Are We Safer Now? Homeland Security Leaders Reflect, 20 Years After 9/11
- Department of Homeland Security was created following attacks
- Five leaders weigh future threats, evaluate progress
Photographer: Spencer Platt/Getty Images
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The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks left the U.S. with national trauma, two decades of war, and the biggest shuffle of federal bureaucracy in American history.
The Department of Homeland Security took shape in the wake of the devastation, pulling together safety and security functions from across the government. The goal: to ensure a 9/11-style attack could never happen again. DHS has since grown to the third-largest Cabinet department, juggling cybersecurity, climate change, and other emerging threats while continuing to fight terrorists from within the U.S. and abroad.