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Homeland Security Leaders Question Cyber Reality

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April 16, 2012

Once again, I was honored to do a presentation for the DHS-sponsored Center for Homeland Security and Defense. This long-term, comprehensive course introduces operational leaders from law enforcement, fire fighting, emergency services, public health, and federal agencies to a wide array of issues, and propels them to intellectually “punch above their weights” in a way they makes them even bigger assets to the Nation than they were when they began. These folks are like sponges – they push one another and their instructors, demand proof, and are skeptical in a healthy way.

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The Homeland Security Show – What You’ve Missed and What’s Coming Up

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April 13, 2012

For the past month, the Homeland Security Show I host is spotlighting issues in homeland security without the interlude of media packaging stories into three minute segments or subjected to political hyperbole from Capitol Hill. This is not a show about thrillers, even if some of the content is more twisted and strange than most science fiction. Here is a rundown of my guests and show topics and some of our upcoming broadcasts.

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9/11 Commission Chairs Leading Bipartisan Homeland Security Project

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April 12, 2012

The Bipartisan Policy Center launched its Homeland Security Project today, led by former 9/11 Commission Co-Chairs Tom Kean and Lee Hamilton. Through this project, a group of 14 homeland security practitioners and scholars will create bipartisan recommendations on emerging terrorist threats, not unlike the 9/11 Commission.

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Searching for Democracy – Citizenship and Homeland Security

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April 11, 2012

At the launch of the Zócalo Public Square/Cal Humanities “Searching for Democracy” series, Eric Liu, a fellow at the Center for Social Cohesion, asked the audience to consider an issue that pervades all aspects of American life: citizenship. It’s one that cuts across political belief, class, and geography, but “most of us, most of the time, don’t think or talk about” it. This has impacts for America’s security efforts and is something the homeland security community should be willing to think about.

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In Defense of Energy – A Call to Action

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April 11, 2012

By Jeffrey Voth
Last month, the Pentagon released its widely anticipated roadmap to transform operational energy security.From both a strategic and an operational perspective, the call to action is clear. Rapid employment of energy-efficient technologies and smarter systems will be required to transform the military’s energy-security posture while meeting the increasing electric-power demands required for enhanced combat capability.

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U.S., Brazil to Consider Visa Waiver

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April 10, 2012

President Obama and Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, who is in Washington for a two-day visit, announced yesterday that they would begin work on bringing Brazil into the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). The expansion of Brazilian tourism that would result would be a big economic boost for the United States. While security screening for the VWP is now as good or better than that for visa applicants, Congress remains reluctant to authorize an expansion of the program.

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Egypt's Sinai Peninsula – A Growing Flashpoint for Regional Tensions

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April 9, 2012

Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula has become an area of growing concern due to the present semi-anarchical situation in an area that has long been problematic in terms of lawlessness. Over the years, the Sinai became a center for international criminal activity that largely involved human trafficking, drugs and military contraband. As the various organizations have become entrenched in the Sinai, and as the ability of the Egyptian state to confront these groups became even more limited as the Mubarak regime tottered and then collapsed, the Sinai has become a truly dangerous place in terms of regional stability.

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In Cyber, Those That Deny Threats Never Help

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April 5, 2012

When I was a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, every time we tried to do something – like develop cyber security capabilities – we were accused of cravenly seeking new budget allocations. Yet, the only reason I have been, am now, and will continue to push cyber as a key issue is that I believe it is one. In a recent Foreign Policy article, Thomas Rid argues the cyber threat is not real. I sincerely wish he were correct. He is sincerely wrong. Denying threats does not make them go away.

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EPA – Proving How "Small" Government Can Be

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April 4, 2012

The EPA was set to disregard the counsel of the Department of Justice, water system owners/operators and security experts by posting the non-Off-site Consequence Analysis (non-OCA) sections of the water sector’s RMPs this summer. Amid industry outcry, the EPA changed course and decided to postpone re-establishing public Internet access for certain highly security sensitive categories of information collected by its Risk Management Plan (RMP) Program. Irwin Fletcher said, “It takes a big man to admit when he’s wrong. I am NOT a big man.” Such is the case with the EPA.

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DHS to Close Permanently! Pistole Pleads the Fifth! Trump Sues for UBL Death Certificate! Really?!

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April 2, 2012

In Security Debrief’s annual April Fools coverage, we’ve collected some stories the rest of the media somehow missed.

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