WASHINGTON, DC – The new issue of Homeland Security Affairs — a journal of the Naval Postgraduate School Center for Homeland Defense and Security (CHDS) — contains an article on interagency organizations that is rooted in PNSR’s 2010 report, “Towards Integrating Complex National Missions: Lessons from the National Counterterrorism Center’s Directorate of Strategic Operational Planning.”

The article, “Organizational Innovations in Counterterrorism: Lessons for Cyber-security, Human Trafficking, and Other Complex National Missions,”  argues that today’s national security environment demands whole-of-government approaches to complex national missions ranging from combating terrorism and trafficking in persons to securing cyberspace. These and many other twenty-first century security challenges require an agile and integrated response; however, our national security system is organized along functional lines (diplomatic, military, intelligence, law enforcement, etc.) with weak coordinating mechanisms across these functions.

Daniel R. Langberg, article author and Deputy Director of the PNSR study, stated: “Recent reforms in the U.S. government counterterrorism community offer valuable insights into this challenge as well as lessons that should be considered in the context of other complex national security missions.”

The article highlights the fact that key functions such as strategy development, linking strategy to resources, planning, and assessments are not being fulfilled on a whole-of-government basis for several high priority national missions. Drawing on PNSR’s analysis of NCTC’s Directorate of Strategic Operational Planning, the author explores the potential of interagency organizations and teams as national level integrating mechanisms that can support the National Security Staff in fulfilling these and other functions on a whole-of-government basis for complex national security missions such as cybersecurity.

The article is available from the Homeland Security Affairs website at: http://www.hsaj.org/

For further comment please contact:
Project on National Security Reform
(646) 662-4092
media@pnsr.org
www.pnsr.org

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