By Rich Cooper and David Olive
After a long, protracted confirmation process, Dr. Tara O’Toole was confirmed by voice vote in the U.S. Senate last night to be the new DHS Under Secretary for Science & Technology. She begins the task of leading the Research & Development agenda at the only DHS cross-functional component.
On October 27, I participated in a panel on “U.S. Policy toward Cuba: Key Considerations for National Security” and tried to bring a pragmatic approach to the discussion on the current debate over the country’s status as a State Sponsor of Terrorism.
Maher Arar, the Canadian who got more than $10 million from the Canadian government for its role in Arar’s rendition to Syria, has lost his suit against U.S. officials in an en banc Second Circuit decision.
We need a holistic approach that coordinates the strategy around guns, gates and guards to protect physical infrastructure with our strategy to protect our networks, SCADA systems and cyber infrastructure. Though we can’t seem to move beyond creating strategies and engaging in planning – recent arrests in the United States demonstrate our adversaries aren’t as bureaucratic.
The recent death of three DEA Special Agents in Afghanistan is a tragic reminder that the war on narcotics and terrorism cannot be separated in that part of the world. I doubt many heroin dealers and addicts in the U.S. make the connection between the two.
While there has been a sustained effort to protect the energy industry, particularly nuclear facilities, from terrorist attack, in the run-up to the Global Environmental Conference in Copenhagen later this year, another threat is emerging – environmental protesters.
In a letter to Congress today, a coalition of privacy advocates have called on Congress to investigate the DHS Privacy Office. The gravamen of their complaint is that the Privacy Office is insufficiently independent from the Department and isn’t protecting privacy. Proof of this, they say, lies in the Privacy Office’s approval of Privacy Impact Assessments for several programs (e.g. Whole Body Imaging) that allegedly erode privacy interests.
Recently, Delta Airlines (formerly Northwest) settled a lawsuit filed by six imams who claimed they were profiled for their religion rather than suspicious behavior. They were subsequently removed from a flight and questioned by authorities. In July, a federal judge sent a strong message that the airline lacked probable cause to remove the imams from the flight by ruling that Delta could be held liable for civil damages. Delta settled with the Muslim clerics out of court.
This week I filed a quick comment in the FCC’s broadband proceeding, urging the Commission to ensure that any wireless broadband plan included an opportunity for the use of standardized, low-bit-length messages in emergencies.
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