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Security Debrief contributor Michael Braun, former chief of DEA operations, discusses the spiraling drug violence in Mexico, and how it is impacting American communities, with the LA Time’s Josh Meyer.

Security Debrief analyzes the Israeli Government’s innovative use of Twitter to host a news conference on the conflict in Gaza as Israel and Hamas engage in a propaganda battle over the Internet.

One of the most misunderstood programs at DHS has been the US-VISIT program. In some ways, US-VISIT has been a victim of its own success. It is now facing new opposition as the program attempts to expand the program. Where US-VISIT has drawn the most criticism, however, is usually a result of some aspect of the original blueprint going unfunded or getting bogged down by Congressional pushback. Thus the idea of a single “person-centric” biometric database for all visitors visiting or working in the U.S. remains unfulfilled.

Too many government agencies, particularly in the security realm, are missing opportunities provided by New Media. The suggestion that Facebook or Twitter — despite their funky names — is for college kids is as uninformed as it is tiresome. Not only are top corporations in the private sector actively engaged on these sites; so are terrorists and criminals. The Internet has indeed made the world flat; social media tools have made it paper thin.

The Israeli Consulate in New York will be holding a public press conference on Twitter from 1 to 3 PM EST.

President Elect Obama should seek to develop an economic approach to changing hearts and minds in the region. There is a new generation of activists and entrepreneurs emerging in The Middle East; pro-American, pro-capitalist allies in places like the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Lebanon.

In her 60 Minutes segment, Leslie Stahl suggests she can spot terrorists simply by eyeballing them. Old white lady? No. Young Arab man? Could be … If it were only that easy.

Is House Speaker Nancy Pelosi unwilling to spend political capital to finish the job of enacting the recommendations of the 9-11 Commission? It’s time for Congress, and especially Speaker Pelosi, to show some leadership and clean up the mishmash of committees claiming jurisdiction over the Department of Homeland Security.

The United States has a well-deserved reputation as a litigious society, which can be a rude wake-up call for those unfamiliar with the American tort system. The benefits afforded by the SAFETY Act protect not only the enterprise, the “Seller”, but also its suppliers, distributors and customers, thus creating a valuable market advantage over competitors that do not have SAFETY Act protections.

Last week’s 75th Anniversary of the end of Prohibition and the repeal of the 18th Amendment provided an easy platform for the Legalization Lobby to make its case for ending drug prohibition. They argue that federal regulatory schemes outlawing drugs are not effective in combating dangerous use and actually exacerbate abuse and drug-related crimes. Such arguments are usually conveniently selective, leaving out the progress being made in battling drug addiction, not to mention the misery it inflicts. Another favorite is to cite lax drug laws in Europe, but those cities are actually reversing course due to the onslaught of drug-related crime.

Recently, Security Debrief contributor, Scott Weber, spoke with Francis Rose of Federal News Radio’s “In Depth” about the appointment of Gov. Janet Napolitano.

In conjunction with Georgetown University, the Department of Homeland Security is hosting “Homeland Security: Extraordinary Threats, Unprecedented Action,” with Secretary Michael Chertoff on Thursday, December 18 at 9:30 AM.

Question: What do you call a nation without reliable water where showers are a luxury, cooking with clean water isn’t always an option, fighting fires isn’t always possible, where hospitals can’t clean surgical instruments or use HVAC systems, and where jurisdictional fighting over water rights escalates beyond court rooms?

The arrest this week of five guards accused in relation to the Nisoor Square incident has served to highlight both the US Attorney’s overwhelming optimism in the face of prosecutable facts, and the alarming indication that, yet again, the Administration and Congress are addressing the symptoms rather than the disease.

This past Tuesday, I was fortunate to be a part of DHS Sec. Chertoff’s last roundtable with an assembly of Bloggers. Held at the ever glamorous DHS Headquarters (‘the NAC’ – Nebraska Avenue Complex) – a facility whose decor and ambience would make any North Korean prison camp interior decorator beam with pride, the Secretary came into the meeting with a lot of positive feel about what was underway at DHS and his tenure as its leader.

Today’s Washington Post has a startling revelation that Consistent Cleaning Services, a local cleaning contractor, may have assigned undocumented employees to work at DHS Secretary Chertoff’s home. This was done apparently after the company assured the Chertoffs that the workers had legal status. Even more startling is the company owner’s tact to go to the Washington Post after being investigated and fined by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in what can only be viewed as a desperate attempt to be excused for his own failure to comply with the basic requirements of immigration law.

Yesterday, the Department of Homeland Security hosted the last installment of exclusive blogger roundtable events that Secretary Chertoff has been attending throughout his tenure. Below is a transcript from the event which covered the current state of DHS and future of the agency.

The definitive psychology around crowd behaviour acknowledges the concept of a personal threshold for violence, a level of threat, a situation or a culmination of events and factors that will lead someone to violence. This threshold is affected by culture, conditioning, the law, personality, alcohol, ego and bravado.

Streamlining congressional oversight of DHS should be a major point of emphasis in DHS Secretary-designate Janet Napolitano’s upcoming confirmation hearing.

Spending money has never been a problem for government. Accounting for it; managing it; and getting a semblance of return have been. As the new Administration proposes its Economic/Infrastructure Plan, I hope it will include the concepts of ‘Risk’ and ‘Resilience’ as part of its infrastructure investment decision making process. Simply replacing a bridge, a road or any piece of infrastructure with an updated version is not a strategy that benefits the community in which it resides or serves.