Homeland Security: Protecting America's Targets
Edited by Dr. James JF Forest
(Westport, CT: Praeger Security International, 2006)

America is a target; the homeland is under threat. While Americans have been targets of terrorist attacks for quite some time, September 11, 2001 awoke the nation to the reality that we are vulnerable in our homes, our places of work and worship, and our means of public transportation. And yet, we must continue to function as best we can as the world's most vibrant economic and political community. The current threat environment requires greater engagement with the public, as the necessary eyes and ears of the nation's homeland security infrastructure.

Indeed, the only way we will defeat terrorism is by enlisting the help of the public. However, to be effective the public must be equipped with the knowledge of where and why specific locations and activities may be a terrorist target, what is being done to protect those targets, and how they can help. There is a widespread need to educate the public on what they need to be aware of and do. This is the goal of this book - inform and educate the hundreds of millions of people who, currently, have little information on what it really means to "be vigilant" or "look for suspicious activity."

In sum, the local, state and federal government cannot possibly be expected to achieve the broad goals of homeland security without the public's help. Thus, the overall emphasis of these volumes will be on the big picture-building the nation's intellectual capacity for prevention and deterrence by examining America's vulnerabilities in critical areas such as aviation, public transportation, borders, critical infrastructure, ports and maritime commerce, and the nation's water and food supplies.

Please see the working Table of Contents for more information.