Homeland Security Department Plays Very Significant Role in Ensuring Research Paper

Homeland Security Department Plays Very Significant Role in Ensuring Security of the US - Research Paper Example The CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) is a federal intelligence agency heavily involved in homeland security since its establishment in the year 1947. The agency is involved in providing security intelligence on a national scale to USA’s senior policy makers and implementers. The agency’s director is nominated by the President on the consent and advice of the state senate. The appointed director oversees the agency’s budget, personnel and operations. At present, the number of people working in CIA cannot be disclosed publicly either is its budget. The agency’s budget and the number of employees are known and scrutinized only by the Budget management office and the Senate Intelligence committee. The agency has a number of responsibilities in the homeland security setup: Its most basic mission is to gather, analyse, conduct evaluation, and disseminate intelligence deemed foreign with the aim of assisting the country’s President and high-level policy-m akers in the government in formulating strategic decisions that are related to the overall security of the country (Gurr et al, 2009). This complex process integrates a number of steps. Identification of a national security problem, the collection of information, assessing present and perceived future situations based on the collected information, are definitely some of these steps (Douglas and Olshaker, 1999). The agency analysts only report the collected information and are not in any way mandated to make any policy recommendations (Sauter & Carafano, 2005). Making policy recommendations is left to other related agencies such as the Defense Department and the State Department. The CIA is also not involved in law enforcement that is done by the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigations) (Douglas and Olshaker, 1999). The agency can also be engaged in actions deemed covert based on the President’s orders in line with the applicable law(s). CIA’s role in Homeland security is widely important. Its association  with Homeland Security is generally based on the agency’s four components/departments that work together in the processes of collecting information, analyzing the collected information, and disseminating it to senior officials in government