Drawing upon resource material provided and discovered while  conducting your own research, answer both of the following topics in a  research summary:

1) Fully describe the overall concepts of homeland security* and  homeland defense. Construct a response that fully provides the following  related to these two broad-based initiatives:

• Primary missions, tasks, responsibilities, operations, etc. for homeland security and defense.
• Highlight those areas that are shared and common interests between the two (joint endeavors between HLS and HLD?)
• Lastly, recommend your won definition for homeland security.

2) Adhering to the overarching theme and approach of the current  National Security Strategy (NSS), provide your own recommendations  regarding how the top threat you identified in the week three discussion  should be addressed moving forward. Offer specifics as to how key  elements of your proposal would be approached and implemented in  accordance with Ends, Ways, and Means strategy framework.

This second part of the assignment looks at a threat you chose and  basically asks you to describe what you think should be included in a  framework for a specific national strategy to deal with it (underneath  the NSS). In other words, if you were on the National Security Council  Staff and asked to write a strategy to counter terrorism (for example),  what do you think it should say. Note that the NSS is for overall  national security (national defense abroad, homeland security,  intelligence actions, economic levers, etc). However, a specific  national strategy framework (such as a National Strategy to Counter  Terrorism or NSCT) only addresses how to counter the terror threat. 

*Note: Be aware of the fact that "homeland security" and resources  needed to carry it out are made up of much more than just DHS. This  agency is only one part (or cog) of the larger Homeland Security  Enterprise that includes representatives from all level of government,  the private sector partners and others.