The Hart-Rudman Commission and the Homeland Defense

The American public and its leaders are paying increasing attention to the issue of homeland defense. With the exception of attacks by ballistic missiles, the continental United States was long held to be virtually immune from attack. For Americans, wars were something that took place in other countries. In the future, that may not hold. But while strategic thinkers agree that homeland defense needs greater attention, there is less consensus on the precise nature of the threat. In this monograph, Dr. Ian Roxborough takes issue with the commonly held assumption that the main threat to the American homeland will come from terrorism inspired by U.S. leadership of globalization. Roxborough contends that the architects of the American strategy for homeland defense need a broader perspective that includes a wide range of existing or potential threats. The Strategic Studies Institute is pleased to publish this monograph as a contribution to the ongoing evolution of American thinking about homeland defense.