Running head: Security challenges and government’s management 1 2 Security challenges and government’s management Security challenges in the US and Governments management of security challenges Vibert Jacob South University My topic of discussion is on security challenges in the US and the government’s management of these challenges. How does the US Government manage the security challenges in the country? The US faces many security challenges which include cyber terrorism, Iran’s dominance in the Middle East, Increase in Chinese provocations in South China Sea, Russia’s military expansion and Al Qaida taking over for ISIS. The main focus or objective of my paper will be the strategies and measures the US Government is taking to deal with these security challenges. I will also focus on how these challenges affect the US and reasons why these security issues are a main concern to the country. In addressing each security challenge, I plan to discuss the government’s efforts in the past in managing them and the current or planned strategies the government is using. What efforts is put by the US government into managing the security challenges in the country? The US faces security challenges both within the country and outside the country. From within the country, challenges such as changing climate is a natural security issue because it poses a threat to the US infrastructure, agriculture, population and economy. There is also a worsening cyber security front where individuals and criminal groups hack both private and public entities which results in loss of billions of dollars in damages. Persistent terrorist attacks from small groups that are done domestically also poses as a security challenge. Most of these threats have been facing the US for years and there is need to focus on them because they affect us daily. In this study, I expect to face ethical issues which include informed consent from my sources, respect for anonymity and confidentiality from my sources and respect for privacy. I intend to respect all my informants wishes for privacy and confidentiality and wherever necessary, I plan to acquire permission from the relevant authorities to get access to the information am looking for. The government has made efforts to manage security challenges in the country and I plan to discuss this in detail and the impact it has to the country currently and in future. My research methodology in collecting information will involve published articles related to security threats in the US, TV programs, interviews with the relevant authorities in the government who handle security threats in the country, interviews with individuals who have been affected with the security threats in the country, surveys. To get my information, I plan to visit the Homeland Security offices and conduct interviews with the employees and hopefully the administrator. I will also condu ...

1. Running head: Security challenges and government’s
management 1
2
Security challenges and government’s management
Security challenges in the US and Governments management of
security challenges
Vibert Jacob
South University
My topic of discussion is on security challenges in the US and
the government’s management of these challenges. How does
the US Government manage the security challenges in the
country? The US faces many security challenges which include
cyber terrorism, Iran’s dominance in the Middle East, Increase
in Chinese provocations in South China Sea, Russia’s military
expansion and Al Qaida taking over for ISIS. The main focus or
objective of my paper will be the strategies and measures the
US Government is taking to deal with these security challenges.

2. I will also focus on how these challenges affect the US and
reasons why these security issues are a main concern to the
country.
In addressing each security challenge, I plan to discuss the
government’s efforts in the past in managing them and the
current or planned strategies the government is using. What
efforts is put by the US government into managing the security
challenges in the country? The US faces security challenges
both within the country and outside the country. From within
the country, challenges such as changing climate is a natural
security issue because it poses a threat to the US infrastructure,
agriculture, population and economy. There is also a worsening
cyber security front where individuals and criminal groups hack
both private and public entities which results in loss of billions
of dollars in damages. Persistent terrorist attacks from small
groups that are done domestically also poses as a security
challenge. Most of these threats have been facing the US for
years and there is need to focus on them because they affect us
daily.
In this study, I expect to face ethical issues which include
informed consent from my sources, respect for anonymity and
confidentiality from my sources and respect for privacy. I
intend to respect all my informants wishes for privacy and
confidentiality and wherever necessary, I plan to acquire
permission from the relevant authorities to get access to the
information am looking for. The government has made efforts to
manage security challenges in the country and I plan to discuss
this in detail and the impact it has to the country currently and
in future.
My research methodology in collecting information will involve
published articles related to security threats in the US, TV
programs, interviews with the relevant authorities in the
government who handle security threats in the country,

3. interviews with individuals who have been affected with the
security threats in the country, surveys. To get my information,
I plan to visit the Homeland Security offices and conduct
interviews with the employees and hopefully the administrator.
I will also conduct surveys to see the progress that the
government has made in dealing with security challenges
internally and also the external threats. I will also search
through published articles in the newspapers and magazines and
also from libraries to look at the government’s progress. I will
also search through academic journals and books as sources of
information.
Presenting the results: My topic of discussion was on the
security challenges in the US and the government’s management
of these security challenges. My research on this overall
problem involved the collection of information which included
visiting the Homeland security office and having an interview
with an employee about the daily operations in the department
in handling security issues.
I also read through current articles on what the government is
doing to keep Americans safe. I did surveys on the progress of
the government in managing security threats in the country. I
read through published books and journals.
From the information I gathered, I found out different ways the
US government is dealing with the security challenges. On the
issue of cybercrimes, with the increase in the number of
Americans becoming more reliant on modern technology, we
also become susceptible to cybercrimes which include social
media fraud, security breaches and spear phishing. The law
enforcement performs an essential role in achieving the
country’s cyber security objectives. It does this by investigating
a wide range of cybercrimes from fraud and theft to child
exploitation and apprehending and prosecuting those
responsible. Network security experts and criminal investigators
work to effectively respond to and investigate cybercrimes. The
Internet Crime Complaint Center which is a partnership between
the FBI and the National White Collar Crime Center also

4. provides a platform for people report online internet crime
(Jacob, 2009).
The changing climate also poses as a challenge to the US.
Climate change acts as a threat multiplier that makes already
existing threats worse. The threat of global warming for
insecurity will manifest itself through food shortages in the
country, water insecurity, rise in sea level and resource scarcity.
Climate change also poses as a creeping national security threat
in that when neighboring countries face extreme global
warming, it will result to refugees flow into the US and this will
cause conflict over food and water(Daniel, 2010). To manage
this security challenge, the government designed a strategy
around executive action and using powers already granted under
laws such as the Clean Air Act.
The former president Obama came up with the clean power plan
which would limit the carbon pollution from dirty power plants.
The number one source for global warming in America is the
country’s more than 500 power plants and hence the clean
power plan will help to cut pollution by 30% by the end of the
next decade. The government can also implement a greenhouse
gas fee that puts a price on all climate change-causing
emissions from all energy sources.
Terrorist threats and attacks from internal groups and external
groups outside the country also pose as a security challenge to
the country. The ISIS group controls territories in Syria, Libya
and Iraq while Al Qaida occupies regions of Yemen. Other
terrorist groups like Al Shabab occupies countries like Somalia.
These groups pose a threat to the US security. The US state
department alleges that governments of Syria, Sudan and Iran
do support international terrorism. These countries have been
designated by the government as areas that people could not
visit if the planned to participate in the US visa waiver
program. The president Trump also signed a controversial
executive order that suspended entry to refugees to the country,
barred Syrian refugees indefinitely (U.S. Department of

5. Defense, 2010).
Other security challenges to the US include the deteriorating
situation with North Korea in which Kim Jong Un has resolved
to continue its nuclear program and test the new ICBM missile
technology. The government responded to this by sending a
fleet of navy seals to North Korea to warn the nation against
testing any more weapons. (Daniel, 2010) The increase in the
number of failed states and persistent civil wars that has caused
refugee crises in the United States.
It has also created a haven for extremist groups who are hostile
to the United States. The increase in refugees in the United
States causes strain on resources which include food and water
and hence this makes the issue a security threat to the United
States. To manage this issue, the United States government is
trying to discuss a suitable deal with neighboring countries for
their mutual benefit
According to the order, a waiver may be granted on a case-to-
case basis by both the department of state and department of
homeland security and may be granted for those who are
religious minority in their country of nationality facing
religious persecution as long as they don’t pose a security threat
to the US. In my opinion, this order generalizes that everyone
from those Islamic countries is a terrorist and it is quite unfair.
It’s also quite unfortunate that the order also barred innocent
Syrian refugees from the country because statistically, it’s only
a few refugees who have malicious intentions towards the US
and the majority are genuinely in need for asylum. President
Trump is understandably focused on the threats from ISIS but
statistics show that since 2014, the majority of people charged
in the US with ISIS-related offences have been US citizens.
Moreover, a lot of ISIS fighters in Syria and Iraq seem to come
from countries such as Tunisia, Russia, Turkey, China, Egypt
and Saudi Arabia.
In the climate change issue with regard to the Clean Power
Plan, though it has great benefits implementing it might not be

6. successful for a number of reasons. One reason that stands out
for me is state plans.
Under the model of cooperative federalism under the Clean Air
Act, the federal government is responsible for setting targets
and the states determine how to comply. The Clean Power Plan
gives States more flexibility than usual setting statewide targets
rather than individual power plants targets and allowing States
to determine the best way to allocate reductions.
During my Study, I faced several challenges. My first challenge
was in the choice of topic.it was at first quite difficult to find a
topic that I can do justice to; a topic that would hold my interest
from beginning to end. My topic of choice (security challenges
and the government’s management of these issues) was a bit
complex especially with the limited resources in terms of
information sources. In my data collection methods, I got to
meet uncooperative interviewees and I felt a lot of information
was being withheld. Getting different institutions to participate
in my study was also a bit challenging. Lastly, staying
motivated till the end was challenging with all the obstacles in
my research.
In conclusion, the security agenda in the US has evolved over
time whereby the Bush administration placed terrorism as the
number one priority on the security agenda. The security agenda
is not stagnant but rather changes over time. Obama
administration de-scrutinized the war on terrorism and war on
drugs. each president that assumes office has a different vision
and social construction of the world. Issues such as organized
crime, drug trafficking, immigration, border security have also
been addressed and the president and government have managed
to manage security threats and protect United States by coming
up with effective strategies.
REFERENCES

7. Jacob, John, 2009. The Rise of Integrated Security Appliances.
Channel Business.
U.S. Department of Defense, Joint Chiefs of Staff, New Revised
Edition, Joint Pub. 1-02, 2010.
Rattner, Daniel. "Internal & External Threats." Security
Management. Northeastern University, Boston. 8 April. 2010.
Rattner, Daniel. "Loss Prevention & Risk Management
Strategy." Security Management. Northeastern University,
Boston. 5 Mar. 2010