The Truth Behind the Terror: Analyzing the Cost and Effectiveness of Post-9/11 Homeland Security Spending

Abstract

On September 11, 2001, the Islamist militant group, Al Qaeda, successfully carried out the largest coordinated terrorist attack in history. 9/11 is remembered by all Americans as one of the most catastrophic and impactful days of their lives. Since then, the fear caused by the emerging terrorist threat among the public and government has driven the United States to engage in multiple wars in the Middle East, establish an entirely new cabinet department, nationalize airport security, and spend billions of dollars on various counterterrorism strategies to ensure that another event like 9/11 will never occur on U.S. soil. As a result of this spending, the United States has racked up an enormous federal deficit with very little proof that these wars and various security measures have significantly reduced the risk posed by terrorists within America. Over the past two decades, the United States government has poured over 3 trillion dollars into efforts to reduce the risk of terrorism and destroy violent extremist groups, like Al Qaeda. The shocking reality of the U.S. counterterrorism movement is that, according to statistical evidence and analyses, the threat posed by terrorism in America is actually extremely small, uncovering the reality that the response to 9/11 has been a wild over exaggeration fueled by fear and public pressure. Relying on statistics and quantitative assumptions provided in John Mueller and Mark Stewart’s book, Terror, Security, and Money, this thesis examines the overall costs incurred by terrorism domestically and compares those to the costs of various counterterrorism measures employed throughout the United States. This thesis aims to uncover the many policies and measures put in place by the American government post-9/11 that serve as examples of the overreaction to the risk of terrorism domestically. By looking at three major counterterrorism efforts, the formation of the Department of Homeland Security, the creation of the Transportation Security Administration, and the expansion of law enforcement, this thesis analyzes the various costs and benefits of these decisions and their relative effectiveness in countering the terrorist threat. I ultimately conclude that spending for counterterrorism in the homeland can and should be reduced by directing funding towards the most cost-effective measures in order to achieve the greatest level of benefit for the nation as a whole. To gain support for this decision, it is essential that the American public be made aware of the minimal threat posed by terrorism and the economic wastefulness produced as a result of unnecessary anti-terror polices and measures.