Indeed, this is a pivotal moment in the Department’s history, as we explicitly ways that limit the effectiveness of traditional law enforcement
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The U.S. Department of Homeland Security was created in the wake of the devastating 9/11 attacks, and charged with coordinating and unifying the Nation™s horrible events, the country confronts an evolving challenge of terrorism and targeted violence. While the threat posed by foreign terrorist organizations remains a priority for the Department, and for the Nation as a whole, we have made great progress in our ability to detect, prevent, protect against, and mitigate the threats that these groups pose. At the same time, we face a growing threat from domestic terrorism and other threats originating at home, including the mass attacks that have too frequently struck our houses of worship, our schools, our workplaces, our festivals, and our shopping spaces. I am proud to introduce DHS™s new Strategic Framework for Countering Terrorism and Targeted Violence , which explains how we Kevin McAleenan will use the tools and expertise that have protected and strengthened the country Secretary of Homeland Security from foreign terrorist organizations to address the evolving challenges of today. It is important to appreciate the great progress that the Department has made since it was founded. DHS has adopted a multi-tiered approach to the lines of security we pursue, including aviation security and border security. By gaining the ability to recognize hostile actors long before they reach our borders, we have made our Nation™s threats between the Federal Government and state, local, tribal, and territorial entities, as well as private sector partners. We have protected America™s critical infrastructure and empowered American communities. I would personally like to thank the Department™s dedicated operators and personnel for performing their duties with the vigilance, integrity, and true sense of service that the American people deserve. acknowledge, and adapt our tools to properly confront, the threats of today. These threats have become more complex, more interconnected, more intertwined with technological advances, and closer to home. As the threats evolve, we must do so as well. that I consider particularly noteworthy: targeted violence. The Federal Government has been moving toward recognizing terrorism and targeted state that terrorism and targeted violence overlap, intersect, and interact as problems, and that they necessitate a shared set of solutions. 2) We introduce new methods of creating a more comprehensive understanding of the challenge of terrorism and targeted violence, both within and outside the Federal Government. The Strategic Framework introduces a new annual assessment that will explicate the state of the threat to the Homeland. This new report will help to inform all levels of government and the broader public. A common understanding of threats within the Homeland will support interagency policymaking, agency prioritizations, resource allocations, and inter-governmental partnerships. The Strategic Framework also introduces a mechanism for crafting a new of the threat, allowing for better discussion, approaches to mitigation, and resource allocation. 3) This Strategic Framework clearly elucidates the nature of today™s domestic challenges, including providing an extended assessment of the dangers posed by domestic terrorists, including racially-and ethnically-motivated violent extremists, particularly white supremacist violent extremists.
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4) This Strategic Framework is designed to assess the Department™s past and provide a guidepost to its future. the multifaceted challenges of today. 5) The Strategic Framework provides a comprehensive treatment of the preventive tools that can be brought to bear against these threats, regardless of the varying ideological or non-ideological drivers. Importantly, the Strategic Framework explicitly recognizes the need to support and protect our most vulnerable populations, our youth in particular. 6) This Strategic Framework emphasizes the importance of transparency, the protections of civil rights and civil liberties, and the protection of data in a digital age. DHS™s Strategic Framework for Countering Terrorism and Targeted Violence is intentionally forward-looking in its understanding of technology™s roleŠas a factor that can exacerbate problems, but also one that can provide new solutions to combat the threats we confront. This document will strategically position the Department to deal with future technological advances, as well as other new and emerging threats. The complex and evolving nature of the threats we face today demands that the American people should know our strategy for countering them, and feel comfortable with the transparency of our execution. We will follow this strategy with a public action plan, explaining to the American people in greater detail how we will accomplish the strategic goals we lay out herein. We will implement this new approach to combating terrorism and targeted violence by harnessing the help to make our Nation safer and more resilient. I am honored to lead this new Strategic Framework that the Department is introducing. Sincerely, Kevin K. McAleenan Acting Secretary, U.S. Department of Homeland Security September 2019
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5TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 Executive Summary 4 Introduction 8 The Evolving Nature of the Threat 12 Guiding Principles 13 Goal 1: Understand the Evolving Terrorism and Targeted Violence Threat Environment, and Support Partners in the Homeland Security Enterprise Through This Specialized Knowledge. 17 Goal 2: Prevent Terrorists and Other Hostile Actors from Entering the United States, and Deny Them the Opportunity to Exploit the Nation™s Trade, Immigration, and Domestic and International Travel Systems. 22 Goal 3: Prevent Terrorism and Targeted Violence. 28 Goal 4: Enhance U.S. Infrastructure Protections and Community Preparedness 34 Conclusion i
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The United States faces an increasingly complex, and evolving, threat of terrorism and targeted violence. As was the case sixteen years ago, at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security™s founding, foreign terrorist organizations remain intent on striking the Homeland, whether through directed attacks or by inspiring suscep -tible individuals in the United States. Today, though, the Nation also faces a growing threat from domestic actors inspired by violent extremist ideologies, as well as from those whose attacks are not ideologically driven. Domestic threat actors often plan and carry out their acts of violence alone and with little apparent warning, in confront these evolving challenges by building on existing best practices developed against foreign terrorist threats, identifying promising new approaches, and developing a strategic vision that provides a more holistic approach to preventing terrorism and targeted violence that originates here at home. In an age of online radical -ization to violent extremism and disparate threats, we must not only counter foreign enemies trying to strike us from abroad, but also those enemies, foreign and domestic, that seek to spur to violence our youth and our American society. The Department has experienced clear successes in its mission to thwart foreign terrorist enemies. We have denied them entry, stopping them at our border or even before they reach it. We have integrated and supported sharing information and intelligence, and providing the resources they require to counter terrorism in their areas of responsibility. We have strengthened our communities. As a Nation, we are more resilient than ever. Our ability to prevent foreign-origin attacks against the Homeland is unmatched across the globe. These successes provide a roadmap for addressing the threat we face today. enhanced our security, while incorporating key strategic changes that will allow us to address the threats we currently face. In addition to addressing terrorism, this Strategic Framework encompasses targeted violence, such as attacks on schools, house of worship, public spaces, and transportation systems, and other forms of racially, ethnically, and religiously motivated violence that can overlap and intersect with terrorism. The Strategy recognizes the critical role advances in technology have played in facilitating the spread, evolution, and interac -tion of violent ideologies and narratives of personal grievance, and the subsequent security implications, both for the Homeland and around the world. Our Strategic Framework is crafted with the conviction that the Department must play a vital role in securing the privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties of Americans and others. Privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties are essential. They should be cherished and safeguarded. This is designed to promote and preserve them. In addressing terrorism and targeted violence, we are steadfast that the role of the Department is to protect American communities, not to police thought or speech. The Department of Homeland Security Strategy for Countering Terrorism and Targeted Violence is designed to implement the White House™s 2017 National Security Strategy and 2018 National Strategy for Counterterrorism , as well as related national policy guidance. While other departments and agencies have vital roles to play, this framework describes the Department™s vision for addressing terrorism and targeted violence threatening the citizens and our state, local, tribal, and territorial authorities, as well as our private sector, non-governmental, and community leaders, the Department of Homeland Security will continue to adapt ahead of evolving threats, and will enhance the safety of our Nation. 1
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The core capabilities contained in the National Preparedness Goal are the distinct critical elements mission areas. Three core capabilities, Planning, Public Information and Warning, and Operational Coordination are common to all mission areas. The below chart shows how the core capabilities Strategic Framework for Countering Terrorism and Targeted Violence . Although the content of this strategy empha -sizes core capabilities in the Prevention, Protection, and Mitigation mission areas, Goal 4 focuses Response and Recovery. 3
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INTRODUCTION Nearly two decades after the 9/11 attacks, terrorism and targeted violence continue to pose a grave threat to the Homeland in ways that have discernibly evolved. Terrorism is likely a familiar term to most readers. 1 The term targeted violence may be less familiar. For purposes of this Strategy, targeted violence refers to any incident of violence that implicates homeland security and/or U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) activities, and in which a known or knowable attacker selects a particular target prior to the violent attack. 2 Unlike terrorism, targeted violence includes attacks otherwise lacking a clearly discern -ible political, ideological, or religious motivation, but that are of such severity and or death commensurate with known terrorist tactics. In the Homeland, targeted -ties, schools, places of worship, and other public gatherings. The threats of terrorism and targeted violence increasingly intersect with one another, and there is likewise some alignment in the tools that can be used to coun ter them. Thus, rather than dealing with addresses the problems, and the tools terrorism and targeted violence as distinct phenomena, this Strategy 3 fiThe threats of terrorism and targeted violence increasingly intersect with one another, and there is likewise some alignment in the tools that can be used to counter them .fl that can be wielded to address them, together. Foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs) continue to plot against the United States, and the Department executes on a daily basis its mission of preventing another attack from abroad. 4 Unfortunately, the severity and number and messages of FTOs. 5 There has been a concerning rise in attacks by individuals motivated by a variety of domestic terrorist ideologies, 6 such as racially- and ethnically-motivated violent extremism, including white supremacist violent extremism , anti-government and anti-authority violent extremism, and other ideological 1 terrorism as any activity involving a criminally unlawful act that is dangerous to human life or potentially destructive of critical infrastructure or key resources, and that appears intended to intimidate or coerce a destruction, assassination, or kidnapping. 2 The concept of targeted violence was Assessment: An Approach to Prevent Targeted Violence,fl Research in Action (National Institute of Justice, U.S. Department of Secret Service and U.S. Department of Education, among othersŠhave either utilized or based their understanding of the concept 3 This Strategic Framework recognizes that the Federal Government has a role in addressing terrorism and targeted violence when the severity and magnitude of an attack would overwhelm the capacity of State and local government prevention, protection, and – 4 foreign terrorist organization in the same manner as does 8 U.S.C. § 1189, as a foreign organi -zation that engages in terrorist activity or terrorism, or retains the capability and intent to engage in terrorist activity and terrorism, 5 homegrown violent extremist as a person of any citizenship who has lived and/or operated primarily in the United States or its territories who advocates, is engaged in, or is preparing to engage in ideologically-motivated terrorist activities (including FTO™s direction. 6 domestic terrorism as an act of unlawful violence, or a threat of force or violence, that is dangerous to change, committed by a group or person based and operating entirely within the United States or its territories. Unlike HVEs, them, which comes from the Federal Government™s lexicon, should not obscure this reality. 4
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strains that drive terrorist violence. Hate crimes and non-ideologically fiThe Department has used a multi-tiered approach to protectionŠ employing cutting-edge technology, enhancing its intelligence-gathering and analytic capabilities, providing advanced training to our frontline personnel, and building the capacity of our international partners. fl motivated large-scale or disproportionately lethal acts of mass violence, including mass attacks, round out the picture of terrorism and targeted 7 While the terrorist threat remains serious, the Federal GovernmentŠin partnersŠhas had numerous successes in protecting the Homeland and preventing foreign terrorist attacks in the years since 9/11. DHS has played an important role. The Department™s achievements in preventing foreign-origin attacks illuminate the strategies, tactics, and tools it must bring to bear to address the disparate challenges of today. The Department has used a multi-tiered approach to protectionŠemploying cutting-edge technology, enhancing its intelligence-gathering and analytic capabilities, providing advanced training to our frontline personnel, and building the outwardfl and creates defense-in-depth, a term referring to the creation of multiple mutually supportive layers of defense in lieu of relying on one defensive line that is vulnerable to a single point of failure. The concept has been employed in contexts that include cybersecurity, where layered defensive mechanisms can thwart cyberattacks, and by militaries, where defense-in-depth can be employed against advancing attackers. The Department has applied this concept to many of the Nation™s security priorities, including border and aviation security. Multiple layers of security and intelligence can provide awareness of hostile actors long before they try to launch an attack. DHS has achieved noteworthy successes in extending our borders outward through the National Targeting Center (NTC). Screening and vetting are among the Department™s primary counterterrorism functions, and and facilitates interdictions, across all modes of transportation of the passengers and cargo that pose a threat to national security at the earliest possible point prior to arrival in the United States. NTC™s targeting prevents terrorists and their suppliers and facilitators from reaching not only our borders, but often our Hemisphere. The DHS has also increased the sharing of information regarding terrorist threats between the Federal Govern – streamlined framework did not exist to easily gather and share Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR). 8 After identi -fying this shortcoming, the Department of Justice (DOJ), DHS, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and processing, analyzing, and sharing terrorism-related SAR information determined to have a potential nexus to terrorism, while protecting privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties. Fusion Centers also play a critical role in the attacks of 9/11, primarily assisting law enforcement with criminal intelligence analysis. Their mission expanded after the terrorist attacks, and they were eventually recognized in the 2007 National Security Strategy as the help DHS to detect, prevent, protect against, and mitigate threats. DHS also supp orts American communities in their preparations to respond to and recover from terrorism and hate crime 8 terrorism or other criminal activities. 7 5
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-ment Agency (FEMA) is engaged in continuous evaluation of the risks that communities face through the Threat As a contributor to the FBI™s interagency Joint Terrorism Task Forces (JTTFs), the Department has experienced numerous successes in investigating and disrupting terrorists and their support systems. JTTFs work diligently agents have been integral in leading JTTF investigations, especially those involving foreign terrorism and trans -national crime suspects. DHS™s successes underscore the Department™s capacity to address the evolving challenges of terrorism and targeted violence. This Strategy represents a recommitment to, and strengthening of, what has worked, and an investment in tools capable of addressing the present challenges confronting our Nation. A critical element of the Department™s learned expertise is its whole-of-society approach focused on empowering American society. DHS recognizes that this partnership is only possible if the Department respects and protects the values of the Nation. Since its inception, the fiSince its inception, the Department has prioritized civil rights, civil liberties, and individual privacy Department has prioritized civil rights, civil liberties, Department™s mission can only be achieved when we uphold the rule of and individual privacy law, and earn and maintain the trust of the American people. Domestic terrorism and homegrown violent extremism are inherently tied to ideas protections in its efforts .fl and ideologies. Planning or committing acts of violence is a crime, while expressing or holding radical or extreme views is protected by the First Amendment. The Department must take care, while addressing the scourge of violence, to avoid stigmatizing populations, infringing on constitutional rights, or attempting to police what Americans should think. Further, how we identify and detect terrorism and targeted violence requires faithful adherence to fair information practice principles and privacy-focused Departmental policies. The Department always incorporates privacy This Strategic Framework addresses terrorism and targeted violence fiThis Strategy addresses based on four complementary organizational concepts central to the terrorism and targeted Department™s mission: intelligence, border security, domestic preven -tion, and preparedness. violence based on four complementary organizational Strong intelligence capabilities allow the Department and its partners concepts central to the to understand the nature of the threat facing the Homeland, allowing DHS to prevent and mitigate threats, and prepare communities to Department™s mission: better respond to and recover from attacks that do occur. intelligence, border security, domestic prevention, and Defending the borders is necessary to prevent foreign terrorists and other hostile actors from entering the country. Border security cannot preparedness. fl stop violence originating from within America, so the Department also multidisciplinary, and include enhanced whole-of-society partnerships with mental health professionals, social -ness to ensure that, when an attack does occur, its impact can be contained, and those targeted can recover quickly. 6
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