelligence agencies rapidly increased. Every year through 2009, more and more intelligence departments were established in order to focus on the newly significant ideal of counter-terrorism. Since 2001, over 263 new organizations have been established or recreated to meet the needs of the U.S. in the effort to fight terrorism.
On September 23, 2001, President Bush issued Executive Order 13224, which gave the government the power to block funds that could potentially benefit terrorist groups. This piece of legislation gave Congress a lot control over spending related not only to foreign affairs, but also to the newly created domestic defense organizations. In the time before the 9/11 attacks, such direct control over U.S. budget limitations would not have been enacted.
With the sudden influx of domestic defense orientated spending, the number of intelligence agencies rapidly increased. Every year through 2009, more and more intelligence departments were established in order to focus on the newly significant ideal of counter-terrorism. Since 2001, over 263 new organizations have been established or recreated to meet the needs of the U.S. in the effort to fight terrorism.
On September 23, 2001, President Bush issued Executive Order 13224, which gave the government the power to block funds that could potentially benefit terrorist groups. This piece of legislation gave Congress a lot control over spending related not only to foreign affairs, but also to the newly created domestic defense organizations. In the time before the 9/11 attacks, such direct control over U.S. budget limitations would not have been enacted.
Executive Order 13224 | |
File Size: | 27 kb |
File Type: |
Unchecked Spending
While pumping money into the domestic defense sector of the U.S. government seemed feasible, nothing was said about how quickly the decision was made to spend such a large amount of money. The nearly $130 billion extra that was allocated to domestic defense showed a change in not only the way America was spending money, but also in the way America was thinking. Without any thought given to the possible negative outcomes of such unchecked spending in domestic defense, the U.S. government was acting much more impulsively as opposed to the pre-9/11 era.
Homeland Security Act
The Homeland Security Act was a huge piece of legislation that essentially reorganized the entire domestic and foreign intelligence sector of the U.S. government. Through the Homeland Security Act, many of the previously disorganized and uncoordinated anti-terrorism services that the government provided were brought together to be more efficiently developed and utilized through the Department of Homeland Security. This act was passed as a reaction to the 9/11 attacks, through President Bush's desire to dramatically change the intelligence gathering organizations of the U.S. government.
According to the president's National Homeland Security Strategy published in July 2002, the new department's main objectives are to guard the nation's borders, prevent domestic terrorist attacks, create a national defense strategy, and reduce damage from natural disasters and terrorist acts. |
|
Noticeable Changes: Numbers
- Currently, 1200 government-sponsored groups and nearly 2000 private companies do business related to fighting terrorism.
- In 2010, approximately 850,000 people held top-secret level security clearances. This number was continuously rising since the 9/11 attacks, and was becoming a more common clearance level than in 2000.
- Since the 9/11 attacks, 33 buildings designed for intelligence gathering and other top-secret work have been established or are being built in Washington D.C.
- Many of the intelligence agencies created since 9/11 have overlapping purposes, one example being the some 51 governmental organizations that track money going into and out of terrorist groups.
- Foreign and domestic spying has gathered thousands of documents for analysis since the 9/11 attacks. Each year, researchers study these documents and publish their findings in over 50,000 reports each year. This number is so high that many of the reports are never read.
- After 9/11, there were more workers with top security clearance, more buildings directed towards intelligence gathering, more government groups with the same purpose, more intelligence reports, and more focus on counter terrorism than ever before.
Top Secret America
Problems: ODNI
Each new agency has required top clearance staff, including secretaries, construction workers, architects, janitors, librarians, and many other essential positions. With so many positions of varying responsibility in the new system of domestic defense, specific roles that each individual filled started to fall apart, as job descriptions began to overlap.
In order to bring each agency under a singular control, the bipartisan 9/11 commission under George Bush recommended the creation of an agency to oversee each organization within the domestic defense category.
In 2004, Congress established the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) in an attempt to bring the astronomical multitude of agencies under control. |
Unfortunately, the solution was not as easy as was hoped to be, and two major problems arose with the ODNI.
Top Secret America |
"National defense is a key governmental responsibility, but focusing too many resources on trying to defend every potential terrorist target is a recipe for wasteful spending. Our limited resources are better spent on investigating and arresting aspiring terrorists. DHS responsibilities for aviation security, domestic surveillance, and port security have made it too easy for politicians to disguise pork barrel spending in red, white, and blue."
David Rittgers, CATO Institute