Homeland Security Synthesis Essay

After the terrorist attacks on 9/11, the United States Intelligence community was forced to conduct major reforms. Issues in interdepartmental communication, intelligence gathering, and chain of command were addressed by reforms. According to some, these major changes have been ineffective in protecting the United States from terrorist attacks. To others; however, these reforms have been extremely helpful in the defense of the US. While many see civilians as having no direct contact with the intelligence portion of the federal government, the work that they do protects all citizens. Without the intervention of these federal departments, citizens would be defenseless on local, state, and federal levels from terrorist threats. Although no federal agency can completely protect its citizens, the reforms made by the US intelligence community have been effective, mainly in the areas of Homeland

Louise Gerdes, a renowned author of historical and government books, states, “That until recently, federal law largely prevented the FBI from sharing grand jury evidence with intelligence agencies” (Gerdes 54). This change would allow the FBI to share many kind of evidence with other intelligence agencies, the CIA most notably. With more information readily available, even more terrorists could be found.Likewise, Robert Mueller, former FBI director, concurs with this statement. He states, “Another key element of the FBI’s evolution into an effective national security organization has been augmenting relationships and information sharing with the United States intelligence community” (Mueller). While the lack of information sharing between the two branches previously hampered efforts, reforms allow for the two branches to communicate further, allowing them to better protect the US. Therefore, the reforms of the FBI led to a better connected and informed intelligence