CQ Homeland Security Congress will need to get serious about a post-election immigration overhaul if the nation is to deal with the duality of enforcing border security while facilitating trade, Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Alan D. Bersin said in discussion Thursday about his agency’s top priorities.
U.S. intelligence: Europe terror plot did not target Americans – Homeland Security Newswire
The U.S. government says there is no indication the United States or its citizens are a target in the latest al Qaeda plot that triggered a blanket travel alert for Americans in Europe. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Monday that the State Department alert “deals with Europe and isn’t related to the United States.”
Since 9/11, the U.S. government has struggled with the twin goals of reviewing visa applicants for security risks while maintaining the attractiveness of the United States as a premiere destination for business and leisure travel. As the President’s outgoing National Economic Adviser Larry Summers recently commented, improving the climate for travel to the United States may represent the most effective way to grow U.S. exports and create export-related jobs. The reasons for the relative decline in the U.S. travel market are complex, but clearly new security dictates are part of the explanation. We need to recognize the economic impact of this security, and we need to be more creative in securing the international travel system that is so valuable to our economy and foreign policy.
Secretary Napolitano’s recent Senate testimony focused on the myriad threats to the homeland and the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) efforts to address them. She emphasized that the terrorist threat to global aviation continues to be significant. The ultimate goal of both DHS and the international community should be an aviation security regime based on an individualized, threat-based approach using advance information, enhanced targeting, and an interactive system to prohibit boarding or to designate individuals for additional screening measures prior to boarding.
CQ Homeland Security: ‘Smart Containers’ the Intelligent Choice for DHS, Group Says Agencies within the Department of Homeland Security often talk about building “public-private partnerships,” and cargo security is perhaps the most visible of areas in which the federal government and the commercial sector work side-by-side. Yet a group of companies working on “smart containers” […]
New UAV to loiter the sky for five years without landing | Homeland Security News Wire Boeing has been given $89 million to build Vulture — a large solar-powered UAV intended to cruise the stratosphere for five years without landing; the idea is to achieve a platform which combines the good qualities of both satellites […]
CBP wants system to detect ultralights smuggling drugs – NextGov
The Homeland Security Department wants to purchase technology that can detect slow-moving, low-flying aircraft — typically called ultralights — that Mexican cartels use to smuggle drugs into the United States, according to a draft request for proposals released last week.
Advanced Imaging Technology Automated Target Recognition – TSA Blog
Automated Target Recognition (ATR) has been making the news a lot lately…So what in the heck is ATR?
TSA and the “audacity of grope” – On Liberty (Boston Globe)
By now you’ve probably read all about the TSA’s new screening procedures, which amount to “let us see you naked, or we’ll feel you up.” If you have traveled through Logan airport recently, you’ve probably encountered them live and in person. Even worse, the Department of Homeland Security agency responsible for keeping us safe in the friendly skies has plans to cement the “porno or pat-down” policy and extend it to all U.S. airports.
Following my recent posting concerning questions that ought to be asked about the cost-effectiveness of using the Predator for border enforcement purposes, I have heard from several people, and there have been a couple news stories focused on the same theme. Is it smart to deploy a very expensive air platform, like the Predator, no matter how much positive publicity the cool-looking airplane generates for border state politicians? The underlying premise of whether it is “smart” to fly UAVs (like the Predator) for border surveillance missions has NOT been addressed – and it ought to be.
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