Like other nations, the United States has always faced threats to its safety and security. In recent years, however, our media have breathlessly conveyed the impression that threats of nearly every kind are materializing with far greater frequency than in the past. This is partly an illusion triggered by a human tendency to magnify todayʹs problems compared with those of yesterday. What is hardly illusory is the outworking of a number of distinctly modern developments that give rise to emerging vulnerabilities.

When it comes to natural threats, for example, we have built communities in areas susceptible to wildfires, earthquakes, and...

Since the September 11 attacks, the United States has continued to confront the threat posed by its terrorist foes. In the summer of 2006, for example, a major plot to hijack transatlantic airliners was disrupted in London. It served as a stark reminder of how our enemies continue to target this nation and its allies.

In response to this threat, the United States and its friends must maintain their vigilance against terrorism. But they must also combat the ideas that drive the terrorists. As Jonathan Evans, director general of the British Security Service, has said, “Although the most visible manifestations...

Immigration is a source of tremendous strength for our country, but it can also be a source of great division and even confusion for Americans. Talk of immigration tends to stir powerful emotions, provoke strong responses, and generate equal amounts of heat and light in our political discourse.

Most Americans do seem to agree on one thing: they want something done about illegal immigration. They are tired of decades of lip service, inaction, and broken promises. Not surprisingly, they have grown cynical about the federal governmentʹs willingness to act. Given the serious threat posed by terrorism in the post-9/11 world,...

In the battle against its terrorist foes, the United States continues to deploy a wide range of preventive tools and options, ranging from law enforcement to military action. Are they serving us well? If they are, we should continue to build on that success by improving their deployment. One way of assessing their effectiveness is to ask a simple question: are we safer today than we were on 9/11?

When confronting this question, there are two opposite extremes that must be avoided: one, hysteria and fear, and the other, complacency and an almost blithe disregard of the threats we face....

It is imperative that over the next decade the United States, in concert with its friends and allies, retain every option at its disposal and apply every available tool or strategy where appropriate against the threat posed by Al Qaeda and like-minded organizations. Certainly that includes the effective use of military options when necessary as well as other tools that may reduce the ability of terrorists to carry out attacks. Most important, however, in order to prevent the growth of terrorist groups themselves, the United States must pursue strategies to win nations and peoples to its side. Use of such...

Long before the nationʹs current financial woes emerged, I was sometimes asked the kinds of questions that may be summed up by the query, ʺWhy doesnʹt Washington work?ʺ

Even back then, this question revealed a widespread perception that the people who serve in government are either unable or unwilling to get important things done for the country. To the extent that this perception ignores the good that government routinely does each day, it is a distorted portrait of reality. Nonetheless, there are enough glaring examples of government not doing its job well to lend plausibility to this assertion. Consequently, the...

One of the most urgent tasks before the Department of Homeland Security is the continued protection of the nationʹs critical infrastructure. Since governmentʹs principal function is to protect the nation, it has a vital role to play. But what kind of role should this entail? Broadly speaking, there are two possible answers to this question. The first is what might be deemed the government-alone answer. This approach calls for businesses that operate infrastructure to be intensively managed by officials in Washington, D.C., or state capitals. Those who endorse this view hold that the best way to reduce vulnerabilities is by...

Of the many challenges facing the global economy in the twenty-first century, one of the most complex and potentially consequential is the threat of a large-scale cyber attack against shared information technology and cyber infrastructure, including the Internet. The exponential growth of the Internet over the past two decades has created manifold benefits for society and the economy, but with these benefits has come a commensurate increase in cyber threats and vulnerabilities, making it imperative to act with urgency and purpose to protect the cyber domain from crippling attacks and disruptions.

Of course, the world of cyberspace is one in...

In the post-9/11 world, securing the homeland involves the unpleasant task of thinking the way the terrorists do. This entails surveying all the possible ways in which they can attack the United States again, and then deciding how best to defend against these various scenarios. And as we continue to plan accordingly, we face the further challenge of doing so in a way that respects our culture, commerce, and way of life.

Although the nation can and must protect against the possibility of a terrorist strike through such weapons as biological infections or chemical sprays, the vast majority of attacks...

With the pervasive use of the Internet for business transactions, the issue of identity increasingly lies at the heart of the global financial and economic system. If sellers, for example, cannot rely on the information they are receiving about the identity of buyers, this can seriously inhibit global economic progress and growth.

For the United States and other countries, the problem of identity fraud presents an especially urgent homeland security problem. A number of nations, including the United States, face the daily threat of people attempting to enter and work illegally—as well as the prospect of terrorists, and other...

What is the greatest risk that nations face today? Some would say it is the danger posed by global terrorism. Others would point to the prospect of continued financial or economic turmoil. Still others would stress natural disasters like earthquakes, tsunamis, or hurricanes.

In fact, the principal risk we face is that we will fail to address adequately these and other serious threats to life, safety, and security. The world, including the United States, must manage risk properly: in a sustained, forward-looking fashion that seeks to mitigate risk without vainly attempting to eliminate it. In the United States, it is...

One of the most important priorities for any government is to protect society from lethal threats. Part of that mission necessarily involves guarding against the havoc that biological forces are capable of wreaking on any population.

Such forces can come in the form of pandemics or very serious epidemics—deadly communicable diseases that can ravage communities and potentially threaten the fabric of society. While such diseases have surfaced throughout history in discrete areas of the world, the interdependent, global nature of todayʹs world can facilitate their rapid spread across oceans and continents. This naturally occurring peril is compounded by the...

While we have not had a successful terrorist attack launched against us since 9/11, we have experienced major natural disasters in recent years. From wildfires in California and tornados and unprecedented flooding in the Midwest to Hurricanes Gustav and Ike along the Gulf Coast, the nation has faced serious challenges from the unleashing of natureʹs fury. In each of these instances, the response of the U.S. government in support of stricken states and localities was led by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

By all accounts, FEMA acquitted itself well. This bears eloquent testimony to its dedicated members who put their...

A curious notion has emerged about how the United States has tried to navigate the seas of global security since the September 11 terrorist attacks. It depicts Washington as charting a solitary course characterized by premises, principles, and policies that diverge dramatically from those of other nations—notably its European allies.

This notion is false and also misleading about the trend of developments. I can attest to the realities based on my extensive interactions with my security counterparts in Europe and elsewhere. Differences in approach do exist, largely rooted in culture, geography and history. But their importance and weight have...

As economies, societies, and cultures have become increasingly interconnected, the traditional conception of threats to security as stemming from identifiable sources in individual countries has become antiquated. Today, many threats are stateless in origin and transnational in scope. Terrorist groups such as Hezbollah and Al Qaeda have cells in multiple countries, often operating without the active support of any government but still capable of committing attacks with global impact. Both 9/11 and the unsuccessful plot to blow up airliners over the Atlantic Ocean in 2006 were aimed at disrupting the global air transportation network. Potentially crippling attacks on the power...