Critical Releases in Homeland Security: June 2, 2010

The 2010 National Security Strategy of the United States begins with an overview of national security: "At the dawn of the 21st century, the United States of America faces a broad and complex array of challenges to our national security. Just as America helped to determine the course of the 20th century, we must now build the sources of American strength and influence, and shape an international order capable of overcoming the challenges of the 21st century." Next, the strategy discusses the Strategic Approach, stating that "Our national security depends upon America's ability to leverage our unique national attributes, just as global security depends upon strong and responsible American leadership. That includes our military might, economic competitiveness, moral leadership, global engagement, and efforts to shape an international system that serves the mutual interests of nations and peoples. For the world has changed at an extraordinary pace, and the United States must adapt to advance our interests and sustain our leadership." It then examines U.S. interests: Security, Prosperity, Values, and International Order. It concludes by stating that the "strategy calls for a comprehensive range of national actions, and a broad conception of what constitutes our national security. Above all, it is about renewing our leadership by calling upon what is best about America--our innovation and capacity; our openness and moral imagination."

The report begins with background on the event, "on December 25, 2009, a 23 year-old Nigerian man, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab (hereafter Abdulmutallab) attempted to detonate a concealed nonmetallic device containing the explosive pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) on Northwest Airlines Flight 253 from Amsterdam to Detroit, Michigan, as the plane was descending into Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport." […]. In the report the committee offers their findings, conclusions and recommendations, "the Committee found there were systemic failures across the Intelligence Community (IC), which contributed to the failure to identify the threat posed by Abdulmutallab. Specifically, the NCTC was not organized adequately to fulfill its missions. Following 9/11, Congress created the NCTC and charged it with serving as 'the primary organization in the United States Government for analyzing and integrating all intelligence possessed or acquired by the United States Government pertaining to terrorism and counterterrorism . ... ' In practice, however, the Committee found that no one agency saw itself as being responsible for tracking and identifying all terrorism threats. In addition, technology across the IC is not adequate to provide search enhancing tools for analysts, which contributed to the failure of the IC to identify Abdulmutallab as a potential threat."