The United States National Strategy for Homeland Security is a formal government response to the events of September 11, 2001 at the Pentagon and World Trade Center.
The document issued by President George W. Bush outlines the overall strategic considerations for cooperation between the federal government, states, private enterprises, and ordinary citizens in anticipating future terrorism attacks as well as natural disasters and other incidents of national significance.
According to the "Homeland Security and National Security" section of the national strategy document:[3] The Preamble to the Constitution defines our federal government's basic purposes as "... to form a more perfect Union, establish justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity."
The requirement to provide for the common defense remains as fundamental today as it was when these words were written, more than two hundred years ago.
The National Strategy for Homeland Security complements the National Security Strategy of the United States by addressing a very specific and uniquely challenging threat – terrorism in the United States – and by providing a comprehensive framework for organizing the efforts of federal, state, local and private organizations whose primary functions are often unrelated to national security.Generally, the United States Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) provides local guidance on implementing the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and Incident Command System (ICS) for local handling of emergency responses.