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Nation Lacks Understanding of Counterterrorism Intelligence Enterprise

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September 7, 2011

Despite the fact that in the aftermath of September 11, 2001, it became accepted wisdom that the weaving together of counterterrorism efforts at the local, state, and federal levels is critical, a decade later, there is a consensus among the police intelligence commanders for the fifty-six largest American cities that the nation lacks an adequate understanding of the counterterrorism intelligence enterprise. This was a finding in our just-released research brief — “Counterterrorism Intelligence: Law Enforcement Perspectives.”

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Biometric Exit System Unnecessary and Unviable

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September 1, 2011

Tom Kean and Lee Hamilton have been two of the nation’s most outstanding public servants, and the report of the 9/11 Commission was an extraordinary document. The two chairmen should be commended for their steady efforts, including the release yesterday of a 10th Anniversary Report Card under the auspices of the Bipartisan Policy Center’s National Security Preparedness Group. But among the group’s list of nine major unfinished recommendations, there is one that deserves to remain unfinished – the construction of a biometric exit system – and for good and sensible reasons.

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Unapologetic Preparedness in Wake of Hurricane Irene

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September 1, 2011

Just in case anyone missed the news in the past week, the eastern U.S. experienced the shaking of an earthquake followed by torrential rains and winds associated with Hurricane Irene. By all accounts, local, state and federal officials along with their brethren in the non-governmental and private sectors performed well during their preparation and response. In between TV pundits, we caught glimpses of ordinary Americans talking in serious terms about what they, their families and their communities were doing to be prepared. It was the type of informed talk that has been a long time coming and is sweet to hear.

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Terror on My Mind – A Strategy for the "Next Wave"

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August 29, 2011

Last week, we talked terrorism at the Heritage Foundation. The event featured some of our recent research on terrorist trends and the release of the work by the foundation’s Counterterrorism Task Force, “A Counterterrorism Strategy for the ‘Next Wave.'” Are we safer than we were on 9/11? Yes. Are we safe? No

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The Fix is In – From Complacency to Politics

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August 25, 2011

Earlier this week, all the talk was earthquakes and hurricanes. It was also the day that The Heritage Foundation released its latest report on how to fix homeland security –“Homeland Security 4.0: Overcoming Centralization, Complacency, and Politics.” It is always nice to have some real world disasters to remind us that the U.S. is still not well prepared for to deal with really big disasters.

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Lights Out – Shortfalls in EMP Preparedness

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August 23, 2011

In 2004 and 2008, a congressionally charted commission studied the threat of Electro-Magnetic Pulse (EMP) to U.S. critical infrastructure. They concluded there were real and serious dangers to worry about. With the help Richard Weitz at the Hudson Institute, we conducted what we think is the first ever survey of what Washington has done with the information. In “Before the Lights Go Out: A Survey of EMP Preparedness Reveals Significant Shortfalls,” we conclude–not much.

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Big Brother and the Thought Police

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August 11, 2011

For the past several years, DHS has quietly been testing various forms of advanced technology to identify, detect and deter criminal and/or terrorist acts before they happen. It appears DHS is trying to emulate the Tom Cruise movie “Minority Report.” Yet, several experts believe that relying on the current technology will create many false positives, targeting innocent people for additional questioning and slowing down security queues at busy airports. We don’t need to waste scarce government monetary resources trying to develop “thought crime software.”

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National EMP Awareness Day: The Threat that Can’t Be Ignored

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August 10, 2011

An electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack – produced by a nuclear weapon detonated at a high altitude or by a geomagnetic storm – has the potential to decimate America’s electrical and technological infrastructure. The Commission to Assess the Threat to the United States from Electromagnetic Pulse Attack found that an EMP is a threat to our society and military. Yet, despite broad consensus, Congress has yet to act in a substantive manner. For the most part, U.S. government agencies have not taken planning for their response to an EMP attack out of the theoretical stages.

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Running a Three-Legged Race: the San Diego Police Department, the Intelligence Community, and Counterterrorism

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August 2, 2011

By Dr. Joseph R. Clark
Despite a decade of political rhetoric, blue ribbon commissions, and grant-making on the part of Congress and the presidency, local police departments remain all but absent from the counterterrorism efforts of America’s intelligence community. Although there are understandable reasons for this absence — a misunderstanding of the threat domain, concerns over potential constitutional or statutory prohibitions, a tendency to focus on (perhaps exclusively) more conventional crimes — this deficiency in the United States’ approach to counterterrorism intelligence must now be resolved.

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