What are U.S. Governments Doing to Combat Terrorism?

Security, Public Safety, Fire & Safety • Apr 21, 2016

Turn on the television, peruse the internet, chat with your neighbor or co-worker. The fight against the terrorism threat isn’t a topic exclusively on the minds of governments, military, and law enforcement. To combat the threat, as you are likely aware, U.S. federal, state, and local governments have taken a variety of actions, in part, through procurement and implementation of counterterrorism activities and a variety of countermeasures. What are your opinions on the current response?

Who is responsible for the safety and security of the United States? Some suggest, if we’re doing things right, we all have a role. Whether you are one of the brave men and women proudly wearing one of the uniforms of our nation’s military and on the frontlines, serve in law enforcement, in government, or you are an ordinary citizen, the responsibility is ours.

The government. Obviously, one of the primary responsibilities of every government should be the safety and security of the citizenry. Our nation’s forefathers spelled it out in the Constitution wherein, article II, section 1, clause 1, assigns the executive powers to the President of the United States. In article II, section 2, clause 1, “The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States and of the militia of the several states…”

Immediately after 9/11, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) combined the responsibilities and resources of 22 various federal departments. Direct from the department’s website, the DHS summarizes their myriad of assignments, “Protecting the American people from terrorist threats is our founding principle and our highest priority.”

The Department of Homeland Security’s counterterrorism responsibilities focus on three goals:

Prevent terrorist attacks;

Prevent the unauthorized acquisition, importation, movement, or use of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear materials and capabilities within the United States; and

Reduce the vulnerability of critical infrastructure and key resources, essential leadership, and major events to terrorist attacks and other hazards.

The Bureau of Counterterrorism is stationed within the U.S. State Department. The role of this bureau, as lifted directly from their website, “…forge partnerships with non-state actors, multilateral organizations, and foreign governments to advance the counterterrorism objectives and national security of the United States. Working with our U.S. Government counterterrorism team, CT takes a leading role in developing coordinated strategies to defeat terrorists abroad and in securing the cooperation of international partners.”

So, there are a few notable and more publicized entities. However, active preparations and proactive measures against the terror threat reach every level of government, in every corner of the country. Along with the obvious source, the federal government, we identified relevant bid requests published from every state in the United States. As you will note below, some regions are more active than others. Because our database and search technology is based on keywords (more specific and reliable than codes), we were able to identify very specific services, solutions, and equipment requirements.

U.S. Government Bid Activity: Counterterrorism / Countermeasures

Starting with July ’15, there were 640 bid requests submitted for services, solutions, and equipment related to counterterrorism and countermeasures. The following is the month by month breakdown: