We Need Someone Else

Family Security Matters
Part 1 of 2

No one should doubt that one of the most important Cabinet posts is that of Secretary of Homeland Security. Terrorism is one of the defining issues of the 21st century. The U.S. faces a daunting array of threats to our domestic security. The occupant of that post must be up to the job. The stakes are too high. While Secretary of Commerce, Education, Agriculture and other Cabinet posts have merit, few Americans can name the posts – let alone their Secretaries. But nearly everyone who is at least occasionally paying attention to the real world can name the Secretary of Homeland Security.

And to prove her gravitas, last week Secretary Napolitano allowed a DHS report to paint veterans as possible converts from war heroes to terrorists. Not an inspiring performance.

Threats to the US: 2009
Let’s take inventory of the Homeland Security threats facing the United States: Numerous inadequately secured sources of hazardous materials (think weapons of convenience); a growing fifth column of radical Islamists in our midst developing paramilitary training camps containing increasingly powerful weapons including in all likelihood advanced armor piercing high caliber arms, our own home grown crazies (think Timothy McVeigh); ~11 million illegal aliens, some of which are violent criminals, members of gangs, drug cartels or engaged in the ‘human pipeline (jihadists and others), human trafficking, domestic gangs and drug cartels going international and teaming up with global criminal or terrorist groups.

From a health preparedness perspective, DHS has yet to provide the true leadership to connect all the preparedness regimes, NIMS notwithstanding. Overcrowded health care facilities incapable of dealing with a widespread epidemic, overburdened and undertrained public health departments are mostly unprepared how to spend DHS funds and clearly unfamiliar with security – in spite of being an ersatz performance culture of preparedness.

Then there’s the persistent vulnerability based upon government reports…our porous borders to the North and South, a Mexico problem that threatens the security of several US states.

Let’s not forget the political officials on the take or not paying their taxes. While we’re at it, we continue to face, even eight years post-9/11, inadequate safeguards on technology transfers, biological labs, cyber terrorism, protections against tainted imported products (intentional and accidental), inadequate screening of shipping, poorly protected railways carrying highly toxic chemicals, readily available radioactive materials, inconsistent security oversight of BSL 3 and BSL 4 labs (hold the most dangerous pathogens known) nationwide and the list goes on and on and on. The public remains woefully disengaged from the preparedness process as suggested by numerous security experts, the World At Risk Report Commission, and studies demonstrate first responder agencies – medical and law enforcement are inadequately prepared for asymmetric warfare using unconventional weapons.

Oh and let’s not forget those über dangerous folks – our veterans. Yes, the “go to” people our nation depended upon to protect the Republic have now been labeled potential targets as vulnerable to extremist recruitment and possibly a risk factor for extreme violence. Painting all veterans with the same brush is an indefensible and abominable treatment of people who served their country. Yet the veterans are described as dupes of right wing influence in a DHS report. Veterans as a group deserve better treatment and respect, and do not warrant being singled out as a threat to domestic security. The U.S. government’s track record on caring for returning veterans is in need of further scrutiny, NOT the folks who wore the uniform.

And the “go to” person President Obama tapped to handle these problems is none other than Janet Napolitano. You could almost hear the terrorists cheering and the career intelligence professionals groaning from day one. Is there anyone tracking morale or retirements at the key agencies under the DHS umbrella? Bringing disparately functioning performance cultures together – intelligence, law enforcement, disaster response – has its merits, but when the proverbial you-know-what hits the fan, that is not the time to exchange business cards. And clearly, the silo mentality within organizations historically has been a barrier to effective collaboration, especially when you add the layers of security classifications and the complexities of “courtesy clearances.” But putting these agencies under one roof isn’t the instant cure for these ills, proximity to teams notwithstanding. No one should doubt the dedication of the respective agencies in DHS or disrespect their noble efforts for a good cause, but DHS is still being pulled by multiple strings in different directions; net result…where is it going? And who ultimately is leading it?

Is Janet Napolitano up to the job? And if not, what can we do about it? There are many ways to examine the effectiveness of public policies and the people hired to create, enforce or repair them. Since the proof is in the tasting, ones record, resume or list of actions is evidence enough.

Let’s take a look at Secretary Napolitano’s first public efforts.
Secretary Napolitano gave us a great insight from day one into what she was all about. In fact, no sooner had her words faded from her initial roll out she was then called out to explain why the expurgation of terms such as “terrorist,”, “terrorism,” and “the war on terror” from the lexicon of preparedness and DHS after her first speech to Congress.

Napolitano replied to the criticism: “In my speech, although I did not use the word ‘terrorism,’ I referred to ‘man-caused disasters.’ That is perhaps only a nuance, but it demonstrates that we want to move away from the politics of fear toward a policy of being prepared for all risks that can occur.”

When I first heard the term “man-caused disasters” my first thought was the South Park episode where they spoof form VP Al Gore and his global warming hysteria, replacing it on the show with manic concerns over a dangerous creature – he was trying to warn the kids about “man-bear-pig.” (Check it out on YouTube…it is hysterically funny). Then I thought the biggest “man-caused disaster” was the election of Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi and the total control of the White House and Congress by folks who don’t seem to grasp the reality of good versus evil. It may soundssquare and trite but both exist. The latter cannot be wished away or destroyed as easily as erasing words in a policy book.

“Man caused disasters.” Let’s be frank. How does sounding like an idiot enhance Secretary Napolitano’s capability “to prepare for all risks?” Buying into this, let alone being a mouthpiece for such nonsense, is beneath this intelligent woman. She is not an idiot. She should not be placed in or agree to a position where she has to sound like one. Actions always speak louder than words. Weak words betoken weak actions.

But let’s drink the Kool Aid® for a moment. If a change in definition could enhance capability, adopt the slightly more meaningful terms the Brits use: “Disruptive Threats” or “Disruptive Challenges” – even though those are inadequate to the task as well. Though not as comical as “man-caused disasters” or “man-bear-pig” they, too fail to underscore the intent, the context, the evil associated with the event. Terrorism is just that – an act – a willing, deliberate, planned, and executed act of murder and destruction. “Man-caused disasters” or “all risks” do a disservice to the special and specific category of threat we face – terrorism, the intentional use of violence directed consciously by people towards other specific human and physical targets for the sole purpose of killing and frightening and destroying to accomplish an agenda.