Description

The United States must revise and fully implement its homeland defense strategy, in particular, at the Southwest border. The nation's security strategy and defense doctrine now recognize a broader range of threats not only to the national security in general, but to the homeland in particular. However, the strategy and doctrine is confusing, with inconsistent threat identification and a corresponding inconsistency of roles and responsibilities against those threats. More than inconsistent, both strategy and doctrine are insufficient with respect to the land domain. Worst of all, even as it exists, the nation's homeland defense strategy is not being fully implemented. Analysis of the situation along the Southwest border shows that the homeland is, in fact, not being defended. Identified threats to the homeland are unimpeded in the land strategic approaches and, in fact, penetrating into the homeland.