U.S. Offers to Remove Sudan from Terror List – The IPT Blog
The U.S. has proposed removing Sudan from the list of state sponsors of terror if a referendum for Southern Sudanese independence is conducted transparently and on time.
From the time the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) came into existence in 2003, questions have been raised over how Congress should organize its oversight responsibilities. Initially, the U.S. House created a Select Committee on Homeland Security. Congress did not consolidate oversight jurisdiction in the new committee. Rather, a “patchwork quilt” of overlapping opportunities for micromanagement of DHS was allowed to continue – and the resulting assertion of jurisdiction by over 100 committees and subcommittees in Congress has been universally criticized by the 9-11 Commission and almost every major think tank and policy commentator. Now, the Heritage Foundation has weighed in with a proposal authored by Paul Rosensweig, Jena McNeil and James Carafano (who all also contribute to Security Debrief), that provides a constructive way to reorganize congressional oversight rather than simply criticize the failure to do so by previous congressional leaders.
The incoming and presumptive Chairman for the U.S. House of Representative’s Homeland Security Committee, Rep. Peter King (R-NY), has outlined his thoughts on the future actions of the committee. In an editorial in today’s New York Post, “Getting Homeland Security on Track,” the current ranking member of the committee (as well as its previous Chairman) has outlined an ambitious “to-do” list that leaves no illusion as to the work that lies ahead.
GOP chairman: Administration has ‘refined’ approach to counterterrorism – The Hill Blog Briefing Room
The likely incoming chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee said Thursday he thought the Obama administration was coming around on its national-security policies.
Immigration Overhaul Likely to Remain Stalled in 2011 – CQ Homeland Security
With the House in GOP hands, prospects for broad immigration legislation in the 112th Congress appear all but dead, with newly empowered Republicans expected to press for increased border security and enforcement actions targeted at undocumented immigrants in the workplace.
If you’re popping corks about America’s recommitment to Republican values, you can put away your champagne glasses. This week’s election results are less about Republican values, programs and policies than they are about a growing state of frustration on behalf of Americans who feel ignored by their elected representatives. So what do the people want? Safe, clean and reliable drinking water. Surprised? Well, don’t be.
In the days after any election, there is what you can call the CSI forensics analysis. Analysts of every stripe go around and pick up the pieces of what’s left of the election’s victorious and vanquished and tell you what it all means. I guess I could do that, but rather than beat a horse already turned to glue, I’d rather share with you my wish list for the new Congress.
Here are the issues. None of the big legislative players lost on November 2. In that regard, all the legislative efforts should continue to move through the system. But will the new Congress be open to bipartisanship? Will these key areas of cooperation improve or fall by the wayside? On the executive side, theoretically, nothing has changed. That, however, is only a theory. Reality will steamroller that theory in a heartbeat. Cyber efforts could be deemed second-tier stuff and lose what momentum they have finally started to gain. I certainly hope not.
YouTube Yanks Jihadi Videos; Terror Wannabes Mildly Inconvenienced – Danger Room
The British government has bad news for extremists and the Qaeda-curious: It might get a tiny bit less convenient for you to access videos of your favorite jihadi media. The Daily Telegraph is reporting that YouTube has begun removing videos featuring the extremist cleric Anwar al-Awlaki following complaints from the British government to the White House about the content.
Trash Industry Feels Left Out of Critical Infrastructure List – CQ Homeland Security
When the federal government decides which critical infrastructure workers should have priority access to influenza vaccines during pandemic outbreaks, it forgot one sector – trash collection, according to a group that represents the industry.
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