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Please join the Scowcroft Center’s Forward Defense practice for a public conversation and report launch on “Countering New Threats to the Homeland: The Future of the Department of Homeland Security.” This virtual event will take place on Wednesday, September 9, 2020 from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. EDT via Zoom.

Nineteen years ago, the attacks of September 11, 2001 brought home the threat of terrorism to the American people. In the aftermath of 9/11, the US federal government combined more than a dozen agencies under the newly established Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Since 2003, while there has not been a repeat of 9/11, the threats to the homeland have changed.

From the perspective of 2020, it seems obvious that the threat landscape has evolved. The US and other countries are wracked by the Covid-19 pandemic, a disease with enormous public health, economic, geopolitical, and national security implications. Non-military threats like election interference and disinformation are increasingly important and will continue to be a priority even after the 2020 election. And climate change menaces the American way of life and the critical infrastructure that supports it. Even terrorism, which prompted DHS’s creation in the first place, has changed faces, as experts now worry more about violent extremists motivated by white supremacy.

Which agency in the US federal government is best equipped to deal with these challenges? In a landmark report, Forward Defense non-resident senior fellows and former DHS officials Thomas Warrick and Caitlin Durkovich contend that DHS needs to refocus its mission on defending the homeland from nonmilitary threats.

Register now
to join the conversation and hear from the authors and leaders in homeland security on refocusing the mission of DHS for tomorrow.

FULL REPORT RELEASED.

READ THE KEY FINDINGS to learn more.

Report

Sep 9, 2020

Future of DHS Project: Full report

By Thomas Warrick & Caitlin Durkovich

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) needs to refocus its mission to lead the defense of the United States against major nonmilitary threats.

China Coronavirus

Issue Brief

Aug 13, 2020

Future of DHS Project: Key findings and recommendations

By Thomas Warrick & Caitlin Durkovich

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) needs to refocus its mission to lead the defense of the United States against major nonmilitary threats.

China Coronavirus

Featuring

Dave AnthonyNon-Resident Senior Fellow, Forward Defense,
Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security
, Atlantic Council; Creator, Writer, and Director, Call of Duty: Black Ops; CEO, Deviation Games

Max BrooksNon-Resident Senior Fellow, Forward Defense,
Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security
, Atlantic Council; Author of World War Z and Devolution

The Hon. Michael Chertoff, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman, Chertoff Group; Second Secretary of Homeland Security

Caitlin DurkovichNon-Resident Senior Fellow, Forward Defense,
Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security
, Atlantic Council;
Former Assistant Secretary, Infrastructure Protection, US Department of Homeland Security

Thomas A. Fanning, Chairman, President, and CEO, Southern Company

The Hon. Jeh Johnson, Partner, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP; Fourth Secretary of Homeland Security

General James L. Jones, USMC (Ret.), Executive Chairman Emeritus, Atlantic Council; Former National Security Advisor

Jeanette Manfra, Director, Government Security and Compliance, Google

Nick Miroff, National Security Correspondent, The Washington Post

The Hon. Janet Napolitano, Professor of Public Policy, Goldman School of Public Policy, University of California, Berkeley; Third Secretary of Homeland Security

Barry Pavel, Senior Vice President and Director, Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, Atlantic Council

Amy Rall, Vice President, Homeland and Justice Programs, SAIC

Clementine Starling, Deputy Director, Forward Defense & Resident Fellow, Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, Atlantic Council

Thomas WarrickNon-Resident Senior Fellow, Forward Defense, Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, Atlantic Council; Former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Counterterrorism Policy, US Department of Homeland Security

Forward Defense helps the United States and its allies and partners contend with great-power competitors and maintain favorable balances of power. This new practice area in the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security produces forward-looking analyses of the trends, technologies, and concepts that will define the future of warfare and the alliances needed for the 21st century. Through the futures we forecast, the scenarios we wargame, and the analyses we produce, Forward Defense develops actionable strategies and policies for deterrence and defense, while shaping US and allied operational concepts and the role of defense industry in addressing the most significant military challenges at the heart of great-power competition.