Homeland Security
Preface
This document is dedicated to all the men and women who are involved with ensuring the national security of the
United States.
The following information was derived from these sources:
Body of Secrets by James Bamford.
Wizards of Langley by Jeffrey T. Richelson.
Top Secret Tourism by Harry Helms.
The Bureau by Ronald Kessler.
Newsweek magazine articles.
Time magazine articles.
Although I have attempted to gather and arrange the data into a comprehensive, understandable format, any errors and
omissions are mine and not attributable to
any other authors or works. This document was created prior to the reorganization of the intelligence community
following 9/11, so in many respects, it is
out-of-date.
Homeland Security
Homeland Security Agency
This agency was formed in the wake of the World Trade Center disaster on September 11, 2001. It is charged with
protecting the U.S. from terrorist attacks
including border security and detection of biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons. Nuclear detection devices have
been placed at critical sites such as bridges
and tunnels.
Homeland Security has several small air fleets, armed warships, and more armed law enforcement officers than the
Department of Justice, FBI, CIA or any U.S.
police agency. It has 170,000 members.
The agency includes elements of eight former government agencies and coordinates everything from biological warfare
response to emergency preparedness. The
reorganization is the biggest change since Truman brought intelligence operations under one department and created the
CIA in 1947. Some of the agencies
controlled by the Homeland Security Agency are:
| Other Agencies Controlled by Homeland Security Agency, 2004 |
| Agency |
Number of Employees |
| U.S. Customs Service |
22,000 |
| Immigration and Naturalization Service |
40,000 |
| Border Patrol and U.S. Coast Guard |
43,700 |
| Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) |
6,000 |
| Transportation Security Agency (TSA) |
41,300 |
The annual budget is estimated at $37 billion.
The first Homeland Security Director was Tom Ridge, a former Pennsylvania governor.
The department reviews intelligence and law enforcement information from all agencies of government to produce a single
daily picture of threats against the U.S.
It has total control of America's borders including some 7,000 miles of land borders with Mexico and Canada and 95,000
miles of coastline, and it polices 430 major
airports. Each year the United States receives 5.7 million cargo containers, and 600 million passengers fly on American
aircraft.