Examkin

Question

Difficulty: EasyThe War on Terror and Post-9/11 Security

"Right now, as many as a hundred different government agencies have some responsibility for homeland security, and no single person or government agency has primary responsibility for coordinating all of these efforts. . . . Therefore, I am proposing the most comprehensive reorganization of the Federal government since the Presidency of Harry Truman. I am proposing the creation of a new Cabinet-level agency: the Department of Homeland Security."
—President George W. Bush, Address to the Nation, June 6, 2002

The reorganization proposed in the excerpt was most directly aimed at achieving which of the following goals?

  1. Improving coordination and communication among federal agencies to prevent future attacksAnswer
  2. B
    Shifting foreign policy focus back to the containment of traditional nation-state adversaries
  3. C
    Reducing the size of the federal government by dismantling regulatory agencies
  4. D
    Adopting a policy of isolationism to avoid foreign military commitments

Answer

Improving coordination and communication among federal agencies to prevent future attacks
The correct option is correct because President George W. Bush explicitly states that the reorganization is needed because 'no single person or government agency has primary responsibility for coordinating all of these efforts.' The primary goal of creating the Department of Homeland Security was to consolidate and coordinate the domestic security and intelligence efforts of dozens of separate federal entities to prevent future terrorist attacks.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the stimulus context and the specific proposal mentioned by President George W. Bush.
The text highlights that 'as many as a hundred different government agencies' had security responsibilities without central coordination, leading to a proposal for a new 'Department of Homeland Security.'
Understanding the stated problem helps identify the primary purpose of the proposed solution.
2
Evaluate the primary historical function of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) established in 2002.
DHS was created to consolidate domestic security agencies, streamline intelligence sharing, and improve federal disaster and terror response.
Connecting the text to the historical outcomes of the post-9/11 era confirms the correct option.
3
Assess the incorrect options against historical facts.
Post-9/11 policy expanded federal power and global engagement, rather than implementing deregulation, isolationism, or traditional state-centered containment.
Eliminating distractors based on established historical trends ensures the correctness of the final selection.

Key Concept

The creation of the Department of Homeland Security and the reorganization of federal security agencies in response to the September 11 attacks.
Rate this question

Topics

The War on Terror and Post-9/11 Security

More questions from this topic