We track important developments in homeland security policies and programs in the United States National Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the United States Coast Guard, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, the United States Secret Service, the Transportation Security Administration, and Civil Air Patrol.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Homeland Security

Mohsen Sazegara helped found the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and says the group was originally intended to be a popular force like the Swiss army, the National Guard in the United States or Vietnam's Viet Cong.

NPR: The Evolution of Iran's Revolutionary Guard

But close to half of all National Guard troops in the United States have now served in either Iraq or Afghanistan.

NPR: Additional National Guard Troops Set for Iraq

" Attorney General Eric Holder called the drug cartels a "national security threat" to the United States and said Americans "simply can't afford to let down our guard.

CNN: Commentary: What Mexico's drug war means for U.S.