Homeland Security Study, Capstone Project Example

Abstract

A study was conducted on the Department of Homeland Security relative to five specific issues or study questions in order to ascertain whether there was a low, slight, moderate, sizeable or strong, correlation between sample population and the problem areas identified by the study’s questions.  The population was ascertained by performing an internet search relative to Homeland Security.  A random sampling of that population was then ascertained and studied relative to the questions as hand.  It was found that there is a strong correlation between the sample population and the issues being studied in this project.  On a scale of 1 to 95 with 95 indicating the strongest possible correlation between the study group and the issues being studied, the sample group in this study scored 73, which indicated a strong correlation.

Chapter 1: Introduction

In an era marked by increased terrorism, strenuous military operations, and growing concern for our nation’s security, the Department of Defense is proposing and enacting budget cuts driven by the desire to save money.  The objective to reduce federal spending as a means to reduce our national debt is necessary.  However, decisions are being made without taking the long-term costs into consideration. Furthering this issue, the monetary funds for our military and certain defense projects are being reduced.  This leaves our nation’s terrorism and homeland security capabilities weakened and lessen their ability to protect and defend American troops and America as a nation. The lack of research and cost analysis to comprehend the full expense of allowing our nation to relinquish defense programs, counterterrorism devices, military strength, manning, and readiness is a serious concern. Enacting these budget cuts and reducing funding for these programs may reduce spending in the short term but vastly increases the danger and cost to America over the longer term.

Through this dissertation, I will examine counterterrorism measures that have been reduced or postponed. I will also examine military readiness and the impact that budget cuts and reduced manning has had in the past and may have in the future. Lastly, I will discuss the possibility of aggregated costs when attempting to restore and implement counterterrorism measures and military capabilities that have been affected by budget cuts; and the possibility of not recovering due to these excessive costs.

Background of the Topic

On February 1, 2010, the Obama Administration released its 2011 budget.  There was reflected in the president’s budget (of $56.3 billion) a 2 percent increase from the 2010 budget.  According to the Administration, it continues to make security a top priority, however, these statements are not a reliable indicator as the department is not allocating its funding in keeping with these ideas especially when it comes to the Department of Homeland Security’s mission (heritage.org).  Many gaps exist in Department of Homeland Security in terms of its needs.  Congress should at least make the effort to fill these gaps by making the budget more supportive of Homeland Security and its mission (heritage.org).

Problem Statement

Due to America’s economic condition, Congress finds that it must reduce overall federal spending, and part of its due diligence in this respect will demand that Congress examine each defense program to ensure that it directly supports the overall mission of the Department of Defense in support of the President’s National Security Strategy. Without a common purpose and driven by the desire to save money, congress takes steps which reduce military spending in the short term but vastly increase the danger and cost to America over the longer term.  In light of these ideas, the overall question that my study is: “Particularly with military potential and Homeland defense counterterrorism measures, is the redirection of federal funds and defense budget cuts negatively influencing the strength of our homeland security defense appearance and capabilities by diminishing them to a level that could be catastrophic or unable to be restored?   This overall question has attached to it which will be stated in another segment of this study.

Professional Significance of Your Work

This study is quite important in terms of its significance to the field of Homeland Security as a profession and its significance to the American public at large.  Safety is of the utmost importance to any nation or society that wishes to sustain itself because with safety comes stability.  When a nation or civilization is unstable, its ability to carry on as a viable, free and independent entity becomes greatly hampered causing that nation to be more primed for attack from enemies of that nation and from those who would attempt to take over that nation.  America as our homeland must be secure at all cost.  However, there is a dangerous trend starting to take place in governmental circles.  There is starting to be a greater propensity towards cutting funding to governmental programs that have come to be known as “Homeland Security.”  The question that is beginning to be asked by political officials is, “Are the national security programs costing the American public too much money?”  But the real question is, “When it comes to the nation’s security, is there any price that is too high? “  Taking money from Homeland Security and putting it towards other governmental programs seems akin to playing Russian roulette with American lives and is nothing short of robbing Peter to pay Paul.   This study is significant in that it seeks to discover, highlight and discuss this governmental budget trimming particularly where it relates to our nation’s security (Homeland Security) from the standpoint of policy analysis/content analysis/data analysis.   So when it comes right down to it, this study is of great significance because it highlights what ultimately becomes a life or death situation.  Because, if Homeland Security becomes so drastically underfunded that it becomes hindered in its efforts to secure this nation, lives could definitely be lost as a direct result.

Overview of Methodology

A content analysis or data analysis is the methodological instrument of choice that will be utilized to accomplish the goals of this study.  An analysis of policy will also be conducted on each case as well in this project.  Content analysis was chosen in an effort to best realize both quantitative and qualitative data results.  A content analysis is a mechanism for gathering data that is used to analyze different forms of content by counting some variable found within that content.  The introduction of quantitative data allows for a more objective evaluation than is sometimes the case with the more subjective qualitative methodologies (List, 2005).  It was determined that the compilation of quantitative data was important to the study’s validity and/or reliability in that, the use of numbers (quantifiers) will balance out the qualitative (subjective) nature of the study’s design and will lessen incidents of and likelihood of human error during data interpretation.  A small sampling of 19 cases from a huge population of possible cases will be randomly selected and analyzed relative to the five study questions.

Delimitations

This study is limited in its scope, applicability and it ability to be generalized beyond its population.  This study is limited in its scope because this study was designed to be conducted on a small scale.  Due to time-constraints, funding constraints and other confines, this study does not seek to be an exhaustive, all-inclusive study of all of the data available on the subject matter, but instead concentrates on applying its question to a small sampling of the population.  Since this study is being done on a small scale, further studies on a wider, longitudinal basis would have to be conducted before its findings could be applicable across the board and before its findings could be generalized.

Also, due to the nature of the sensitive material being studied, it is possible that some of the cases that would have offered very interesting information were not made available for public viewing via the internet due to reasons of national security.  So this factor limits the study to some degree as well.

Definition of Terms

1. Case:  For the purposes of this study, the term case is identified as articles, news stories, governmental reports, research studies, etc. that were determined to be member of the 19 internet search results sampling group.  These are listed by their abbreviated Web address on the tally sheet in Appendix A.
2. Content Analysis, data analysis, and policy analysis:  For the purposes of this study these three terms will be used interchangeably because this study is using a combination of the three study methodologies so that both quantitative (content analysis) and qualitative (analysis of data and policies) data-sets can be ascertained via the study’s methodology.
3. Hits:  The list of results that was generated as a result of performing a search query via the internet.  For the purposes of this study, this term is synonymous with the term, population.
4. Member:  Whereas ordinarily in a study, a group member or population member is usually a person, in this study a member is a case (article, news story, political commentary, etc.).
5. Population:  In studies typically, the term “population” is usually used to denote people.  However, since this is a study of cases that involve governmental policies where budget constraints are concerned, the term “population” will be used to denote cases used to answer the study’s questions.
6. Sample Group:  This is the group of 19 cases that were randomly selected to analyze against the five study questions.  For the purposes of this study, this term is synonymous with the term, case.

Summary

The above layout of information is a brief introduction to the budgetary confinement of our nation and how it will relate to our reduction in capabilities to defend our nation against terrorism. The issues surrounding this topic are far spread, however the focus of the information provided, will encompass the immediate implications that stem from reducing funds utilized for our national defense efforts and maintaining the strength of our military branches.  In turn, this dissertation will expand on the serious repercussions that can stem from budget cuts that reduce funds for homeland security counterterrorism projects and military sustainment.

Chapter 2: Literature Review

Introduction

If the literature reviewed for this project is any indicator, our current budget system is outdated.  The system has been in place since the Cold War days.  Reform is needed to make the budget and the way money is allocated more effective, more globalized and more interconnected so that the United States can adequately combat threats and new enemies.  Currently, there is no mechanism in place to resolve budget matters such as shortages and insufficiencies within specific departments.

Governmental budget cuts are negatively affecting the successful operation of Homeland Security relative to its goals.  Additionally, there seems to be a propensity of the government towards favoring defense cuts of all kind.  Homeland Security problems–of every sort–are starting to show up that are mostly budgetary or financial in nature due to governmental cuts or inefficiencies as is evidenced by current literature on the subject.  All of the major studies conducted on the defense budget ultimately have reached a similar conclusion:  the system is in need of a major overhaul.  Literature on the subject also reflects the desire for reform in terms of the way that the government allocates its defense funding and in terms of the way it decides where cuts should be made (Kasupski, 2007).  Some of the current literature is discussed in the segment below.

Body Paragraphs (Literature Review)

In this report (a study team) focuses primarily on the Department of Defense and the changes it must initiate in order to adapt to the post-9/11 world in which we now live.  Recommendations were made to reform Homeland Security and to improve budget concerns (Beyond Goldwater, Phase One, 2004)

Chapter 2 of this same study was released a year later, “Creating a More Integrated and Effective National Security Apparatus.”  It directly addresses resource-related problems within our defense system.  The recommendation was made that the U.S. needs to find a way to build capabilities against all potential adversaries while delivering the best technology with the greatest efficiency (Beyond Goldwater, Phase Two 2005).

A commission was chartered to review the processes of the U.S. national security in 2001.  The final report of the three-phase commission found that significant changes needed to be made to U.S. national security structures. The commission offered recommendations that could have lead to better perform, but Congress was hesitant to authorize the allocation of more resources to the cause (US Commission, 2001).

Another Commission, The Commission on Emergency Preparedness gave Congress a grade of an “F” based on its handling of matters concerning Homeland Security (9-11, 2005).

In 2001 when the GAO report was published, this group recommended many changes that were of the urgent nature such as better management of and application of resources and better management of terrorist risks to the United States (GAO, 2001).

According to Flournoy, there is currently not one incentive for the government to do any type of national planning where security is concerned.  Furthermore, it was said by these authors that the lack of a uniform budget process was hurting national defense and that a budget review process would strengthen defense missions across many security agencies.  The recommendation was that reform needed to be made (Flournoy, 2006).

Adams in two separate articles suggested that steps needed to be taken to support the government in an effort to fund all branches or agencies that pertain to national security (Adams, 2007).  Also in a second article, Adams stated that more attention needed to be placed on foreign security affairs.  The recommendation in both articles by Adams was reform (Adams, 2007). Another article, “9/11 the final report”, gave Congress a low score in terms of the budget and better terrorism reforms and overall improvements that needed to be make in the wake of 9/11 as did the Phase III report in 2011 (USCNS, 2001).

In conclusion, current literature on the subject seem to stand in marked agreement that there definitely needs to be reform to Homeland Security specifically, and U. S. security overall, generally.  There are many problems relative to security funding and these problems should be addressed if improvements to the nation’s security are to be realized.

Part II: Annotated Bibliography

Adams, Gordon, Congressional Testimony before the Senate Budget Committee, 6 February 2007 (in Congressional Quarterly).

This is one of two articles written by Adams in 2007 on the subject of the security budget of America.  In this article Adams suggested that steps needed to be taken to support the government in an effort to fund all branches or agencies that pertain to national security.

Adams, Gordon, “The Politics of National Security Budgets,” Policy Analysis Brief (Washington, DC: The Stanley Foundation, February 2007).

Also in his second article written on the topic in 207, Adams stated that more attention needed to be placed on foreign security affairs.  The recommendation in both articles by Adams was reform.

Beyond Goldwater-Nichols: U.S. Government and Defense Reform for a New Strategic Era: Phase One Report, Washington, DC: Center for Strategic and International Studies, March 2004. 

This report (which was a team study) focused primarily on Department of Defense and the changes it must initiate and carry out to acclimate in the post-Cold War, post-9/11 world in which we now live.  Recommendations were made to reform Homeland Security and to improve budget concerns.

Beyond Goldwater-Nichols: U.S. Government and Defense Reform for a New Strategic Era: Phase Two Report, Washington, DC: Center for Strategic and International Studies, July 2005.

Chapter 2 of this same study was released a year later, “Creating a More Integrated and Effective National Security Apparatus.”  It directly addresses resource-related problems within our defense system.  The recommendation was to build capabilities against all potential adversaries while delivering the best technology with the greatest efficiency.

 Combating Terrorism: Interagency Framework and Agency Programs to Address the Overseas Threat. Washington, DC: U.S. General Accountability Office, 2003.

A commission was chartered to review the processes of the U.S. national security in 2001.  The final report of the three-phase commission found that significant changes needed to be made to U.S. national security structures. The commission offered recommendations that could have lead to better perform, but Congress was hesitant to authorize the allocation of more resources to the cause

 Flournoy, Michele A. and Shawn W. Brimley, “Strategic Planning for U.S. National Security: A Project Solarium for the 21st Century,” The Princeton Project Papers, final report released 27 September 2006.

According to Flournoy, there is currently not one incentive for the government to do any type of national planning where security is concerned.  Furthermore, it was said by these authors that the lack of a uniform budget process was hurting national defense and that a budget review process would strengthen defense missions across many security agencies.  The recommendation was that reform needed to be made (Flournoy, 2006).

Homeland Security: Challenges and Strategies in Addressing Short-and Long-Term National Needs. Washington, DC: U.S. General Accountability Office, 2001.

In 2001 when the GAO report was published, this group recommended many changes that were of the urgent nature such s better management of and application of resources and better management of terrorist risks to the United States

9-11 Public Discourse Project, Final Report on 9/11 Commission Recommendations, 5 December 2005.

In this Final Report on 9/11, the Commission graded Congress poorly and felt that changes needed to definitely be made in the wake of 9/11.  This was a commission that was developed after 9/11 to improve the country in ways that 9/11 showed that the country failed.

U.S. Commission on National Security/21st Century, The Phase III Report: Road for National Security: Imperative for Change, 15 February 2001.

This commission called for governmental reform as in the case of the other commissions that have studied security and budgetary matter relative to the U.S.

Summary

As the literature review and annotated bibliography shows, U. S. security has some very real troubles.  Much of the data within the literature suggests that America could possibly find itself in a lot of trouble if measures are not taken to counter the problems that currently exist in the area of national security.

Chapter 3: Research Design and Methodology

Research Design Proposal Introduction

This capstone project attempts to answer the question of reduced military and homeland defense counterterrorism measures, strength and capabilities in relation the redirection of federal funds and defense budget cuts.  Are these cuts reducing our abilities to a level that could be catastrophic or unable to be restored?  This project will focus directly on the diminishing military manning, strength and capabilities in conjunction with counterterrorism projects that have been reduced, postponed, or canceled due to lack of funding. To answer this primary question, this project will cover a wide range of data that will focus on specific budget cuts and the perception of our strength from a military and homeland defense readiness perspective.  The primary question this study seeks to answer is as follows:

Major question to be answered:

• In particularly with military potential and Homeland defense counterterrorism measures, is the redirection of federal funds and defense budget cuts negatively influencing the strength of our homeland security defense appearance and capabilities by diminishing them to a level that could be catastrophic or unable to be restored?

Incorporated in this capstone project will be the answers to four additional questions (or sub-questions) that will support the primary question. The first question asks if the funding for projects that have specific correlation to the Department of Homeland Security is being identified as such to enable Federal funds to be utilized for Department of Defense responsibilities and projects.  The second question identifies the negative consequences Defense budget cuts are currently creating for our military strength and readiness and the concern for compromising America’s ability to fight and win both war and peace tomorrow. The third question focuses specifically on our lack of technological advances in weaponry and military capabilities and how it relates to the strength and capability of our nations appearance. Lastly this project will address the question of whether policymakers are considering the full spectrum of potential threats to U.S. national security, including those that may not seem immediate or most likely or if federal funding predominately focusing on preparing only for the danger of the moment. These sub questions will further identify the ramifications of budget cuts with specific answers to culminate information for a conclusion to the initial question.   The sub-questions are as follows:

• Is the funding for projects that have specific correlation to the Department Homeland Security being identified as such to enable Federal funds to be utilized for Department of Defense responsibilities and projects?  
• Defense budget cuts are already having dramatic negative consequences for the U.S. military today, will this compromise America’s ability to fight and win both war and peace tomorrow?

• As other nations surpass us with technological advances in weaponry and military capabilities, will the diminishing appearance of strength and capability of our nation make us more of a susceptible target for future terrorism?

• Are Policymakers considering the full spectrum of potential threats to U.S. national security, including those that may not seem immediate or most likely such as, or is federal funding predominately focusing on preparing only for the danger of the moment?

Body Paragraphs: (Plan of Action)

My research design will utilize the perspectives of qualitative and quantitative measurements. Initially, the qualitative portion will stem from the identification of monetary budget constraints, canceled or postponed projects, and the reduction in military capabilities and manning.  This information will then lead into the qualitative perspective where research focus on the interpreted and applied ramifications of budget constraints in current and future functions and operations.

This project will employ the correlation research type. It will expound upon the direct relationship of budget cuts to the reduction of strength in our military and homeland defense counterterrorism capabilities.  It will correlate our lack in completion of projects, technological weaponry advancement, and military readiness to lack of funding. This project will also link the inability to properly assign projects to the correct department as a damaging aspect of homeland preparedness. Finally, this research type will be implemented to identify similar situations that exist in our history and relate their lessons to current issues we are facing today.

The primary research method for this capstone project will be evaluation of documents.  This method will offer an accurate and informative means to collect and analyze the information needed to complete this project. It will allow for overview and collection of information that is applicable to both the initial and sub questions to formulate a comprehensive project.

Research Methodology for Data Collection

The steps of the research methodology are as follows:  An internet search was conducted to identify the population for the study.  Population for the purposes for this study was identified as the body of cases (research studies, articles, commentaries, committee notes, etc.) that was available for public viewing via the World Wide Web at the time that this study was conducted.  The population for the study was the entire group of “hits” that were generated in response to the following search query “Homeland Security Issues.”  A small, randomly selected sampling of 19 cases was chosen from the population.

In keeping with the methodology of this study, it was important to randomly select a sample population that was representative of the overall population.  Fortunately, search engines on the World Wide Web come with a built-in element of randomness.  That is to say that, when conducting a query using internet search engines, the results list is usually variable.  The results list from one day to the next will not likely be the same exact list even when using the exact same query or search terms.  In fact, the results list sometimes will not be the same even from one hour to the next when using the exact same search terms when conducting an online search.  This is probably due to the vast number of people who are constantly adding content to the internet at any given time.

Since randomness was already inherently built into the study’s methodology due to its use of the internet, the next issue to be decided on was the selection parameters for the cases that were to be included in the study.  When conducting research using a search engine, results are usually returned in rank order in terms of relevance to the search terms.  So, the first case on such a list will be the most relevant and the last case on the list will be the least relevant to the search topic.  So, it was decided that 10% of the results list would be chosen to represent this study’s sample population.  Nineteen cases were chosen because they represented 10% of the cases from the Google results list when the research was conducted.  Since randomness was already built into the study’s sample via the randomness of internet search engines, the top 19 cases on the list were used to represent the population.  The justification for using ten percent of the population was that, this seemed a reasonable number of cases to study in terms of the scale and purposes of this study.  As was discussed in the delimitations section of this paper, a larger study would need to be conducted before the results of this study could be generalized beyond this study-group.  However, this study achieved its goals utilizing 10% of the study’s population, because the goals of this study were on a smaller scale and simply sought to see if a strong correlation could be found between the sample population and the five study questions.  Additionally, since this was a study of governmental policy where Homeland Security is concerned, it can be hypothesized that even if a larger percentage of the population had been studied, similar results would have likely ensued because governmental policy is something that is generally applied across the board and what is true (with issues related to budget cuts) in one case, is likely to be true in other similar cases.  So, if evidence of a strong correlation was found to exist in the sample population pertaining to the issues relative to the five study questions, it is likely that a strong correlation would be found in the overall population as well.  But, that hypothesis would have to be tested through further study on a larger scale.

A content analysis was performed on these 19 cases utilizing the main question and the four sub-questions that had been previously decided upon before commencing the study.  An abridged policy analysis of sorts was done as well in order to conduct a more qualitative analyses of the sampling’s content.  The qualitative analysis was objectified by reading each of the 19 cases in the sample group and then applying each of the study questions to the sample case one by one in order to test whether that particular case satisfied the criteria posed by each study question.

Concluding Paragraph: (How Data Is Analyzed and Organized)

Qualitative and quantitative analysis of case policy and content was accomplished by asking the simple questions of the each case/member of the sample group, “Does this case satisfy question one?”  “Does this case satisfy question two?”  “Does this case satisfy question three?”  Each of the five questions was analyzed against each of the 19 cases in the sample group in this way.  After the cases were thoroughly analyzed notations were made as to how or in what way the case satisfied the question at hand.  A tally sheet (see Appendix A) was then used to score each case in terms of its content as applied against each of the study questions in order to create a more quantitative data set to objectify the study’s goals.  Each case had the potential of earning a score of five points (one point for each of the five study questions).  As the cases were being read and as each case was being analyzed in terms of its policy and content, a tally sheet was kept close at hand.  The tally sheet used was a 19 x 5 chart onto which the cases were listed/recorded (by their Web address) in vertical rows while the study-question numbers were horizontal columns across the top of the page.  It was decided before-hand that each time an event was discussed in each case (article, news story, etc.) that showed a negatively aspect of Homeland Security or national defense in a way that fitted one of the five question areas which were the focus of the study, an “X” was placed in the box next to that case.  As each case was analyzed in terms of policy and content a written notation was made on a separate sheet of paper as to how that case satisfied the question and an “X” was placed in the column of the corresponding question that case satisfied.  If a case did not satisfy the criteria of a particular question, no “X” was placed in the question box next to that case.  If at least one negative item was found in the case that related to one of the questions, that was enough for the case to earn an “X” for that question.  Every negative aspect relative to each question was not counted or marked.  Only one negative point relative to each question was necessary to satisfy the criteria for earning an “X” under this study’s design.  So, the 19 case sample group had the potential of earning a score of 95, which was the highest possible score (19×5) for all 19 cases in the sample (one point per each case for each of the five questions—which is 19 cases times 5 questions).  It was decided before-hand that if the sample group earned an overall score of 1 to 20, the group was to be judged as having a very low correlation to the study’s questions or topic area.  If the group earned a score of 21 to 31, the sample group would be judged as having a slight correlation to the study’s questions or focus area.  If the group earned a score of 32 to 52, it was to be judged as having a moderate correlation to the study’s focus area.  If the group scored from 53 to 73, the group would be judged as having a high correlation to the study’s focus area.  Finally, it was decided that, if the sample group scored 73 or above, it was to be judged as having a strong correlation to the study’s focus area or subject-matter.

Chapter 4: Results of the Study

Introduction

In this chapter, data will be reported in answer to the study’s sub-questions which will, in turn, answer the study’s major question.  This study asked the following 5 questions of the study’s sample population:

• In particularly with military potential and Homeland defense counterterrorism measures, is the redirection of federal funds and defense budget cuts negatively influencing the strength of our homeland security defense appearance and capabilities by diminishing them to a level that could be catastrophic or unable to be restored?
• Is the funding for projects that have specific correlation to the Department Homeland Security being identified as such to enable Federal funds to be utilized for Department of Defense responsibilities and projects?
• Defense budget cuts are already having dramatic negative consequences for the S. military today, will this compromise America’s ability to fight and win both war and peace tomorrow?
• As other nations surpass us with technological advances in weaponry and military capabilities, will the diminishing appearance of strength and capability of our nation make us more of a susceptible target for future terrorism?
• Are Policymakers considering the full spectrum of potential threats to S. national security, including those that may not seem immediate or most likely such as, or is federal funding predominately focusing on preparing only for the danger of the moment?

Body of the Chapter

A content analysis and a data analysis were used to analyze each case based on the five questions above.  Below, the 19 cases will be listed and the corresponding number of the questions above (1-5) will be listed next to each case to demonstrate that the particular case showed some correlation to that particular study-question.  The results of the data were as follows:

73 out of a possible 95 instances of the study’s issues (represented by the 5 study questions above) were found within the content of the study’s sample population.  Below is the layout of the 19 cases and the corresponding number of the study-issue found within the case:  Websites have been abbreviated.

1. ArmedServices.hous.gov: correlated to study questions number 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
2. Nti.org: correlated to study questions numbers 1, 2, 4
3. Washingpost (2009/05/07).com: correlated to questions number 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
4. Pomed.org: correlated to questions number 1, 2, 3, 5
5. Emergenmgt.com: correlated to questions number 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
6. Csis.org (051028): correlated to questions number 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
7. 9-11 publicdisc: correlated to questions number 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
8. Csis.org (rethink): correlated to questions number 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
9. Heritage.org: correlated to questions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
10. Fedtimes.com: correlated to questions number 1, 2, 3, 5
11. Washingpost.com (A12489): correlated to questions number 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
12. Csis.org (V09n22): correlated to questions 4, 5
13. Bnet.org: correlated to questions 4, 5
14. Homelandsec.newwire: correlated to questions 1, 2, 4, 5
15. Nationaljour.com: correlated to questions 4, 5
16. Articles.cnn.com (2007/09/24): correlated to questions 4, 5
17. Amazonaws.com: correlated to questions 1, 2, 5
18. Articles cnn.com (2004/03/26): correlated to questions 1, 2, 5
19. Azcentral.com: correlated to questions 1, 2, 4, 5

Summary

The above information was arrived at utilizing the quantitative methodology of content analysis coupled with a qualitative analysis format in keeping with that of policy analysis or data analysis.  The combined total results of the case-studies above were 73 instances out of 95 possible instances of the objectification of the study’s issue questions within the sample population (see Appendix A for a visual of how cases were related to the study questions).

Chapter 5: Summary and Discussion

Introduction

At the outset of this project 5 major problem areas within the Department of Homeland Security were highlighted and identified as the focus for a content analysis study on a sampling of the overall population.  The hypothesis was that high instances of each of the study questions would be found in the study’s population due to many reasons, one of which is the fact that the federal budget is currently a hot topic in the news these days (Amazonaws.com, 2008; Articles.cnn.com, 2007).  Many governmental departments are unhappy with budget cuts (EmergencyMgt.com, 2011), but cuts to the budget go far beyond the norm when it comes to the nation’s defense (Homeland Security) because cuts in this area are a matter of such great significance that it can be said that these cuts could be a matter of life and death.  Studies such as this one that looks at these issues are of great importance.  Why?  Because knowledge is power and because no change can be made until the problem is first discovered, only then can it be address.

Statement of Problem:Due to America’s economic condition, Congress finds that it must reduce overall federal spending, and part of its due diligence in this respect will demand that Congress examine each defense program to ensure that it directly supports the overall mission of the Department of Defense in support of the President’s National Security Strategy. Without a common purpose and driven by the desire to save money, congress takes steps which reduce military spending in the short term but vastly increase the danger and cost to America over the longer term.  In light of these ideas, the overall question that my study is: “Particularly with military potential and Homeland defense counterterrorism measures, is the redirection of federal funds and defense budget cuts negatively influencing the strength

of our homeland security defense appearance and capabilities by diminishing them to a level that could be catastrophic or unable to be restored?   This overall question has attached to it which will be stated in another segment of this study.

Review of Methodology

An internet search was conducted to identify the population for the study.  Population for the purposes for this study was identified as the body of cases (research studies, articles, commentaries, committee notes, etc.) that was available for public viewing via the World Wide Web at the time that this study was conducted.  The population for the study was the entire group of “hits” that were generated in response to the following search query “Homeland Security Issues.”  A small, randomly selected sampling of 19 cases was chosen from the population.  A content analysis was performed on these 19 cases utilizing the main question and the four sub-questions that had been previously decided upon before commencing the study.  An abridged policy analysis of sorts was done as well in order to conduct a more qualitative analyses of the sampling’s content.  The qualitative analysis was objectified by reading each of the 19 cases in the sample group and then applying each of the study questions to the sample case one by one in order to test whether that particular case satisfies the criteria posed by each study question.

Summary of Results:

The highest possible level of correlation that the sample could have reached was 95.  It was found that this population sample scored a 73 out of a 95.  See chapter 4 above for a breakdown of exactly which research question was paired with each case based on level of correlation.  Highlights of what was learned about each question follows:

Main question:  In particularly with military potential and Homeland defense counterterrorism measures, is the redirection of federal funds and defense budget cuts negatively influencing the strength of our homeland security defense appearance and capabilities by diminishing them to a level that could be catastrophic or unable to be restored?  

Once defense productivity whittles away, it will be next to impossible to rebuild it.  Some governmental agencies seem more concerned with the deficit than with the security of our country.  The 9/11 commission awarded Congress a grade of an “F” in terms of its efforts to bolster Homeland Security in terms of emergency preparedness and in terms of intelligence.  Also, instances of this issue were found in 15 out of 19 of the cases in the overall population.

Is the funding for projects that have specific correlation to the Department Homeland Security being identified as such to enable Federal funds to be utilized for Department of Defense responsibilities and projects?

It was discovered from this study that Federal funds are not necessarily being earmarked for Homeland Security which is an important area for funding.  During the analysis of the cases, it was found that the military was in dire need of new aircrafts, needed maintenance on older aircraft, needed to purchase submarines, Humvees, and combat planes and these needs were going wholly or partly unmet. Additionally, hiring freezes were happening in many departments of Homeland Security due to budget constraints.  This equipment is needed and employees are needed but these things are not being funded.  The issues highlighted by this question in the study were found in 14 out of 19 of the cases studied.

Defense budget cuts are already having dramatic negative consequences for the U.S. military today, will this compromise America’s ability to fight and win both war and peace tomorrow?

As was discussed above, if equipment needed by the military is not being purchased when needed and if personnel is not being hired this will eventually affect America’s ability to both fight and win wars.  Additionally it was discovered in studying this question that some issue with paying the military personnel was becoming problematic due to some budget issues within certain branches of the military.  Issues relative to this question was found in 11 of the 19 cases.

As other nations surpass us with technological advances in weaponry and military capabilities, will the diminishing appearance of strength and capability of our nation make us more of a susceptible target for future terrorism?

Russia and China was named in several of the articles as posing problems to America in terms of America’s technological advances or the lack thereof.  It was discovered that China had actually managed to hack into Homeland Security’s computers and to post sensitive information onto Chinese Web sites.  Also, it was discovered that America is prime for attacks on its cyber systems, its telecommunication systems and its cellular phone systems due to shortcomings in technology.  This type of thing is serious.  Issues such as this was found in 14 out of 19 of the cases studied.

Are Policymakers considering the full spectrum of potential threats to U.S. national security, including those that may not seem immediate or most likely such as, or is federal funding predominately focusing on preparing only for the danger of the moment?

There is also some evidence as objectified through the sample population that America has shut its eyes to some very real dangers that could come up at some future date.  As was discussed in an earlier question, China has shown some tendencies in this direction by attacking Homeland Security computers and by harassing American fleets in seas it considers its territory.  Instances of potential threat going unaddressed were found in every single case in the sample (in 19 out of 19 cases).  This is an area that needs more attention.

Relationship of Research to the Field:

The study’s results supported the findings that there is a strong correlation between the study’s sample and the questions or issues studied by in project.

Discussion of Results

Before the study was conducted, it was ascertained that if 1 to 20 occurrences of the studied issues was found that, it would be said that there was a low correlation present, if 21 to 31 occurrences were discovered, it would be said that a moderate correlation exists, if 32 to 52 instances were discovered it would be said that a sizeable correlation exists between the study-questions and the sample, if  53 to 73 occurrences were found, that would show a high correlation, and if 73 to 95 instances were found, then it would be said that there was a strong correlation between the study’s sample and the issues at hand.  A strong correlation was indeed found to exist since 73 out of a possible 95 issues were found in the study’s population.

Conclusions

According to this study’s findings, while more research needs to be done on the subject, the American government needs to address the issues brought forward in this study that were objectified by the study’s questions.  These are some really pertinent issues and if America is to continue to compete globally, these cannot continue to be ignored.  Taking money away from national security in the times in which we now live does not seem to be the sagest thing to do.  This study results suggests that negative affects are being felt across the board within the Department of Homeland Security as a result of these budget cuts.  Reform needs to be made in order to tighten up the country’s security.

References

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Appendix A:

Data Collection Tally Sheet