Defining Homeland Security

How do you define "homeland security?" The Congressional Research Service isn't so sure, according to a new report:

Ten years after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the U.S. government does not have a single definition for "homeland security." Currently, different strategic documents and mission statements offer varying missions that are derived from different homeland security definitions. Historically, the strategic documents framing national homeland security policy have included national strategies produced by the White House and documents developed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Prior to the 2010 National Security Strategy, the 2002 and 2007 National Strategies for Homeland Security were the guiding documents produced by the White House. In 2011, the White House issued the National Strategy for Counterterrorism.

Having more than one definition for homeland security "may impede the development of a coherent national homeland security strategy, and may hamper the effectiveness of congressional oversight," CRS warns, adding:

Definitions and missions are part of strategy development. Policymakers develop strategy by identifying national interests, prioritizing goals to achieve those national interests, and arraying instruments of national power to achieve the national interests. Developing an effective homeland security strategy, however, may be complicated if the key concept of homeland security is not defined and its missions are not aligned and synchronized among different federal entities with homeland security responsibilities.

View the CRS report -- originally obtained by Secrecy News.