TerrorismActing DHS Secretary Duke: Rethinking homeland security for a new age

Earlier today (Thursday), Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Elaine Duke testified before the House Committee on Homeland Security for a hearing on “World Wide Threats: Keeping America Secure in the New Age of Terror.”

Duke said that DHS is addressing the evolving threat landscape and moving past traditional defense and non-defense thinking. DHS is enhancing its approach to homeland security and bringing together intelligence operations, interagency engagement, and international action in innovative ways.

In her written testimony submitted to the committee, Duke said, “Acts of terrorism and mass violence against soft targets have become so frequent that we associate them with the names of cities that have been victimized: Paris, San Bernardino, Brussels, Orlando, Istanbul, Nice, Berlin, London, Barcelona, and most recently in New York City on Halloween.” As a result, DHS is enhancing coordination with state and local officials. In her oral testimony, Acting Secretary Duke stated, “I also want to make clear today that DHS is not standing on the sidelines as these threats proliferate. And we will not allow frequent terrorism to become the new normal.”

Additionally, DHS is “raising the baseline” of the United States’ security posture by examining everything from traveler screening to information sharing, and setting new standards to close security vulnerabilities. Acting Secretary Duke said, “At the Department, we are building an action-oriented, results-centric culture. We are pushing our border security strategies and pressing foreign partners to enhance their security so that terrorists, criminals, and other threat actors are stopped well before they reach our shores.”

Excerpts from Duke’s testimony:

On rethinking homeland security for a new age:

“We are seeing a surge in terrorist activity because the fundamentals of terrorism have changed. Our enemies are crowd-sourcing their violence online and promoting a “do it yourself” approach that involves using any weapons their followers can get their hands on. We saw this just last month right here on our own soil when a terrorist killed and wounded pedestrians in New York City using a rented vehicle. But New Yorkers rallied, and they refused to be intimidated by this heinous attack.