er terrorism. Unlike the present system, this new agency will make long term counter terrorism policy and strategy rather than simply reacting to terrorist incidents as they occur. For argument’s sake, this agency shall be called the National Homeland Security Agency, although it really does not matter what name is attached to it for the purposes of this paper. This new agency should work closely with other federal agency in coordinating counter terrorist policy. For example, as previously stated, the agency should take on some or all responsibilities from other cabinet departments for the Border Patrol, Customs, Coast Guard, FBI counter terrorism center, FEMA, and cybersecurity. Congress and the president should agree to put this new agency at the top of their agendas by allocating sufficient funds for this agency to operate effectively. As of right now, it is difficult to say how much the budget should be. However, the budget should be commensurate with other cabinet-level departments, if not more. Budget is an issue that must be analyzed in the future, for now it reasonable to ask for a cabinet level agency budget. In addition, the National Homeland Security Agency would have to solve many other issues in the future. For example, the agency would have to determine which threats (conventional weapons, nuclear weapons, biological weapons, chemical weapons) poses the greatest threat to the U.S. and thereby deserves the most attention in combating. Should the agency determine that biological weapons pose the greatest risk, the agency would next have to determine which biological agents are of greatest concern. Another problem the agency would have to solve is the question of fairness in reacting to terrorist attacks and inoculating the populace. The Defense Department has trained thousands of local law enforcement officials since 1995. However, the Defense Department has determined that the greatest threats are in th...
