National Security's Purpose And Role

National security is the means by which the Federal Government provides protection over the country by means of the economy in terms of militaristic as well as political powers. There are a variety of means by which the Government may ensure such national security. These include: the use of diplomacy to calm threats by way of calling together allies, the employment of economic authority, the maintenance and strengthening of military branches, institution of emergency measures in preparation for pending threats, the monitoring of intelligence practices to ensure the lack of infiltration as well as surprise attacks, and the use of intelligence within the country to ensure the safety within as well as external to it.

One of the earliest statutes set forth was the National Security Act of 1947. It was approved by President Harry S. Truman and set forth the process of reorganizing military forces, foreign policy as well as intelligence procedures due to the outcome of the Second World War. Under this Act, both the Department of War and Department of Navy were combined into one military entity with the Secretary of Defense at the forefront of operations. The statute also was responsible for the establishment of the separation and distinction of the Air Force from the Army Air Forces. Simultaneously, the Department of Defense was enacted with the express purpose of uniting all branches of military, such as those of the Army, Navy, and Air Force.
The National Security Council and the CIA were also instituted. These organizations serve to provide counsel to the Commander in Chief in relations to issues encompassing that of domestic, foreign, and militaristic procedures.
A significant Supreme Court Case, with national security as one of its main concerns, was that of Times Co. v. United States. In this case, the Court ruled that both the printings of the New York Times as well as the Washington Post possessed the right to publish "classified Pentagon papers" despite President Nixon's belief that it breached secrecy necessary for such pertinent Government information.
The CIA is representative of an agency run by civilians with the purpose of intelligence as its main concern. It often takes part in covert operations with the authority of the President in mind. More specifically, the CIA operates to acquire information from foreign entities in order to adequately provide counsel to the United States Federal Government. This has become increasingly important with the increase in terrorist activity, which is one of the main issues of national security. Due to this, the CIA had put into creation a "Counterterrorist Center". Therefore, issues of national security have become the focus of such an agency.
9/11, in particular, was a specific serious concern for national security, which placed the CIA in the position of much critical speech due to its occurrence. Following such an event, increased measures have been instituted with national security as the sole focus.

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