On July 16, 2002, President Bush released a new National Strategy for Homeland Defense. The initiative, constructed as an active measure to secure the country from possible terrorist activity, was described by the President as a "guidance directive" designed to reorganize, modernize, and streamline existing defenses at the federal and state levels. The following pages offer a review of the included measures in the strategy, focusing on the major areas of new policy, and provide a look at some existing criticisms of the measures by civil rights/civil libertarian groups and policy advocates.
