Fully utilize the materials that have been provided to you in order to support your response. Responses should be a minimum of 250 words and include direct questions. You may challenge, support or supplement another student’s answer using the terms, concepts and theories from the required readings. Also, do not be afraid to respectfully disagree where you feel appropriate; as this should be part of your analysis process at this academic level.

Forum posts are graded on timeliness, relevance, knowledge of the weekly readings, and the quality of original ideas. Sources utilized to support answers are to be cited in accordance with the APA writing style by providing a general parenthetical citation (reference the author, year and page number) within your post, as well as an adjoining reference list. Refer to grading rubric for additional details concerning grading criteria.

Respond to Hillary:

The Department of Defense and the Department of State both play a key role in supporting the homeland security enterprise and the United States’ intelligence capabilities. Often, the military wing (Department of Defense) and the diplomatic wing (Department of State) have different, and at time conflicting, ideas of achieving U.S. foreign policy and national security.

Specifically, the Department of Defense is comprised of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard. With over two million service members operating in more than 160 countries, the U.S. military plays a major role to play in collecting intelligence and protecting the homeland.

One of the greatest issues faced by the military and our servicemembers pertains to their operations on U.S. soil. As mentioned in our readings, the complex legal issues associated with military personnel operating within our boarders is often associated with just as complex political recourse. For example, the crisis at our southern boarder cannot be denied, regardless of political party. The destabilizing regimes and natural disasters in the region have forced hundreds of thousands of migrants to flee their home countries in search of asylum in the U.S. The problem is easily identifiable, but the appropriate solution varies significant from American citizen to American citizen. Should we deploy troops to our border to help U.S. Customs and Border Protection? One political narrative has already painted U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as a “hate group” simply for enforcing the immigration laws on the books. It is certainly a legal issue for the military to engage on U.S. soil. With several limitations imposed by the need for Executive Order, invoking military presence can be a tricky task.

In addition, one of the pillars of the department is to provide effective intelligence support to the homeland security enterprise. With intelligence agencies like the Defense Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, and the National Reconnaissance Office operating within the parameters of the Department of Defense, the average citizen does not have a full grasp on the multitude of capabilities that operate to protect our homeland. There certainly is a debate to be had, one which roared back up during the passage of the USA Freedom Act, about civil liberties and the privacy of citizens. The week 3 readings do a great job of laying out the many mistakes and triumphs of our intelligence community, which has given some cause to worry about spying on the homeland.

As we discussed during the week 2 forum, the issue can be divided by domestic and foreign jurisdiction. With the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) outside of the Department of Defense’ (DOD) jurisdiction, the split between the CIA and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is even more evident. Personally, I believe that the debate regarding civil liberties and domestic intelligence collection being a threat to individual freedoms is a debate that applies more so to the FBI than the DOD. In the final report on Intelligence Activities and the Rights of Americans, there is a substantial case to reform the checks and balances process within the intelligence community.

Personally, I believe that conducting intelligence activities that are in the best interest of our national security should be a no-brainer when compared to privacy concerns. It is my belief that if the FBI or CIA is collecting intelligence on citizens, there is a very good reason for it. I understand the perspective that domestic intelligence collection could be a threat to individual freedoms, but after the September 2001 terrorist attacks, I personally do not share those sympathies.

References

Anderson, A., Lieutenant Colonel. (2005). WHAT ROLE FOR DOD INTELLIGENCE IN SUPPORT OF THE HOMELAND SECURITY MISSION? (J. R. Nunez Colonel, Ed.). USAWC STRATEGY RESEARCH PROJECT. Retrieved from https://ssi.armywarcollege.edu/pdffiles/ksil99.pdf.

“Our Story.” U.S. Department of Defense, www.defense.gov/Our-Story/.

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