Homeland Strategy Against Terrorism Summary

In the article Flynn (2011) is calling upon the government to mobilize its citizens to prepare for disaster by developing a homeland strategy against terrorism. The author criticizes the government’s plan to prohibit the sharing of information on threats and vulnerabilities with the general public. Flynn notes that the government has isolated the department officials from the people they serve, a move he terms as the wrong approach to protecting the homeland. Flynn opines that the federal agencies are unable to detect and intercept acts of terrorism. Since the government has trained professionals to respond to terror attacks, the author points out that the first responders to a terror incident are the sidewalk T-shirt vendors or passersby,
The author is talking to the U.S. policymakers and security department officials. He is also addressing civil society to raise their voice for inclusion into the counterterror measures. Flynn is asking the government to stop promising more than it can deliver and setting impossible standards. To the public officials, the author wants them to acknowledge the potential limits of the security technologies and protocols in combating terrorism. Further, Flynn wants the policymakers to refrain from measures that provide the optics of security rather than real security.
The author does a great job in using credible arguments to support the main point. He is convincing on the way he argues out his points and intends to improve the nation’s capacity to manage dangers, federal agencies by developing trust among the people. Such a move is meant to deter the alienation of the people the government strives to protect. To support the main point, the author comes up with reasons, such as developing trust and avoiding overreaction before providing the way
citizens in the development of a homeland security strategy for counterterrorism as a crucial step to fighting both domestic and international terrorism threat. It is crucial for the government to develop trust to improve its capacity to manage disasters, which would come with involving the people it is responsible for protecting. According to Flynn (2011), the homeland security should harness the need to garner support from the public.
The author also explains that involving the people would be critical since presuming their submissiveness risks creating resentment and lack of cooperation over time. It is important to make the people to understand the appropriateness of security measures to increase their willingness to collaborate to achieve security goals. Further, the author advocates for opening up of homeland security work to avoid working in secrecy and involve the private sector and the general public. The author sees the move to insulate information from the public as undermining the defense of critical