David Olive

The Al Qaeda Threat – Diminished Capacity or Deliberate Concealment?

March 14, 2013

National security scholar Dr. Joshua Sinai has just published a new analysis on the evolving threat to US interests by Al Qaeda and their associated adherents. The underlying premise is that the serious threat to U.S. interests from Al Qaeda has not diminished, but it has changed. Testimony provided Tuesday by ODNI director General James Clapper suggests the threat of the core al Qaeda is severely weakened, though associated groups remain an issue. Which viewpoint will prevail?

At 10 year mark, Time to "Say Something" Constructive about DHS

David Olive |

March 7, 2013

This past Monday, Politico hosted a Playbook breakfast conversation with the three individuals who have served as DHS Secretary since its inception – Tom Ridge, Michael Chertoff and Janet Napolitano. Former Governor Ridge who addressed why America needs a cabinet-level agency to address homeland security issues. While I am a firm believer that America needs a Department of Homeland Security, I am also a believer in continuous improvement, and in that respect, congressional oversight should rightfully be focused on asking questions about DHS as it starts its second decade.

Congress Heal Thyself – Here We Go Again

David Olive |

December 19, 2012

In this morning’s Roll Call, incoming Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee Mike McCaul (R-TX) has an op-ed admonishing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to “fix” its management problems. Chairman McCaul’s commentary would have more credibility if his top order of business had been to “fix” the dysfunctional congressional management of DHS. What we should all take away from his op-ed is that the new chairman has missed a real opportunity to show leadership and tackle the oversight problem.

White House Homeland Security Partnership Council – Finally Some Answers Emerge

David Olive |

November 28, 2012

On Tuesday morning, the White House issued a new fact sheet and posted a blog on the President’s blog site concerning the newly created White House Homeland Security Partnership Council. Both documents go a long way toward answering some of the questions raised over the origin and purpose of the new Council. Is this a serious effort? If the nomination process is still going on in six months, the answer will be in the negative.

Congratulations CBP Air and Marine Office on "One Size Fits All" Success

David Olive |

November 19, 2012

Congratulations are in order for the amazing success recently achieved by CBP’s Office of Air and Marine. CBP plans to award a sole source contract to General Atomics to buy up to 14 Predator UAVs, at a potential cost of $443,090,000 over a 60-month period. So, congratulations to CBP. While the rest of the DHS mission will be subject to budget cuts amid the sequestration debate, and seemingly without concern for those personnel who will be laid off, CBP is telling the rest of us we can be comfortable knowing that giant drones will be patrolling the skies above the U.S. borders for up to 20 hours at a time at the mere cost of $3,500 per hour.

White House Executive Order on Homeland Security Leaves more Questions than Answers

David Olive |

November 7, 2012

On October 26, the White House quietly issued an Executive Order entitled: “Establishing the White House Homeland Security Partnership Council.” For the life of me I cannot figure out why this was released. I’m not sure that anyone from the White House or the Department of Homeland Security is willing to say why it was necessary or that they can explain how this isn’t duplicative of efforts already underway.

Congress Heal Thyself (Campaign edition, Sept. 2012)

David Olive |

September 11, 2012

The Heritage Foundation’s Jessica Zuckerman posted an Issue Brief on the need for reform of Congressional DHS oversight jurisdiction. Zuckerman calls the morass of overlapping, uncoordinated and unnecessarily expensive oversight the result of “Politics Over Security.” She’s right – and Congress ought to be ashamed that it has allowed this situation to continue for as long as it has.

Observations on the 2012 Aspen Security Forum

David Olive |

August 6, 2012

The Aspen Institute’s Security Forum, held at the end of July, proved why it has become, in only three years, a “must-attend” event for those of us working in the homeland and national security space. The four-day program was packed with insight from leading thinkers and past and present policy makers and influencers on the subject of national and homeland security. There was not a single bad panel, but three sessions stood out in my mind as being a slight cut above the rest.

After the Storm – Thoughts on the June Derecho

David Olive |

July 9, 2012

With the recent heat waves and storms that have impacted millions of people throughout the United States, much is being written about the nation’s inability to prevent and recover quickly from destructive events. I am not yet ready to start placing blame – there are lots of things I should have done to be prepared. Individual responsibility leads to community preparedness. Here are some thoughts the disruptions bring to mind.

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